You’re fired! The first manager sacked in every Premier League season
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Fulham have decided to sack Slavisa Jokanovic after 12 games of the Premier League season.
The Lily Whites have won just one of those 12 matches and as such, they found themselves rock bottom of the table and that led to Jokanovic being shown the door, with Claudio Ranieri coming in to replace him.
The threat of relegation often leads to managers being sacked early in a season, but how often does the change work?
We’ve looked at the first managers who’ve been sacked in each season and how the club who made the decision to hire a new boss have ended that campaign.
1993/1994 - Peter Reid
After two successive fifth-placed finishes, Man City ended the 1992/93 season in ninth and the fans were unhappy with the club’s style of play under Reid. Therefore, after a less-than-inspiring start to the 1993/94 campaign, Reid was sacked after just four games! City went on to finish in 16th place under the stewardship of Brian Horton.
1994/1995 - Ossie Ardiles
West Ham boss Billy Bonds actually resigned before the start of the 1994/95 season, but the first manager sacked was Ossie Ardiles. He was sacked in November 1994 after Spurs’ terrible start to the season. He was replaced by Gerry Francis, who guided Tottenham to a seventh-placed finish.
1995/1996 - Roy McFarland
Bolton Wanderers were jointly managed by Roy McFarland and Colin Todd at the start of the 1995/96 season. However, in January, McFarland was dismissed and Todd assumed full managerial duties. Todd was unable to keep Bolton up as they finished rock bottom.
1996/1997 - Howard Wilkinson
Bruce Rioch was sacked by Arsenal before the 1996/97 season begun but Howard Wilkinson was the first manager sacked during the campaign. He’d won the old First Division in charge of Leeds in 1991/92 but after a few years of average results, he was sacked in September 1996 after a 4-0 loss to Man United. Leeds replaced Wilkinson with George Graham and finished the season in 11th place, just six points above relegated Sunderland.
1997/1998 - David Pleat
After a decent 1996/97 campaign, Sheffield Wednesday started the 1997/98 season very poorly and were in huge relegation trouble. As such, they sacked David Pleat and brought in Ron Atkinson. Under ‘Big Ron’ the Owls recovered and ended the season in 16th place.
1998/1999 - Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish’s 1998/99 season only lasted two games before he was sacked by Newcastle! After finishing in 13th place the season before, there was some ill-feeling at the club and that led to the sacking. Newcastle replaced Dalglish with Ruud Gullit and ended the season in 11th place.
1999/2000 - Danny Wilson
Ruud Gullit’s Newcastle career did not last long and he resigned in September 1999 and Southampton put Dave Jones on gardening leave so he could concentrate on clearing his name in connection with child abuse charges. However, the first manager sacked in the 1999/2000 season was Danny Wilson. Sheffield Wednesday sacked him in March 2000 and replaced him with his assistant Peter Shreeves. That change didn’t prevent the Owls from being relegated in 19th place.
2000/2001 - Gianluca Vialli
Having won the FA Cup with Chelsea in 1999/2000, it was a surprise to see Gianluca Vialli sacked just five games into the next season. However, the Blues had started reasonably poorly and Vialli had reportedly fallen out with some key players. He was replaced by countryman Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to a sixth-placed finish.
2001/2002 - Jim Smith
Derby County decided to sack Jim Smith in October 2001 as they were in relegation trouble. They replaced Smith with Colin Todd, but he himself only lasted 18 games before being replaced by John Gregory. Unsurprisingly, Derby were relegated, finishing ten points from safety.
2002/2003 - Peter Reid
The second time Peter Reid appears on this list. On this occasion, he was sacked by Sunderland in October 2002 with the club in 17th place. He was replaced by Howard Wilkinson, but he could only last a few months before he too was let go and replaced by Mick McCarthy. McCarthy was unable to keep the Black Cats up.
2003/2004 - Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle was sacked as manager of Tottenham in September 2003 as his team had won just four points from their opening six league games. Spurs’ football director, David Pleat, took over as temporary manager until the end of the season and guided Tottenham to 14th place.
2004/2005 - Bobby Robson
Newcastle had finished in fifth place and had reached the Champions League semi-final in 2003/04 but just a month into the new campaign, Bobby Robson had been sacked. He was dismissed after after a poor start to the season, with rumours of discontent in the dressing room doing him no favours. Graeme Souness took over and Newcastle finished in 14th place.
2005/2006 - Alain Perrin
Alain Perrin had helped keep Portsmouth in the top flight in 2004/05 but he didn’t last too long the next year. He was sacked in November 2005 after a poor start to the season. In a surprise move, Harry Redknapp returned to the club, having left a year earlier to take over at Southampton. Redknapp kept Pompey up as they finished in 17th.
2006/2007 - Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie was the man tasked with following Alan Curbishley after his 15-year reign at Charlton. It didn’t go well and, after a string of poor results, Dowie was sacked in November. He was replaced by his assistant Les Reed. Reed, himself only lasting a month, was replaced by Alan Pardew, who was unable to keep Charlton up.
2007/2008 - Martin Jol
Despite Jose Mourinho and Sammy Lee officially leaving Chelsea and Bolton respectively, by mutual consent, it was Martin Jol who was the first manager sacked in 2007/08. Jol was handed his P45 in bizarre fashion as news broke that he was to be dismissed as he was managing Spurs in a UEFA Cup game! He was replaced by Juande Ramos, who led Spurs to 11th and a League Cup win.
2008/2009 - Juande Ramos
With Alan Curbishley (West Ham) and Kevin Keegan (Newcastle) resigning, Juande Ramos, who took over from Martin Jol a year earlier, was the first manager sacked in 2008/09. It wasn’t a shock either as Ramos had lead Tottenham to their worst ever start to a league season. He was binned with the team placed bottom of the league after picking up just two points from their opening eight matches. Harry Redknapp came in and stabilised the ship as Tottenham finished eighth.
2009/2010 - Paul Hart
Under Paul Hart, Portsmouth had the worst start to a campaign ever by a Premier League team, losing their first seven league games. They won just two of the next six before he was sacked with the club facing huge financial issues. Avram Grant replaced Hart but with the club docked nine points for entering administration, he had no chance of keeping them up.
2010/2011 - Chris Hughton
There were more than a few eyebrows raised when Newcastle sacked Chris Hughton in December 2010. Players and fans were not happy with the sacking, as the board decided that they wanted a more experienced manager. Alan Pardew was that man and he led the Magpies to 12th.
2011/2012 - Steve Bruce
After a 2–1 home defeat to bottom club Wigan Athletic, Sunderland sacked Steve Bruce with the club in 16th place. Martin O’Neill replaced Bruce and steered the Black Cats out of relegation trouble and into a 13th-placed finish.
2012/2013 - Roberto Di Matteo
Just six months after Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea won the FA Cup and the Champions League, the Italian was sacked by the club! A 3-0 loss to Juventus, which eliminated the Blues from the Champions League group stages, was seemingly the straw that broke the camel’s back. Rafa Benitez, much to the anger of the Chelsea fans, replaced Di Matteo on a temporary basis. Chelsea finished third and won the Europa League.
2013/2014 - Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio helped Sunderland pull off a great escape in 2012/13 but was sacked early in the following season. Sunderland, who began the campaign with just one point from five games, sacked Di Canio and brought in Gus Poyet. The move worked as he steered Sunderland to a 14th-placed finish.
2014/2015 - Neil Warnock
When Tony Pulis left Crystal Palace just two days before the start of the season, Neil Warnock was drafted in to replace the Welshman. However, he was fired in December with the club in the relegation zone. The sacking turned out to be a wise move as Palace appointed Alan Pardew and the club went on to finish in the top half of the table.
2015/2016 - Brendan Rodgers
Dick Advocaat’s resignation at Sunderland meant that Brendan Rodgers was the first manager sacked in the 2015/16 season. Liverpool decided to make a change to bring in a more experienced manager, and they got that in the shape of Jurgen Klopp. The Reds were 10th when Rodgers was sacked and finished the season in eighth.
2016/2017 - Francesco Guidolin
Swansea, rather harshly, sacked Francesco Guidolin on his birthday in October 2016 as the club had not begun the season well. He was replaced by Bob Bradley, but that didn’t last long as the American was sacked himself roughly two months later! Paul Clement then came in and guided the Swans to safety.
2017/18 - Frank de Boer
Frank de Boer was sacked just ten weeks after being appointed by Crystal Palace. In that time, the Eagles didn’t win a single league game and had become the first team in 93 years to have begun a top-flight season with four losses, having not scored a single goal. Roy Hodgson replaced De Boer. Hodgson’s appointment was a wise one by Palace as he took over a winless team and made them very competitive. They ended the season on 44 points, which was good enough for an 11th-placed finish.