The Barclays is back and that means we can only be about a fortnight at most from the first manager officially entering crisis mode and facing three games to save his job. Last season was a quiet one for manager departures, with by far the biggest one of the lot only happening at the very end of the campaign after a six-month farewell tour. But it did prompt a fair bit of early summer managergeddon and does mean quite a few new or returning faces among the 20 men in the race none of them want to win.
All hail the return of the Premier League Sack Race. Here’s a rundown of who’s likeliest to be packing their bags first and who can, for now, luxuriate in relative safety and security. 1) Enzo Maresca Has taken charge of a top-flight game for the first time in his managerial career at a club with sky-high expectations, alarming recent underachievement and a fondness for manager-binning that has quite clearly survived the shift from Abramovich to Boehly.
And lost . 2) Erik Ten Hag A messy few months at Manchester United amounted to what is perhaps the longest, most drawn out and least convincing vote of confidence ever issued. There are surprising signs of competence and even some financial good sense at long last in the transfer market, but it still doesn’t quite feel like Ten Hag has full unwavering support from above and any repeat of last season’s (relative) struggles will see Ten Hag thrust firmly back into the full glare of the Sack Race spotlight.
Winning the first .