Three sackings of Bundesliga managers within hours of one another is unprecedented in a country where enhanced loyalty to management is the norm. But Bayern Munchen, Hamburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach all applied the boot after no improvement in form post mid season break.
After Franz Beckenbauer "lost" the election for UEFA President to Michel Platini, he has been like a bear with a sore head. If Johansson had won the election, the rumour was that he would step down after one year to allow Der Kaiser to take over (see: http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/2007/01/uefa-democratic-under-platini.html for details). Beckenbauer is a power operator in the German game and, behind the attempt at charm on the exterior, he exhibits a driven lust for power in all areas of his life. Not content with being big in Bavaria, Der Kaiser desires European recognition. Post UEFA election, he has been looking for some manner to take out his frustrations and he chose to sack Felix Magath. Well actually he got someone else to do the sacking while he was doing business in Dubai although he grabbed his slice of the action by leaking the news to Bild.
Financial limitations don't allow Bayern Munchen to compete with the major G14(18) teams anymore and Beckenbauer has repeatedly spoken out about German football becoming second tier in Europe. Additionally, this season, the Bundesliga has created real impetus to drive gambling out of the domestic game following the Hoyzer affair and this has randomised the league table to some extent. Blaming Magath is a distraction. Bayern were unlucky not to beat Bochum and lost at Dortmund in a blizzard that undermined constructive football. The arrival of Ottmar Hitzfeld is unlikely to change anything and we agree with Der Tagesspiegel when they state "instead of changing the manager, they will only be helped by a change of ideology".
We outlined the problems at HSV in a previous post (http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/2007/01/too-many-hamburgers.html). Doll was eventually sacked after Hamburg hammered Cottbus 1-1 in midweek. For the reasons outlined in the post above, we believe that the northerners travails will continue under new management. The players fought for Doll but their fitness levels have been poor throughout the season and it is aspects of the clubs training and medical regime that need to be put under the spotlight.
Moenchengladbach have been in decline since they were unprofessional enough to employ Dick Advocaat in 2004. Since that fateful day, Borussia have only won 2 away games out of 44 matches which has simply not been addressed by the subsequent management teams.
Generally, changes in management have a positive impact on a team's fortunes in the short term but, in all three of the above cases, we expect minimal change following the sackings. Structural problems are not solved by interpersonal power politics.
