What Managers Have Got Their P45 In The Premier League?

Premier League clubs have set a new record by sacking a dozen different managers over the course of the 2022/23 campaign. Owners dread the prospect of relegation, which can ravage a club's finances, so many have developed itchy trigger fingers during an intense battle for survival. Southampton have already sacked two managers in a desperate bid to beat the drop, while Chelsea followed suit amid a disappointing campaign. The season is still ongoing, so there is still time for more managerial casualties, but these are the head coaches to face the axe so far:

Scott Parker

Parker became the first Premier League manager to lose his job following Bournemouth's embarrassing 9-0 defeat to Liverpool in August. He had been critical of the club's lack of ambition in the summer transfer market, and he cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as the Cherries slumped to a third consecutive loss. Co-owner Maxim Demin swiftly sacked Parker after that defeat, and he handed the reins to Gary O'Neil on a temporary basis. O'Neil eventually landed the permanent job, and Bournemouth are currently five points above the drop zone, so it could ultimately prove to be a shrewd decision.

Thomas Tuchel

Chelsea's new owner, Todd Boehly, shocked everyone by wielding the axe on Tuchel in September. It came just 16 months after the German coach had led the Blues to Champions League glory, so it seemed like a strange move. Boehly said they disagreed about the direction the club should take, and he wanted to bring in a more pliant alternative. However, it proved to be a disastrous decision, as Chelsea plummeted down the table after he left. Graham Potter left high-flying Brighton to replace Tuchel at Stamford Bridge, making him the third Premier League manager to leave his post this season, but his tenure lasted just seven months. More on him later.

Bruno Lage

Wolves sacked Lage at the start of October after a 2-0 defeat to West Ham saw them slip into the relegation zone. They had won just one of their last 15 matches, and Lage paid the price for their poor form. His tenure at the club ultimately lasted a mere 15 months. The owners bankrolled a £100 million summer spree in a bid to challenge for a top-six finish, but Lage was left to rue a lack of firepower. Diego Costa endured a long goal drought, while Raúl Jiménez's injury problems resurfaced, leaving Wolves toothless in attack, and Lage was relieved of his duties. They have improved under his replacement - former Sevilla, Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui - so the board will feel as though the decision to pull the trigger on Lage has been vindicated.

Steven Gerrard

Aston Villa fans were calling for Gerrard's head after they won just two of their opening 12 matches this season. He was finally handed his P45 after a dismal 3-0 defeat to newly promoted Fulham in October, meaning he lasted less than a year in the job. His decision to strip Tyrone Mings of the captaincy in the summer proved unpopular, and the fans lambasted his perceived lack of tactical nous. Sacking Gerrard ended up becoming a masterstroke, as Villa have been superb since Unai Emery replaced him in the hotseat. Only Man City and Arsenal have picked up more Premier League points in that time, as Emery quickly turned Villa from relegation candidates into top-six contenders.

Ralph Hasenhüttl

Southampton's board were very patient with Hasenhüttl during his five-year tenure. He survived two 9-0 defeats - to Leicester in 2019 and Man Utd in 2021 - and several poor runs of form. They were regularly rewarded for their patience, as the Austrian coach always managed to turn things around, and he helped them beat the drop several times. However, their patience eventually ran out in the wake of a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle in November. It left the Saints languishing in the relegation zone, with six losses from their previous nine games, and they decided that a fresh start was needed.

Frank Lampard

The winter World Cup gave Premier League managers a brief respite in the middle of the season, but the sacking spree continued apace in the New Year. Lampard had been skating on thin ice for several weeks, and Everton finally decided to bring his 11-month tenure to an end after losing 2-0 to fellow strugglers West Ham in January. It left them 19th in the table, ahead of bottom club Southampton on goal difference only, and they were winless in 10 games. Replacement Sean Dyche led the Toffees to a 1-0 win against league leaders Arsenal in his first game in charge. However, they are still in the drop zone after a bad run of results, so Dyche needs to produce something special in the remaining weeks of the campaign.

Jesse Marsch

The American coach became the next man in the firing line at the start of February. His team had just lost to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, which saw them slip down to 17th in the standings. It came just 12 months after he replaced fan favourite Marcelo Bielsa. Marsch helped Leeds beat the drop last season courtesy of a famous win against Brentford on the final day of the campaign, but results went south this term. Leeds only managed to pick up four wins from 20 matches, sparking panic in the boardroom, and he was fired.

Nathan Jones

Southampton parachuted in Jones to save the day after sacking Hasenhüttl in November. The Welshman had built up a sterling reputation thanks to his work at Luton, and the board hoped he would be the man to turn their season around. However, the Saints lost nine of their 14 games during Jones' tenure. He faced the ignominy of being sacked after just three months in the job, which included a seven-week break for the winter World Cup. His demise robbed us of arguably the funniest manager in Premier League history. 'I want to test myself on every level, and that's nothing against Welsh women,' will go down as one of the greatest football quotes of all-time, as will his declaration that teams typically improve after having a player sent off in the wake of a 2-1 defeat to 10-man Wolves.

Patrick Vieira

Crystal Palace became the next club to dispense with their manager when they dismissed Vieira on 17th March. The Eagles were 12th in the table at the time, but they were on a 12-game winless streak stretching back to December. They were also just three points clear of the relegation zone, and teams below them had games in hand, so chairman Steve Parish took drastic action. It later transpired that the club's hierarchy felt the former Arsenal captain was too nice, and they decided to bring in a more experienced boss in Roy Hodgson. It has proved to be a happy reunion, as the former Palace manager has excelled during his second spell at the club. Palace have picked up 10 points from four games under Hodgson, leaving them well clear of the relegation zone, showing that dramatic decisions can pay dividends.

Antonio Conte

Conte was clearly goading Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy during an incendiary press conference on 18th March. The firebrand Italian coach lambasted his own players, branding them "selfish", and he mounted a withering attack on the club's owners. "They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress," said Conte after watching his team surrender a two-goal lead during a 3-3 draw with Southampton. "It is easy this way. Tottenham's story is this. For 20 years there is the owner, but they never won something - but why?" Conte had grown increasingly frustrated in north London, but he reached breaking point that day. His position was untenable after the explosive, and he was finally given his marching orders the following week, while his players were on an international break.

Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers burnished his reputation by leading Leicester to back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the Premier League table after joining the club in 2019. The Foxes also won the FA Cup during his tenure, but things started to unravel last term. They finished eighth, but their weakness at defending set pieces set alarm bells ringing.

Rodgers was then heavily critical of the club after a summer of inactivity in the transfer window, which saw Wesley Fofana and Kasper Schmeichel leave. He was flirting with the sack for several months, but Leicester seemingly turned things around after the World Cup. They climbed up to 13th in the table after thumping Spurs 4-1 in February, but the wheels then fell off in spectacular fashion. A run of six games without a win left them in the relegation zone, and Rodgers was sacked on 2nd April.

Graham Potter

A few hours after Rodgers' dismissal, Potter became the 12th managerial casualty of the 2022/23 Premier League season. Boehly had resisted calls to sack the former Brighton and Swansea boss for several weeks, insisting that he wanted to do things differently to predecessor Roman Abramovich. However, a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa was the straw that broke the camel's back. He lasted just seven months at Stamford Bridge, and he only won seven of his 22 games at the club.

Chelsea paid a record £21.5 million in compensation to Brighton to bring Potter and his coaching team to west London, and they handed him a five-year contract, so it proved to be a very costly mistake. Boehly has made a series of bizarre decisions - sacking Tuchel, breaking all manner of transfer records but failing to sign a striker - but perhaps the strangest was to hand Lampard the job on a caretaker basis until the end of the season. Abramovich had sacked Lampard in 2021, and his replacement - Tuchel - led the Blues to Champions League glory. Lampard did not exactly coat himself in glory at Everton, and he led Chelsea to four consecutive defeats after replacing Potter.

Cristian Stellini

Stellini was Conte's assistant at Tottenham, and he was apparently popular with the players, so Levy appointed him as caretaker manager until the end of the season. However, he lasted just four games. Stellini was sacked on Monday following Spurs' humiliating 6-1 defeat to Newcastle. It left them six points behind the Magpies, and they are now serious underdogs for a top-four finish in the football spread betting markets. Levy decided to entrust 31-year-old Ryan Mason with managing the team until the end of the season, but it remains to be seen if he will last that long.