On June 10th, barely five months ago, Steve McClaren was appointed Newcastle United manager following a year of upheaval, big changes, and, vitally, yet another season of struggle. His task? Change the clubs fortune. So why, just 13 games into the new season, is McClaren under growing pressure, and his job not looking quite so safe?
To put things into context, we’ve looked at the form of the last three managers to be sacked by Mike Ashley- John Carver, Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce. Furthermore, we’re only using the last 13 games of each tenure to give a fair comparison with McClaren to see how he stacks up.
It’s important to remember McClaren is only 13 games into what could, potentially, be the beginning of an eight year stay at St James’s Park. Nobody expected miracles, but progress has been slow.
While the fan’s are becoming impatient, they’re not yet alarmed. However, on current for, the question has to be asked of McClaren- is the pressure growing?
The data we collected doesn’t take into account the context of each manager’s departure, it only looks at it in cold hard numbers- and they speak for themselves.
As you can see, Steve McClaren is better only than the ill fated reign of predecessor John Carver, and Chris Hughton boasts comfortably the best run of form prior to his exit.
The first manager of the Mike Ashley reign to face the chop was ‘Big Sam’, who ironically now manages bitter North East rivals Sunderland. Much like McClaren, Allardyce was appointed before a ball was kicked and with a full pre season to prepare for the season. However, despite a fairly decent start to the season, form dipped and fan’s became restless. He lasted only 8 months, and was given the boot on January 9th 2008 following a goalless draw at Chamionship Stoke City in the FA Cup.
STATS: W3 D3 L7 12 points from a possible 39; 0.92 points per game (win ratio 23%)
If ever the term ‘understated’ applied to a manager, it applies to Chris Hughton. Left to pick up the pieces after a horrific and chastening 2008/09 season which saw Newcastle relegated, Hughton guided the toon back to the Premier League in stunning fashion. A hugely popular manager, there was uproar amongst fans and players alike when he was controversially sacked seemingly out of nowhere on Monday 6th December 2010 following a 3–1 defeat against West Brom.
STATS: W4 D3 L6- 15 points from a possible 39; 1.15 points per game (win ratio 30.8%)
John Carver took the Newcastle hotseat from Alan Pardew in January 2015 following his departure to Crystal Palace much to the joy of many Newcastle fans. However, it soon became apparent that the grass isn’t always greener on the otherside, as results and performances were none existent in the most part, resulting in the Magpies being sucked into a relegation scrap. They survived by the skin of there teeth following a dramatic last day win at home to West Ham, however, Carver was swiftly shown the door by Ashley following a calamitous six months in charge of his childhood heroes.
STATS: W2 D1 L10- 7 points from a possible 39; 0.54 points per game (win ratio 15.4%)
And then there’s the current main man- Steve McClaren. Although not sacked, there is a growing pressure on the McClaren as results continue to dwindle. Having made the worst start of any Newcastle manager in the Premier League era and with Newcastle seemingly set for another relegation dogfight, the pressure continues to grow on the former Middlesbrough coach.
STATS: W2 D4 L7- 10 points from a possible 39; 0.77 points per game (win ratio 15.4%)
While McClaren’s ein percentage is the same as Carver’s, it’s important to acknowledge where the former Middlesbrough boss has improved the Magpies. A more cultivating and expansive style of football has led to a better brand of football in which chances are being created. There have been some encouraging performances this season- most notably the 2–2 draws against Chelsea and Southampton as well as wins against Bournemouth and Norwich.
However, while some performances have been better, others have been considerably worse, which is why McClaren finds the spotlight on him all of a sudden. It’s the sort of inconsistency which saw his Derby County side go from promotion certs at christmas to missing out on the play offs altogether last season.
Furthermore, points, or rather the lack of them, are becoming a major issue, particularly with bitter rivals Sunderland beginning to pick up points with more regularity.
The pressure is growing on McClaren, that much is for sure, but Ashley has a track record of patience. It’s a track record McClaren, the fans and particularly Newcastle United, will hope will pay dividends come what May.
Liam Norris