While hope springs eternal heading into a new campaign, there are a number of coaches who will need to avoid a slow start to stay in employment
Given the amount of sport that has dominated the summer months, you'd have veen forgiven for not realising that the new Premier League season was just a few days away before Saturday's Community Shield. And so while teams are still finessing their transfer business and making final tactical tweaks even after the traditional curtain-raiser, everything is pretty much in place for the 2024-25 campaign to begin.
That means its predictions season, and here at GOAL we're no different. Over the next week our writers will be giving their takes on all the biggest issues, from the teams who are likely to be scrapping for survival to those who will be fighting for top-four finishes and the title, and everything in between.
Today, we've taken a look at the managers who are vying to avoid being the first to be sacked once the new campaign gets under way:
Getty Images'No shocks with shams at Chelsea'
Mark Doyle: Erik ten Hag is still under scrutiny after overseeing Manchester United’s worst-ever Premier League campaign, but INEOS have clearly decided that the Dutchman deserves more time to prove himself. It would be a surprise, then, to see Sir Jim Ratcliffe hit the panic button during the early stages of the season. Todd Boehly, though?… Chelsea sacked Thomas Tuchel just six games into the 2022-23 Premier League campaign – and he was a Champions League winner. Therefore, it would not come as a shock to see the shams at Stamford Bridge ditch new manager Enzo Maresca if Chelsea start the season poorly.
AdvertisementGetty'Forest's business not good enough'
Amee Ruszkai: Back in December, Nuno Espirito Santo's tenure at Nottingham Forest started well, with wins over Newcastle and Manchester United within 10 days of his appointment – but only Luton Town and Sheffield United lost more matches from that point on. It was an unconvincing end to the season and I don't think the summer business at the City Ground has been good enough to get them off to a strong start for this coming campaign. This will force the club to make a change – something it has become accustomed to doing through six permanent managers in six years.
Getty Images'Could get ugly for Maresca'
Richard Martin: Chelsea has never been a safe place for managers, and under Todd Boehly's ownership it has resembled a bullring. So Godspeed Enzo Maresca, the fifth coach to take the poisoned chalice in the last two years. The Italian has got off to an inauspicious start in pre-season, suffering heavy defeats against Celtic and Manchester City while displaying some particularly shoddy defending. Maresca is committed to playing the ball out from the back and the Blues appear a long way from mastering his style of play, making them highly vulnerable to high-pressing opponents. Chelsea fans are often quick to get on the back of an unproven manager when they do not make a strong start, and things could get ugly quickly, particularly with them playing Maresca's former employers City in his first game.
Getty 'Ten Hag kept on as a useful idiot'
Matt O'Connor-Simpson: Erik ten Hag seems to have been kept around as a useful idiot, a sacrificial lamb to be offered to the braying media once it becomes clear that one summer is not enough time to fix the most dysfunctional football club in Europe. It’s quite remarkable the Dutchman was retained in the summer, considering all of the damning statistics that populated social media for most of the 2023-24 campaign. If he can’t fix the midfield soup, tighten up the defence and get a centre-forward scoring, Ten Hag will soon be freed to “go win somewhere else,” as he alluded to in the wake of last season’s FA Cup final.