We are entering that tense time of the year when club owners start to get twitchy and are liable to sack underperforming managers as they fear for their Premier League survival. The bookmakers, as compassionate as ever, are running highly publicised betting odds markets on who will be the next for the chop, so we have run through the leading contenders below:
Alan Pardew
All the bookmakers have Alan Pardew as odds-on favourite to be the next manager to leave his post, and rightly so as Crystal Palace are in woeful form. Things were going so well for him after he left Newcastle to take over at the club he once played for: he got them out of trouble and then sent them surging up the table. But they have been the worst performing Premiership side in 2016 and flirted with relegation last campaign. They got off to a decent start this campaign, buoyed by the signing of Cristian Benteke, but have now lost six games in a row and their defending has been atrocious. They scored four at the weekend against a Swansea side that were bottom of the table, but still lost 5-4. They kept falling asleep at the back as they fell to a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool. They have conceded two goals a game and are in freefall, and Pardew will be looking over his shoulder. He is currently 5/6 favourite, but Palace are quite patient compared to some of their rivals, so he might be able to turn it around.
Bob Bradley
Swansea have already fired one manager this season, and Bob Bradley was parachuted in to save them. The American has struggled and they took just two points from his first five games. That win over Palace has given him a bit of breathing room, however, and that might give his side confidence to kick on and get out of trouble. He is likely to be given a bit more time as he can only work with what he’s got, and if Fernando Llorente keeps banging in the goals he could survive, but it is looking a tad precarious and he is 4/1 second favourite.
David Moyes
Moyes was favourite in the betting odds for the next manager to be sacked a few weeks ago but he has now gone out to 6/1 after Sunderland climbed off the bottom of the table with back to back wins over Bournemouth and Hull. They lost to Liverpool at the weekend, but there is no great shame in that. Sunderland were trying to sign Moyes for years before he finally joined in the summer, so they are likely to give him time, and Sunderland have been rejuvenated since Victor Anichebe muscled his way into the side so they could get out of the relegation zone. They have since been overtaken again by Swansea, however, and are bottom once more, so Moyes will be a bit fearful of the axe.
Mike Phelan
This is an interesting one. It was a disastrous summer for Hull as the owner tried and failed to sell the club. He refused to buy any players while negotiations were taking place, and Hull were left with a threadbare squad and Mike Phelan as caretaker manager. The sale fell through and they signed a few players on deadline day, but it is not enough. Remarkably, Hull started the season well and picked up a couple of wins, so Phelan was given the permanent manager’s job, but they have since been in freefall. They lost six in a row to drop into the relegation zone – a run that included a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Bournemouth – but they are capable of a surprise result, such as beating Southampton and drawing with West Brom. You can’t blame Phelan as he has not got the squad he needs to compete and is actually doing well with limited resources, but nothing has been conventional at Hull of late and he could be axed before January if the powers that be decide to invest in the squad and want someone else overseeing transfers. He looks an interesting option at 6/1.
The rest
West Ham have been poor this season and are in 16th, just a point ahead of Palace and Hull, which is terrible given the quality in the squard and investment West Ham have enjoyed. Slaven Bilic (16/1) is a club legend but could pay the price. Stoke have turned things around, so Mark Hughes looks safe for a while. For a real wildcard, how about Jose Mourinho at 40/1? Sacked by Chelsea last year as they were so poor, his Man Utd team have got off to their worst start to a season since 1989, and he keeps getting sent off, so he could go.