It is a brutal market but if there is one that personifies the Premier League as we know it, it is this one. Who will be the next Premier League boss to be sacked? The life expectancy of a Premier League is measured almost on a minute-by-minute basis these days. Every result, every utterance and every move is assessed with an almost forensic-like frenzy by the media and fans alike. The incredible dismissal of Frank De Boer by Crystal Palace, after just 4 games in charge, has now raised the stakes for EPL bosses to levels never seen before. So just who will be next?
Well if you really think about it, every manager bar Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino have had questions raised about them already this season. The bookies rarely get it wrong, though, so let’s look what the latest markets are saying.
Ronald Koeman
It is amazing how quickly things can change in football. Everton boss Ronald Koeman was the media darling of the preseason. £150m spent, 8 players brought in including their old idol, Wayne Rooney and £45m club record signing, Gylfi Sigurdsson. Big things were expected of the Toffees this year. There is a 4/6 chance of Koeman being the next Premier League manager to get the sack, and Betway Insider found that these odds are almost on par with the 8 out of 10 chance of Donald Trump – also with wavy blonde hair –being impeached before the end of 2017.
They started well beating Stoke, courtesy of Rooney, in their opening game and then drew at Manchester City and things were looking good. Four league defeats later plus a terrible start in the Europa League have sent the club into a tailspin that shows no sign of abating. Everton currently sit in 16th place in the league. Koeman, having spent so much money, is under extreme pressure. The Blues need results and they need them now.
Slaven Bilic
The next in line according to the bookies is West Ham boss, Slaven Bilic at 6/1. If we’re honest, Bilic has been in danger ever since the Hammers moved to the London Stadium at the beginning of last season. The team achieved a big win against fellow strugglers Swansea, but Bilic and his team have got to gain a level of consistency. Bilic is loved by the fans and the owners, Gold and Sullivan, have a history of standing by their managers. That patience will wear thin, though, if things don’t need improve in East London.
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson is next on this list at 14/1. Now this is a manager under pressure. He was supposed to be that ‘steady hand’ that would settle the Palace ship after the De Boer debacle. Even though the team picked up the first win of the season by beating Chelsea, the Eagles remain firmly in the relegation dogfight even with the season yet to enter into the Christmas schedule. I think it’s fair to say Hodgson needs a string of results in order to turn around things.These are significantly better chances compared to the 1/34.5 chance of meeting a partner while going on a blind date, according to NY Post.
Antonio Conte
Chelsea are a club where stability is not provided through the manager. Instead, it happens to be done by the players and the board. Antonio Conte may have won the Premier League last season, but the Italian has not been going through a great time ever since the FA Cup final defeat against Arsenal. A disappointing transfer window and a mediocre start to the season all place him as a likely candidate to lose a job if things do not improve in the next few months. Apart from reaching the latter stages of the Champions League, Chelsea will also expect content to keep the club in the hunt for the top four places at the very least. Any slipups will see Conte getting his wish of going back to Italy much sooner than expected.
Southampton boss, Mauricio Pellegrino and Swansea’s Paul Clement are next, both at 20/1. Both clubs have had indifferent starts to their campaigns and it will be interesting to see how they do going forward. Pellegrino is new to the league and after seeing how Palace treated De Boer, he will be a touch uneasy.
Clement kept Swansea up last season and this will buy him time to stop the current Swansea rot. That will also the case with Eddie Howe at Bournemouth. The Cherries have had a horrendous start and currently second from bottom with just the one win. Howe is the man responsible for guiding the Cherries to the Premier League and has kept them there for the past two seasons. Again, he will be given time.
So another great Premier League campaign is unfolding, but who will be the next manager to ‘bite the bullet?’
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