LEYTON Orient‘s bungling chairman Francesco Becchetti reminds me of those British adventurers who, during the early days of Arctic exploration, would laugh derisively at the local ‘savages’ swaddled in their sealskin.
All while wearing overcoats made of wool, so heavy and absorbent that it left the poor devil wearing it perpetually soggy. As the advert says, never underestimate the value of local knowledge.
In Italy, coaches are canned more often than olives. The average tenure of a manager in Serie A is just nine months, the shortest of all Europe’s major leagues.
Those figures don’t even reflect the true extent of the carnage. While the bigger clubs are relatively stable, the strugglers pull the trigger like Wyatt Earp at the OK Corral.
In England, managers stick around longer, but the bizarre demotion of Kevin Nolan means Becchetti is now seeking his ninth manager in less than two years. All he has achieved so far is relegation from League One.
You’d think that would be enough to convince him stability is key, but this latest embarrassment suggests otherwise.
Becchetti can appoint any number of managers, and probably will. But what he really needs is an English voice on the board with a bit of local knowledge.
