Eddie Howe’s Newcastle have lost four Premier League games in a row while Erik ten Hag has won only one of six. Who goes first?
1) Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace)
A win! An actual win! Steve Cooper’s availability continues to loom ominously over Roy, but technically they have only lost one of their last five games.
2=) Erik ten Hag (Manchester United)
One win in six in the Premier League as it stands for Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United, with that impressive comeback victory over Aston Villa now the outlier. They are now eight points behind Tottenham in fifth and out of the Champions League. He seems to have the reluctant support of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is willing to spend some money in January. But will Ten Hag last the month?
READ: The leading contenders to be next Manchester United manager if they sack Erik ten Hag
2=) Eddie Howe (Newcastle)
Rightly or wrongly, Howe was always liable to quickly come under pressure if there was even the slightest hint that he might not be the man to lead Newcastle through stage two of their quest for world domination no matter how impressively and swiftly he boxed off stage one. Newcastle have got so many big decisions right since getting all the money, but you still think at some stage there’s going to be a desire to get a Big Name Manager in charge. Like Jose Mourinho.
Thankfully for Eddie Howe, they avoided the massive banana skin of an FA Cup clash with Sunderland, but that’s four straight Premier League defeats for Newcastle.
4) Vincent Kompany (Burnley)
He was under massive amounts of pressure but a 5-0 win over Sheffield United eased things. A point at Brighton was a positive but they were too easily beaten at home by Sean Dyche’s Everton. The win at Fulham buys him time at least, and for now there are clearly others in greater strife.
5) Thomas Frank (Brentford)
A dramatic leap into the top six for Frank, who has earned plenty of plaudits and acclaim during his transformative Brentford reign but finds himself now in charge of a team with seven defeats in the last eight in the Premier League and a slightly dicey four-point gap to the bottom three.
6) Mauricio Pochettino (Chelsea)
The pressure felt off after a week which saw them beat Tottenham (even though it happened to them) and draw 4-4 with Manchester City in a remarkable game that suggested the Blues were on their way back. Then they were hammered by Newcastle. A narrow ten-man win over Brighton showed grit, at least, but they were poor again against Man Utd, Everton and Wolves. There has been Carabao Cup advancement, and it will be undeniably funny if a manager who openly cared little for the domestic cups while Spurs boss ends up accidentally winning one with this Chelsea rabble, despite the ongoing patchiness of their league form.
Mind you, the scratchy win over Fulham made it three Premier League victories in a row for the first time since October 2022.
7=) Chris Wilder (Sheffield United)
He was always the Blades’ Plan B but could they have a Plan C?
7=) Marco Silva (Fulham)
He apparently turned down a big old pile of cash to move to Saudi Arabia and has since signed a new deal. That pair of 5-0 wins will have done him the world of good, while the victory over Arsenal lifted spirits heading into 2024 after three straight defeats.
9) Gary O’Neil (Wolves)
Happy to report that we were very wrong about O’Neil, who has Wolves firmly ensconced in mid-table after victory over Chelsea. We’re already into the realms of the vanishingly unlikely here.
10=) Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth)
Two defeats in 10 – and those at Man City and Tottenham – has lifted Bournemouth to mid-table after a rocky old start. Should be fine now as instead of worrying he might get sacked we see how far he can take this suddenly rather exciting team.
10=) Sean Dyche (Everton)
The points deduction probably solidified Dyche’s position more than anything else. And those four straight wins to nil didn’t hurt. Defeats to Spurs and Man City were certainly unfortunate enough not to cause any meaningful damage, but follow-up tonking at Wolves is less excusable. Knock another 10 points off them, get them firing again. Dyche would probably love it.
10=) Rob Edwards (Luton)
Surely not. Would be the most Modern Football thing ever.
10=) Nuno Espirito Santo (Nottingham Forest)
He’s absolutely not safe because the owner really does like a sacking and Forest could absolutely find themselves in the sort of mess that ends in double-sacking silliness. Victories over Newcastle and Manchester United surely buy him more time than the Hodgsons and your Howes have, though.
10=) David Moyes (West Ham)
He’s not expected to last beyond the end of the season but top six in the Premier League (somehow) and advancing in the Europa League keeps the wolves from the door. The win over Manchester United feels big, the win at Arsenal – Moyes’ first ever – even bigger. He’s certainly not making himself easy to get rid of.
10=) Roberto De Zerbi (Brighton)
Definitely won’t be the first manager out. Will be very near the top of the betting in any Big Seven job that comes up. Especially Arsenal. But that won’t come up anyway, so don’t worry about it.
16=) Unai Emery (Aston Villa)
Definitely won’t be the next manager out. Will be very near the top of the betting in any Big Seven job that comes up. Apart from Arsenal. But that won’t come up anyway, so don’t worry about it.
16=) Ange Postecoglou (Tottenham)
Spurs are Spurs and therefore nothing can ever be ruled out, and we’re there are going to be bad days alongside the good given the nature of their squad and Postecoglou’s all-out tactics. But the feelgood vibe had evaporated somewhat after following up a 10-game unbeaten start with three consecutive defeats. Then came a 3-3 madness at Manchester City and all is right in Ange world once more. The ups and downs will continue, but we’d expect more of the former than the latter and the fanbase – and importantly the media – are all in. Three straight wins and back up to fourth is not going to get him sacked, is it? Too many more nights like that shambles at Brighton – late dignity-saving fightback notwithstanding – and Spurs could yet go full Spurs. Somehow end 2023 only three points off the Premier League pace despite being too chaotic for their own good.
18=) Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
There were several moments last season when it appeared far from certain Klopp would still be Liverpool manager this season. Liverpool will have to be better than they were for huge swathes of last season if further ‘Is Klopp’s Liverpool Empire Crumbling?’ beard-stroking ruminations are to be avoided. And they are being much better than they were for huge swathes of last season. Klopp’s back on top and going nowhere. But he does probably need to stop asking for replays, because it makes him sound a bit mad.
18=) Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
How big an offer from Saudi Arabia would it take, do we reckon?
20) Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
Lost for the first time this season in the Premier League against Newcastle and dealt with it extremely calmly. Defeats to West Ham and Fulham were a bad way to end 2023, but faith in the Arteta Project remains solid. A striker would be handy, mind.
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