This season hasn’t been too bad. Bruno Lage, Ralph Hassenhuttl, Scott Parker, Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel have been the managers to have lost their job this season, but there are a few others that are looking over their shoulder.
The recently appointed Nathan Jones is one of them. Jones, who replaced the popular Hassenhuttl, has lost eight of his 13 games. Within that sequence, The Saints won 2-0 against Manchester City, but that’s in danger of being a one-off performance.
Southampton over the years were the great escape artists, but with the South Coast club rooted to the foot of the table, that’s appearing to be a tall order. With the greatest respect and all the goodwill for Nathan Jones, he wasn’t the right man for Southampton.
Who was the right man? Debate that amongst yourselves, but maybe Carlos Corberán would have been a good fit, after all the Spaniard is excelling with West Brom, so don’t discount him.
With Welshman Jones, he struggled with Stoke and only has excelled with Luton Town. Of course, that’s a respectable achievement, but the job at St Mary’s seems a step too far.
In what’s going to be a common theme here, but other managers who will be looking over their shoulder is West Ham manager David Moyes, whose Hammers side are perilously close to the relegation zone.
The East London side, who spent in excess of £150 million on new players this summer, have seen those signings struggle to settle in on the whole. On top of that Jared Bowen and Michail Antonio who was West Ham’s top scorer last season, have not been able to emulate their superb form of last season.
With West Ham, the too good to go down argument will be argued, but over the years, we have learnt such an argument doesn’t have a foundation.
Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers was another manager seeming to be close to the sack, but a mini-revival in the last 10 games or so, has seen The Foxes closer to mid-table comfort.
As you would have noticed, I have not mentioned Gary O’Neil and that’s simply because, he came in, in difficult circumstances for Bournemouth, but the way the Premier League works and how harsh it can be, don’t be surprised if he too is sacked.
All the managers we have listed, are of course in the bottom half of the league. It’s tough down there and the pressure is arguably more for managers at the bottom of the Premier League than the top.
Having said that, Graham Potter of Chelsea is a man under real pressure, but to say that is ridiculous in itself. The former Brighton manager has barely been in the job at Stamford Bridge, and he’s already in the firing line?
With Todd Boehly, anything is possible. Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has seemed to have escaped the firing line, which I think is fair, as the Italian isn’t getting backed enough in the market.
Conte is a winner, he’s proved it, been there done that and worn the t-shirt. This is the same thing that can be said of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The legendary Liverpool manager, whose Liverpool side are ninth, just might be under pressure.
I can’t believe I am typing such nonsense, but football doesn’t have morals any more. The sacking of Thomas Tuchel, made me realise that.
Former Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea manager Tuchel was sacked despite helping Chelsea win the Champions League and helping them to two domestic finals last year.
Tuchel had enough credit in the back. Yes, his Chelsea side were on a bad run, but do me a favour, every manager has one of those! As unbelievable as this sounds, Jurgen you might want to avoid meeting John Henry, uncomfortable conversations could be waiting for you.
Such is the world of football managers.
Here at the-sports-buff.com, we have enjoyed serving you the readers. Thank you for your support and your feedback. We are aiming to grow, and we need your help.
We please need your support as we look to grow and improve our site. With as little or as much as you can do to our site to grow, so it be one of the pioneers of sports that we know it can be, we appreciate if you can donate, as much or as little as you can. With your donation, we are determined to donate part of it to a local sports community centre.
Nothing is quite as powerful as sport is. Thank you.
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
Leave a Reply