Louis Van Gaal was his usual ebullient self in his final press conference as manager of Manchester United. But for once, I don't blame his stubborn self-defence. Angrily placing the lidless FA Cup on his desk, he thanked the media for “sacking me for six months”. The English media is a brutal machine. The endless rumour mill and constant criticism have driven many managers over the edge.
To add to the manager’s woes, the impatience of the football fan has grown in recent years. To sack a manager who has won the FA Cup and come fifth in Premier League, as Jose would say, a ‘transitional period’, seems mad. But fans of the ‘world's biggest club’ have been calling for Van Gaal’s head since day one. Fan protests are so commonplace that it seems like a miracle when no banners are unveiled criticising the owners or the manager, or, often, both. Post-match analysis focuses more on the managers and the referee than the game itself.
According to the League Manager’s Association, there is an endemic problem in British football. Arsene Wenger is the only long-serving manager left in the Premier League, after 20 years, more than 16 years longer than second place, Eddie Howe of Bournemouth. Watford have had five managers in the last 18 months alone, and Manchester United have struggled to hold down a head coach since the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson ended. Jose Mourinho has never been a long-term option for any club, and I don't suppose that United will be any different.
The pressure that managers sustain has become almost unendurable. Fans need to understand that sometimes immediate success is not possible. At the rate we're going, the average tenure for a coach will soon be only a matter of months. No wonder Van Gaal wasn’t in the best of moods.
Foreign managers have an extra mountain to climb, as argued by David Sygall, writing in the Sidney Morning Herald. He pointed out that Dutch coach Guus Hiddink had been concerned to adopt the footballing philosophy of the Australian during his successful term there. Van Gaal refused to adopt the ‘Manchester United way’ of which Ed Woodward was such a fan. As a result his pragmatic approach to winning games rather than playing exciting football was very unpopular.
I am not pardoning managers of all blame, but calling for the English fans to rein in their unrealistic expectations. Enough unveiling of harsh banners and critical chants. Give managers a chance. Not everyone has Ranieri’s Midas touch.
Joshua Korber Hoffman is a 15 year-old football fanatic and Arsenal supporter. He writes a football blog called The Young Gun, in which his love for writing and the beautiful game intersect.
