Editor's Column - Clint Roper

Whether you are David Moyes or Zeca Marques, the sentence is always the same. The verdict may be interpreted differently, for example: "The coach has decided to leave" or "Due to family reasons the coach is walking away." Then there is the forthright, "The board have decided it's in the best interests of the club..." or the other pearler, "A mutual agreement has been reached to part ways and we wish (insert coach's name here) all the best with his future endeavours." Dress it up however you like, coaches are hired to be fired, and the bigger the club, the shorter the fuse before the bomb goes off.   While it's called the "beautiful game", there are ugly sides to it, especially at the highest levels, that might make you think twice before deciding to be any part of it. There are some very good men who venture into coaching. As Soccer Laduma journalists, we come to know them well. Some keep everyone at arm's length – a protective mechanism from being in the game for a long time, never knowing where the next 'knife in the back' will come from and how deep it will be plunged. But there are some that allow you into their world, confide in you and give you a glimpse of their Paradise Lost. It's those coaches who you feel for most when things go awry.    While all coaches say they don't read the newspapers and don't take much notice of the criticism levelled at them whenever results are not going their way, I know for a fact that for the most part that is not true. They read the newspapers and trawl the websites just like any other soccer fan, and when the barbs are delivered, they certainly catch, scratch and wound. For many of us as fans, it takes a second to make a comment, pass judgement or hurl abuse without thinking that maybe it won't amount to anything. Be sure that when the intended target is reading those words, when his eyes pass over the vitriol, the venom and the bile spewed by hurting, passionate supporters, it hits its mark and it stings.    Top bosses, business managers and high-profile people with big-time jobs get fired every day all over the world, and while it must hurt, while it will become office talk and possibly some pride will be bruised for the fired party, in my opinion there is no greater 'public execution' than that which is dealt to soccer coaches and managers around the world. When David Moyes lost his job, the entire planet weighed in with their opinion and judgement. When Zeca Marques parted ways with Moroka Swallows on Monday, the media, both the traditional and the modern, around South Africa made sure everyone knew. In football there is no such thing as quietly leaving with your dignity intact.       The big question is, does firing a manager actually change the fortunes of a club? I read an article that appeared on the BBC News website a while ago that covered that exact subject. The article stated that according to an economist in Holland, "Changing a manager during a crisis in the season does improve the results in the short-term, but is a misleading statistic because not changing the manager would have had the same result." It goes on to say that after analysing how clubs did over 18 seasons, specifically looking at those that were struggling to see what effect keeping a coach had and what effect firing a coach had, the findings were that both groups faced a similar pattern of declines and improvements in form. The study further stated, "teams suffering an uncharacteristic slump in form will bounce back and return to their normal long-term position in the league, regardless of whether they replace their manager or not." Some have challenged that, and questioned that if this is the case, how is it possible for a new manager to come in and turn things around. The article explains, saying, "It's an age-old statistical phenomenon known as regression to the mean. In the same way that water seeks its own level, numbers and a series of numbers will move towards the average, move towards the ordinary," David Sally, co-author of the football statistics book The Numbers Game, explains. "The extraordinary, numbers-wise, is followed by the ordinary; the ordinary is followed by the ordinary; the ordinary is what happens. The average is what happens more often than not."    So what does this mean for fans and their clubs? For Kaizer Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns it means that they will continue to dominate, regardless of the coach. What does it mean for the rest of the PSL? Unless something more drastic than just changing the coach happens, every time there is a dip in form, unless quantum changes are made to organisations, the rest will continue to remain part of the chasing pack.     Perhaps some food for thought for club owners the next time you pull the trigger…    Shappa Clint    Click Here To Watch The Editors Column