Has the managerial sack race paid dividends for clubs in the Premier League?-Part 2

Following on from part 1, this time we will look at the 2010/11-2015/16 seasons. Before beginning, its time to see what it is like to be bottom of the pack...

 

Rock Bottom:

 

 

*Managers with less than 10 games excluded

Paul Jewell is the unfortunate winner here. His 5 points in 24 games is the worst record since 2004 in the Premier League.

2010/11 Premier League season:

 

It took 16 games before the first mid-season manager change during the 2010/11 season. Previously 13 games was the longest time before the first manager was replaced. The culprit was Chris Hughton. 19 points in 16 games and Newcastle 12th saw him replaced by Alan Pardew. However, Pardew didn’t fare much better ending the season in the same position Hughton left them at.

This season saw the return of King Kenny to Liverpool. Having recently appointed Roy Hodgson in the summer, Liverpool were struggling in the league and were 12th after 20 games. Dalglish came in and had an instant impact. He earned 33 points in his 18 games in-charge and saw Liverpool climb up the table and finish 6th.

Hodgson wasn’t unemployed for long. West Bromwich Albion were struggling under Roberto Di Matteo and finally after 25 games enough was enough. In comes Roy Hodgson. Earning 21 points in 13 games he guided them from 17th to 11th. Remarkably, he earned a higher PPG with West Brom than he did with Liverpool during the season.

2011/12 Premier League season:

 

The 2011/12 season was one of mixed emotions for Chelsea fans. Although they finally won the Champions League they had always dreamt of, their league performance took a hit. Replacing Andre Vilas-Boas mid-season for Roberto Di Matteo resulted in a reduced PPG and a fall from 5th to 6th position. However, I we sure this doesn’t concern Chelsea fans one bit.

Although QPR struggled all season, they will always be remembered for the team that were beaten to give Man City their first Premier League title. The change in manager didn’t have an impact on their final position, however the improved PPG from Warnock to Hughes helped QPR stay up that season.

2012/13 Premier League season:

 

 

The 2012/13 season brought the end of Roberto Mancini’s time at Man City. He brought them a league title but underperformed in Europe. Management wanted more. Mancini has the highest PPG of any manager who left mid-season during the time studied, not something that he wants to be told we imagine.

This season also welcomed Mauricio Pochettino to the pleasant life that is the Premier League. Although some at the time felt that Nigel Adkins' dismissal was harsh, they soon kept quiet as Pochettino brought his style of football to the Premier League. Although this season his improvement on Adkins isn’t clear, the following season he put his stamp on that Southampton team.

After being unfairly sacked Adkins found a new home at Reading. His task – help them survive the drop. He didn’t succeed, in fact he did worse than his predecessor. Maybe the Southampton sack was still ringing in his head?

QPR didn’t survive the drop this time. Mark Hughes had an abysmal start and was replaced by Harry Redknapp after 12 games. However, Redknapp couldn’t change their fortunes and they finished bottom.

2013/14 Premier League season:

 

10 changes, 9 different teams; the 2013/14 season brought all sorts of records. The most mid-season manager changes in the time studied and the most different number of teams to change a manager.

Sunderland got things started. They were followed by Crystal Palace soon after. Both teams struggling and both teams surviving the drop comfortably. Fulham were not as fortunate. They went through three managers that season but none of them could stop the inevitable.

West Brom were fortunate. Pepe Mel came in for Steve Clarke, however a lower PPG resulted in a lower final position, dropping from 16th to 17th. Andre Vilas-Boas ended his second job in the Premier League when Spurs replaced him with Tim Sherwood. He has not returned since.

Malky Mackay was doing a decent job at Cardiff, so we thought. But the controversial owner at the time decided he wasn’t having it. He sacked Mackay and hired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It didn’t turn out well. In his time at the club Mackay managed 18 games and earned 17 points. Solskjaer also manager 18 games, however he was only able to get 12 points. He also saw them fall from 16th to 20th and relegation.

2013/14 was also the first Premier League season Manchester United were not being managed by Sir Alex Ferguson. It wasn’t pleasant, just ask any United fan. David Moyes was chosen to be the successor of Old Trafford’s king. It was not good. Moyes lasted 34 games. Following their title winning season of 2012/13 most United fans had high hopes. However after 34 games they found themselves 7th. This season was only the second time United finished behind Liverpool in a Premier League season. In comes Ryan Giggs, Manchester United legend, to steady the ship before a new manager comes in.

2014/15 Premier League season:

 

 

The 2014/15 season saw the return of QPR and the return of Harry Redknapp.  However it wasn’t a happy ending for either club or manager. Redknapp was sacked after 23 games with the club 19th and unfortunately for QPR Ramsey did much worse than Redknapp and they finished bottom. Amidst all the records of last season, 2014/15 had one of its own. Longest time it took a club to change their manager – 18 games. Congrats Neil Warnock.

Alan Pardew was not a happy name on Tyneside this season. After 20 games Newcastle were 10th, not a problem in site. Then Crystal Palace come knocking. Pardew decided his time at Newcastle was up and it was time to save a struggling Palace. Palace were 18th when Warnock left and Pardew joined. He guided them to 10th earning 31 points in his 18 games. Newcastle on the other hand went from 10th to 15th, but boy did Carver struggle. 0.667 PPG had Newcastle fans fuming and not looking forward to the next season.

Pulis, after saving Crystal Palace last season, left the club in the summer over differences with the management. What was Palace’s loss was West Brom’s gain. Struggling under Irvine with 17 points after 19 games and a relegation fight looming West Brom were in dire need of some new ideas. Pulis was the man for the job. He guided them away from the relegation zone into mid-table.

2015/16 Premier League season:

 

The 2015/16 saw the end of Mourinho’s second stint at Chelsea. It brought Gus Hiddink back to Chelsea in a familiar caretaker role. Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football was about to be introduced to English football. But it was largely about Tyneside.

This season marked the fifth consecutive season Sunderland changed their manager mid-season.. Steve Bruce, Martin O’Neill, Paulo Di Canio, Gus Poyet, Dick Advocaat and Sam Allardyce. Does anyone remember what happened the last time a team did that? Sunderland didn’t suffer the same fate as their noisy neighbours. Allardyce steered them from 19th to 17th. Safe, just about.

Let's move 16 miles North-West to St. James Park where the other team from Tyneside found themselves in a spot of bother. Steve McClaren was named on the board of Newcastle and as the manager of the club. We found that odd but played along. It didn’t turn out too well. McClaren was steering Newcastle right into relegation. After 28 games he was sacked and replaced by Rafael Benitez. Rafa couldn’t help Newcastle. He improved their PPG and their position on the table. But 18th meant relegation.

The Current Premier League season:

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That finally brings us to this season. Although there is not much to report at this time. What can be noted is that Bob Bradley did improve Swansea’s PPG. Was he not given enough time? Or is the Premier League that cutthroat that you don’t have time?