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The 2019-20 season in the Premier League has already seen a total of 6 managerial changes, and with bosses like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United and Eddie Howe at Bournemouth under immense pressure right now, it seems likely we’ll see at least one or two more before the end of the campaign.
Amongst all of the other unpredictability that a Premier League season brings, managerial changes are one thing that can almost be guaranteed. But 2019-20 pales in comparison with some of the past seasons in terms of the amount of managers who found themselves relieved of their duties.
Here are the top 5 Premier League seasons that saw the most managerial changes.
Note: For the following article I have chosen to ignore managerial changes that took place in the months between seasons, and only taken permanent managers into account.
#5 2015-16: 8 changes
Two other Premier League seasons – 2004-05 and 2007-08 - also saw 8 managerial changes, but 2015-16 makes it onto this list above them for its number of sackings; 6 as compared to 2004-05’s 3 and 2007-08’s 4 respectively.
Looking back at 2015-16 shows a pretty consistent pattern when it comes to the clubs who changed their manager; of the 8 changes that took place, 6 of them came at sides who were stranded in the bottom 5 of the table, with Roberto Martinez of Everton being the only exception. The Spaniard lost his job on May 12th with the Toffees sitting in 12th place, having gone on a run of just 1 win in 10 games.
By far the most high-profile casualty of 2015-16 was Jose Mourinho of Chelsea. The Portuguese had led the Blues to the Premier League title in 2014-15, but after a diabolical start to the campaign, Mourinho was fired on December 17th. At the time Chelsea sat in 16th place, and with just 4 victories to their name, were in very real danger of becoming the first Premier League champions to be relegated in the following season.
Other bosses to lose their jobs included Dick Advocaat of Sunderland, Brendan Rodgers of Liverpool, Garry Monk of Swansea and Steve McClaren of Newcastle United. Aston Villa changed boss twice – firing Tim Sherwood in October and Remi Garde in March – but it didn’t save them, as they were relegated after finishing bottom of the league.
#4 2008-09: 9 changes
The 2008-09 season saw 9 managerial changes, with two clubs being forced to switch manager twice. Those sides were Newcastle United and Portsmouth, with very different circumstances leading them to their switches.
Newcastle saw Kevin Keegan resign just a month into the campaign after clashes with the Magpies’ board, most notably Director of Football Dennis Wise and club owner Mike Ashley. ‘King Kev’ was controversially replaced by Joe Kinnear, but after a shambolic reign, he left the club citing health issues in March 2009, with Alan Shearer taking the reins to avoid relegation.
Portsmouth meanwhile lost longtime boss Harry Redknapp to Tottenham, who became the first club to fire a manager in 2008-09. They dispensed with Juande Ramos – still the last Spurs manager to win a trophy – in October after a disastrous start to the campaign saw them stranded at the bottom of the table. Redknapp turned things around though, and Spurs finished 8th.
Portsmouth didn’t fare too well without Redknapp, though; Arsenal legend Tony Adams was given the manager’s spot in October, but only oversaw two wins until he was dismissed in February. A slight improvement in form under caretaker Paul Hart saw Pompey just about avoid relegation.
Elsewhere, Alan Curbishley and Roy Keane resigned from their jobs at West Ham and Sunderland respectively, while Blackburn dispensed of Paul Ince in December after a run of poor results. Chelsea meanwhile changed boss for the second season in a row, firing Brazil’s Luiz Felipe Scolari in February after it became clear he could not lead them back to the Premier League title.
#3 1994-95: 9 changes
1994-95 is remembered as the Premier League’s ‘Season of Controversy’, and so it comes as no surprise to learn that the campaign saw 9 managerial changes. This was the first season that the so-called ‘managerial merry-go-round’ became a topic of discussion, as the previous two Premier League seasons had seen only a handful of switches.
The season’s most controversial change was easily George Graham’s firing by Arsenal. The Scottish boss had been highly successful at Highbury and while the club sat in a disappointing 12th position when he was dismissed, the reason for his sacking wasn’t due to on-pitch issues; Graham was fired after admitting to taking illegal “bungs” during the purchase of two players 3 years earlier.
Arsenal’s North London rivals Tottenham also made a managerial change early on; club legend Ossie Ardiles was sacked with Spurs sitting in 11th place, as it became clear that his kamikaze style of football – he would often start with 5 or 6 attacking players – wasn’t sustainable across a season. Gerry Francis was appointed as the new boss at White Hart Lane on November 15th – the same day that he resigned at QPR.
More controversy came at Leicester City, as boss Brian Little – who had led the Foxes into the Premier League during the previous season – resigned in November with the club in 20th place. Little cited exhaustion as his reasoning, but that proved to be questionable as just 3 days later he was installed as Aston Villa’s new boss, replacing the fired Ron Atkinson.
Atkinson – who was fired by Villa in early November – also didn’t have to wait long for a new job. He headed to Coventry City, who dispensed of Phil Neal in February after a run of poor results. Elsewhere, Everton sacked Mike Walker, and John Lyall and John Deehan resigned from their spots at Ipswich and Norwich respectively.
#2 2013-14: 10 changes
The 2013-14 Premier League season saw 10 managerial changes, but the biggest one turned out to be the final switch of the campaign. Manchester United – who were coming into the season as reigning champions – fired David Moyes less than a year after he’d moved to Old Trafford from Everton.
As Sir Alex Ferguson’s personally selected successor, the Scotsman was christened ‘The Chosen One’ by Red Devils fans – but after stumbling through the season, he was dismissed in April when it became painfully clear that the club were not going to finish in the top 4 and qualify for the Champions League.
Tottenham were another one of the league’s bigger clubs to dispense of their boss; Andre Villas-Boas left by mutual consent in December after a 0-5 loss to Liverpool, despite only losing 2 of his previous 8 games. And Michael Laudrup of Swansea became a surprise casualty; he was fired with the club in 12th after a sticky run that saw them win just 1 game in 10.
The other bosses to face the axe were all in charge of struggling clubs; Paolo Di Canio of Sunderland, Ian Holloway of Crystal Palace, Martin Jol of Fulham, Steve Clarke of West Bromwich Albion, Malky Mackay of Cardiff and Chris Hughton of Norwich were all sacked with their clubs either in or hovering around the relegation zone.
In the end, Sunderland, Palace and West Brom saved themselves, while Norwich, Fulham and Cardiff were relegated. Things were even more sour for the Cottagers, as they were also forced to sack a second boss – Rene Meulensteen – when it was obvious that he was incapable of saving them too.
#1 2017-18: 10 changes
A quite frankly ludicrous run of 9 managers being fired – with the 10th, Alan Pardew of West Bromwich Albion, leaving by mutual consent – puts the 2017-18 season at the top of the list. The Baggies were also the only side to switch boss twice, after firing Tony Pulis earlier in the season – meaning that nearly half of the Premier League’s sides made a change during this campaign.
The first man to go was Crystal Palace boss Frank de Boer. After a horrendous run saw the Eagles lose their first 4 games, the Dutchman was fired and replaced by former England boss Roy Hodgson. Hodgson would lose a further 3 matches in a row, but eventually turned things around with Palace finishing in a respectable 11th place.
Things didn’t get any better for Swansea and Stoke after they fired Paul Clement and Mark Hughes within weeks of one another, though. Both bosses were sacked with the clubs in the relegation zone, and replacements Carlos Carvalhal and Paul Lambert were unable to stave off the spectre of relegation. West Brom were also relegated after their 2 changes in the hot-seat.
Controversy also abounded in 2017-18 around the fate of Watford’s Marco Silva. The Portuguese boss oversaw a strong start to the campaign, and when Everton dispensed of Ronald Koeman in October, they wanted to appoint Silva as their new manager. Watford refused to let their man leave – but it became clear that his head had been turned, and a poor run saw them win just 1 game in 12 matches, resulting in his sacking.
Other bosses to lose their jobs in this tumultuous season were Craig Shakespeare of Leicester City, who was fired after less than a year in the hot-seat, Slaven Bilic of West Ham, and Mauricio Pellegrino of Southampton.
