Safe, secure and comfortable. If life as a Premier League manager is to be summed up in three words, these would not make the cut. Indeed, this is not your average job market, and a run of poor results can see managers put under severe pressure right from the word go. Heck, sometimes the starting gun is still ringing in people’s ears when managers are being shown the door – does anyone remember Frank De Boer’s goalless 4 game tenure as Crystal Palace manager a couple of years back? Today, we take a look at 4 managers who could be out of a job first this season.
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
As Frank Lampard lay in bed the night before his Premier League bow in the Chelsea dugout, I doubt he could have ever imagined it would go so badly. Granted, there are several players still to come into that Chelsea line-up to provide a much needed injection of quality (Rudiger and Kante to name a couple), but a 4-0 humbling at Old Trafford really was a brutal beginning to Lampard’s fairytale job. As Chelsea’s transfer ban looms large, fierce debate has been sparked about whether this makes Frank’s job less pressurised, or whether he has walked into a ticking time bomb. One thing is for certain, expectations will be dramatically lower at Stamford Bridge this season following Hazard’s departure and the ban being upheld. For the first time since the early-2000s, Lampard’s brief would realistically have been to guide the club to a 4th place finish. However, even though he has been set a much lower objective than the Ancelotti’s, Scolari’s and Mourinho’s that preceded him, with the current crop of players a Champions League spot may very well be a bridge too far. A huge factor in that is Hazard’s departure, without the magnificent Belgian Chelsea lack a world class presence on the pitch who can grab games by the scruff of the neck and claim 3 points single-handedly. Secondly, Lampard’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation which he has begun the season with is not ideal for what he has at his disposal. £50m midfielder Jorginho was essentially purchased for the sole purpose of fitting into Maurizio Sarri’s footballing philosophy; a slow, unspectacular player who is an expert at keeping the ball moving from the middle of the park. Whilst he is a fantastic option as the deepest of a midfield three, he would have to adapt his game hugely to fit into Lampard’s double-pivot that screens the back four. Furthermore, even with the return of the hugely impressive Antonio Rudiger, a defensive unit containing Emerson, Andreas Christensen and Kepa Arrizabalaga is simply not of top four standard, particularly when teams around and below them are smelling blood. Indeed, it is entirely conceivable that aside from dropping out of the top four, Chelsea could risk dropping out of the top six altogether with Leicester, Wolves and Everton sure to be breathing down their necks. Amid Graeme Souness and Jose Mourinho’s jousting match on Sky Sports a couple of weeks ago, the Portuguese did raise a valid point that Lampard’s legend status and Chelsea’s tricky situation is sure to buy the Englishman more time. However, a poor start to the season could easily have people pointing towards a lack of pedigree, knowledge and experience in coping with such a situation. It is all speculative at this stage, but if Chelsea begin to languish in mid-table then the legendary status held by Lampard is sure to count for little.
Sean Dyche (Burnley)
Let’s get it straight, with Burnley’s squad they should have been relegated many seasons ago. Weekends at Turf Moor really are like being transported back to the 1980s: defenders who clear the ball, wingers who cross balls in, and two big lumps up front who kick or header the ball really hard into the other team’s goal. Essentially, that is Burnley’s footballing philosophy and Sean Dyche has got it down to a fine art; be very difficult to get through, restrict opponents to shots from distance, and give polished defenders a tough, physical afternoon. It’s certainly not tiki-taka, Sarriball or rock ‘n’ roll but in 2017/18 it lead Burnley to an unthinkable 7th place finish, within touching distance of Arsenal. However, last season’s 15th place finish was a crash back down to Earth and you start to think that maybe, just maybe the grumbling goatee ambassador’s race has been run. After a summer transfer window with a painful lack of optimism with Drinkwater, Pieters and Rodriguez headlining, the best case scenario for the coming season is realistically to be secure in the lower realms of mid-table. However, it is much more likely that Turf Moor will be embroiled in a relegation fight one way or another. As I said, with the squad the way it is Premier League survival would not be such a terrible outcome, but let’s not forget that Dyche himself put this thoroughly uninspiring squad together. Ultimately it boils down to whether, after 8 years in charge, owners and fans are happy to observe a stagnating team, or whether they feel the urge to have another roll of the dice. The utmost respect for his achievements with Burnley over the past few seasons, but if this is to be another tough season for Burnley (which I suspect it might), then it might be an early bath Dyche.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United)
The culmination of the Mourinho era at Old Trafford really was a bleak time for United fans. Poor results, poor performances and star players at loggerheads with the manager made it the perfect time for the baby faced assassin to waltz in and lighten the mood. Low and behold, Ole won his first 8 games in a row, Paul Pogba was putting in his strongest and most fruitful displays in a United shirt and fans bellowed ‘Ole’s at the wheel!’ from the terraces. It was euphoria at Old Trafford, I even had one fan tell me that Ole was the best manager in the Premier League (yes, seriously). The truth is, there are a lot of big egos in this Manchester United team, and the buoyant mood that emerged from the so-called ‘new manager bounce’ appeared to give them something of a new lease of life. However, that bounce became thoroughly deflated when United closed out the season with 2 wins in their final 12 games to splutter to a 6th place finish. Despite this, the board has backed Solskjaer in the summer transfer market to bring in, among others, world record £80m defender Harry Maguire so there is still hope that the red devils can rediscover the form that characterised the glory of Ole’s early weeks at the helm. Judging by last season’s dramatic peak and trough, what certainly is present for United in the coming season is a sense that things really could go either way. In letting Romelu Lukaku join Inter Milan, United have sold a proven Premier League goalscorer and are now gambling on Rashford, Martial and Greenwood to produce goalscoring form that has so far been absent in their Manchester United careers. Don’t get me wrong, I think a fast, counter-attacking United front three can be hugely exciting to watch, but it is risky business selling a guaranteed goalscorer without replacement, and failure to produce the goods could be curtains for Solskjaer. The real key to United’s success however is Paul Pogba – plain and simple. Hoards of fans were calling for the Frenchman’s head last season due to his lazy streak and inconsistency. Indeed, Pogba could not be blamed if he was to leave due to the treatment he received from some fans in a season where he was still United’s most influential player. In Pogba we are talking about a potential future Balon D’or winner who is the only remotely world class player in United’s midfield ranks. Europe’s giants are sniffing around him, if he stays and the front three step up to the plate then United could credibly make a top four push, but if he leaves then it may not be long before Ole must hand the keys to someone else.
Steve Bruce (Newcastle)
As a boyhood fan, becoming Magpies boss was the position Steve Bruce had always dreamed of, but he may have just landed it at the worst possible time. The truth is, a lower-mid-table side were blessed to be lead by someone with the tactical nouse and elite-level pedigree of Rafa Benitez. The fans knew it, they feared the day that he may up sticks and leave as they knew deep down that his replacement would almost certainly be a damage limitation job. Bruce really has stepped into the lion’s den in taking this job on. With neutrals practically expecting failure and fans pessimistic for the season ahead, it would not take a hugely disgraceful run of results for the football world to be on his back. Furthermore, Mike Ashley’s historical unwillingness to spend on recruitment is a factor that may have bought previous managers more time, however this summer’s £75m spending bonanza (by Newcastle standards) will lead all fingers to point in Bruce’s direction if results falter. Despite their big spending summer, the current Newcastle side appears to be desperately short of goalscorers. A midfield duo of Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff is one of stability rather than creativity or attacking threat. On the flanks, Christian Atsu shows flashes of fantastic dribbling ability alongside a painfully obvious shortage of end product, whilst Miguel Almiron looks extremely lively but has contributed to zero goals in his 13 appearances so far. Bruce’s fate therefore may rest largely in the hands of their new £40m number 9, Joelinton. If his performances so far are anything to go by then the Toon are in capable hands. Against Spurs, the 23-year-old Brazilian showed strength, a good first touch, an ability to hold the ball up and he took his chance to win the game clinically. It was a sensational win for Newcastle against an off-beat Spurs side, but if Bruce is to make it to January where he will surely need goalscoring reinforcements, he will depend hugely on his new striker to get him there.
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