We’re now 10 games into the new Premier League season and already three managers have lost their jobs. Fare thee well, Brendan Rodgers, Dick Advocaat and Tim Sherwood: You will forever stand as loving, touchline-straddling reminders of the increasingly fleeting nature of top-flight English football management in the modern era.
No sooner had the wolf pack circled around Sherwood at Aston Villa, chewing through his gilet to tear apart his bloodied managerial corpse, than the rumour mill swung into its speculative best to gage who might be next.
So who’s next to be swallowed whole by the demands of managing in the greatest league in the world (TM)? With just over a quarter of the season gone, let’s take a look at all 20 managers and grade them from ‘totally safe’ to “Hello is that Mandy? Hi Mandy… yes, I need you to update my CV as soon as you can please, dear…”
Premier League managers – who’s next for the sack?
Absolutely Safe (aka The Arsene Wenger Zipcoat Award for Security)
Arsene Wenger
The award is named after him, so you can be pretty sure the brooding French veteran is on safe ground.
Though a calamitous opening day defeat to West Ham had the #WengerOut brigade out in full force, Arsene Wenger has weathered a storm that perennially seems to be one game way from a full on hailstorm at Arsenal, steering the ship to joint-first in the league and a cathartic 2-0 win over Bayern Munich that put their Champions League aspirations right back on track.
Talks of a new contract until 2019 are now in the offing, and you can be sure that the man who has marauded the touchline for nearly 20 years in north London will be sticking around for a while yet.
Slaven Bilic, West Ham United
After beating London rivals Chelsea 2-1 at the weekend West Ham ended game 10 among the top ranked teams in the Premier League (3rd) and absolutely laughing.
The Hammers have beaten Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool away and Chelsea at home in Slaven Bilic’s opening ten matches as manager. If he continues at this rate they’ll need spare room in the removal van to carry a gold-plated statue bearing his stern Croatian features on it from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium come the season’s end. Bossing things.
SEE ALSO: West Ham, Everton, Southampton and the Premier League’s new middle class
Claudio Ranieri, Leicester City
After 10 games Leicester City are fifth in the Premier League, just three points off Manchester City at the top. Complete madness, the type of which has celebrity Foxes fan Gary Lineker breathing into his bag of salt and vinegar crisps every week while tweeting through sheer excitement.
It’s quite understandable, too. After 10 games last season Leicester sat in the relegation zone with 10 points less than the 19 they have now – a number which leaves them halfway to safety already with 28 games still to play. No wonder Claudio Ranieri is getting the pizzas in. The first year of his three-year contract is going swimmingly.
Alan Pardew, Crystal Palace
Named by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson as one of the brightest young managers in England today, Alan Pardew continues to do a stellar job down at Selhurst Park. 15 points after 10 games leaves Crystal Palace in 7th, nine points and 12 places above Pardew’s former club Newcastle.
When you consider that he left Newcastle in 10th and joined Palace in 18th at the start of 2015, it’s a turnaround that can’t be ignored when considering Pardew’s abilities as an elite-level coach.
Ronald Koeman, Southampton
Southampton aren’t quite stunning the league like they did last season (they were 2nd this time last year with 22 points – which would put them top if applied to this year’s table) but Ronald Koeman continues to do a fine job down on the south coast.
The Saints underwent another summer of transition after losing more key players, but are getting used to regeneration now and have again done so with a savvy blend of transfer window nous and organic home-grown produce. In their 1-1 draw at Liverpool Koeman’s side showed just how close they are to being a very good team. There’s no way they’re letting go of the Dutch tactician any time soon.
Southampton are a consistent final ball away from being a very, very good side.
— Just Football (@JustFootball) October 25, 2015
Safe (because he just got here)
Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool
Appointed on a deal that automatically makes him one of the Premier League’s best-paid managers, new Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp is on a whopping £7million per year at Anfield – more than double the salary of his predecessor Brendan Rodgers.
Kloppmania has already moved swiftly from Borussia Dortmund to the Kop on Merseyside, with Klopp’s every word and toothy grin cooed over. There’s no doubt this one’s for the long term. Three straight draws to start his tenure is indicative of the task at hand, though.
SEE ALSO: Klopp, Clough, Allison, Mourinho and English football’s cult of the manager
Sam Allardyce, Sunderland
Big Sam has put out so many fires during 24 years of management that Fireman Sam would be a more appropriate sobriquet, and after Dick Advocaat jived his winless hind out of Sunderland there was only one man the Sunderland board were ever going to turn to to save them.
Sam Allardyce has already made a decent enough start, winning the Tyne-Wear derby 3-0 to secure the Black Cats’ first win in 10 games, but the team is so poor even Allardyce has his work cut out saving any remnants from this blazing forest fire.
If Sam Allardyce keeps this Sunderland team in the Premier League he deserves a knighthood tbh.
— Just Football (@JustFootball) October 25, 2015
Safe (but don’t get smart, pal)
Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are quietly having a very promising season thus far; five points off the top, the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League and a team that, in battering Manchester City 4-1, showed they are not to be taken lightly.
The squad also looks leaner, more refreshed and covers more ground than most. You might think this would put Mauricio Pochettino in the ‘absolutely safe’ pile. But this is Spurs we’re talking about, so it’s wise not to get carried away.
Steadily bringing welcome stability and progress, but his bosses will always want more.
Quique Sanchez Flores, Watford FC
Perhaps the Watford manager’s finest achievement to date is in maintaining a complexion so radiant, so glowing, one would think he’d spent the last five months sunning himself on a hammock off the coast of Andalucia rather than indulging in the worry line-inducing rigours of Premier League management.
In his debut campaign in England Quique Sanchez Flores has Watford in 13th with 13 points. Despite a large player turnover in the summer the Hornets are looking pretty good; equipped enough and competitive enough to keep their manager safe for now.
QUIQUE: "The team has an amazing soul" – #watfordfc's Head Coach reacts to @stokecity win. https://t.co/XEuUdUXbzd pic.twitter.com/IzC9Aj3qU4
— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) October 26, 2015
Tony Pulis, West Bromwich Albion
Is Tony Pulis the best defensive coach in England? Since joining West Bromwich Albion in January he’s masterminded a quite incredible 16 clean sheets in his 28 league games to date – astounding when you consider this is for all intents and purposes a run-of-the-mill side who were battling to avoid relegation before Lord Tony of Pulis’ arrival.
Pulis may have some outlandish ideas (like getting international teams to pay club players’ wages – good one, Tony). He may also have the quite weirdly unnerving habit of standing up to do his press conferences. But the 2013/14 Premier League Manager of the Season’s pedigree makes him probably more valuable to the club than any one player.
Louis van Gaal, Manchester United
Manchester United were 10th after 10 games last season, so their current position just two points off the top of the league shows a marked improvement. Despite this, Louis van Gaal isn’t universally adored in Manchester.
His habit of alienating players remains open to question (Memphis Depay and Daley Blind reportedly the latest signings to fall foul of his capricious temperament). The football also rarely thrills supporters, either – an overemphasis on control often making games too methodical to ever excite.
Theoretically United should challenge for the title, which would keep van Gaal safe. But they could just as easily crash out of their Champions League group and falter in the league, which would leave the Dutchman open to severe scrutiny.
Mark Hughes, Stoke City
Some managers just go about their business with little fuss or focus. Like Mark Hughes. You won’t read 1,000 word think pieces about the Stoke City boss, nor witty breakdowns of his mannerisms or touchline attire.
Perhaps that’s why he’s so well-suited to Stoke. After leading the Potters to ninth in both seasons at the club – their highest league finish in the Premier League era – Hughes signed a contract extension until 2019 earlier this year.
“I think it’s exciting times for Stoke City,” Hughes said after penning his new deal. “It’s gone as well as I could have hoped – we’ve certainly kept progressing which is vitally important from my point of view.”
Roberto Martinez, Everton
If history is anything to go by then 10 games is no great gage of how Everton’s season might unfold. They were 7th after 10 games in 2013/14 (and finished 5th), 9th at the same stage last season (finishing 11th) and now sit 11th.
Strangely enough, they have the same number of points now as after 10 games last year, and in that season Roberto Martinez’s job came under real scrutiny from dissatisfied supporters. Owner Bill Kenwright has a pretty sizeable man crush on his Spanish gaffer, though, so Martinez can probably sleep easy.
Eddie Howe, Bournemouth
You have to feel for Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, because the football gods have decided to make his first season as a top-tier manager about as ball-achingly difficult as they could be.
It would be bad enough to lose one of your best players for the whole season. Losing two would be a disaster, but, hey – you fight on. But losing three of them? That’s just harsh.
Callum Wilson, Max Gradel and record signing Tyrone Mings are all absent with long-term injuries for the Cherries, but despite this you’d think there’s no way Bournemouth are dispensing of the services of Howe – their golden boy, Mr. Bournemouth himself – any time soon.
Kinda’ Safe
Manuel Pellegrini, Manchester City
No matter how well Manuel Pellegrini does at Manchester City this season, those Pep Guardiola rumours aren’t going away any time soon. (Don’t believe me? Take a look into the links between Spanish Segunda team Girona, Guardiola’s brother and Manchester City.)
Almost every week in Germany there are questions about the Bayern Munich manager’s non-committal stance, and City being top of the league have done little to quell suggestions that Pellegrini’s days at the Etihad are numbered.
Captain Vincent Kompany’s words on the fallout with his manager post-Manchester derby were telling. “He’s aware he needs to get results and so am I,” he said, almost like a coded message. Perhaps the only thing that can aid the Chilean’s job security is if Pep up sticks to Chelsea before City can grab him.
Alex Neil, Norwich City
While it would be ridiculous to get rid of such a bright young manager, there were one or two noises of discontent squeaking out of Twitter after Norwich City’s third straight defeat last weekend.
Norwich are currently 16th, and their next four games are Manchester City away, Swansea at home, Chelsea (a) and Arsenal (h). It wouldn’t be fair, of course, but the reality of modern day management is that come Watford v Norwich on December 5th Alex Neil could be under real pressure should they fail to win any of those games.
SEE ALSO: The rise and rise of Alex Neil, Norwich City’s no-nonsense manager
Garry Monk, Swansea City
I wrote about the remarkable job Garry Monk has done at Swansea City before the season started, so to see him now listed as third favourite to be the next manager to lose his job comes as something of a surprise. Three wins in 10 games isn’t the best of returns, but whether the rumours about his job security are true or completely made up (like The Mirror’s report that he missed training last week, brilliantly debunked by the club themselves) it’s clear results will need to pick up quickly.
PHOTO: @GarryMonk16 lookalike taking training this morning! #factnotfiction pic.twitter.com/6YSw6UfAKF
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) October 21, 2015
Sleepless Nights
Steve McClaren, Newcastle United
Remember Alan Pardew’s eight-year Newcastle deal? Well, Steve McClaren has a similar clause in his contract allowing the three-year deal to be extended to 2023. Pardew signed that in 2012 and was gone within three. McClaren might not even make it to Christmas.
After Tim Sherwood’s departure he’s now second favourite to go next. Newcastle are 19 th in the table – a far cry from McClaren’s claim that “a club the size of Newcastle United should be winning cups and finishing in the top eight in the Premier League.” The Magpies have gone through nine permanent managers since 2004. Can the former England manager turn things around?
Don’t look down (aka The Tim Sherwood Gilet of Doom Award)
Jose Mourinho, Chelsea
The best manager in the Premier League is also the one with his neck looking most ripe for the guillotine. Could it really be that, not even three months after signing a four-year, £30 million contract extension, Jose Mourinho is but one game away from being sacked by Chelsea?
Mourinho is having a torrid time this season. His team are champions, but they currently sit in 15th after losing five of their 10 league games. His agitated behaviour has alienated many, he’s facing a potential stadium ban, senior players are reportedly braced for his departure and the Chelsea board, despite publicly backing him after the 3-1 defeat at home to Southampton, are now apparently drawing up a list of replacements.
They’re still only nine points off fourth, but the alarming downward spiral shows no signs of abating any time soon. It’s not looking jovial for Jose, the man responsible for three of the five league titles in Chelsea’s entire history.
Who’s next for the chop in your opinion? Let us know below, on Twitter @JustFootball or Facebook.
The post Jose Mourinho in danger at Chelsea but is your gaffer safe? Ranking all 20 Premier League managers on the Tim Sherwood Scale of Doom appeared first on Just Football.