Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder and Bristol City’s Lee Johnson are winning plaudits this season.
Supporters of Sheffield United and Bristol City should not fear their respective managers being prised away by Premier League clubs – that is according to former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan.
Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder and Bristol City’s Lee Johnson are winning plaudits after leading their sides into the Championship’s top six against expectation this season.
However, neither boss has been seriously mentioned in connection with any of the five top flight positions that have opened up over the course of the campaign.
And, speaking to Talksport on Wednesday afternoon, Jordan explained why that is unlikely to change any time soon.
“Young managers aren’t going to get a chance in the Premier League,” said Jordan. “Looking down the pyramid and saying, well this is a successful manager, whether it’s Championship or League One, it’s too much of a risk for anyone in the Premier League.
“There’s) the guy Chris Wilder, or Lee Johnson. (They’d be) stepping into the breach of foreign players and £200,000-a-week footballers that don’t really care about the fact you’ve managed Sheffield United or Bristol City, or whatever.”
You have to go back more than five years to find the last EFL manager to be head-hunted by a Premier League club – Chris Hughton, from Birmingham to Norwich – and he is one of only four to do so throughout the past decade – Gary Megson (Leicester to Bolton), Paul Ince (MK Dons to Blackburn) and Roberto Martinez (Swansea to Wigan).
And though Gus Poyet, Steve McClaren, Paul Clement have managed in the top flight immediately after Championship spells, all three were free agents at the time of their appointments.
Will the pair lead Sheffield United and Bristol City to promotion this season?
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