Six Premier League managers down: Who will be next?

Six Premier League managers have departed so far this season. SIX. It’s not even December yet.

For comparison, at this point last season that number was a big fat zero. 

This season’s sizable half-a-dozen tally even eclipses the trigger-happy 2017/18 campaign which saw five top-flight managers exit before we hit December. A further five bosses were then sent packing by the time the curtains had drawn on the campaign, which meant the figure hit double figures for only the second time in Premier League history (the 2013/14 season also witnessed 10 exits).

Could we see a new record this time around?

On Sunday we saw Man Utd sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who became the Premier League Sack Race’s sixth managerial victim in the space of seven weeks following Xisco Munoz, Steve Bruce, Nuno Santo, Daniel Farke, and Dean Smith.

The club have placed Michael Carrick in caretaker charge while they seek to appoint an interim manager until the end of the season, although if any of their major targets show an interest then surely a permanent appointment makes sense ASAP. Mauricio Pochettino's odds have been cut from 20/1 to 6/4 in the last 24 hours.

After the carnage of the last couple of months, maybe we’ll see things calm down a little bit. But then again, probably not.

In as the new joint-favourites we have Brendan Rodgers and Rafa Benitez, both at 4/1 (BetVictor)...

Rodgers rumours refuse to go away

Rodgers is an interesting one. On one hand, Leicester have endured a difficult season to date. They are down in 12th with just 15 points from 12 games. Only two teams have conceded more goals than the Foxes - Norwich (19th) and Newcastle (20th) - while they looked miles off the pace in a 3-0 defeat over the weekend, albeit they were up against a very good Chelsea side.

Still, it’s difficult to see Leicester wielding the axe on a manager who has enjoyed so much success since his appointment in 2019: transforming the club into consistent top-four challengers and FA Cup victors.

Rodgers’ achievements have seen him linked with other jobs, such as Spurs and Man Utd, but he’s constantly confirmed his absolute commitment to Leicester. He’s stated that he’s 100% invested in the project and even showed flickers of anger when recently asked about reports linking him to the Red Devils.

“I’m here as the Leicester City manager,” he said last week. “I’m proud to be here, privileged to be here and fully committed to the players, the club, the ownership. That’s about it really. All the other noise around that is something we can’t control.”

The rumours have gone up a notch following Solskjaer’s exit on Sunday, with Rodgers among the favourites for the job in the betting, although as mentioned United have quite bizarrely set their sights on an interim appointment until the end of the season.

But if Man Utd came knocking right now would Rodgers be tempted? Only Rodgers knows the answer to that. We can only go from what he's said so far, so for the moment it's a no. His ​​compensation is believed to be £8million.

Everton don’t tend to make rash decisions

Then there’s Rafa at Everton. A controversial appointment in the summer, now fast-forward to November and his future is being questioned following a return of two points from his last six games.

Would the Toffees sack him if the club’s poor form continues through to Christmas?

In the past Everton have, on the whole, been hesitant to make rash decisions. Carlo Ancelotti left to return to Real Madrid, Marco Silva and Ronald Koeman were both given 18 months, and Roberto Martinez spent three years at the helm. Sam Allardyce is the exception, overseeing 26 games from November 2017 to May 2018, with that decision made at the end of the season.

Big Sam is the only full-time Everton boss his century who has failed to hit the 50-game mark, Rafa’s only been in charge for 14 so far. As we’ve said in previous articles, the Spaniard was only given £1.8m to spend in the summer and has been hit hard by injuries. 

Lack of ruthlessness costing Saints

Just as he appeared to have turned a corner with 10 points from four games following a winless seven-game start, Ralph Hasenhuttl (best-priced 12/1) became the first victim of Dean Smith’s Norwich, who won 2-1 on Saturday. 

Southampton supporters will understandably be disappointed by the result, but their troops will feel hard done by the result having had 63% of the ball and 17 shots. 

It did, however, once again highlight Southampton’s lack of ruthlessness in-front of goal. Hasenhuttl’s men have only scored more than once in two of their 12 games so far and they were in 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Burnley.

Hasenhuttl, who will soon reach his third anniversary at Saints, appears 100% committed to the club, and vice-versa. So a parting of ways anytime soon would be a surprise.

Anyone else feeling the heat?

Marcelo Bielsa has come in at 8/1 (BetVictor) since Solskjaer’s exit, although he's still 14/1 with William Hill. 17th-placed Leeds are hovering two points above the relegation zone with just two wins on the board from 12 matches.

The Whites’ injury problems are well known. Patrick Bamford has been missing since September, while ​​Raphinha and Rodrigo missed the defeat to Spurs. Bielsa is doing his best with what he has at his disposal, there’s simply no chance he’ll be sacked.

Claudio Ranieri, flying after his 4-1 triumph over Man Utd, is out at 10/1, while Mikel Arteta (28/1) suffered a 4-0 thumping to Liverpool, while Thomas Frank - who has one point from his last five games - is available at 25/1.

Alternatively, you can find odds of 14/1 for no manager to leave. Yeah, right.