The Political Economy of Football V2

Short termism is rife in football.   Managers are expected to achieve a rapid turn round although they inherit a squad of players they wouldn't have signed themselves.   The statistical evidence shows that there is usually a short-lived managerial bounce which lasts for three games as players try to impress the new gaffer. The latest case in point is York City.  I appreciate that their fans are frustrated as they were an EFL club and a free standing city like York should be able to support a League 2 club with a decent catchment area. Also, the owners have poured in a lot of money and are getting impatient. Matt Uggla bought the club in 2023 with his mother Julie-Ann and has pumped millions.  But he has also sacked three managers in two years. The latest to go is Adam Hinselwood despite being the most successful permanent manager in the history of the Minstermen.  He won 38 of his 71 games which is a very good percentage.   He rescued them fr...

Bradford City finally managed to secure promotion back to League One last season, but they sure left it late, as third place was only confirmed after Antoni Sarvecic’s 96th minute winner against Fleetwood Town in their last league game. This achievement ended the Bantams’ six-year stay in League Two, which felt far too long for a club of Bradford City’s magnitude. Many outside observers had struggled to understand their relatively low status, given the natural advantages enjoyed by City. For example, Bradford has a very big catchment area, with the city ranked as the 10th largest in England, above the likes of Nottingham, Newcastle, Brighton & Hove and Wolverhampton – all of which have clubs in the Premier League. During their time in England’s fourth tier, the closest City had previously come to going up was in 2022/23, when they were beaten by Carlisle United in the play-off semi-finals. In fact, they had finished as low as 15th two years before that - or 83rd in the Englis...