Chelsea have attracted criticism for their recent hiring and
firing of managers, their perceived lack of patience contrasting
with the situations at Old Trafford and the Emirates, where
longevity has been the order of the day for both Arsenal's Arsene
Wenger and, especially, Manchester United's Sir Alex
Ferguson.
However, perhaps reacting to accusations that Chelsea are somewhat
trigger-happy, their chairman Bruce Buck has said he thinks the
unimpressive start Ferguson made at Old Trafford would have seen
him ousted in today's climate long before the four years it took
the Scot to land his first trophy as United boss.
It is generally believed that Fergie, appointed in the Autumn of
1986, was on the verge of being fired before Mark Robins scored the
goal that kept them in the 1990 FA Cup, which they went on to win.
The rest, as they say, is history - and a glittering history at
that, including a remarkable 10 Premier League titles, two
Champions League triumphs, a Cup Winners' Cup win, four more FA
Cups and two League Cups.
Ferguson is now in his 23rd season at the United helm, while Wenger
(three League titles and four FA Cups) is in his 13th at Arsenal.
Chelsea, in contrast, have Guus Hiddink taking charge of the team
for the first time this weekend, the Dutchman becoming their fourth
manager in less than 18 months.
In the opinion of many, his predecessor, Luiz Felipe Scolari, was
not given nearly enough time in the job.
But Buck has told Chelsea's official website, "A lot of people talk
about continuity in managers and I think that we as a board and
Roman [Abramovich, the Blues' owner] would agree that continuity is
a real plus.
“But we don’t think it’s continuity for continuity’s sake and it
has to be with the right person at the right time.
“Everyone points to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson
at Manchester United as situations where continuity has worked very
well. But football has moved on and I think it was four, five years
before Alex Ferguson really won anything at Manchester
United.
“I think the way dynamics of football are today, that’s not really
acceptable. When Manchester United does finally change coaches, and
they will at some point, I don’t think they will have the luxury of
waiting four, five, six or seven years for their new manager to win
a trophy.
“I think times are different from when Wenger and Ferguson first
started their jobs. Everyone looks at continuity as helpful and as
relevant but there’s not a lot of it because of the nature of
football.
“So yes, continuity is important but it has to be with the right
person and it’s very hard to achieve.”