6 Premier League Managers Most Likely to Get the Sack Next Season
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6 Premier League Managers Most Likely to Get the Sack Next Season Last year Paolo Di Canio won the Premier League’s sack race at a canter, lasting just five games into the season before Sunderland got rid of the eccentric Italian. Ten top flight managers were fired in total last season, which makes predicting who will or won’t be in a job come May as hard to predict as flipping a coin. As the new season edges ever closer, bookies are already raking it in as to who will be the first to go, with the same few names cropping up near the top. Managers of promoted clubs are always favourite, as are those at underachieving clubs the season before, but a shock departure is always among the mix. Rather than blow another £10 on this finally being the season Arsene Wenger gets the chop, have a look at these six Premier League managers most likely to be handed their P45 and a hefty compensation package sometime before June 2015.
6. Louis van Gaal As mentioned in the introduction, predicting which managers will lose their job is pretty much a 50/50 guess and Louis van Gaal’s season could go either way. He definitely won’t be the first to go, but fail to build on last season’s poor performance and like Moyes, he’s unlikely to be given another chance. Having made some good signings so far, there’s no reason the Red Devils won’t be at least back in the top four by May. However, losing Vidic and Ferdinand, while not his fault, is a massive blow. Getting the best out of Rooney, Mata, Kagawa and van Persie is key too and if he fails on these accounts it could all be over sooner than expected.
5. Mauricio Pochettino Tottenham haven’t been shy in firing managers in the past decade as the club looks to reach the Champions League once again. Spending millions last season with only Christian Eriksen appearing to match his price tag proved underwhelming. Although Tim Sherwood steered them to a fifth place finish, the owners instead opted for Pochettino to lead them into the 2014/15 season. His fantastic season with Southampton was the perfect advertisement for his services, but the tricky issue of how to get the best out of last year’s expensive signings such as Soldado and Lamela while breaking into the top four will be a much sterner test for the Argentinian. This will be his biggest managerial job so far and he could well thrive. On the other hand, it may too prove too much and with impatient owners Tottenham will still have to be in contention for fourth place at least by Christmas for him to stay.
4. Alan Irvine Most bookies' favourite to be the first for the sack (presumably given that West Brom fired two managers last season, showing they’re unafraid to let heads roll when they feel necessary), Alan Irvine also has no experience managing in the Premier League. West Brom have already strengthened their squad with the free signings of Craig Gardner and Joleon Lescott, but if there’s ever something that ups the pressure for a coming season it’s breaking the club transfer record, which West Brom have done in acquiring Brown Ideye for £10m. Irvine will have to hope he can make the bookies look stupid and that these new players live up to their reputations, otherwise another relegation scrap and he’ll be making a lot of football fans a few quid.
3. Harry Redknapp Promoted teams are normally tipped to go down and their managers the first to be sacked as they struggle with the demands of the Premier League. With money behind them and recent experience in the top flight, QPR and their manager are under the most pressure of all three promoted teams to at least stay up this season. A poor start mean the end for Harry Redknapp, much like his predecessor at QPR, Mark Hughes, who was fired in November 2012 as the club languished at the bottom of the Premier League. Bringing Rio Ferdinand in on a free could prove vital, but they’ll need to make further additions to the squad to avoid another relegation battle.
2. Paul Lambert Having finished just five points above the relegation places in 15th place for the two seasons he’s been in charge of Aston Villa, Paul Lambert has hardly made much of a positive impact at the club. Knocked out of the FA Cup by Sheffield United in January as well, it was another miserable season for the club (only scalps against Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and West Brom likely to be remembered). Unless there is a dramatic change and Villa move away from their relegation battling situation to one that at the very least challenges the top ten, then fans and eventually the owners are sure to get on Lambert’s back. The addition of Roy Keane shows change could be on the cards and it could prove pivotal or destructive in the long run for Villa and Lambert.
1. Alan Pardew Predicting what will happen on Tyneside over an entire season can be a fruitless affair. There’s always plenty of drama on and off the field, but it hardly ever pans out how fans would expect (eg still no silverware). As the Premier League’s second longest serving manager to a club with some of the most loyal supporters in the country, Alan Pardew has had numerous ups and downs at Newcastle United. After headbutting Hull City’s David Meyler in March many thought Pardew would be gone and after the dreadful second half of the season the Magpies suffered it wouldn’t have been that surprising. He hung onto his job, but one more slip on the touchline or if Newcastle’s poor form continues in the early stages of the 2014/15 season then the axe will surely fall this time.
