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Everton finally called time on Frank Lampard’s time at Goodison recently and now with West Ham, Southampton and Bournemouth all flirting with the relegation zone and both Leicester City and Leeds looking in trouble, we take a look at some of the managers who are favourites to be leaving their post next.
So far we’ve had six managers departing their jobs early this season; Scott Parker at Bournemouth didn’t make it past August. Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel departed in September followed by Graham Potter leaving Brighton for the Blues shortly after. Wolves’ Bruno Lage was next for the chop in October, followed by Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa. Ralph Hasenhuttl was next to leave his managerial post in November, followed by Frank Lampard getting the boot at Everton in January. Who will be next? We take a look at the favourites and one outsider.
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David Moyes
West Ham finally dragged themselves out of the relegation zone with a win over much-troubled Everton on Saturday last. But they’re not out of trouble by any stretch of the imagination. Looking at their squad everyone and his dog is going to fall for the cliche that they’re too good to go down, and they probably are, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. The Hammers began their Premier League season with just one win in their first seven, a 0-1 away win over an Aston Villa side who themselves started very slowly.
Since those first seven games they’ve played another 13, which saw them taking a total of 14 points from a possible 39, with just four wins and one draw and they went into the World Cup break losing three in-a-row and began back with two straight defeats to Arsenal and Brentford. Since then they threw away a 1-2 lead away to Leeds, drawing 2-2, the Hammers then lost 1-0 away to a Wolves side who are clawing their way up the table since the arrival of Julen Lopetegui. The win against Everton may have bought David Moyes some time but will the suits upstairs continue to back him? Their next three games see them travelling to Newcastle and Spurs with a home game against Chelsea sandwiched in between. That 2-0 win over Everton may just have prolonged the inevitable.
Jesse Marsch
It’s gone a bit unnoticed because they haven’t slipped into the bottom three, but things aren’t exactly rosy at Elland Road right now. Leeds are winless in their last five Premier League games and find themselves sitting just above the drop zone thanks to goal difference. Jesse Marsch probably doesn’t have as much credit in the bank as his predecessor, but the American gaffer hasn’t exactly overseen a dramatic upswing in results as he closes in on his one-year anniversary in the dugout. The Whites host Brentford before a six-pointer against Nottingham Forest at the start of February. The next two games could be key for Leeds.
Gary O’Neil
Things started off pretty decently for Gary O’Neil at the helm of Bournemouth. Following Scott Parker’s dismissal thanks to a 9-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool back in august, O’Neil oversaw the Cherries going on a run of six games without a loss. Since then, however, they’ve played 13 games in all competitions, winning just two games, both against Everton in the Premier League and the League Cup, drawing one and losing 10.
They are really struggling of late, scoring just three goals over their last five fixtures and over their next five fixtures face a rampant Brighton, both of the title hopefuls, Arsenal and Manchester City and Newcastle too, with a relegation six-pointer against Wolves sandwiched in the middle. If they lose that Wolves game, their game may be up and a change might even be too late.
Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte doesn’t look like a happy camper of late in the Spurs’ dugout. Or the touchline, or at press conferences or even in photos taken at daily training sessions. Is he a victim of his own success? After guiding Spurs to a Top 4 finish last season many punters and media types saw them pushing on, especially when the new signings came in over the summer and Harry Kane didn’t leg it up the M40 to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Conte expects more from his players, that’s obvious and he’s always managed that way; tactically he’s one of the best in the business but he needs his squad playing full throttle all the time and the players he has at his disposal have been too inconsistent.
Spurs have won just one of their last five in the league, drawing one and losing three. They are, at least, scoring a decent amount of goals but their defense isn’t doing what a Conte defence should be.
When shoulders slump and heads go down you know things are awry and with the supporters now turning on Conte as well as rumblings that the national team job might be up for grabs in Rome it’s hard to see him lasting much longer in London.
Brendan Rodgers
After an awful start to the season which saw Leicester City chalking up just one point from their first seven matches, the writing looked to be already on the wall for the Northern Irishman at the King Power. A strong run in October and November however, saw Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes taking 16 points from 24 and things looked to be back on track.
However, lacklustre displays against Newcastle, Liverpool, Fulham and Nottingham Forest since the Premier League returned have highlighted that not all is right at Leicester City. They almost beat Brighton at home over the weekend but fell asleep at the back in the dying moments. They face both Spurs and Arsenal coming to town soon, as well as visits to Villa and Man Untied, Leicester’s problems could be about to get worse. Rodgers has no experience at the wrong end of the table and a safer set of hands might well be brought in to steady the ship.
Jurgen Klopp
A bit of an outsider but bear with us here. In his final season at Borussia Dortmund Jurgen Klopp’s BVB flirted dangerously close to the relegation zone and while there’s little danger of that happening to Liverpool the same cracks are appearing.
He has again failed to bolster a midfield that desperately needed to be improved. One of his best strikers left and was replaced with raw talent rather than a polished article. He has, again, placed too much trust in youth and while these young players might deliver, indeed, probably will deliver, in the future, Liverpool’s problems are now, the future can wait.
His end-of-Dortmund-days playbook saw him coming down even harder on opposing managers and referees and we’re seeing that again too. He’s always been tough on referees but it’s increased this season and he’s more likely to get the knife out on opposing coaches now too. He’s repeating a pattern here and if things don’t improve over the coming fixtures he could be tempted to call it a day, particularly as Hansi Flick’s job as German national team manager isn’t exactly secure back at home.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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