Premier League Sack Race: 5 managers who could be fired before the end of the season

3. Eddie Howe

Has Eddie Howe's reign at Bournemouth gone stale?

One of the Premier League’s longest-serving bosses, Eddie Howe has been in charge of Bournemouth now for over 7 years, but despite taking the Cherries to heights that few of their fans could’ve imagined years ago, 2019-20 could well turn out to be the season in which his reign comes to an unfortunate end.

Bournemouth won their most recent league game this week, defeating Brighton 3-1, but prior to that game they hadn’t won since December 14th, and were coming off a run of 4 straight losses. It’s true that the Cherries have had a lot of injury issues this season, losing key men like Joshua King, David Brooks and Nathan Ake for periods, but that can’t excuse some of their worst performances.

More worryingly, it feels like Howe’s methods may no longer be working like they once were; Callum Wilson had failed to score for a run dating back to September before finding the net this week, while Dominic Solanke – who was once a hot prospect – has just not developed at all since moving to the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth will most likely give Howe every chance of turning the club’s current situation around; he’s a legend on the South Coast for his work, and it’d probably be an unpopular decision to fire him even if the Cherries were relegated. But it’s also hard to shake the feeling that, like Mauricio Pochettino’s reign at Tottenham, his reign at the Vitality Stadium has simply become too stale for its own good.