Even though the Premier League season is just four games old, you won’t be surprised to hear that the odds for the first managerial causality are already out!
Despite back to back promotions Southampton’s Nigel Adkins is the 7/4 favourite to be out of a job before anyone else! Incredibly harsh, yes; however the relatively new chairman Nicola Cortese isn’t the most popular with the St Mary’s faithful and dismissing the likeable Adkins would go someway to ensure that popularity nosedives further!
Andre Villas-Boas has only been at the club five minutes; however he is joint second favourite in the sack race following an indifferent start to Tottenham’s Premier League campaign. It won’t happen overnight and hopefully Daniel Levy will give the former Chelsea manager time, and despite picking up just five points from four games, the players appear to be on side and have frequently defended Villas-Boas.
Along with Villas-Boas at 7/1 is QPR’s Mark Hughes. A very good transfer window for the club has ensured that expectations at Loftus Road will be high; however a start that has included the away trips to Manchester City and Spurs, as well as the recent visit from the European Champions, is far from ideal, and come the half-way stage QPR will be in and around the middle of the Barclays Premier League, and Hughes will still be a job.
Both Brendan Rodgers and Sam Allardyce are at 10’s and for me neither will be the first out of a job as one is there for the long-term whilst the other will keep his side away from trouble!
For me the two who I’ve yet to mention who are at long odds but are very much in the ‘sack-race’ are Roberto Di Matteo and Alan Pardew who are 25/1 and 33/1 respectively. Two words sum up why these two are even considered and they are ‘Crazy Owners’! Both Roman Abramovich and Mike Ashley have previous when it comes to dismissing managers, and as crazy as it sounds, if either Di Matteo or Pardew were sacked, it wouldn’t surprise me. Very little in football does nowadays.
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