Martin Jol Sacking: When is the right time for a new manager?

By: Bob | October 26th, 2007

Over the past few months there have been so many stories about Martin Jol being on his way out at Tottenham that when the time actually came for his sacking it felt like I was reading old news. Managerial firings are a part of the sport, of course, but Jol being forced out in favor of Sevilla boss Juande Ramos does raise the question of when is the right time to let a manager go and when should you stick by your guy.

The sharks have been circling around Jol because of his team’s dreadful start this season. The same man who led Spurs to back-to-back fifth place finishes has guided them to the drop zone thus far. The man who took an underachieving side and helped them to overachieve has now taken an overachieving side and helped them to underachieve if you are to believe that Tottenham have the talent to compete with the Big Four. Perhaps they do or perhaps they don’t. In either case, the club will pay a hefty price to have a new man standing on their sideline.

Is this price worth it? Certainly Ramos has an excellent record with Sevilla and by all accounts his teams have played an attractive, winning style of football. Whether or not this will translate into success in the English Premier League and success at Tottenham is a hefty gamble that the Spurs board is apparently willing to take.

From my view, it is a shortsighted one. Jol has already proven to be a successful manager. Even good coaches can have bad years and this has certainly been a bad one for Jol. One bad year does not make a manager, however, especially when that year is far from over. For a change, I find myself agreeing with Sir Alex Ferguson who says there is something to be said for continuity of manager.

“I have made the point many times that there is no evidence sacking a manager brings success,” the Scot, who is set to complete 21 years at Old Trafford next month, said.

“I always quote the case of Brian Clough. The longer he was at Nottingham Forest, the more control he got, the better it became for them.

“United have done well by me and I have responded by being successful for them. It is exactly the same with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. You cannot think about Arsenal without Wenger.

“There seems to be a far less patient approach in football now but Arsene has been there 10 years and I have been here 21.

“I think you can see there have been rewards for both managers and clubs.”

Patience does seem to be in short supply these days and clubs see all too willing to look for a quick fix. Ramos might prove to be an exceptional manager for Tottenham who lasts a long time, but my gut tells me we’ll be reading headlines about his demise a few years from now even if it is through no fault of his own.