Football General Manager
The new Premier League season is about to get under way, which is more than a little surreal, as it doesn’t feel as if the players have had much of a summer break, especially those involved in the Club World Cup in the United States. Several sides, meanwhile, are still working away in the transfer market, trying desperately to bring in new players – or clear some dead wood – before the window closes at the end of the month.
Nonetheless, we have a pretty good idea of how everyone is shaping up ahead of the resumption of play in England‘s top-flight, so it’s time for us at BALLGM to stick our necks out and make some predictions.
Over the coming days, our writers will be giving their takes on all the biggest issues, from the teams who are likely to be scrapping for survival to those who will be fighting for top-four finishes and the title, and everything in between.
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Today, we’ve taken a look at the sack race, and had our say on who we believe will be the first manager to lose his job this season…
The new Premier League season is about to get under way, which is more than a little surreal, as it doesn’t feel as if the players have had much of a summer break, especially those involved in the Club World Cup in the United States. Several sides, meanwhile, are still working away in the transfer market, trying desperately to bring in new players – or clear some dead wood – before the window closes at the end of the month.
Nonetheless, we have a pretty good idea of how everyone is shaping up ahead of the resumption of play in England’s top-flight, so it’s time for us at BALLGM to stick our necks out and make some predictions.
Over the coming days, our writers will be giving their takes on all the biggest issues, from the teams who are likely to be scrapping for survival to those who will be fighting for top-four finishes and the title, and everything in between.
Today, we’ve taken a look at the sack race, and had our say on who we believe will be the first manager to lose his job this season…
Mark Doyle: West Ham may have waited too long to sack Julen Lopetegui, but the Spaniard’s successor, Graham Potter, still had plenty of time to turn their season around, only to fail miserably in that regard. The Hammers only won three Premier League games following the Englishman’s appointment on January 9, and went two months without a victory at one point. The poor run of results might have been more tolerable had there been evidence of the progressive football with which Potter made his name at Brighton – but West Ham were dreadful to watch. There’s every chance, then, that the former Chelsea boss will come under some serious pressure if the Irons start the season slowly, which is a distinct possibility given their summer business has done little to lift the spirits of the supporters upset by the sale of Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham.
James Westwood: Scott Parker needs a miracle to avoid being sacked for the third time in his career as a Premier League manager. In addition to losing James Trafford’s safe pair of hands, Burnley also saw CJ Egan-Riley and Josh Brownhill run down their contracts, which left two more gaping holes in defence and midfield, respectively. The Clarets have brought in some new players, including Manchester City legend Kyle Walker, but they still don’t have enough quality to compete in the top-flight, and Parker will do well to last in the hot seat beyond October.
Amee Ruszkai: There were rumours in the days that followed promotion from the Championship that Leeds could appoint someone else ahead of their Premier League return, which is never a good sign, and Daniel Farke has been unpopular with fans at various points during his spell in West Yorkshire, so feels like the stand-out option for an early exit. Bad runs will be expected from all of the newly-promoted sides and it’s likely the pressure will grow on Farke particularly quickly when Leeds stumble into theirs, with the fans so hungry for a positive return to the top-flight.
Sean Walsh: I’m not privy to what my colleagues have written, but I feel a few of them will be saying Ruben Amorim. That’s why I’ve gone with Graham Potter, who I don’t believe will instil an identity at West Ham, as my pick.
Tom Maston: Graham Potter is the most under threat of the established managers heading into the new season, and it wouldn’t be a shock if West Ham were to yet again pull the trigger on their head coach should the season not start on the right foot. However, the sack race feels like it will be a battle between the promoted pair of Daniel Farke and Scott Parker when it comes to taking first place. Both have tried and failed in the Premier League before, and neither yet has a squad that looks capable of survival. Of the two, I’ll plump for Farke, just because Leeds feel a little more ambitious than Burnley and can’t afford to sit on their hands if they suffer a bad start to the campaign. The club’s owners considered moving on from the German even after he secured promotion, so they’re unlikely to give him much leeway if results aren’t positive.
Joe Strange: Scott Parker is a fantastic Championship manager, one of the best ever, in fact. He has three Premier League promotions on his CV, all with different clubs, in the last five years, and undoubtedly knows what it takes to get out of a notoriously difficult division. Unfortunately for him, though, he hasn’t been able to replicate that success in the top-flight, and there’s little to suggest it’ll be different this time around as Burnley attempt to survive. With American owners to please and big money at stake, Parker faces an uphill battle to keep his job.
Stephen Darwin: Already under a huge amount of pressure going into the new season, which, frankly, isn’t fair given he completed the main objective of getting Leeds back into the Premier League, Daniel Farke’s card feels marked. Find themselves in the relegation zone early doors and the German, who hasn’t, as yet, been able to make any significant strides in the transfer market, and it’ll be curtains for Farke before the year’s out.
Krishan Davis: Leeds’ handling of Daniel Farke’s position has been nothing short of bizarre, having apparently come seriously close to sacking the head coach once promotion back the Premier League had been secured. Even though they ended up sticking with the German and he deserves another crack at the top-flight despite a questionable track record, you’d imagine he’ll need to make a strong start to avoid that speculation resurfacing, as there is usually no smoke without fire.
Richard Martin: There was a feeling that Leeds wanted to sack Daniel Farke even after winning promotion, given his previous struggles in the Premier League. It is easy to see why they kept the faith, but if he gets off to a bad start, the owners will not hesitate to make a change and bring in a manager they believe can keep them in the top-flight.u0026nbsp;
