Why have Premier League clubs become so patient with their managers?

In years past, Premier League managers have been shuffled in and out at absurd rates. Why have clubs been so patient this season?

The managerial merry go round is a staple feature of the Premier League. Seven Premier League managers were sacked in each of the last two seasons and there were a staggering 15 manager casualties in the 2017-18 season. By sharp contrast, Slaven Bilic and Frank Lampard are the only managers to have been sacked this season.

Have clubs actually become more patient? And is it paying off?

Few managers have had their credentials questioned in the way Ole Gunnar Solskjær has and even fewer have warranted it. The circus around Solskjær has become a weekly cycle. Each win is seen as a testament of his man-management skills and positive influence on the club and his ability to get a tune out of previously maligned players like Pogba, Shaw and Fred. Each loss throws up the same old questions about his tactical ineptitude and lack of experience.

Somewhere along the way, Solskjær and to an extent his players, have gotten comfortable with the precarious nature of his job. Just when he seems on the cusp of being fired, United pull out a run of results like their recent one — unbeaten in the league since the start of November — to at least temporarily banish the naysayers. Olé at the wheel has been a bumpy ride, but maybe, just maybe they are moving in the right direction.

The 6-1 drubbing to Spurs and the brain freeze for Demba Ba’s goal in the Champions League has firmly established what the floor for this team is. But, the tantalizing nature of their ceiling is what’s kept him in his job so far. Solskjær is a good manager, but is he Manchester United good? Until United’s next dip in form, he is.

Southampton is a club that has enjoyed the fruits of managerial patience. Many considered Ralph Hassenhüttl as a dead man walking after the Saints’ 9-0 debacle at home last season. The club was obviously rattled but resisted the urge to pull the trigger. They didn’t win any of their next three games either, but there was the slightest of upturns in performance and a show of spirit (they led for 70 minutes at the Etihad and conceded a 96th-minute equalizer at The Emirates). The defeat to Leicester became ground zero from which Hassenhüttl built. They grafted through the rest of the season and finished a respectable 11th. The marginal improvements in the past year became discernible this season and The Saints currently lie in eighth in the league, with the German having implemented a style of play from the first team all the way down to the academy.

Patience and long-term goals have paid off for several Premier League clubs

Sitting a few places above Southampton are Mourinho’s Spurs. Many are heralding this Tottenham team as the second coming of the Portuguese. The Revenge Edition. Amidst all this talk about a title challenge, it’s easy to forget that Mourinho was among the bookies’ favorites to be the first manager of the season to get sacked. Given their tepid end to last season, it wasn’t an unthinkable prospect.

What changed? Nothing really.

It’s just a matter of delayed returns. One of the few things that was gleaned from the Amazon Spurs documentary was the level of control Mourinho had been afforded at the club and the thrall he held Daniel Levy in. This fawning translated into Mourinho being backed in the transfer window and Spurs starting the new season with a deeper squad more replete with talent. Mourinho has been allowed to Mourinho and the club are now reaping the rewards of their trust in him.

Is it really that straightforward? Nope, just ask Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s stock couldn’t have been higher in the first couple of weeks of the season. He was basking in the glow of recently acquired silverware, had galvanized the entire fanbase and had got his talismanic captain to commit his future to the club. The onset of the decline was as surprising as its steepness.

While their recent upturn in form has flattened the crisis curve at The Emirates, the sharks aren’t too far away for the Spaniard.

There’s no denying that Arteta deserves the criticism coming his way. The football is unimaginative, the Willian situation is preposterous, the meritocracy he championed is absent is and the squad management is baffling.

But, he doesn’t carry the entire brunt of the blame. The club has been run without direction, leadership and competence for a few years now. Unfortunately, it’s under a novice manager like Arteta, the chickens have come home to roost. Transfer dealings have been abysmal, finances have been mismanaged and the connection with the fans has been lost.

Arteta has just turned the corner of his first major crisis at the club and needs to be given until the end of the season at the very least before making a decision on his long-term future. For now, Arsenal need to let the Spaniard face the fire. Give him everything he needs so that the place doesn’t go up in flames.

While results still remain the most important metric to judge the success of a manager, it seemingly no longer remains the only one. Decisions are taken keeping long term plans in mind and clubs seem to have realized that hasty sackings do more harm than good.

Another possible reason for the drop in manager sackings could be the pandemic. Clubs are cash strapped and entering the manager market in such a time is unadvisable. The empty stadiums also mean that fans’ ire can’t be felt as strongly and the immediate pressure on the manager to deliver results is slightly alleviated. It’s to be seen if normal service shall be restored in the post-pandemic Premier League seasons or if the current trend of managerial patience will carry over.