Manchester United appointed Jose Mourinho in the full knowledge that he rarely stays at any club for more than two years, whether the reason for departure is his choosing or not. He has since indicated that he would like to stay at Old Trafford for “many years“.
Manchester City did the same with Pep Guardiola. Having spent five years in charge at Barcelona, (one of them with the B team), he developed his current wanderlust and spent a further two years in charge of Bayern Münich. The impression is that, if he is successful at City, then he may be talked into staying longer.
Chelsea have taken on a relatively unknown quantity, at least outside of his native Italy, and the jury remains out as to what the future holds for Antonio Conte. Again, it would appear that Roman Abramovich is another who is getting a little fed up with replacing his manager every couple of years and would like to put his feet up and watch the trophies stack up. Maybe Conte will get more time than most have at the Bridge!
This season could be the last as Arsenal manager for Arsene Wenger. Many fans hope this is the case and there would not be too many disappointed gooners were he to take the next step up the stairs to relative obscurity. The retirement would be even more welcome if it were followed by the arrival of Diego Simeone, who has shortened his contract with Atlético Madrid in order to leave in 2018. In the fantasy world of football there would not be massive compensation to pay if he were to be approached next year.
Another alternative, who appears to be favourite, is Eddie Howe. Having managed Bournemouth to two promotions to the Premier League he almost fits the bill. He is young, English and likes to play attractive football and would be considered a long term replacement were he to be appointed.
He is also, however, another unknown quantity in that he has never managed a big club and it remains to be seen how he would cope with the added pressures. He couldn’t handle life in the frozen north during his short lived stint at Burnley!
Tottenham, in recent years, have also become a club who change manager regularly. Now, though, it is difficult to see how they could improve on what they have and the expectation is that Mauricio Pochettino will stay as long as his ambition is matched by that of Daniel Levy. If that ever changes then Pochettino will jump a long time before he is pushed.
Liverpool want consistency so they appointed a manager who, in his time at Borussia Dortmund, was mostly consistent. His last season in charge was a bit of a nightmare but there could be several reasons for that, not the least of which could have been that he knew he was leaving.
If Liverpool can extend their early season form to the remainder of the campaign, then Jürgen Klopp could be celebrating Champion’s League football at Anfield next season.
So five of the six aforementioned clubs have appointed young managers with no particular history of staying anywhere for a long time but, if they can achieve a measure of success, could probably be persuaded to stay longer in their jobs. After all, if they were to leave any of the top six on England, where would they go?
Pep Guardiola left Bayern Munich so he could challenge himself in England.
Jose Mourinho wants to stay in England and is now at the biggest club.
Antonio Conte is more of an unknown quantity but the question remains, where to go if you want to better yourself?
Mauricio Pochettino seems to enjoy the Premier League although has expressed a desire to manage Real Madrid at some stage, so if he ever gets the offer he may very well depart.
Klopp seems to be settled in Liverpool and it’s proximity to Manchester will allow him to enjoy life in the northwest. So, providing results are favourable, he is going nowhere soon.
The only question mark is against Arsenal, as usual. If they replace Wenger with Eddie Howe and he is successful then they have a manager for years to come.
If they were to turn to Diego Simeone it could be shorter term. He has already said that he wants to manage in Italy, preferably Inter and/or Lazio, and also the Argentine national team, so his long term plans don’t seem to include the Premier League.
In answer to the original question, five of the top six clubs have gone for big name managers who they hope will provide a short and medium term fix. They will then be relying on any success achieved to keep their managers in place for the long haul.
Arsenal, at present, could go for short term or long term with the two possibles mentioned earlier. As with most things related to them, the Gunners themselves remain an unknown quantity!
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 