👔 From most to least harsh: The 14 Premier League manager sackings | OneFootball

A record 14 Premier League managers have been sacked from their positions already this season and who would bet against that number increasing.

From the harshest to the most understandable, we take a look at the men who were in charge, once upon a time.

Thomas Tuchel

Given that he is already back in one of the most prestigious jobs in European football and that Chelsea struggled horribly after his exit, it is hard not to view Tuchel’s September exit as extremely harsh.

The Blues started the season poorly, losing to both Leeds and Southampton, and ultimately he perhaps paid the price of not being the new ownership group’s chosen man.

It wasn’t that long ago that he led Chelsea to the Champions League but it is evidence of how ruthless a business he is in.

Patrick Vieira

Another man who you thought would have had enough credit in the bank after his recent exploits was Vieira at Palace.

Yes they were on an 11-game winless streak and sliding towards the relegation zone but you never truly felt they would end up in the bottom three come the end of the season (and Roy Hodgson’s incredible turnaround shows the quality they possess).

The fact that they also fired a man with his name on St Patrick’s Day also adds to the harsh factor.

Javi Gracia

Appointed on a three-month deal at Leeds, the Spaniard wasn’t even given the chance to see that timeframe out.

He took over a side who hadn’t won in 10 games and helped steer them out of the relegation zone but has been dismissed with four games to go in favour of survival specialist Sam Allardyce.

Things are tight at the bottom but if Gracia was the right man in February then why didn’t he deserve the chance to justify that faith until the end?

Graham Potter

This one could be controversial but is seven months really enough time to give a man who you entrusted with a five-year contract?

Potter was faced with a bloated squad and some bad luck with injuries, which both combined to make his job even more difficult.

In the end, the results were not good enough for a club the size of Chelsea but it is hard not to think he was quite unfortunate and they have only gotten worse under Frank Lampard.

Brendan Rodgers

Leicester were and still are in serious danger of a return to the second tier, with Rodgers overseeing a rapid decline at the King Power Stadium.

This season, they have looked a shadow of the side which he led to FA Cup glory and took to within a whisker of Champions League qualification and their form in 2023 has been abject.

But he is one of the club’s greatest ever managers and arguably that should have earned the chance to fix the mess.

Ralph Hasenhüttl

As above, this is another case of a long-serving coach perhaps deserving a little more time to put things right, given only three other Premier League managers were in their posts longer than the Austrian at the time of his dismissal.

But things had started to seriously sour for him on the south coast.

They were in the drop zone with 12 points from 14 games but their form hadn’t reached critical levels and the decision to dismiss him appears to have done more harm than good in the long run.

Cristian Stellini

Such has the cut-throat nature of sackings been this season, even the interim coaches weren’t safe.

It was somewhat surprising to see Stellini stay at Spurs after Antonio Conte’s exit but after a late capitulation at home to Bournemouth and humiliating 6-1 loss to Newcastle, even he was sent on his way.

Such results are hard to survive but you would have thought the nature of his position and the situation may have bought him some time.

Jesse Marsch

This may be the point where you can start to understand and sympathise with the club’s decision-making.

Marsch was less than a year in the job but under him, Leeds were a self-inflicted, open defensive mess and at the time of his dismissal, they were only outside the relegation zone on goal difference and winless in seven.

Under him, Leeds looked to be Championship-bound. Javi Gracia brought back some hope.

Scott Parker

The first of the season is a curious case. After all, Parker was coming off the back of leading Bournemouth back to the Premier League and was axed just 25 days into the season (the 12th earliest in league history).

But it came after a humiliating 9-0 loss at Liverpool, equalling the league record and it was his interview afterwards which provoked the club’s hierarchy into making the tough call.

“It doesn’t surprise me, that’s where we are at this moment,” he said at Anfield. “The players need help but to be honest with you we’re a bit under-equipped at this level.”

Frank Lampard

Everton’s issues run far beyond the man in the dugout, as the protests against the board throughout this season have shown.

Lampard’s side were second bottom when he was axed, a decision undoubtedly taken by a hierarchy who refused to contemplate the prospect of relegation with the albatross of their new stadium also hanging around Everton’s necks.

They had lost four of their five coming out of the winter break but the other result was a credible draw against City but there was merit in this call and Sean Dyche is undoubtedly a better option to secure their top flight status.

Steven Gerrard

A third ex-England captain in a row! After arriving at Aston Villa midway through last season after a hit-and-miss spell in Scotland, Gerrard did enough to steady the ship in his maiden campaign.

But their start to the current campaign was disastrous and only two clubs picked up fewer than their nine points from their first 11 games.

Unai Emery’s impact only serves to indicate how badly he underperformed with the tools at his disposal.

Bruno Lage

The football had gotten stale at Molineux and it showed at the start of the season.

Wolves began with just one win from their opening eight games and lost four, leading to the difficult decision being made.

By the time Julen Lopetegui took over a month later, Wolves were bottom and four points adrift but like his compatriot at Villa, the Spaniard’s revival of their fortunes is evidence this was the right call.

Nathan Jones

Yes, we’re aware that above, we advocated for a manager being given time and patience to get things right.

But with Jones at Southampton, it was nothing short of a disaster, one of the shortest-lived but most memorable reigns in Premier League history – taking them from being concerned about relegation to looking certain to go down.

His curious and prickly press conferences did him no favours and after 94 days and just one win, he was sacked. Jones wasn’t given much of a chance but he also never looked a good fit at any point.

Antonio Conte

Spurs may still have been in top four contention when the Italian left but that was about all they had going in their favour.

Dumped out of the Champions League by Milan and FA Cup by Sheffield United to start the year, their form was erratic in the league too but it was that infamous, explosive final press conference that meant Daniel Levy was left with no choice.

It can be viewed above and was given after their capitulation in the 3-3 draw against Southampton. There was never any coming back after this one and Conte simply had to go. It was best for everyone concerned.