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Following the conclusion of Matchday 24 in the English Premier League, there were a few significant results and upsets with enormous repercussions on the job of those in-charge in the dug-out.
Ideally, the race for the next Premier League manager to be sacked should have a leading candidate from one of the bottom three sides in the league table. However, the pressure in the top half has been too much to handle for some Premier League managers, and with fans voicing their discomfort at the dour football on show, it feels there could only be one outcome.
So who are the three managers currently leading the race for the sack in February? In this article, we share three surprising names who are favorite lose their jobs in the next 28 days.
#3 Claude Puel
At #3 and perhaps the most likely manager to depart until last night’s turn of events is Leicester City head coach Claude Puel. The Frenchman had led the club through difficult times but losses in the domestic cups have been his own downfall.
The Foxes have had a mixed season compounded with the loss of their former chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a tragedy which left not just the club, but the whole city shaken.
The 2016 Premier League champions gained an unlikely point at Anfield on Wednesday to delay Puel’s departure which looks increasingly inevitable with every defeat. Leicester had lost 7 out of their last 10 matches prior to their draw against Liverpool. That run included shock defeats to the likes of Newport County in the FA Cup third round, and Southampton at home in the league.
Even wins against top six sides like Chelsea and Premier League champions Manchester City could not mask their lackluster displays midway through the season against relegation-threatened teams like Cardiff City, who beat Leicester at the King Power.
#2 Marco Silva
Everton’s love affair with Marco Silva has taken an unexpected turn. The Blues are currently in the top half of the Premier League table by virtue of a hard-fought win against bottom club Huddersfield Town and West Ham’s alarming form during the last few weeks.
The Portuguese tactician’s departure from Watford last season ended in acrimonious circumstances after Everton were allegedly rumored to have made an illegal approach to prise him away from Vicarage Road.
As they say in football more often, the grass is not always greener on the other side. The pressure has been piling on Silva following their surprise exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Championship outfit Millwall. That was the Toffees’ sixth defeat in their past nine matches. The Everton fans have started to turn on the former Hull and Watford boss given that the club’s season is all but over.
Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri claimed earlier in January that the manager retained the board’s support but he indicated that their league position was simply not good enough when Everton won just once in eight matches by mid-January.
Silva replied in response to Moshiri’s claims that he is not a ‘magician’ to achieve the Everton owner’s ambitions overnight but promised to bring success in the near future. However, their recent loss in the FA Cup induced the idea that Marco Silva is playing with fire.
#1 Maurizio Sarri
It is only fitting that a leading candidate is a top-six Premier League manager. Maurizio Sarri is currently the oddsmakers’ favorite choice to get the sack as early as next week after Chelsea were soundly beaten by Bournemouth 4-0 at the Vitality stadium. That was the Blues’ worst league defeat in more than 20 years. Recent developments off the field have gathered pace both on Sarri and his players.
According to The Mirror, Sarri locked his entire backroom staff out of the changing rooms after the defeat to the Cherries for an hour-long inquest to his players. That result pushed Chelsea out of the top four by virtue of goals scored, and are only two points ahead of Manchester United in sixth place.
This entire saga had begun after the defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates a few weeks back when former Napoli head coach tore onto his players by publicly criticizing them. He even switched to his native Italian language during the post-match interview to make it clear of his dissatisfaction.
Yet, after enduring Chelsea’s worst league defeat in the Roman Abramovich era, he laid the blame to himself claiming he cannot motivate the players. The sight of Chelsea fans chanting ‘’you don’t know what you are doing’’ when he replaced new signing Gonzalo Higuain with Olivier Giroud only further plummeted Sarri’s stock after making a promising start to his Chelsea reign.
