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With the sacking of Premier League Managers becoming more frequent nowadays, it is hard to know who will out of a job. There are few teams which stick to their Manager and put their faith in him to deliver. Most teams decide to fire the manager right away irrespective of whether the man has had at least a season to get into the groove. In this article, we take a look at 5 managers who are most likely going to be looking for alternative employment by the end of this season.
Mark Hughes; Stoke City
Hughes has had a mixed start so far. Stoke is currently in the 16th position, not a usual place for them.
He’s also spent a lot of money which means the board may be patient with him. There’s a definite change of style in the way The Potters are playing as they keep the ball moving on the field.
However, the recent result against Norwich will be pretty hard to swallow for Stoke City fans. They would have expected their team to win against the likes of Norwich especially at The Britannia.
If they still find themselves near the bottom around Christmas, Hughes might expect the chop.
Chris Hughton; Norwich City
The man who recently beat Hughes is not far from danger himself. He’s been under fire and has been under a lot of scrutiny from the media too.
With the players he has, it cannot be expected they will be pushing into the top half. Van Wolfswinkel is a decent signing and Hughton will be hoping he can score the goals that save his job at Carrow Road. Norwich must stabilise themselves before looking up the league. Injury concerns have not helped his cause either.
They’re currently at the 18th, and Hughton will hope to improve their position, fast. However, upcoming fixtures against heavyweights like Arsenal and the Manchester sides won’t help Hughton chances.
Martin Jol; Fulham
Martin Jol has the strongest squad of a recent Fulham generation, yet they are not as feared as they should be.
Berbatov, Bent and Ruiz should give any defence nightmares. The Cottagers have a strong enough squad to be pushing for a Europa League spot, a competition where they reached the final in 2010, losing to Atletico Madrid. They are better than a mid-table team, but are currently struggling in 17th.
Jol has been left with precious few friends on the board, the playing staff or in The Cottagers’ Academy – who feel he has neglected promising youth players – and could be axed in the near future. Rene Meulensteen, SAF’s right hand man at Old Trafford, is now the front-runner to replace his countryman.
Alan Pardew; Newcastle United
Alan Pardew’s revamping hasn’t really paid off at Newcastle, making them a team that looks a mere shadow of their former selves.
Ever since Demba Ba left for Chelsea, things have taken a turn for the worse. They finished 16th last year, five points off the relegation zone. Most Newcastle fans will see this as too close for comfort. Have they been found out after Pardew’s first season in charge went so well?
They may struggle again this year, and their manager will struggle to keep his job if they do. The re-addition of Joe Kinnear to the staff has already undermined Pardew’s authority, are the board pushing him out?
Pardew will have to drastically improve his team’s chances if he hopes to keep his job.
Manuel Pelligrini; Manchester City
Yes, you read that right.
Manuel Pellegrini has come into a job that is expected to deliver instant trophies and success, especially since the team’s fueled by an astronomical budget.
His squad additions have had some mixed reviews. Negredo showed his class with the finish against Bayern, but City weren’t lacking up front. Fernandinho for £30 million has raised some eyebrows.
While City have outshined their cross-city rivals so far, the same cannot be said of their fellow title contenders. City currently rank 5th in the points table and while it’s still too early to say anything of consequence, their inconsistency might be a huge obstacle in their road to the title.
If City crash out of the Champions League and sit 10 points off the title at Christmas, there could be trouble for Pellegirini.
