Six into four just won’t go as the Euro race heats up
THE Premier League resumes after the international break with Chelsea clear at the top and Tottenham with the best chance of exploiting any slip.
Because of the ruthless dominance of Antonio Conte’s team, the focus of the final seven weeks of the season is firmly on which big-name managers will miss out on the Champions League – and will they pay the penalty for failure?
If you assume that Chelsea and Spurs secure two places, then at least one – perhaps two – of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger will not be in Europe’s premier competition next season.
As things stand, that will be Mourinho and Wenger unless the Portuguese claims the spot open to the Europa League winners.
Should United miss out on that trophy and not climb higher than their current fifth spot, Mourinho’s first season at Old Trafford will be identical to Louis van Gaal’s last – a domestic cup and no Champions League.
That was deemed as failure for the Dutchman and it cost him his job.
Two years earlier David Moyes had also been sacked the minute it became mathematically impossible to
finish in the top four.
It’s become the bottom line for United managers, and it will be interesting to see if the playing field remains level should Mourinho also fail, particularly as he’s had much more money to spend than either of his predecessors.
Wenger has qualified for the Champions League 17 times on the trot. It’s become his Unique Selling Point.
If he decides to sign his new two-year deal before the end of the season it will obviously protect him should Arsenal – who are the least in-form team in the top seven – miss the top four.
But Gunners fans are already split on whether he should stay or go. Even the staunch “Remainers” might waver if he ends up sixth or seventh, with no FA Cup as consolation.
Klopp’s passion, charisma and track record have so far protected him from much more than quiet grumbling.
But if he misses the Champions League for the second year running many more questions will be asked, not least: “Is he really an upgrade on Brendan Rodgers?”
For most clubs, having played all the others in the top six twice going into the run-in is an advantage.
Not for Liverpool. They’ve been brilliant against the big boys but the prospect of facing Bournemouth, Stoke, West Brom, Crystal Palace, Watford, Southampton, West Ham and Middlesbrough in their last nine games must fill Klopp with dread!
Perhaps the man who would suffer the worst reputational damage by missing the top four is Guardiola.
Manuel Pellegrini qualified in each of his three seasons and Roberto Mancini in his last three. Both also won the Premier League.
Guardiola was not brought in to be worse than his predecessors, and while there’s no suggestion he would pay with his job, his aura of invincibility would be in tatters.