Grand old men prove Yorke is off target
Talking Point
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dwight Yorke, interviewed in these pages recently, wished for a management break as promising as Gareth Southgate's at then-Premier League Middlesbrough. The League Managers Association's celebration this week of the elite band to have overseen 1,000 matches should have made him reconsider.
Of the 18 men to have achieved that mark only one began in the top flight, Sir Matt Busby, at a war-ravaged Old Trafford. Three began in non-League (Alec Stock, Jim Smith and Neil Warnock), and 10 in the lower divisions (Brian Clough, Dave Bassett, Alan Buckley, Dario Gradi, Brian Horton, Lennie Lawrence, Harry Redknapp, Denis Smith, Graham Taylor and Graham Turner). Joe Royle and Steve Coppell began in what is now the Championship, Sir Alex Ferguson at East Stirling and Sir Bobby Robson in Canada.
Wonderful as it is to walk into a job with a supportive chairman, fine academy, and decent squad, rookies learn more when, as Ferguson recalled, you inherit eight players, none of them a goalkeeper, and a recruitment budget measured in hundreds, not millions. Such experiences are invaluable.
The caveat is that managers used to be given time to learn on the job. Steve Coppell noted that he took five years to lift Crystal Palace into the top flight and doubted such patience would be shown now. Indeed, the average tenure of a manager is less than two years.
The most patient chairmen are in the Premier League, where the average tenure is almost four years. Does that mean Yorke is right? Only two of the top flight's 20 bosses began at such a level and Rafael Benitez was swiftly sacked at Real Valladolid while Gianfranco Zola is finding the going tough in that first job at West Ham. For most aspiring managers it is better to take the first steps out of the limelight.
g.moore@independent.co.uk
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments