New Managers in the Premier League
Birmingham City,Derby County and Wigan Appoint New Bosses
Another three clubs are under new management in the Premier League as the pressure for success increases, making six managerial changes since the start of the season.
With only a third of the football season completed six clubs have already appointed new managers. Five of those clubs, Tottenham Hotspur, Bolton Wanderers, Derby County, Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City have occupied the lower half of the league during the opening three months of the season but the sixth, Chelsea have been challenging Arsenal and Manchester United near the top of the division.
Mourhino Leaves Chelsea
Surprisingly, it was Chelsea who were first to declare their need for a new manager. That decision was less to do with results and more about a breakdown in the relationship between the manager, Jose Mourinho, and the club's owner, Roman Abramovich. The strain in that partnership has been a long running problem and the appointment of Avram Grant in the summer to assist the manager was not appreciated. His subsequent appointment as manager raised further questions about the owner's original motives. However, Grant has steadied the ship and kept Chelsea on course in all competitions.
Jol Sacked by Spurs
Martin Jol was under pressure at Spurs as soon as the club lost their opening two games of the season and the Directors set off for Sevilla to woo their manager. The subsequent denials failed to redress the problem and Jol was only a matter of a poor result away from the sack. Only one win in the opening ten games added to Jol’s problems and he was sacked in late October. Juande Ramos arrived from Sevilla and he has lifted them up the League with only one defeat in his first seven games.
Lee Out at Bolton
Bolton Wanderers unexpectedly lost Sam Allardyce to Newcastle United last May. Sammy Lee who had assisted Allardyce took over but he struggled to make an impact and with Bolton in the relegation zone, Lee lost his job. The experienced Gary Megson replaced him and the club has moved out of the bottom three.
Wigan Sack Hutchings
With Bolton and Spurs showing improvement under new managers, the pressure increased on the managers at Wigan and Birmingham City as their clubs sipped down the league. Wigan had lost Paul Jewell during the summer. Like Bolton, they appointed his Assistant, Chris Hutchings as his successor. In a similar situation at Bradford City a few years ago, Hutchings struggled and was sacked. Unfortunately, he suffered a similar fate this season and was replaced by Steve Bruce who moved from Birmingham City having brought them promotion last season.
Bruce Leaves Birmingham for Wigan
On Bruce’s departure, Birmingham appointed the Scotland manager, Alex McLeish. The appeal of the Premier League was too much for McLeish who had just failed to lead his country to next summer’s European Championship Finals. McLeish has had success as a manager in Scotland with Motherwell, Hibernian and Glasgow Rangers and enjoyed his first game in England with a win at Tottenham.
Davies Leaves Derby
The most difficult manager’s position was at Derby County. Promoted from the Championship last summer through the play-offs, Billy Davies has struggled to make an impact with his team. Only one win in the opening fourteen games of the season saw him lose his position to be replaced by former Wigan boss, Paul Jewell, a manager who knows how to fight and battle for survival.
Under Pressure
Pressure continues to mount on other managers – Rafa Benitez at Liverpool is under threat despite Liverpool being near the top of the League and battling back in the Champions League – failure to qualify for the next stage of that competition may bring about his downfall.
Even new managers are finding life difficult – Sam Allardyce is struggling to make the progress demanded by directors and supporters at Newcastle United.
Roy Keane who was the hero last season as he brought Sunderland promotion is finding top flight management more difficult.
Ferguson and Wenger - No such worries
Meanwhile, two experienced managers carry on unconcerned by such problems. Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal only have their own personal rivalry for success in the League and in Europe to concern them.
