Following an interesting weekend in the Premier League, there are a number of managers who will be nervously waiting for phone calls summoning them to the boardroom. Craig Shakespeare recently became the second manager sacked this season, following Frank de Boer’s early dismissal by Crystal Palace, but there are two managers precariously close to the exit door following heavy defeats this weekend.
As you can see from Sky Bet’s odds, Ronald Koeman is the huge favourite for the axe following a heavy defeat at home to Arsenal. He is now priced up at 1/4 to be the next man to lose his job and that would suggest that he will get the axe in the next few days.
Koeman’s Everton side went down 5-2 to the Gunners despite leading 1-0 for much of the first half. Big things were expected of Everton this season, following a huge summer outlay by the Dutch manager including the likes of Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney. Things have certainly not gone to plan though, with Everton struggling badly in both the Premier League and the Europa League due to a lack of pace all over the pitch. Koeman has led his Everton side to 18th in the Premier League, winning just two of their opening nine fixtures and conceding an average of two goals a game in the process. Fans are now desperate for the Dutchman’s head and Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal could be the final straw for the Everton board.
Behind Koeman, Slaven Bilic appears to be the man under pressure following a 3-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion which left the Hammers on just eight points from their first nine games. His West Ham side are level on points with Everton, but just like the side from Liverpool, big things were expected of West Ham this season following a promising summer. Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez all joined the club this summer, but none have impressed so far with Bilic struggling to get the best out of his players. At odds of 1/2 to be the next man to go, he could certainly be worth a look considering how poorly West Ham finished last season, coupled with how they have started this one.
One man who the pressure could be mounting on is Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp following another humiliating defeat this weekend to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. Klopp saw his side go down 4-1, with all four of the goals coming from defensive mistakes and there are now large sections of the Anfield crowd questioning whether the German is the right man for the job. Liverpool appear to have regressed this season and Klopp’s side already find themselves 12 points behind leaders Manchester City after only nine games. Liverpool have conceded 15 goals in five away games this season, despite conceding just once at Anfield. It will be interesting to see what the repercussions are for Klopp following another embarrassing defeat in a big game and surely the Liverpool board will not be willing to give him too much time if they look in danger of missing out on European football next season.