When I read that Steve McClaren had accepted a 2 year contract at QPR I thought that's not very long which got me thinking about Ipswich. When the new manager is announced what length of contract would you think would be suitable, given that a lot of backroom staff have left for various reasons and the new manager would bring in his own team with possible new training regimes and style and a change of playing staff. This is all going to take time to gel as a team and get the players on board with possible new styles Obviously ME must afford the manager the time needed, but with a possible manager new to the league there will be the expectation from Marcus that improvement is visible sooner rather than later while also showing patience. We as supporters also have our part to play in being patient. Is two years too short, is 5 years too long, personally I wouldn't be against a 5 year contract but anything else under 3 years would be asking too much of the manager whoever he turns out to be
I think a three year contract would be a sensible move. Chances are we are bringing in a younger, less experienced manager, so this will give them the reassurance that they have a few years in the job. Providing a four or five year contract leaves you with a heavy compensation package. Imagine if Keane or Jewell were on four / five year deals, we would have struggled financially to fire them when we did.
Do contracts really matter these days? They are rarely honoured by either manager or player. If someone wants to move on mid contract, they usually do. The only difference on a player perspective, is the club get a small transfer fee, but managers come and go all the time
If they are soft then you're right, if the manager does really well he'll move on. Sometimes like with Watford they can refuse to let him go and if it's not done in the right way they'll end up nosediving. What a long contract can help with though is the compensation. I think it's far more likely a manager will benefit from a long contract because he is so unlikely to be around for more than a year or two. Personally, I would be offering two year terms and renewing each summer.
That's what I would have said Bigal. Three years to start with which can at any time be renegotiated or extended. There's no need to be handing out 5 year contracts to any manager thereby forcing us to stick with that person or pay them a fat chunk of cash to get rid of him if he bombs.If you're doing well you'll be rewarded with a new one.
