We’re halfway through the Premier League season and we’ve already said goodbye to six managers.
Andre Villas-Boas, Martin Jol, Ian Holloway, Steve Clarke, Malky Mackay and Paolo Di Canio have been sacked by their clubs—an astronomical amount, even for England’s standards—but you still get the feeling we’re due a few more.
Here, Discount Football Kits will run the rule over the remaining bosses in trouble and asks whether a) they’ll get the sack and b) whether or not they deserve it.
Chris Hughton, Norwich City
The Canaries are not in a good position, and that means Hughton’s future is under serious scrutiny too.
After approximately £25 million worth of investment this summer—including star signings Leroy Fer, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper—Norwich have 20 points to show for their 21 games in the Premier League.
They’ve been dumped out of both cups, play some drab football at times, RVW has scored just once despite costing around £8 million and the fans are getting restless.
Performance score: 3/10
Likelihood of sacking: 8/10
Sam Allardyce, West Ham United
Allardyce has won temporary favour thanks a vital 2-0 victory at the Cardiff City Stadium last weekend, and both David Gold and David Sullivan have publicly come out in support of their man.
Still, things are going just a little stale at Upton Park, and unless Andy Carroll starts catching fire quickly, this team could still be in a heap of trouble.
The home crowd aren’t happy, and those who travelled to their successive heavy defeats to Nottingham Forest (0-5) and Manchester City (0-6) have voiced their genuine concerns—some more vociferously than others.
Performance score: 3/10
Likelihood of sacking: 5/10
Paul Lambert, Aston Villa
Villa’s season started so well: an away win at Arsenal was followed up by narrow losses to Liverpool and Chelsea; at Stamford Bridge, they were good value for a victory but for poor refereeing decisions.
But since then it’s gone completely downhill, with Christian Benteke’s injury creating a series of events that have left Lambert’s side playing hoof ball and losing more often than not.
Grant Holt signing this month has accelerated the #LambertOut campaign to new levels, and if home performances don’t get any better, the stands won’t be any more polite.
Ryan Bertrand arriving on loan has bought him temporary favour.
Performance score: 4/10
Likelihood of sacking: 2/10
Michael Laudrup, Swansea City
Despite playing some rather fancy football, Michael Laudrup’s Swans are languishing in 13th place.
They’re sandwiched between Stoke and West Bromwich Albion—two far less talented sides—in the table, and the overall season has been a disappointment thus far.
The home fans have enjoyed glorious Thursday evenings in the Europa League, but Laudrup has failed to balance those exciting games with the rigour of the Premier League slog.
They’re far below where they should be and play better football than everyone around them, although injuries to key players such as Michu hasn’t helped.
Performance score: 6/10
Likelihood of sacking: 1/10
David Moyes, Manchester United
The United-Moyes disharmony has continued into 2014, and their 2-0 victory over Swansea City last weekend snapped an incredible three-game losing streak for the club.
Without Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie this side has made for grim viewing, and the lack of star quality—those two apart—has allowed many to realise how grave the situation at Old Trafford is.
The squad Sir Alex Ferguson left was not good, it lacks elite players and has lost its cloak of invincibility. The title’s a pipe dream, the top four a challenge, but is it the Scot’s fault?
The working conditions left for him could not have been any shoddier
Performance score: 4/10
Likelihood of sacking: 2/10
Let us know which manager you think is next on the chopping block by commenting below.
