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With less than 20 games remaining in the 2019-20 edition of the Premier League, things are getting tense for struggling managers at the top and the bottom of the table. Thus far in the current season, 6 bosses have lost their jobs – ranging from Javi Gracia, whose Watford side were stuck to the bottom of the table, to Mauricio Pochettino, who took Tottenham to the Champions League final just months before he was dismissed.
So will there be more victims of the Premier League’s ruthless sack race before the season is out? With teams desperate to stave off the threat of relegation – or equally desperate to secure a Champions League spot for next season – it’s definitely possible.
Here are 5 Premier League managers who could be fired before the end of the season.
1. David Moyes
It seems almost inconceivable that West Ham could join Watford in firing two different managers during 2019-20, but right now the Hammers are on a terrible run, and that means that David Moyes – who was only appointed at the London Stadium on December 29th – could be out of a job before the season is out.
Usually, clubs who appoint a new boss get at least a temporary boost in form – Nigel Pearson’s arrival at Watford, for instance, saw a tremendous turnaround for them, while Jose Mourinho oversaw 4 wins in 5 matches after arriving at Tottenham – but that simply hasn’t happened in the case of Moyes, who won his first game in charge but has failed to pick up a league win since.
The biggest issue is that West Ham haven’t even had what could be described as tricky matches in the month that Moyes has been in charge. Sure, there are no easy games in the Premier League, but the Hammers have faced none of the ‘Big Six’ since his arrival – and against Leicester this week they were simply diabolical in a 4-1 loss.
More worryingly for Hammers fans, their side are set to face off against Liverpool – twice – and Manchester City within their next 4 fixtures. Lose all 3 of those games and the threat of relegation would become very, very real. That’s something that simply wouldn’t be acceptable to West Ham’s owners – who have spent a lot of money, almost £100m this season alone, on attempting to help their club up the table rather than down.
Unless he can turn their results around quickly, Moyes’s second reign at the London Stadium could be over practically before it’s really begun.
2. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Perhaps the Premier League’s most under-fire boss right now, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been given the dreaded “vote of confidence” from Manchester United’s board after this week’s disastrous loss to Burnley, but how much longer the Norwegian can cling onto his job while the Red Devils continue to be so inconsistent is anyone’s guess.
United have actually pulled off some tremendous results this season; the 2-1 victories over Tottenham and Manchester City, their 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day of the season, but they’ve also seen some disastrous ones too, with the Burnley loss being just one of 8. The Red Devils currently sit in 5th place, but it’s hard right now to imagine them staying there, let alone moving into a Champions League spot.
If United do look like they’re about to miss the Champions League again, surely Solskjaer’s position would become untenable, especially given the amount of money he’s continued to spend whilst in charge at Old Trafford. Some pundits – including Roy Keane – have suggested that the Norwegian just needs more transfer windows to fix United’s squad, but it’s not like £80m signing Harry Maguire has really helped matters.
United’s next game comes on Sunday, in an FA Cup tie with either Watford or Tranmere, but despite the cup likely being a secondary concern to the Red Devils’ board, if Solskjaer’s side were to lose that game, it’d be the first time they’ve lost 3 in a row this season. And that could well be enough for Ed Woodward to pull the trigger on the club legend.
3. Eddie Howe
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.
4. Dean Smith
Realistically, it’s unlikely that Aston Villa will dispense of Dean Smith any time soon; had they planned to remove the former Brentford boss from the hot-seat at Villa Park, they likely would’ve done so when the Villains were in the midst of a horrible losing streak a few weeks ago. Now though, after a big win over Watford, they’re finally out of the relegation zone.
But just suppose for a second that Villa do get sucked back into danger – which is a distinct possibility given their sketchy form thus far this season – then could owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris be tempted to remove Smith from power? They’d definitely have their reasons.
Mainly, of all of last season’s promoted sides, Villa would probably be in the most trouble if they are relegated simply due to the fact that they’ve spent a lot of money to get into the Premier League. That could cause them to fall foul of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules – meaning that to avoid further issues, they’d almost certainly have to sell the likes of Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings.
And it’s not like Edens and Sawiris don’t have previous; they dispensed of Steve Bruce ruthlessly in 2018-19 when it became clear that he wasn’t the man to take them into the Premier League. I don’t expect Smith to be fired this season, particularly if Villa can continue to keep up their current form, but he should still be considered in danger while his side are close to the drop zone.
5. Daniel Farke
Norwich City are currently rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, and while last season’s EFL Championship winners aren’t quite marooned just yet – they currently sit 6 points away from safety – it seems painfully clear that the Canaries are likely doomed to relegation.
Few people would blame boss Daniel Farke for Norwich’s issues; he’s overseen a handful of excellent results this season, including a shocking 3-2 upset win over reigning champions Manchester City and a 0-2 win over Everton at Goodison Park, but the fact remains that his side have only won 4 league games during the campaign.
Along the way they’ve let in 47 goals – more than any other side in the Premier League – and while it’s worth giving the German boss some credit for trying to stick to his principles of playing entertaining football, rather than a cruder, more direct style – like Steve Bruce has established at Newcastle – is it that great if it leads to relegation?
The likelihood of Norwich outright firing Farke seems pretty low right now, but it doesn’t feel out of the realm of possibility that the situation at Carrow Road could end up mirroring that at Huddersfield last year, when boss David Wagner left by mutual consent when it became clear that his team were doomed.
