Manuel Pellegrini, Marco Silva, Unai Emery, Ole Gunnar Solskjær: Who’s hot seat is the hottest? What one of the four managers named will be the next to exit the Premier League?
It’s rare to see this many Premier League managers looking over their shoulders in November, but following Mauricio Pochettino’s departure, it’s become a question of not if, but when and who the next one will be.
Unai Emery’s Arsenal side made it six games without a win on Saturday and was booed off after their 2-2 draw with Southampton. It’s been a long time coming, and now it appears the heat is becoming unbearable for the Gunner man.
West Ham hosted Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge of Spurs, and it was a game that saw both ends of the spectrum; Jose’s emphatic win was the perfect start for the new Tottenham boss but pushed Manuel Pellegrini further onto the chopping block.
On the blue side of Merseyside, Norwich hadn’t scored an away goal since August, but piled the pressure on Marco Silva, as goals from Todd Cantwell and Denis Srbeny secured a comprehensive 2-0 win.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is perhaps the most scrutinized manager right now and did himself no favours over the weekend, both on the pitch and in the press room post-game.
Manchester United played out an exciting 3-3 draw with Sheffield United, but despite United’s spirited comeback, they remain in 9th position, and 9 points adrift of the top four.
There are plenty of hot seats around the Premier League right now, so let’s take a look at who will go first…
No. 4: Ole Gunnar Solskjær – Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s honeymoon period has taken a serious cliff-dive and isn’t showing many signs of changing.
For 70 minutes at Bramall Lane Sunday, Man United played some of the worst football since Ole arrived, and were outplayed by Sheffield United.
Chris Wilder’s team has been a tactical revelation since arriving in the Premier League, and Solskjær was completely out of his depth. For much of the game, Man United’s players had zero space and didn’t come close to penetrating Sheffield’s first line of attack.
Wilder’s overlapping centre-backs tend to leave space in behind, but United’s midfield trio of Fred, Andreas and partly Phil Jones, struggled to get the ball over the half-way line.
The comeback from 2-0 down was impressive, but this came only after Solskjær had to throw the kitchen sink at Sheffield. Up until the 70th minute, United did what they’ve done all season; moved the ball slowly, massively error-prone, and played without any sort of identity.
However, I’ve always felt Solskjær would be given time at United. Ed Woodward has invested confidence in him, and up until a week ago, I’d have placed some money behind Solskjær still being Manchester United manager next summer. That is until Pochettino became available.
Solskjær now reminds me of Roy Hodgson and his time at Liverpool. A yes man, who will keep the club afloat and not really rustle any feathers. Solskjær has been touted as the future for United and seen by the board as someone who is building a project, but I just don’t see that.
Liverpool didn’t see Hodgson as the man to get them back to the top and pulled the trigger on Jurgen Klopp as soon as he became available (Yes, Brendan Rodgers tried is moves in between this time). Mauricio Pochettino plays good football, has a positive history with young players, and is simply a world-class manager.
His availability will now thrust Ole into serious danger of losing his job, potentially soon. Solskjær ranks 4th favourite to lose his job next, but if the poor results mount up, don’t be surprised to see United pull the trigger sooner rather than later.
No. 3: Manual Pellegrini – Now without a win in 8 games, West Ham’s patience seems to be growing thin with Manuel Pellegrini.
The Hammers beat Manchester United at the end of September to send them 5th in the table. However, since then, they’ve collected just 2 points from 7 Premier League games.
To add to this, they were too on the wrong end of a 4-0 drubbing against League One’s Oxford United. The Hammers sit just 3 points above the relegation zone and looked lifeless against Spurs at the weekend.
Just two months ago, West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan handed the Chilean a contract worth 8 million a year, but things already seem to be reaching the point of no return. Tottenham fans orchestrated the “You’re getting sacked in the morning” chants on Saturday, and Pellegrini received no support from the West Ham fans either.
Pellegrini has proven he’s a talented manager in the past, and he’s certainly not short of quality in his squad. A team featuring Manuel Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Sebastian Haller, and plenty of others of similar quality should not be lingering around the relegation zone.
Hammers fans were touting this season as a potential run at the European spots, especially considering the demise of the ‘big six’. A lack of decent replacements may aid Pellegrini’s case.
I’m not sure there are too many better managers on the market right now, that are realistic hires for West Ham. However, football is a business nowadays, and if this dire form continues, Pellegrini could be out of a job before the new year hits.
No. 2: Unai Emery – Unai Emery’s future at Arsenal is becoming more treacherous as the weeks go by – Alexandre Lacazette’s late equalizer did little to ease the pressure on the Spaniard.
Emery has now won just one league match in 2 months, which is the club’s worst run of results in the last 20 years. His last win came in the Europa League, as Arsenal needed two late Nicolas Pepe goals to overcome minnows Vitoria SC.
Arsenal’s players look lost on the pitch, and frustrations seem to be piling up. All the problems and issues were supposed to go away when Arsene Wenger finally hung up his coat, but the current mood at the club is worse than ever. I just don’t see where this club is going under Emery – there is no identity and no passion.
Emery was backed this summer, and spent a significant amount of money on new arrivals, with Nicolas Pepe and Kieran Tierney coming in for over 100 million pounds. Pepe in particular, after supplying 22 goals and 11 assists last season for Lille, was supposed to come in and make a difference straight away but has struggled big-time.
Arsenal and their owners promised a return to the top – the Kronke’s told Arsenal fans to “get excited”. However, nothing seems to have changed. Another season is going by, and Arsenal are once again far off the top of the table and seem to be stuck. They are not winning, not playing exciting football, and if they continue under Emery, they are not going to qualify for the Champions League.
Emery is No. 2 on the sack list simply because I don’t think Arsenal will want to undersell their fans. They’ve promised a return to “where Arsenal belongs”, and if you’ve watched them recently, it’s clear Emery isn’t the man to lead them there. Add in the potential domino effect of Pochettino’s sacking, and Emery could be gone very, very soon.
No. 1: Marco Silva – The clear-cut, obvious choice for the next manager to be sacked in the Premier League. Marco Silva is seriously struggling, and I cannot make a case for him keeping his job.
It seems every season, many predict Everton to be the ones to challenge the ‘big six’, but each season, they run into early problems. 2019/20 has been no different, as Everton are once again underachieving. The Toffees sit 15th, and with a tough run of fixtures coming up, time has apparently run out for Marco Silva.
It has felt like Silva has been walking the tightrope for a while now, and Saturday’s home defeat to Norwich City looks to be the final nail in the coffin. A couple of decent cup wins held off the Wolves temporarily, but it looks as if Silva has reached the point of no return.
I remember Paul Merson complaining about Marco Silva years ago when he was appointed as Hull’s boss. At the time, the opinion seemed to stem from an obvious ‘Brexit mindset’, but fast forward 4 years, and Merson’s prediction isn’t looking too shabby.
Silva’s Hull side looked sharp at the time, but ultimately ended up relegated, and his Watford side wasn’t too much better. Add in his failings at Everton, and the verdict may be up on Marco Silva, and his abilities as a Premier League manager.
Against Norwich, Silva’s front four consisted of Theo Walcott, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Richarlison and Cenk Tosun. These four have been lifeless and uninspiring for a while now, yet this was the same front four that Silva picked in his first game in charge at Everton, way back in August 2018. Unfortunately for Silva, this note epitomizes his tenure at Everton; it has been slow and unimaginative – it’s time to go.
As a club, Everton constantly gives off that they are devoted to change, but aside from a couple of small runs, I haven’t seen anything from Marco Silva that proves he is the man to lead Everton out of mediocrity. Sacking Silva now wouldn’t immediately fix the overwhelming problems at Goodison Park, but it would stop the bleeding, if only for a short while.
Everton needs to survive this season and then hit the reset button, as the current manager is not the one to lead this team into Europe. The talent is there, but the players need a coach who encourages speed and excitement, and the fans do too.
Marco Silva will be the next Premier League boss to go, in what could be the first of many, as we enter the Christmas period.