As English football prepares for another season the media has stated to speculate on the first manager to be sacked. Of the 92 managers in the league, only three have held their post for more than five years and 42 were appointed within the last year. There is increasing pressure on clubs to reach the Premiership and then to stay there.

Last year the Premiership’s bottom club, Sunderland, received £98 million. The prize money for winning the championship was £7million. In the hope of joining the elite investors are purchasing Championship and League 1 clubs. When they cannot achieve success quickly they blame and dismiss the manger. Usually they have to pay his contract in full, and often that of any background staff who leave at the same time. Then they fund his replacement and any required new players. Financially this is crazy and the wrong person is being dismissed.

The person who should go is the one who hired the manager. They decided that he was the best candidate and agreed the length of his contract. Terminating that contract earlier is an admission that either its length or the appointment itself was a mistake. If clubs started pointing the figure towards the boardroom rather than the pitch, they may find themselves in a better position to progress in both areas.