da prosport bet： Another Premier League season dawns upon us this weekend, and that can only mean one thing – the return of the mid-season sackings that can send teams and fanbases into turmoil, lovely stuff.
da 888casino： In all seriousness though, it is something that can almost always be expected each season, and a lot of the time it can be the person you least expect to get the chop. Last season saw seven managers see the exit door at their respective clubs, with three of those sackings being made by just Watford alone, with the Hornets going through four manager’s last campaign.
This season, things are expected to heat up again – with plenty of cracks already starting to show with many of the teams this summer after some poor pre-season games from certain clubs. Here are the top 10 favourites to be sacked this season…
10. Carlo Ancelotti
Despite being appointed by the Toffees back in December last year, Ancelotti is the tenth favourite to get the chop this season. This summer has seen the Italian bring in some impressive reinforcements for his squad, most notably James Rodriguez, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Allan – but it is likely that these additions won’t work straight away.
Everton have been known for chopping and changing managers quite frequently, and this may be why Ancelotti has made it onto the list – as well as the fact the competition in the league this season is as high as it has ever been, so let’s wait and see how Carlo and his players perform this season.
9. Graham Potter
The Seagulls had a strange season last time out. There first half of the season showed some real glimmers of talent, with wins against Arsenal, Tottenham, and Everton – after the Christmas break as well as the COVID-19 lockdown, there form appeared to dip and the club ended up finishing in 15th. This may have something to do with Potter’s place in the sack race, and rightly so.
Brighton have a great squad and in my opinion, should be finishing higher than 15th, and Potter will need to make sure that at least a mid-table finish is achieved to ensure his job at the club is safe. New signings such as Joel Veltman and Adam Lallana add a certain new quality to the squad – and Potter will be hoping that they adapt and adjust quickly to keep him at the club.
8. Marcelo Bielsa
Next up is Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentine helped the club to promotion last season, securing Premier League football for the first time in 16 years – and there was doubt as to whether Bielsa would take charge of the club this season, only recently just signing a one year extension. This may be why he is in the top 10 this season, does he know something we don’t about the squad Leeds have going into this season?
Perhaps they aren’t up to scratch to handle the intensity and quality of the league? Whatever the reason, Bielsa could be at risk this season if things don’t pan out the way the White’s owners hope, and it may be a season to forget for the Leeds hopeful if this happens – resulting in Bielsa walking through the exit door.
7. Sean Dyche
Burnley had a positive campaign last time out and finished in 10th place in the Premier League – the club’s second-highest finish in their history. This season, however, may spell a different end to it than last.
Sean Dyche has been at the club for almost 8 years and has failed to improve on their 7th place finish during the 2017/18 – this lack of progress and the lack of signings this summer could spell disaster for Dyche and may lead to his sacking this season if things start to slip again under his reign.
This summer has seen the club only add goalkeeper Will Norris from Wolves to their squad, and it’s almost a guarantee that he won’t start any games due to Nick Pope being the clubs No.1. I can’t see this season being a great one for the Clarets, and Dyche could be on his way out.
6. Slaven Bilic
The Croatian has done a great job to get the Baggies back up into the Premier League – but this season could spell disaster for him – with the club’s squad still not looking quite up to the standard of the league.
Despite securing the permanent deals of Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira, the squad’s defence will stay the same, as will much of their midfield – this lack of reinforcements and the competition that the club will face in the Premier League, it is understanding to see Bilic in this year’s sack race and I believe we could easily see him get sacked by the club this season, especially given that his contract expires at the end of the season, with no news of an extension.
5. Steve Bruce
The Magpies have a habit of sacking managers, and it appears that things haven’t changed much with Steve Bruce 5th in the sack race. This summer has seen the Geordie manager add some impressive signings to his squad with the likes of Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser from Bournemouth, and Jamal Lewis from Norwich – but if things don’t go the way Mike Ashley plans, we could easily see the sacking of Bruce at the club.
The talk of a possible takeover last season was enough to rock the Newcastle boat and start speculation of Bruce’s future despite a strong start to the season. Form dipped off after this news was broken, and ended with the Toon finishing the league in 13th place.
Bruce will need to do his best to keep his job at Newcastle, with Ashley often sacking managers who needed more time to implement their vision ad could of helped to improve the club further, as he did with Rafael Benitez.
4. Dean Smith
After narrowly surviving relegation last season with a 1-1 draw against West Ham in their final game, Aston Villa will likely struggle again this season.
Despite the signings of Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash, there is still speculation of Jack Grealish leaving the club, and even if he were to stay, the competition in the league this season may prove too much to handle for Smith and his side.
The Englishman sits fourth in the sack race and rightly so, with Villa’s side almost facing relegation last campaign and could possibly face that prospect again this season, and I could see the club going down with Smith facing the sack midway or to the end of the season.
3. Scott Parker
Scott Parker managed to take Fulham back to the Premier League via the playoffs last season, beating Brentford in the final. This summer has seen the Englishman bring in some important signings, with the likes of Alphonse Areola on loan from PSG, Kenny Tete from Lyon, the permanent signing of Anthony Knockaert, and Mario Lemina on loan from Southampton.
In light of this, the club will still have a task on their hands to stay up this season, with the bottom half of the table looking as though there is some tough competition to face. Parker will likely struggle in his first full season in the Premier League, and we may see him be the first in the sack race if things don’t go their way.
2. Roy Hodgson
Out of the top 10, this may be the saddest one of them all. Roy Hodgson is likely to be going into his last season for Palace, with the 73-year-old likely coming to the end of his time in football.
This summer has seen the Eagles sign youngsters Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson, as well as signing Michy Batshuayi again on loan – but with these additions, we still may see Hodgson face the sack this season if things don’t pick up from last time out, which saw the club finish in 14th after a poor end to the season.
With Hodgson second favourite in the sack race, it is likely we will see his untimely departure from the club this season.
1. David Moyes
It probably comes as no surprise that David Moyes is favourite to be the first manager sacked this season – with West Ham owners often having the tendency to dismiss managers after a run of poor form, without giving them the right amount of time and resources to help rebuild the club and take them up the Premier League table.
Moyes has had a tough time of it this summer, with the club selling Grady Diangana to West Brom after an impressive loan spell at the Baggies, and have failed to sign anyone of note ahead of the new season.
The Hammers are going into another season with the same squad that narrowly missed relegation last campaign, without any new additions, and this could spell the end for Moyes and his second spell at the club if he doesn’t get the backing he deserves before October 5th – as the current squad does not look capable of producing results that the Scotsman deserves.