Claudio In, Jokanovic Out

Trackback a year in the Premier League and no manager would have felt they had job security. By November a quarter of teams in the division had sacked their Gaffer and first to drop was Crystal Palace’s, Frank De Boer at the start of September.

Coaching in such a competitive league can prove costly as clubs want instant results in the modern game. To be sacked within a month is ridiculous and it became more of a trend to off-load the manager than anything else. Admittedly, there were some woeful starts for some clubs in particular. Many saw their Premier League odds of success drop like stones. Nevertheless, at least give managers until the Christmas period until making a final judgement.

Now in the 18/19 season, up until yesterday all twenty managers were still fully employed. Which is peculiar because out of the bottom five teams, between them they have accumulated seven wins from a total of sixty matches. More often than not, stats show that when teams change managers during the season it has a positive effect. 

Fulham boss, Slavisa Jokanovic was first to get the sack this season and his replacement brings great optimism to Craven Cottage. Premier League winner, Claudio Ranieri replaces Jokanovic in search to save Fulham’s disappointing start to the season. Fulham fans woke up to the news and many shared mixed emotions. ‘Slav’ restored pride in the club whilst they were in the Championship and certainly won the crowd over during his time.

Steve Bruce is a strong candidate for the sack as well, and now one manager has gone, the trend might start again. Both Fulham and Southampton have won only once which is definitely a shock for the South London side who overindulged in the Summer Transfer Window. Fulham spent over £100 million on players this season and it has failed to make an impact at Craven Cottage. Meanwhile, Southampton spent under half of that figure and sit one place above the relegation zone.

Time will tell in the Premier League and the run-up to Christmas always defines a teams campaign. Under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri, Fulham could go on to have a strong season. Coincidently the first fixture under their new boss will be against Southampton at home.