London - The worst season for managerial casualties since 2001 was described as “embarrassing” by League Managers' Association (LMA) chief Richard Bevan on Monday.
Roberto Martinez became the latest high-profile manager to leave his club when Everton sacked him last week, the Spaniard joining 53 other coaches to be told their services were no longer required.
He was in good company with Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), former England Steve McClaren (Newcastle), Garry Monk (Swansea) and Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool) all jettisoned during a crazy Premier League season in which Leicester City were crowned champions.
Aston Villa fired Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde while Dick Advocaat resigned as Sunderland manager. Manchester City's Manuel Pellegrini and Quique Sanchez Flores of Watford are moving on at the end of the season.
Further down the English soccer pyramid the landscape was equally bleak.
“It's another very relentless, disappointing and embarrassing season for the sport,” Bevan, who said a further 12 mangers resigned, told BBC Radio.
“It's the worst season ever.”
Although the Premier League has been volatile this season with eight of the 20 clubs firing a manager (Aston Villa twice), the second tier Championship is even more precarious with 38 sackings in two seasons, according to Bevan.
Bolton Wanderers, Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Leeds United all sacked managers as the pressure to try and rejoin the elite got the better of the people in charge the clubs.
“You just need the people running the clubs to take a step back to assess what actually is a successful season for them and to manage the expectation of the fans,” Bevan said.
“If you were to sack the most important person in any business every eight to 10 months, what will it do to your brand?” – Reuters