Paul Heckingbottom should be as safe as houses at Sheffield United, as research reveals Premier League trend
and live on Freeview channel 276
But as he prepares to lead his squad back into the Premier League, after steering them to a second placed finish in the Championship last season, the 45-year-old will be encouraged to learn he is actually about to enter one of the world’s most secure competitions for coaching staff operating at elite level.
Research performed by academics at the CIES Football Observatory, detailing managerial changes across 60 top divisions across the globe, placed England’s top-flight at 27th on a list detailing how many (55 percent) of members clubs made at least one last term. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic represents, was identified as being the most fickle with more than 90 percent finishing the campaign without the person who started it still at the helm. By contrast, the Indian Super League had the best life expectancy with only one of its 11 teams adopting a change of approach.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad
Heckingbottom was handed a contract running until the end of the 2025/26 campaign when he was unveiled as Slavisa Jokanovic’s successor 18 months ago, going on to lead United into the play-offs before overseeing their return to the top-flight. Crucially, given the financial issues his employers have experienced over the past 12 months, he is also committed to utilising Bramall Lane’s renowned academy programme with Daniel Jebbison, Oliver Arblaster, Andre Brooks and Jili Buyabu among those to make their first professional appearances under his stewardship.
However, the CIES’ findings came with a caveat for those working in what its academics described as “The Big Five Leagues”; England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France. The PL was the most unstable within this particular group, with Serie A performing best after only 35 percent of its members made a change at the helm.
The pinch point for PL managers was cited as being after 41.5 percent of their side’s matches had been played. Chairman and owners in Romania were declared as being the quickest to fire a coach, with the first one there departing with more than three quarters of the season still remaining.