Why have so many Managers been Sacked in the Premier League this Season?
In the premier league this season, 12 managers have lost there just, with Graham Potter and Brendan Rogers losing there just most recently. This has broken the premier league record for the number of sackings in one season. Chelsea this season has sacked two managers so far with 9 games to go. However, other managers like Steve Cooper and David Moyes hold on to their just game-to-game, so we can likely have a few more sackings this season. This leads to the question of why many have there been so many sackings this season. Several reasons for this affect the clubs differently. Throughout this article, we will examine a few examples and try to answer this.
The first area we will look at Is the teams at the bottom of the table in the league. When writing this, there are 8 teams in a relegation battle which all could go down. When teams are in this situation, they are uneasy and think a change in management could change their season and stop them from going down. This year we have several teams in this situation, which has led to a few managers getting sacked with teams wanting to change the club's direction. Several managers sacked this season have come from this area with the likes of Frank Lampard and Nathan Jones. The clubs want to try and stay in the premier league, and with a new manager at the club, there is usually a new manager bounce which will lead to better performances from the players and the club. Throughout the last few years, this is the highest area where the sacking has come from. With a more significant number of clubs in this battle, this could be the main reason this season has led to this record being broken.
The Second area that has led to a few managers leaving is with the bigger clubs like Chelsea underperforming compared to where they would expect to be. I have highlighted Chelsea as an example, as they have sacked managers this season Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel. Chelsea is currently going through rebuilding this season and has been widely known to be spending a high sum of money to do this. However, when writing this, they are 11th in the league, which the team would expect to be in the top 4. This has been why they let Potter go this season, as he was not good enough to lead them to 4th this season. Given the time, who knows what he could do next season? However, in football, the managers are judged on their current performance, not their potential. Chelsea is the best example of a team in this situation; however, if you look closely at Tottenham, they are in the same situation even know they are in the top 4. Having Conte, they were meant to challenge for the title this year, which has not happened and has led to a toxic atmosphere. This has prompted Conte to part ways with Spurs and leave the club looking for a new manager.
The third and final area we will investigate is the premier league. Again, this is because the league is like no other league. Most leagues have a handful of teams that could be the winner of the league and get the champions league spaces. However, this season's premier league has been very open, with at least 10 teams fighting for this chance. This has led to many bigger clubs being disappointed, and some of the teams that are lower in the team typically beat bigger teams like west ham and leaving West Ham in a regulation battle. With teams being out of the place where they expect to be. This leaves the team with no confidence in the manager, which leads them to think there is a need for a change. This is because the team may have done well the year before and not spent as much as the other teams, which has led to the other teams having a better team, leading to the club not being where they think they should be.
Before this article is concluded, just look toward the end of the season. A handful of clubs could still sack their manager this season as they are not where they expect. The three most likely clubs are Liverpool, West Ham, and Nottingham Forest. With all not being in the position they want to be in, it is expected they will get sacked before the end of the season. However, all three managers have had a successful time with all their clubs. So, it is likely that they will be given next season to turn things around, or they will be let go once the season has ended if the clubs want to go in a different direction.
Overall, there are several reasons a club sacks their manager within a season, some we have covered above. Most commonly, the manager has failed to deliver the goals the clubs want to achieve. This season is odd, as so many clubs are not attaining their goals. So, I think this season has been an odd one, and we won’t see as many managers sacked next season. We could see a few go in the summer, but a number are now looking forward to next season rather than currently, as their season is pretty much over.