First, I would like to extend my sympathies to football fans at a time when the football world has been stunned by the premature deaths of Garry Speed and the great Socrates. As Wales and Brazil mourn the losses of their most cherished sons, our thoughts and prayers are especially with the deceased’s families and friends.
On a less tragic but still painful note, during the last week, the Premier League witnessed its first managerial casualty in Steve Bruce of Sunderland. Having overhauled his entire squad following a season in which Sunderland flirted with European football, expectations were sky high. In all honesty, Sunderland had clearly lost their way since the loss of Darren Bent in the middle of last season. Coupled with the departure of Asamoah Gyan and the brilliant Danny Welbeck, it is of little surprise that they continue to struggle for goals. Unfortunately for Bruce, Nicholas Bendtner who was brought in on loan to compensate for these three has so far failed to deliver the goals when it matters.
With so much money at stake in the Premier League, many owners have recently adopted a ruthless approach that has left managers more vulnerable. December is usually the time for owners to decide whether to trust the incumbent with funds for squad reinforcement or if a total change of direction is necessary.
It is easy to mark out managers at clubs that are at the foot of the table as most susceptible, but in many ways, it is a case of being at the right club at the right time. Steve Kean one of the early favorites for the sack continues to defy the odds and was even recently rewarded with a new contract. Strange that the new owners got rid of Sam Allardyce when the club was comfortably in mid-table, citing his “lack of ambition”, but have continued to stand by Kean despite fans’ unrest. My prediction is that Steve will keep his job until a few weeks into the Championship season next year, when the owners will finally yield to fan pressure.
Speaking of fan unrest, Wolves and Everton are the other two premiership clubs that have had to deal with demonstrations. While the Wolves fans were demonstrating against McCarthy, Moyes at Everton is a fan favorite and all the noises are directed at the owners for lack of investment into the squad. My take is that both managers will be safe as they continue to mobilize their troops to punch above their weight.
If with the purchase of Blackburn, Big Sam was not at the right place at the right time; Martinez could not have timed his presence at Wigan any better. Firmly rooted at the foot of the table, probably as testament to Whelan’s understanding of the game, he is one owner that acknowledges that for their lack of investment, it is a bonus to simply stay in the division. The club fans are also so in love with Martinez, their former player and hero; one can’t help but feel that his job is safe. As a caution though, we don’t need to look further than Arsenal to recognize how fickle a manager’s relationship with fans can be.
Bolton is another struggling club that has a former player managing on a very meager budget. Owen Coyle started his reign by mixing great results with style but like Bruce at Sunderland; saw a late collapse as last season progressed. Also similarly, the loss of loan signing Daniel Sturridge coupled with the departure of Johan Elmander has deprived Bolton of a goal threat. Unlike Wigan though, I get a feeling that Premier League survival is paramount for Bolton’s owners and if results do not turn around soon, Owen will not survive the season.
While Wigan, Everton and Blackburn have together made a troubled season for teams with Blue home jerseys, their illustrious counterparts from London mainly have a trigger happy owner to be concerned about. Andre Villas-Boas continues to assure in the press that he is confident about the safety of his job, but Abromavich’s record of seven managers in eight years is reason for pessimism. Andre draws his confidence from the fact that he was signed for over £13 million on a three year contract but the sacking of many of his predecessors did not seem rational. Ranieri was sacked despite leading Chelsea to the Champions League semi-finals and second in the league to break the Man United – Arsenal stranglehold. Mourinho was sacked despite winning the club’s first title in over 50 years and retaining it the season that followed. Grant was sacked despite putting Chelsea within a whisker of their first ever Champions League title. Ancelotti was sacked despite winning the club’s first ever League and FA Cup double in his first season. This weekend’s win against Newcastle may have just bought Villas-Boas more time, but one fears the worst if Chelsea fails to win against Valencia this week.
Have your say on which club owners are likely to reach boiling point first and axe their manager in what is likely to be a crazy December.
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