There was something quite symbolic amidst the celebrations at full-time in Nottingham on Saturday evening.
Steve Cooper had just helped secure Nottingham Forest's safety in the top flight thanks to a 1-0 win over Arsenal. It evoked an explosion of relief. The scale of the job done by Cooper must not be understated. When he took the role in the autumn of 2021, Forest were bottom of the Championship, in under two years he got them promoted and ensured a second top-flight campaign.
But this is not just a story about Cooper, it reflects the wisdom in sticking by your head coach throughout tough times. Eleven of the 20 Premier League clubs have seen a change in the dugout at least once this season.
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Cooper was expected to be one of those casualties, especially in the early months of the season where Forest's wild summer influx of new players looked to undermine any prospect of fielding a coherent lineup. Many owners would have flinched, and for context, Evangelos Marinakis has flinched in his time overseeing the club, but this time he did not and he has gained the reward for that faith.
It is not just Cooper that provides an example of sticking with your vision through hard times, the wreckage of rampant change is shown in great detail at both Chelsea and Tottenham - two clubs that have had three incumbents in the role since August.
Thomas Tuchel's shock dismissal for Graham Potter was a divisive change for Chelsea's new owners to make and one that gave them little return for value. Their new man did not last even eight months, offering little joy to a bemused and growingly frustrated fanbase.
Even the return of Frank Lampard as interim has not improved much, only adding to the sense of chaos in a bewildering season of consistent failure. The club's mood has been disillusioned for many weeks, a club craving the end of this nightmare season.
Spurs knew the marriage with Antonio Conte would end abruptly, so the change was inevitable, it is more the lack of planning after that has caused further confusion among fans. A club lost at sea, with zero semblance of any identity may now rue that decision in 2019 to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino, who now is joining one of their most bitter rivals. Neither of the two interims in Cristian Stellini or Ryan Mason have evoked much improvement as evidenced by the likelihood of no European football heading into next season.
We can look across to Germany for further proof that radical change does not always equate to a short-term boost. Thomas Tuchel's arrival to replace Julian Nagelsmann was heralded as a move of great ruthlessness by Bayern Munich. The results since have not backed that analysis up.
Tuchel has overseen Bayern being knocked out of the DFB Pokal at home to Freiburg, roundly swatted aside by Manchester City in the Champions League, and is now on the cusp of losing the Bundesliga crown for the first time since 2012 to Borussia Dortmund.
There are counter-narratives to the rejection of change making sense. Unai Emery at Aston Villa is the greatest example arguably in Europe for the way he has helped transform Aston Villa from the misery of Steven Gerrard's pretty aimless football. Roberto De Zerbi only built on the work of Potter, leading them into Europe as they continue to be one the league's most enjoyable teams to watch. Or Roy Hodsgon's return to Crystal Palace, guiding them to comfortable safety with some joyful attacking football too.
However, West Ham could have parted ways with David Moyes too in recent months as they looked to be dragged deeper into the relegation battle. Whilst others around them blinked, sticking with Moyes has helped secure their top-flight status, even if a deeper conversation about his future will likely be had this summer. What must Brendan Rodgers be thinking? Dismissed by Leicester in April, who now are on the verge of dropping into the second tier, only one year after reaching a European semi-final, and two from winning the FA Cup.
This is not to say sacking a coach is unacceptable. But the context within the club matters, along with your planning post that change. Potter was not working at Chelsea, Conte had made Spurs a toxic environment. Both clubs though should grasp how their consistent alterations in the dugout over the past five years may have harmed their ability to progress, rather than believing that short-termism is the route to it.
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