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The Premier League might see a few new faces in the stadium dugouts. After all, with some clubs dramatically underachieving or getting knocked out of important competitions, club directors might move quickly to get a new man at the helm.
Often, managers will get the sack after the club's expectations aren't met. Mauricio Pochettino's high-profile exit from Tottenham in 2019 hit the headlines after sub-par performances from the side. Jose Mourinho has seen quite a few sackings in the Premier League too. Getting the sack happens often in the Premier League, but only after the manager is given a few years to strengthen the team's position.
However, there have been some managers whose managerial debuts in the Premier League went so horribly that their sacking was inevitable and quick. Hardly a rookie, these managers were often legends in their own right, usually succeeding with teams abroad. Call it a jinx or a joke, their short stint in the Premier League ended shamefully as they quickly sought greener pastures in other leagues.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five such managers who could not bring their tactical brilliance to England's top-tier football league.
#5 Louis van Gaal | Manchester United
After David Moyes was sacked by the club, Louis van Gaal was confirmed as Manchester United's new manager in 2014, and he came with a lot of promise. He had won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, the Eredivisie with AZ, and La Liga with Barcelona, while also taking the Netherlands to third place in the 2014 World Cup. Van Gaal looked like the manager who could revitalize Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. Unfortunately, he wasn't.
Notably, van Gaal's record with Manchester United - a 52.43% win rate - is the worst of his entire managerial career. Mixed results saw the club slip from a fourth-place finish in his first season to a fifth-place finish in his sophomore year. It didn't come as a shock when Louis van Gaal was fired from the club, even though he won the FA Cup with the side.
#4 Felix Magath | Fulham
When Fulham signed the German manager in February 2014, it looked like a brilliant coup. The club were in dire straits at the time, and with 12 games to go in the season, were struggling to get out of the relegation zone. Felix Magath seemed like the right choice, especially because he had famously led clubs - including FC Nurnberg, Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen - out of relegation conundrums in the past.
Their belief in the manager's capabilities, however, was quite short-lived. Fulham were relegated to the Championship within three months of his appointment. Even worse, Magath led Fulham to four consecutive losses at the beginning of their season in the second tier. After eleven consecutive games without a win, Fulham sacked Magath only 7 months into his appointment.
#3 Juande Ramos | Tottenham
Juande Ramos' managerial career was flourishing at Sevilla (where he won the UEFA Cup on consecutive occasions), and Tottenham Hotspur were quick to offer him a contract after they sacked Martin Jol in 2007. Spurs were in the relegation zone at the time and required a change in fortunes. However, they were wrong to assume that the Spanish manager would provide long-term success.
His effect in the club was immediate, with Spurs driving out of the red zone into mid-table comforts while winning the League Cup at the end of the season. However, the club soon returned to mediocrity as the new season saw Juande Ramos's Spurs picked up just two points from eight games. In October 2008, just a year after he was hired, the Spanish manager was sacked and replaced by Harry Redknapp.
#2 Andre Villas-Boas | Chelsea
It's not every day a manager moves from one club to another with a commanding €15 million fee. That, in fact, is just what Chelsea did to get Andre Villas-Boas from Porto, and even though this happened in 2011, it was a world record for a decade. The massive fee paid for him is perhaps the reason why his sub-par performances as manager hit Chelsea all the more hard.
By the close of the winter transfer window in 2012, Chelsea was struggling to get back into the top four positions in the league. After successive defeats, crashing out of the Champions League, and questionable tactics, Villas-Boas was fired. He shockingly spent only 9 months on the job.
#1 Frank de Boer | Crystal Palace
After an illustrious career as a footballer, Frank de Boer's move into management has had its fair share of disastrous moments. Although he won the Eredivisie four times with Ajax, his successes have been few and far between. His failures, however, have generally been consistent. The former Barcelona star will, in particular, want to forever forget his time at the helm of Crystal Palace.
Even though he was sacked by Inter Milan after 14 games in charge, the Eagles still thought he would be worth the chance. He was their worst mistake ever. Hired in June 2017 and fired by September 2017, de Boer lost the first four league games without his team scoring a single goal, breaking a 93-year-old Premier League record.
Jose Mourinho aptly described Frank de Boer as the worst manager in the history of the Premier League, and seeing de Boer's failure with Palace, it's hard to argue with Mourinho.
