Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
So, who’ll be the next EPL manager to lose their job?
IF one thing is certain, this season has so far been strange. With the World Cup starting soon, some managers may just keep their jobs for a little longer, although that is not to say that we will still see quite a few sackings between now and the end of the season.
This week, we look at five bosses who could soon lose their jobs.
Steven Gerrard (Aston Villa)
Villa have made little progress on the field since Gerrard replaced Dean Smith last November.
With the squad that he has, Gerrard’s side should be challenging for European qualification to either the Conference League or Europa League.
Instead, they find themselves 14th currently. The football that they are playing is hardly inspiring. Villa may soon have to make a decision about whether they want to sacrifice their player development in favour of Gerrard’s managerial career development.
Brendan Rodgers (Leicester City)
Leicester should not be in the relegation zone, but currently they are. This is not Rodgers’ fault as the club had an unimpressive transfer window in addition to losing Wesley Fofana.
However, if results do not improve anytime soon, they may need a fresh set of ideas to instil confidence among the players. They may also need to bring in someone who is familiar with carefully managing resources in relegation dogfights, something that Rodgers is not.
Steve Cooper (Nottingham Forest)
Cooper led Forest to promotion this season, but the club currently looks all but destined to go straight back down.
It was always known that this was going to be a tough season for them as there is a major gulf in class between the Premiership and the Championship.
The club has lost its last five league games and if this continues, Forest may have to consider bringing in someone with more
Premier League managerial experience before it is too late and relegation is a certainty.
Ralph Hasenhuttl (Southampton)
Hasenhuttl has been on the books of Southampton since 2018. He is one of the managers who is seemingly regularly on the verge of losing his job before finding a way to keep it with a run of consistency.
That surely has to end at some point. Currently, it looks like Southampton could be involved in the relegation fight again. It remains to be seen if Hasenhuttl can inspire a great resurgence yet again, but the club must surely now be getting tired of bottom half of the table finishes.
David Moyes (West Ham United)
Every season there will be one or two sackings considered harsh. West Ham challenged for Champions League qualification in the last few seasons under Moyes.
Right now, they find themselves closer to last place than to first place.
The club has only shown regression when they should actually be challenging for nothing less than a Europa League spot. West Ham having to potentially contest a relegation battle will be a disaster and if that happens, a change of manager may be needed.