Football s one of the most followed sports on the planet and has billions of loyal fans. While leagues like Serie A are very popular, the biggest draw is arguably the English Premier League. There are many reasons for this – with the fast-paced action and tough tackling being important.
The Premier League is also filled with plenty of big characters and lots of gossip to stay on top of. If you need a fast and reliable place for the latest Premier League news, why not try Crunch Sports? This is a leading website for sports gossip and has all the best stories in the Premier League to view.
Of course, the biggest recent stories in English football have not been around players – but managers. With coaches like Daniel Farke at Norwich City being sacked already this year, managerial casualties are making headlines. Many people in football question whether this is wise – can it improve things or does it add more instability to a bad situation?
A good way to find out is looking at how other recent mid-season Premier League changes have gone previously – read on to find out more.
How Have Some Recent Mid-Season Managerial Appointments in the Premier League Turned Out?
Sam Allardyce – West Brom in 2020/21
December 2020 saw Sam Allardyce come in to replace Slaven Bilic at West Brom. But how did it all turn out in the end?
Although a 1-1 draw against Liverpool early in Allardyce’s tenure seemed to suggest he had made them tougher to play against, this proved a false dawn. 5-0 thrashings against Leeds United and Manchester City soon followed, as did other poor results. While they did seem to start defending better as the season wore on, they were ultimately relegated.
Quique Sanchez Flores – Watford in 2019/20
After the sacking of Javi Gracia in 2019/20, the impatient Watford board brought back Sanchez Flores for a second stint. To say this did not work out well is an understatement. Flores himself was sacked only months later in December 2019 after the expected upturn in results did not appear. This saw Nigel Person come in for a while before he was sacked in favor of Hayden Mullins. The net result is that Watford were relegated that season in total disarray.
Thomas Tuchel – Chelsea in 2020/21
Another recent mid-season change made by a Premier League club was the arrival at Chelsea of top coach Thomas Tuchel in January 2021. This is certainly a change which has worked out well so far and one which Chelsea fans will have been happy with. An FA Cup final appearance plus a Champions League and Super Cup win in 2020/21 all showed Tuchel was an inspired move.
Managerial Changes Can Work Out – but Not Always
As the above shows, change is a constant in football and can see clubs ditch staff when they think it sensible (look at how Juventus are planning to move Aaron Ramsey out). This can happen with coaches too. While changing managers in the middle of a season can work out, it is not always guaranteed to improve things.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
