The football management merry-go-round has been in full flow in the last couple of weeks with new managers at Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Barcelona and Norwich.
This level of pre-Christmas activity isn’t anything new in football, but I do hope these latest moves signal the start of a new era for British managers in the Premier League.
The appointment of a British manager to a top Premier League job is still considered a huge outlier.
Let’s face it, when the Tottenham job became available, there was no one realistically mentioning home grown candidates for the role.
The difference in perception of British managers versus foreign managers existed in the Premier League even before David Moyes was sacked at Manchester United back in 2014 - but it has only got worse since.
As new owners have come into the Premier League, they have only looked at what is in front of them for managers and that has often been foreign names.
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On the rare occasion that a British manager has secured a big job and then been sacked, Moyes at Manchester United or Rodgers at Liverpool, it has only seemed to strengthen the argument against home grown talent.
Yet, when the opposite has happened, Mourinho at Manchester United, there hasn’t been a shift in perception back towards British managers.
People may argue that there just isn’t the quality in British managers at the moment, but I don’t accept that – opportunities have just been limited.
Steven Gerrard’s appointment at Aston Villa and Eddie Howe to Newcastle are the headline opportunities for this perception problem to be corrected.
But they are going to need backing from their owners. Both jobs are facing a battle against relegation – they are not simple tasks for any manager.
In last week’s column I highlighted how even a manager of Antonio Conte’s reputation still needs a fortune for players in order to bring silverware to a club.
The reality is that all managers need backing whether fighting relegation or trying to win a trophy.
Many Liverpool fans want to see Gerrard taking control of Liverpool one day and the challenge at Villa should be seen as a steppingstone for that rather than anything else.
I also desperately hope that the talented Eddie Howe is not seen as a short-term fix by Newcastle’s new wealthy owners before they look to recruit a big foreign name once they are clear of relegation.
How will Steven Gerrard get on at Aston Villa? Have your say!
I would love to see both Gerrard and Howe to well at their respective new clubs. If they are given time and funds, then they can be leaders of a new pack of British managers who create a strong reputation in the Premier League and across Europe.
At some point Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool and Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City. I want to believe that when those days come that more than one British candidate will be seriously considered for those jobs or even get them.
However, the realist in me knows that things are rarely that simple in football.
