The Premier League has reached its 10 game mark and extraordinarily not one manager has lost his job. There came a point when Alan Pardew looked destined for the chop but he, for the time being, looks safe. By contrast, last season saw two managerial casualties by this point, the hotheaded Paulo di Canio of Sunderland and the comical Ian Holloway of Crystal Palace. So who could be destined to get sacked this season?
Manuel Pellegrini – Manchester City
At the start of the season you would never have thought that Manuel Pellegrini’s job could have been under threat, but with indifferent form in Europe and the club being about one defeat away from being out of the title race – Chelsea are already six points clear of the top and are the overwhelming favourites to win the Premier League with Bet365 – as well as the League Cup. If the Citizens do not make it to the Last 16 of the Champions League then Pellegrini’s position at the Etihad Stadium has to come under scrutiny. The owners want success in Europe, and thus far have been disappointed every season.
Alan Pardew – Newcastle
Here is a case of a manager not being liked by the fans but being too costly to sack. Mike Ashley, the owner of Newcastle, rewarded Pardew with a ridiculous eight-year contract in 2012, making him too costly to sack. It is clear that Pardew won’t walk away from St. James Park, he has a well-paid job there for another six more years. However, when you are universally unpopular you do need to get results, and although Pardew has got away with it once this season it would be illogical for him to get away with it twice.
Harry Redknapp – QPR
QPR’s owner Tony Fernandes has developed a bit of a reputation for being trigger-happy with his managers, Harry Redknapp is his third boss in the three and a bit years he has owned the London outfit. Going down to the Championship would be very costly for the club, their current financial standing would struggle to meet the demands of the Financial Fair Play rules, meaning that the club would be hit by a monstrous fine. Fernandes cannot afford that, he needs his club in the Premier League, if not they may cease trading. If QPR are still down the bottom of the table by Christmas expect a new manager to be in the hot seat.
Sean Dyche – Burnley
You’ve got to feel sorry for Sean Dyche. The fact that he got Burnley into the Premier League, against the odds, is incredible. Sadly, since they have got to the Premier League he looks like a fish out of water. We all knew that it was going to be a struggle for the Clarets to remain in the top flight, the warning signs were there once Dyche opted to use the Championship to do his summer shopping. Players on the periphery of the top-flight talent spectrum are never going to keep you up. Burnley are the worst team in the league and it would take a minor miracle for them to stay up. Dyche’s future depends on whether the board are happy to go down and use the parachute payments to rebuild, or to fight for Premier League status.
