Firing managers in the Premier League is commonplace.
10 have already been fielded this season, including two at Southampton, and if we have another between now and the end of the campaign, it will be a record in the competition’s 32-year history.
History tells us that it doesn’t always work. Indeed, of the 39 sackings made from March onwards in Premier League history, only seven have led to an improvement in the league’s standing.
So, as the Premier League season prepares to restart after the international break and with the bottom nine clubs separated by just four points, which of the nine trigger-happy presidents has had the biggest bounce in their decision to go after a coach?
bournemouth
Having spent very little money since promotion last season, Bournemouth sacked Parker after four games once he began publicly complaining about it. The first club to sack a boss this season, they did not seem to have a succession plan in place and gave Gary O’Neil the job on an interim basis.
After taking over on an interim basis, Gary O’Neil remains Bournemouth’s head coach seven months later.
Seven months later he still has it. The Cherries have had an odd noteworthy result, such as the recent home win over Liverpool, but O’Neil has failed to achieve long-term growth. The club have won just five league games out of 23 under his tenure.
chelsea
Chelsea spent £280m on new players in the summer, then sacked their manager after just seven games. A move straight out of the Roman Abramovich era, it was actually new owner Todd Boehly’s first big call and was designed to signal a shift in thinking: away from the boom and bust years and in with a long-term strategy.
It has worked? Well, it depends on who you ask. Some already see Graham Potter as a small-time manager with a small-time perspective, while those with brains reckon the former Brighton manager just needs time to pull off one of the biggest cultural shifts in modern English football history. .
Potter’s stats aren’t great, it’s true, but the Champions League can still help save him.
Wolves
When Wolves sacked Lage after eight games into the Premier League season, they were actually reacting to a slump dating back to last season, Wolves having won just one of their last 15 and losing 13 of those. 22 previous.
So the evidence to make a trade was overwhelming, but it remains to be seen if they named the right man in Julen Lopetegui. Wolves may have slipped towards mid-table, but they have played two more games than 18th-placed West Ham and are just three points ahead. They also have a difficult encounter. There may still be trouble ahead.
The jury is still out on Julen Lopetegui, but the wolves have crept up on the table below him.
astonville
Villa acted decisively when they realized the Steven Gerrard era had come to a standstill and got two things right in October. They sacked the former England captain quickly, after just 11 games into the season, and replaced him with the right man.
Villa have added 26 points in 15 games under Unai Emery averaging 1.7 points per game. That would have seen Villa finish sixth last season, so perhaps it bodes well for the 2023-24 season with the experienced Spaniard.
southampton
Southampton used to be known for its strategic planning, intelligence and foresight. Not now. This season the club from the south coast has jumped from one bad decision to another and is currently headed for the Championship with Rubén Selles as coach.
Selles was assistant to the two men sacked at St Mary’s this season and seems well acquainted with their bad habits. Southampton have won just two of their seven games in charge.
Everton
Do you see what happens when a club hands over the reins to an experienced and talented manager? Everton had not won in 10 games under Frank Lampard when he was sacked at the end of January. Everton were lucky when Marcelo Bielsa turned them down because the former Leeds boss would have needed too much time to implement his unique methods.
But when they turned to survivalist Sean Dyche, they got the boost they needed. Dyche has bolstered Everton’s defense and three 1-0 home wins and a draw at Chelsea have seen him top the table.
Everton seem to have turned the page since they appointed Sean Dyche as manager
leeds
Leeds gave Marsch around £140m to spend in the year he was at Elland Road, but American football was disorganized and chaotic to the last.
However, so were Leeds’ attempts to replace him, with Spain’s Javi Gracia only appointed after other candidates turned down the role.
Gracia has Premier League experience from his time at Watford a few years ago, but his club’s current position remains precarious.
A 4-2 win at Wolves just before the international break gave them a boost, but three straight home games following Saturday’s trip to Arsenal now look pivotal.
crystal Palace
Palace dumped Roy Hodgson two summers ago as they wanted the club and team to assume a more progressive and forward-thinking identity. Now, at the first sign of trouble, they fired his replacement Vieira and hired Hodgson back.
Panic? you could say it Hodgson is 75 and has been given the job of keeping Palace on its feet, even though he has never been in any real danger of collapsing. Without a win since New Year’s Eve, Palace can’t say his fate isn’t in his own hands.
Of his remaining 10 games, eight are against fellow wrestlers.
tottenham
Cristian Stellini will manage Tottenham until the end of the season after the departure of Antonio Conte from the club
Having once sacked a manager, José Mourinho, in the week leading up to the Carabao Cup final, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has now gone a step further and dumped a guy who has them in the places in the Champions League.
But that’s not to say Levy is wrong. Conte has been writing the longest resignation letter in football history this season and finally put his signature at the bottom of it with his extraordinary display of narcissism after the recent draw against Southampton.
So Conte had to go and the good news for Levy is that his temporary replacement, his assistant Cristian Stellini, actually did quite well while the Italian was on bed rest following recent gallbladder surgery.
So in the Spurs, for once, there is hope…