The Barclays is back boys, which means the managerial merry go round is about to hit the accelerator and kick into overdrive. This cruel fairground ride is bound to claim a fair share of victims over the course of the season, but who will be first? Last year Frank de Boer took home the gold in a record smashing 4(!) games; surely nobody will leave their club as fast as the Dutchman, but here’s my personal take on how each manager may fair this season.

 

AFC Bournemouth – Eddie Howe

Bournemouth are weird aren’t they. They’ve become somewhat of a Premier League mainstay, whilst maintaining the feeling of being a Championship side. I like them, they’re cool. Another cool thing is the man at the helm ‘future England manager,’ Eddie Howe.

He’s done an insanely fantastic job in getting his side to this stage and is a club legend for sure, even if the club struggle, I can’t see Howe being sacked. Stranger things have happened in football, such as Robert Green going to Chelsea, but Howe staying put seems inevitable.

Sack Race odds: 20/1 (All odds from SkyBet)

 

Arsenal – Unai Emery

It still doesn’t quite feel real to talk about Arsenal sans Arsene Wenger; he’s been the gunners’ leader for the entire span of my interest in football, but all good things must come to an end, and good things can be birthed from such endings, so in comes the Europa League specialist, Unai Emery.

Will he be sacked first? Almost certainly not, in fact, Emery seems like he is poised for success with the London club, with a host of important new signings and a proven philosophy. However, I can’t help but get flashbacks to when David Moyes replaced Sir Alex Ferguson. The burden was too large, Moyes drank from the poison chalice of management, causing his tactical brain to explode, and he never truly recovered. Hopefully for Unai, this chalice is slightly less poisonous and he can work some magic when stepping into Wenger’s shoes.

Sack Race odds: 33/1

 

Brighton and Hove Albion – Chris Hughton

What a lovely man Hughton is, he’s worked harder than anyone to make it in the Premier League. It wasn’t meant to be at Newcastle or Norwich, but little Chris has found his true love at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton sailed to a highly successful maiden season in the Premier League, and a vast amount of that credit has to go to Hughton. He changed things up by adding the likes of Schelotto over club legend Bruno, allowed Pascal Groß to work his magic feet and played to the strengths of Glenn Murray, who ended up bagging 11 league goals. Second season syndrome looms in the air, but if Hughton keeps it fresh again his love affair on the south coast will continue to blossom.

Sack Race odds: 16/1

 

Burnley – Sean Dyche

If the 2018/2019 managerial sack race is won by Sean Dyche, I’ll eat a worm. Dyche is everything that makes Burnley tick, he and the club are basically those two old fellas you see in the pub every night drinking dark mild, it’s an unbreakable bond.

Dyche is well aware of the club’s strengths, weaknesses and how to squeeze the best out of every fixture. The only issue rearing its ugly head is that of overachievement and squad depth; Europa League qualification was something nobody could have predicted for the claret side and people surely can’t expect Dyche and company to repeat the feat this year, especially with the extra burden of having to get his paper thin squad through a highly populated fixture list.

Sack Race odds: 20/1

 

Cardiff City – Neil Warnock

Neil Warnock is somehow not the favourite to depart his side quickest this season. Warnock has forever been the Premier League bridesmaid, but never the bride, as whilst he has a very impressive Championship record, he’s never cut the mustard in the top division.

He sits in the void between Premier League and Championship alongside the likes of Lewis Grabban, Dwight Gayle and Cameron Jerome, in that they’re all too good for the Championship but simply are not built for the trial and tribulations of the Premier League. Sadly for Warnock, his success will again be his own downfall.

Sack Race odds: 8/1

 

Chelsea – Maurizio Sarri

Sarriball is an interesting entity in football. It’ll entertain, it’ll win hearts and minds, but as of yet, it has failed to win a top level trophy. Will his stylish brand win one this year? I think not.

Whilst his tactics are excellent and his style is easy on the eye, it takes time to implement such a system, especially in an entirely new league. Undoubtedly Sarri needs a sufficient tenure to implement his intelligent plan, so sacking him before even giving him a hope of getting everything in place would be pure madness, even from a notoriously non-reactionary, cool headed fellow such as Roman Abramovich.

Sack Race odds: 33/1

 

Crystal Palace – Roy Hodgson

Roy the boy rides again! At the tender age of 70 (the oldest in the league) Hodgson enters his first full season with Crystal Palace after working wonders there last season. With De Boer at the wheel the club were on a highway to hell (a.k.a the Championship) but Hodgson steered them to safety and got everyone at Crystals nightclub grooving again.

He’s been there and done it all before so when it’s all said and done I wouldn’t be surprised to see Roy standing tall once again. Who knows, if he has an incredible showing, maybe he could be England manager one day…

Sack Race odds: 20/1

 

Everton – Marco Silva

I’ll save you the classic Paul Merson jokes, but Mr Silva has proven quite popular in the top division hasn’t he. Silva laid his roots at Hull, then started turning up trees with Watford, before proving to be a thorn in his own side after getting his head turned by the Ev in the winter.

Everton finally got their man and should he be able to get them playing like Watford early last season, they’ll be off to a flyer. The question mark however, is on the defensive side. Silva knows how to get his creative players into the game but his teams are often leakier than the Titanic, which doesn’t bode well for England’s world cup hero Jordan Pickford.

Sack Race odds: 18/1

 

Fulham – Slavisa Jokanovic

Are you a football hipster? Do you like walking down the river side to your favourite cereal café? Do you love nothing more than your team’s home ground to be an old hunting lodge? Well Fulham is the team for you and Slavisa Jokanovic might just be your new best friend.

Jokanovic has hauled his team back to the big time by having each and every one of his players invest in his brand of attractive, attacking football. Now with the likes of Mitrovic, Seri, Schurrle, Sessegnon and Cairney at the manager’s disposal we could be looking at the breakout team of the season and a influx of new Fulham fans from across the globe.

Sack Race odds: 20/1

 

Huddersfield Town – David Wagner

I mentioned second season syndrome before with Brighton, but the eerie stench smells much greater in regards to Huddersfield. They almost burnt out last year and despite signing some decent players (Kongolo permanently, Durm, Sobhi etc.) they are once again, a firm favourite for the drop.

The question that is begged then is this, will a bad season see Wagner be sacked in a bid to change the fortunes of the club? I would say possibly yes. Whilst before I did speak of the love towards Dyche and Howe from their clubs, in this world of money and power there is little room for loyalty in football anymore, and Wagner is a man I fear for if things begin to go south.

Sack Race odds: 16/1

 

Leicester City – Claude Puel

Tensions got nasty between Puel and Leicester last season. There were warm beginnings due to the removal of Craig Shakespeare, but if there’s two things Leicester fans do not like it’s, 1.) winning just three games in fourteen to end the season, and 2.) playing a boring style of football.

He’s certainly one of the favourites to win the sack race, despite his side being expected to finish around the middle of the table, so I would be extremely fearful for his head if Leicester don’t kick off well. After all, this is the board that sacked Ranieri after he pulled off the impossible dream.

Sack Race odds: 7/1

 

Liverpool – Jurgen Klopp

Despite Klopp being at the helm of Liverpool for less than three years, it just feels right that he’s there. Like hand in glove, bacon and egg, Northern Rail and cancelling trains; they just fit together.

They’ve signed better than any of their Premier League rivals and finally have the squad depth to mount a challenge on all fronts. Anything less than top 4 (maybe even 3) and a decent run in the Champion’s League would be a disappointment, but it seems written in the stars that Klopp will once again deliver what is expected from the Kop faithful.

Sack Race odds: 80/1

 

Manchester City – Pep Guardiola

City fans must be glad all over that they have Pep at the helm, at the City board surely feel the same. The blue half of Manchester exploded into life last season and performed to a level which many would say was the greatest showing in Premier League history.

Pep has the highest odds on winning the sack race, and rightly so, as this season they look to have even more firepower with Mahrez arriving, and further stability with Foden and Laporte vying for first team action. They’ll probably win the league again, just hopefully not at such a canter to make things interesting. For now though, his bald-fraudometer reading remains at zero.

Sack Race odds: 100/1

 

Manchester United – Jose Mourinho

From the bookies’ least fancied, to their most fancied; Jose Mourinho is on the brink of destruction at Manchester United it would seem. Mourinho’s that fella that you have in your five-a-side team who does some daft skill in his own half, loses it, you concede, but he never accepts that he’s in the wrong it up, and instead throws a paddy and blames everyone else.

He’s already fallen out with a plethora of people at Old Trafford including: Luke Shaw, Ed Woodward and even his own fans’ home support. Plus, with his reign at Chelsea ending in tears following a conspiracy and tirade against Eva Carneiro, we can expect some fireworks to fly during Mourinho press conferences this year, and further rifts between the man, the fans and the board will quite likely lead to Mourinho leaving the club before too long.

Sack Race odds: 5/1

 

Newcastle United – Rafa Benitez

Poor old Rafa. He’s always a gentleman and shouldn’t have to put up with the farcical nonsense that is Mike Ashley. He worked wonders keeping his paper thin side in the Premier League last season and he should have been rewarded with some impressive new recruits. Ashley being Ashley though (Newcastle haven’t broken their transfer record since signing Michael Owen in 2005) means that instead of quality new faces Benitez has been forced to search the bargain bins at Poundland yet again.

For all of the above, I personally believe Rafa will be the manager to leave his club first. He won’t be sacked, surely Mike Ashley isn’t that stupid, instead Rafa may well step down. The man is simply too wonderful a coach to put up with the endless idiocy he’s been served up in the North East, and instead he should seek healthier options elsewhere.

Sack Race odds: 8/1

 

Southampton – Mark Hughes

I fully ate my words last season, when Hughes took over at Southampton I thought they were doomed, but he actually did a decent job and kept them in the league thanks to a few tidy results. I can’t help but not like Hughes though, maybe it’s his arrogant personality, maybe it’s that he cares way too much about handshakes, who knows.

The Welshman’s issue this time round is the lack of new arrivals and the constant question of, where will the goals come from in this Southampton team? Will Charlie Austin be able to stay fit enough to kick it in the net? Wil the loan of Danny Ings be a success? Will Nathan Redmond finally be able to understand that you can run, kick and breathe all at once? Find out on this year’s edition of the Prem.

Sack Race odds: 12/1

 

Tottenham Hotspur – Mauricio Pochettino

First things first, Daniel Levy got a taste of his own medicine and completely fluffed this transfer window. After years of squeezing every penny out of teams to get a stellar deal, here’s a comprehensive list of Spurs’ 2018 summer signings: nobody.

Pochettino would be safe at Spurs regardless of league position, but this shambolic transfer window means that he will get even more leeway in what is expected to be a disappointing league season following years of success. Plus, with Real Madrid plucking Lopetegui over Pochettino recently too, I don’t see any reason why Poch would depart the new White Hart Lane in the near future.

Sack Race odds: 50/1

 

Watford – Javi Gracia

I actually had to Google ‘who is the Watford manager?’ only to be greeted with the completely forgettable answer of Javi Gracia. Outside of a 4-1 win against Chelsea, his run at the helm of the Hornets has had very little sting behind it, which likely will continue through 2018/2019.

Without a doubt Gracia will be relying on his defence in order to keep his team up, and salvage his own job. Last season their top scorer was Abdoulaye Doucouré (who I cannot believe wasn’t snapped up) with 7 goals, and their blunted strikeforce consists of a fat guy on £100,000 per week (Deeney), a fat guy with a poor injury history (Okaka) and a skinny guy who’s Premier League goal ratio is 1 in every 4.5 games (Gray).

Sack Race odds: 8/1

 

West Ham – Manuel Pellegrini

West Ham live in a constant state of insanity. Their board have consistently lied to the fans about plans, both on the pitch and in terms of the stadium change, leaving many long-time Hammers fans disgruntled with their beloved team.

Stability may have arrived in the backroom however, as experienced head Manuel Pellegrini, who must have rocks in his head to take this role, takes to the hot seat at the London Stadium. Pairing such a successful manager with a plethora of exciting signings: Wilshire, Yarmolenko, Anderson, Sanchez and Perez amongst others, means that West Ham should be able to secure an impressive finish this time round.

Sack Race odds: 18/1

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers – Nuno Espírito Santo

Rounding off our band of merry men we have another gentleman who may become a victim of his own success. Wolves are back in the big time after six years of absence, and they’ve gone super-size on their transfer dealings, assembling arguably the most luscious squad a promoted side has ever forged.

I question whether Nuno as the managerial nous required to cut it in the top division, and considering the fact that Wolves have gone all in this summer, they could end up searching for a more prestigious manager if a fast start escapes them. Fun fact though, Nuno was born in São Tomé and Príncipe, which is cool.

Sack Race odds: 18/1

There you have it then folks, the Premier League sack (or leave you club because of gross mismanagement) is on. My front runners have to be Warnock, Mourinho and Benitez, but I’d love to here who’s job you are fearful for this time round.