The departure of Michael Carrick from Middlesbrough signals something of an end of an era in the Championship. Carrick’s sacking on Wednesday brought an end to his stay on Teesside which lasted more than two-and-a-half years.
Carrick was appointed just before Liam Rosenior was brought in at Hull City, but after a month-long wait following the end of the season, Boro chief Steve Gibson pulled the trigger.
Ultimately, given the money spent in recent seasons, finishing 10th in the campaign just gone was deemed a big failure, and he paid the price with his job, rather like Rosenior a little over 12 months ago.
During his three seasons with Boro, Carrick guided the club to 4th, 8th and 10th place finishes and now, he leaves with the Riverside Stadium outfit the latest to be searching for a new head coach.
Ex-City boss Phil Parkinson will arrive with Wrexham having spent almost four years in charge at the Racecourse Ground going from the National League through to the Championship and now defaults back to being longest-serving boss followed by Kieran McKenna at nearly three-and-a-half years following Ipswich Town’s relegation, but that spell has been flanked by stints in League One and the Premier League, similarly to Portsmouth manager John Mousinho at a little over two years, with half of that spent in the third tier.
Of this existing cohort, Danny Rohl’s future at Sheffield Wednesday looks increasingly precarious with each passing day, so the German’s one-year and seven-month stay could come to an end at any moment. Then there’s Marti Cifuentes, but he’s been placed on gardening leave by QPR since the final days of the season. The Spaniard arrived a few days after Rohl, but is seemingly on his way out.
Liam Manning’s exit from Bristol City for Norwich ended his almost 19-month reign, so that leaves Chris Wilder. The Sheffield United boss has been at the Bramall Lane helm in his second stint for 18 months.
From there, we’re into those managers that have been in post less than 12 months, which again shows just how precarious life in the second tier can be. Around half of the 24 clubs will have managers who have not celebrated their one-year anniversary yet.
That level of change shows the desperation from owners across the league to rip things up and start again in a bid to try and reach the promised land of the Premier League.
For City, incoming new boss Sergej Jakirovic, he will know time is not on his side and he will need to get results quickly if he’s to avoid falling victim to the Championship’s sack race next term.
Being a manager in the second tier can be extremely rewarding, but it’s perilous and fraught with danger and obstacles, and it’s something Jakirovic will need to adjust to quickly. Having managed Dinamo Zagreb, he’ll understand pressure and expectation.
Before him, Tim Walter claimed managing Hamburg prepared him for anything, famously saying pressure is a privilege, but he could not adjust to the Championship, and it proved his downfall. Jakirovic must adapt and adapt quickly if he’s to avoid becoming another one gobbled up by the harshest of mistresses.
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