The average tenure of a manager across Europe’s top divisions last season was less than 16 months, according to a report by European governing body Uefa.
There were 735 top-flight dismissals across Europe in 2022-23, the second-highest on record.
The Premier League saw a record 15 changes of permanent manager.
According to the report, of the 1,209 serving top-flight managers across the continent less than 5% have been in their job five or more years.
In their in-depth research document ‘European Club Talent and Competition Landscape’, Uefa says the average managerial tenure across 48 European top leagues in 2022-23 was 1.31 years, the lowest since 2018 (1.3 years).
In only six countries, including Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, was the average tenure beyond two years.
The lowest average in the past decade was 1.29 years in 2016, down from 1.44 years in 2013, highlighting the increasingly precarious nature of football management.
The season with the most managerial changes was 2020-21 when 763 managers were sacked, which Uefa says was because of clubs catching up after deferring coaching changes in the Covid-19 pandemic.
There was a total of 41 managers in the Premier League last season, with six clubs having three people in charge for at least one league game. Chelsea and Leeds both had four.
The 55% of Premier League teams making a change is the largest percentage of the ‘big five’ European leagues. France and Spain were close behind with 50%, Germany 44% and Italy 35%.
When factoring in caretaker or interim bosses there were 22 changes of manager in the Premier League last season, the joint highest across the ‘big five’ along with France.
There has already been one manager change in 2023-24, with Julen Lopetegui quitting Wolves the week before the season started in August and being replaced by Gary O’Neil.
Attendances highlight post-pandemic recovery
According to Uefa, healthy attendances across the continent underlines the recovery of football from the pandemic, which saw football largely played behind closed doors.
It says 109 million fans attended top-flight matches in 2022-23, which rises to 209 million when including lower-league games and cup ties.
The Premier League was the most watched league, with 15.3 million attending games, although the Bundesliga – which has fewer matches – had the highest average attendance. The Scottish Premiership is eighth on the list, with 3.8 million attending games.
The strength of the English pyramid was shown in the numbers attending lower-league matches. Only Germany has even half of the 22.5 million who went to what are regarded as “lower-tier professional matches” in England. Spain and Italy were third and fourth, both under eight million.
Barcelona were the most supported club side, with 1.59 million watching their home league games, while Manchester United were second with 1.4 million.
