Dubai: Managers are supposed to be the most important men at any club, but during times of trouble they are often the first ones out the door.
Changing managers does not always guarantee what the club wants to achieve though — which is usually to avoid relegation.
The Premier League is ruthless. Football is a business and doing nothing is often the hardest thing to do.
Just ask the recently sacked Mike Phelan and Bob Bradley, who were both dismissed after less than three months in their jobs at Hull and Swansea City.
In March 2013, Sunderland appointed Paulo Di Canio to replace Martin O’Neil following a poor run of results. In that same week, Aston Villa decided to keep faith in Paul Lambert inspite of sitting 17th in the table and battling relegation. Over the next five matches, Villa matched Sunderland’s results of two wins, a draw and two losses and it was the Villans who finished above the Black Cats in the league.
Former Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup also suffered having guided the Welsh club to their first major trophy, the 2013 League Cup. This led to qualification for the Europa League where they unforgettably beat Valencia 3-0 on their way to the last 32 of the competition. It was an extremely harsh decision but, with the Swans in trouble, the board felt it was the right choice.
The bottom three sides in the Premier League have all sacked their managers this season, Phelan being the most recent casualty.
Is it fair to fire a manager who walked into the club during serious turmoil? They only had 13 fit senior players at the start of the season but Phelan managed to grind out successive wins including an opening day victory against champions Leicester City. They actually topped the table at the beginning of the season, leading to then caretaker boss Phelan winning the manager of the month award in August. Yet he was given the boot 85 days after being given the role fulltime.
The Tigers have picked up just three points from their last nine games and are rooted to the bottom of the table, three points from safety and face fellow strugglers Swansea in the FA Cup third round this weekend.
Last week, Swansea parted ways with Bob Bradley after just 85 days. The American became the second manager to lose his job at the Liberty Stadium this season after Francesco Guidolin was sacked in October. Paul Clement is their fifth manager in under three years.
Another club in the relegation zone, Crystal Palace, fired Alan Pardew three days before Christmas after a dismal run of one win in 11 games. Pardew guided Palace to the FA Cup final last season but holding the record for the worst performing side across all 92 Premier League and EFL teams led to his dismissal. Former England boss Sam Allardyce has taken over at Selhurst Park to now try to do what he does best — save clubs from the drop.
Fireman Sam kept Sunderland up last season after the Black Cats had picked up just three points from eight games. He also led Blackburn from 19th to 12th in the league but it was during his time at Bolton Wanderers that he achieved iconic status. In 1997, The Englishman took the Trotters from 12th in the Championship to fifth in the Premier League when he left them in 2007.
The ‘honeymoon period’ is something that most clubs go through after appointing new managers. Now to see whether they all live happily ever after in their new marriages.
(Adrian Abraham is an intern at Gulf News)
Premier League managerial casualties in the 2016-17 season:
October 3: Swansea sack Italian Francesco Guidolin on his 61st birthday after just over nine months in charge — that after he saved them from relegation in the 2015-16 campaign — and appoint American Bob Bradley as his replacement.
December 22: Crystal Palace sack Alan Pardew months after he led them to within minutes of lifting the FA Cup only to lose to Manchester United in extra time. However, only six wins in 36 matches in the calendar year and one in their last 11 brought to an end the Englishman’s tenure.
Palace appointed Sam Allardyce, who is an expert in preserving clubs’ Premier League status, never having been relegated, on December 23.
December 27: Swansea end Bradley’s 85-day tenure, comprising just two wins in 11 matches, and on January 3 name highly-regarded English coach Paul Clement as his full-time replacement.
January 3: Hull sack Mike Phelan after 82 days in his full-time role. He had previously been caretaker manager since Steve Bruce resigned a few days before the beginning of the campaign.
