Former England captain Paul Ince has launched a scathing attack on the modern game’s treatment of managers, labelling the recent dismissals of Arne Slot at Liverpool and Rob Edwards at Wolves as a “disgraceful” departure from traditional footballing values.
Slot was relieved of his duties at Anfield at the end of May, just 12 months after leading the Reds to their 20th league title, as the club hierarchy moved swiftly to replace him with former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.
Less than two weeks later, Rob Edwards was dismissed by Wolves following their relegation to the Championship.
Edwards found out via social media that Portuguese coach César Peixoto was poised to take his place despite having already spearheaded the summer signings of Kieran Trippier and Mexico World Cup 2026 star Raúl Jiménez.
Poor handling
During an exclusive conversation with BestBettingSites, Ince said of both situations: “The thing is, it’s in your blood and you love it. You kind of think, “What else am I going to do?”
“If you retire early from the game, you still have 60 years of your life to live.
“Look at people like Roy Hodgson, who managed his whole life.
“You think it’s time for him to just sit back and relax, but he just loves it.
“Managers just wonder what else they would do with themselves.
“I do feel for [Arne] Slot. I thought the way the board handled it was poor. I didn’t like it; it’s not the Liverpool way.
“Obviously, people were clamoring for him to get sacked before the end of the season.
“But once the season finished, you kind of think as a manager, “Right, I’m still here, let’s start looking forward and building for next year.
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Immediate connection
“Then the next minute, he’s gone. Obviously, Richard Hughes worked with Iraola at Bournemouth, so there was an immediate connection there, and then they sacked Slot.
“I just don’t think that was the right way to treat a manager.
“It’s the same as what they did at Wolves with Rob Edwards. Disgraceful.
“Both of those are my former clubs, and you should represent yourself with more class than that.
“Nowadays people don’t give a monkeys, do they? It’s not a nice way to treat managers.
Basic respect
“But there has to be an element of basic respect. When you treat managers the way Wolves treated Rob Edwards – finding out on social media or having his kids find out that way that he was sacked – it’s not a nice feeling.
“I’m not sure who would want to be a manager at Wolves right now, that’s for sure.
“But I’m sure Edwards will get another job, and I’m sure Arne Slot will too.”
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