Jobs Truly On the Line in Premier League Now
The Premier League didn't disappoint in bringing a bunch of drama this weekend. Last week we saw Mauricio Pochettino get the sack but what followed was all of the sudden many managers looking over their shoulders themselves. But perhaps most interesting is that every manager who was possibly in trouble going into the weekend got a bad result with the exception of Ralph Hasenhuttl. And that may be simply because he was up against another manager in deep trouble: Unai Emery.
Half the managers in the premier league probably are looking over their shoulders at this point wondering what the lifeline is. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left practically the entire first team home in Manchester for their Europa League match in Kazakhstan on Thursday knowing the result of the game against Villa on the weekend is far more important in terms of whether he'll keep his job or not. The assistant coaches stayed back too and with good reason. They're likely cooked as well if Solskjaear is gone. It's unlikely Carrick stays on as one of the assistants if a new manager comes in. Every elite club has an eye on Pochettino now so the pressure is huge.
The managers of the top 7 clubs currently are all more than safe. Chris Wilder deserves manager of the season simply because he is surpassing expectation even more than Klopp is. His side didn't even fold when it looked like they would against Man United on Sunday. He looked composed when Man United went up.
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The managers under fire start at 8th place Arsenal. Unai Emery simply hasn't gotten the job done at Arsenal, who are expected to be a top 4 team every season. He is being outdone by other managers. But if a home draw to lowly Southampton doesn't set off the alarm, anything but a win against Norwich over the weekend should be the end.
9th Place Manchester United also may have a manager one bad result away from being finished. United host Aston Villa this weekend at home and that too should be a win or you're finished scenario. Pochettino is probably the least worried guy on earth at the moment. He's still getting paid by Tottenham and the calls have likely already started for his next job.
10th place Tottenham already made a change. 11th place Bournemouth may lose their manager because someone comes calling. They would never sack Howe themselves but they probably are in the unfortunate position of knowing he could get poached. 12th place Brighton are more than meeting expectations so Graham Potter is likely safe. Same goes for Hodgson at Palace. Even Steve Bruce has been doing a bit better than most would have thought. He was a favorite to see the sack going in but being 5 points clear of the drop and in 14th probably keeps him ok for the time being. Smith couldn't really have been expected to do much more than what he has at Aston Villa having been newly promoted. Though, I would have said the same about Wilder if Sheffield United were in the same point level. A testament to how well Wilder has done.
Every manager apart from Farke from 16th and down should be fired already but look to have at least one game left. None more so than Marco Silva. Silva was expected to bring Everton back to the promised land and instead they are back to where they were in the early 2000s. Battling relegation and possibly needing David Moyes to save them. I can't blame some on their board for questioning whether David Moyes is the answer but it looks more and more like Silva isn't. He never even fixed the set piece problem. And for Moise Kean to have been such a bust some blame has to go towards Silva.
Manuel Pellegrini is likely just past it the same way Wenger was and honestly even Sir Alex may have been past it and just timed his retirement correctly. The game has changed and managers who can't keep up will be left behind. Though it is more than just a bit strange that West Ham fell off a cliff after that win over United when they looked like they could challenge for Europe. And you could honestly say their keeper cost them spoils against Tottenham.
Southampton and Watford are actually such bad teams at this point that it can be questioned whether the manager is even the problem. Farke is getting the benefit of the doubt because honestly it would have been a miracle had he kept Norwich up. It would have been almost identical to what David Wagner did with Huddersfield a few years ago. Farke won't be blamed, but he certainly won't earn the top job at a traditional Bundesliga club like Wagner did if he can't keep them up. Hasenhuttl and Sanchez-Flores are just in a lose situation as those teams are just bad. Watford has already changed manager which is somewhat proof that the manager wasn't the problem. Just look at Fulham last year. As for Hasenhuttl, a managerial change would likely only give an injection rather than a season saving jolt. They're likely done, but blame shouldn't be put their way entirely.