Soccer Manager Turnover: Hiring & Firing in 2026
- There have been a number of stunning managerial changes in recent weeks -- from Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid to Ruben Amorim at Manchester United -- and the...
- The 51-year-old former Derby County, Birmingham City and Leicester City defender was sacked as head coach of Championship side Oxford United just two days before Christmas.
- Rowett had helped keep Oxford in English football's second tier last season following his arrival on Dec.
There have been a number of stunning managerial changes in recent weeks – from Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid to Ruben Amorim at Manchester United — and the cutthroat nature of a career in football management will not be lost on Gary Rowett.
The 51-year-old former Derby County, Birmingham City and Leicester City defender was sacked as head coach of Championship side Oxford United just two days before Christmas. The call came just over a year after the one that appointed him.
Rowett had helped keep Oxford in English football’s second tier last season following his arrival on Dec. 20, 2024. But after one win in 10 games, which saw Oxford slip into the relegation places, club chairman Grant Ferguson and the board decided it was time for a change.
“Gary joined during a challenging period and deserves immense credit for the hard work and leadership,” said Ferguson in a statement. “However, following a disappointing run of results, we have had to take this difficult decision in the best interests of the club.”
A nice way of saying, “Thanks, but see you later.”
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The timing of Rowett’s dismissal makes it especially brutal, but for managers, it’s part of the job. Already this season, six Premier League bosses have been sacked — Nuno Espirito santo at Nottingham Forest, and more.
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According to LMA statistics, the average tenure of dismissed managers and head coaches in men’s and women’s English professional football last season was 1.35 years. Postecoglou was axed by Forest after just 39 days, with the official statement landing 17 minutes after the final whistle of his eighth game in charge. In Scotland, Russell Martin was sacked by Rangers in october after 17 games, while Glasgow neighbors Celtic dismissed Wilfried Nancy just 33 days into a 2-year contract signed in December.
“If you look over history,I think managers were always the ones who the buck stopped with,” former Brentford, The relentless pressure on Premier League managers extends beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch, increasingly impacting their ability to focus on the game itself. Xabi Alonso experienced this firsthand during a UEFA Champions League clash in December,Alonso held a news conference at the club’s training ground that was dominated by questions about his future. The game hardly got a mention. Frank faced a similar situation on Monday ahead of Spurs’ Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, a fixture that came fresh off the back of another damaging home league defeat, this time against struggling West Ham.
Premier league managers are expected to hold news conferences before and after every game, as well as honoring their other commitments. Following United’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in December at the height of questions about his job, Amorim was required to speak to five broadcasters — three of them international rights holders — plus club media and selected radio stations.
“Football managers and head coaches operate in a modern media landscape that places unrelenting demands on them,” said Bevan. “They face constant scrutiny, where every result, decision, and comment is analyzed by the public and media in real time.”