Gab Sutton Weekly: Should managers be loyal to their clubs?

In his latest Odds Now column, EFL pundit Gab Sutton looks at managers, and the controversy around the existence (or non-existence) of loyalty in football.

To stay or not to stay?

The moral requirement on managers & head coaches to be loyal to the clubs they represent is a tricky conversation – often with no right or wrong answer.

Managers nowadays live in a precarious industry: only 26 of the current 72 managerial reigns in the EFL date back to the start of last season, so they don’t get much time to get things right.

With that in mind, should we be surprised that when managers’ stock is high, they look to jump to the next bigger opportunity?

Well, no. And, in Rob Edwards’ case, this is an opportunity to manage in the Premier League – something he may have wondered if he’d be able to do again after being sacked by Luton, as well as move closer to his West Midlands-based family.

And yet, because the incentive of supporters is the best results for their team, the ethical scales are skewed in one direction.

When a manager gets sacked for poor results, it’s understood and often called for quite vocally. But when a manager moves onto another club for good results, it’s not understood – it’s criticised quite vocally.

In Middlesbrough’s case, of course, it’s slightly different. The Teessiders are a stable club under Steve Gibson’s ownership regime, and have tended to give managers a fair amount of time, relatively speaking.

They took a chance on Edwards when his stock wasn’t quite so high after a tough final half-season at Luton. They believed in him, gave him the money to bring in players, and now things are going well he’s jumped at the first offer, a third of the way into his first season.

Time for change?

So, what’s the answer? Should fans not judge managers for making ruthless decisions to better their careers, in the same way they wouldn’t judge board members for making ruthless decisions to better their clubs?

Reasonable in theory, but football is an emotive sport: culturally, it’s unlike any other business.

Conversely, should we create a culture in which managers can be open about speaking to other clubs, without burning bridges if those conversations don’t materialise into a move?

That might remove an element of secrecy, which can add to the sense of betrayal – but again, feels unrealistic.

Alternatively, should we encourage clubs to make decisions that incentivise loyalty in managers more roundly?

That would make most managers more likely to commit, but owners are ambitious and they don’t want to stick with regimes that they feel aren’t going anywhere.

Almost through nobody’s fault, football has this grey area of loyalty, which creates a disconnect between words and actions: managers are incentivised to hint at being loyal publicly, but then not be in private.

For now, the only option is to simply accept the inconsistency in how clubs and managers are respectively treated when it comes to making tough decisions.

Managers are allowed to be disloyal, and fans are allowed to judge them for it. And if that sounds harsh – well, it probably is.

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