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Who will be the next manager to lose their job?

Sack race: Marco Silva and Unai Emery in the running to be the next Premier League manager to lose their job

By Chris Hammer

Football

Wed November 27, 2019 · 5y ago

We take a look at the Premier League sack race, as Everton manager Marco Silva heads the betting from Arsenal's Unai Emery.

Premier League: Results, highlights & table

The race to be the third Premier League manager to lose their job is hotting up following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino last week, with Saturday's results leaving a number of bosses on thin ice.

One of those - Watford's Quique Sanchez Flores - only returned to the top flight at the expense of this season's sack race champion Javi Gracia while the biggest 'winner' was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite the fact his team didn't even kick a ball.

We run through the leading contenders in the eyes of the bookmakers (Sky Bet odds correct at 1400 GMT on 26/11/2019)...

Unai Emery - Arsenal

Sky Bet's sack race odds: 2/5 (Start of the season: 9/1)
League position: 7th
Record: P 13, W 4, D 6, L 3, GD -1, PTS 18
Last six league form: WLDDLD
Next three fixtures: Norwich (a), Brighton (h), West Ham (a)
Summer spending: £137.16m (Six signings)
Biggest signing: Nicolas Pepe (£72m)

There's been a plunge of money on Unai Emery to be the next out following their weekend's 2-2 draw with Southampton, in which they had Alexandre Lacazette to thank for a stoppage-time equaliser to salvage a little face.

North London rivals Tottenham dispensed of a popular man in the eyes of their fans last week, but the Gunners don't even have that same dilemma to worry about considering the crowd reaction towards the Spaniard in recent weeks.

Emery insisted "I can do better" in the wake of Saturday's draw while he acknowledges they must "connect with our supporters".

Arsenal have failed to win six consecutive matches (D5 L1) in all competitions for the first time since November-December 1998 and although the dreaded vote of confidence was issued by the board before the international break, results need to reward that loyalty sooner than later.

Marco Silva - Everton

Sky Bet's sack race odds: 7/2 (Start of the season: 9/1)
League position: 15th
Record: P 13, W 4, D 2, L 7, GD -7, PTS 14
Last six league form: LWLDWL
Next three fixtures: Leicester (a), Liverpool (a), Chelsea (h)
Summer spending: £107.91m (Seven signings)
Biggest signing: Alex Iowbi (£27.36m)

It's hard to see Macro Silva lasting much longer after a miserable season so far was compounded by humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Norwich, who hauled themselves off the bottom of the table with just their third win.

Silva went odds-on in the immediate aftermath of this result but has now drifted in the wake of support for Emery.

The Toffees sacked their previous manager Sam Allardyce for mid-table nothingness so they shouldn't accept the same under a man who spent a lot of money in the summer to challenge for the top six at the very least.

It's not as if his brand of football is bringing entertainment to Goodison Park either, having only managed eight goals there in an overall tally of just 13, and fans are losing patience quickly.

A number of fans sang "sacked in the morning" at the end of the game and Silva responded by saying: "When you lose a match, the first person they look to is the manager. Football is like that. The message is I respect what is their feeling, for sure. It is not the first time they felt the way they felt this afternoon."

A horrible run of fixtures looms large as well, facing Leicester (twice), Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City in their next nine games.

See also: Moyes backed for Everton return

Manuel Pellegrini - West Ham

Sky Bet's Sack race odds: 9/2 (Start of the season: 16/1)
League position: 16th
Record: P 13, W 3, D 4, L 6, GD -7, PTS 13
Last six league form: LLDLLL
Next three fixtures: Chelsea (a), Wolves (a), Arsenal (h)
Summer spending: £71.73m (Six signings)
Biggest signing: Sebastien Haller (£36m)

West Ham started the season so well after their opening-day 5-0 mauling at the hands of Man City but they've since collapsed with a dreadful run of form.

The Hammers have picked up just two points from their last 21 available and they've lost three of their last four home games - two of which London derbies to Crystal Palace and Spurs, with their point coming against promoted Sheffield United.

Manuel Pellegrini needs to reverse fortunes around as quickly as possible but they face Chelsea and Arsenal either side of a tough trip to in-form Wolves in their next three fixtures. Time is running out.

Quique Sanchez Flores - Watford

Sky Bet's sack race odds: 14/1 (Start of the season: N/A)
League position: 20th
Record: P 13, W 1, D 5, L 7, GD -18, PTS 8
Last six league form: DDDLWL
Next three fixtures: Southampton (a), Leicester (a), Crystal Palace (h)
Summer spending: N/A
Biggest signing: N/A

Quique Sanchez Flores only returned to Watford in September after Javi Gracia's horrendous start to the season cost him his job but fortunes have not improved in terms of league position.

The Hornets have managed just seven points from his nine games at the helm, including one away victory, and on Saturday they suffered a club-record 11th consecutive home league match without victory, losing 3-0 to Burnley.

Watford's total haul of eight points is their lowest return at this stage of a top-flight season but to be fair to Sanchez Flores, the rot had set in towards the end of the 2018/19 campaign, losing seven of their last 11 games.

On that basis you'd think the Spaniard would be afforded more time to turn it around and get a chance in the January transfer window - but the Hornets board are not known for patience.

"We just need time, we need belief, we need fight; all these kind of things. We can do it together, but it doesn't depend on me, it's not my control. I'm not worried about anything in my life."

Ralph Hasenhuttl - Southampton

Sky Bet's sack race odds: 33/1 (Start of the season: 18/1)
League position: 19th
Record: P 13, W 2, D 3, L 8, GD -18, PTS 9
Last six league form: LDLLLD
Next three fixtures: Watford (h), Norwich (h), Newcastle (a)
Summer spending: £49.14m (Three signings)
Biggest signing: Danny Ings (£20m)

Ralph Hasenhuttl soared to the head of the sack race market after Southampton's record-equalling 9-0 home defeat to Leicester but is still hanging on in there despite picking up just one point from the next three.

But that solitary draw - away at Arsenal on Saturday - could so easily have been victory had it not been for Alexandre Lacazette's intervention deep into stoppage-time.

As deflating as that moment was for the Saints, at least the encouraging performance will give them confidence ahead of two home games against Watford and Norwich so you'd think he'd be given time to get some victories under their belts.

If they fail to do that, then it could well be curtains.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - Manchester United

Sky Bet's sack race odds: 33/1 (Start of the season: 6/1)
League position: 9th
Record: P 13, W 4, D 5, L 4, GD +4, PTS 17
Last six league form: LDWLWD
Next three fixtures: Aston Villa (h), Tottenham (h), Man City (a)
Summer spending: £143.10m (Three signings)
Biggest signing: Harry Maguire (£80m)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he felt no extra pressure now that Mauricio Pochettino is on the market, but he must have been squirming on the bench at Bramall Lane as his side went 2-0 down and looked dead and buried.

It's been a spluttering first quarter of the season with Ole at the wheel, and Sunday's game perhaps summed up his reign so far with the huge disparity between the highs and lows his young side can produce.

Solskjaer knows the Manchester United hierarchy are long-term admirers of Pochettino, and ironically their point in South Yorkshire put them level with Spurs with Jose Mourinho's new side visiting Old Trafford on December 4.

Alarm bells will have been raised with United's abject display against Sheffield United, but they turned things around late on and that for now may be enough to put off the powers that be at Old Trafford from thinking seriously about making a call to Pochettino ahead of a January transfer window.