Bold predictions for Chelsea and the Premier League in 2021/22
8. Who will be the first manager to be sacked in the Premier League?
Abhishek: Dean Smith. Aston Villa has spent a tidy sum of money in this window, and as a consequence, mere survival in the Premier League just won’t do. Unfortunately, the Villains also lost their assistant manager, John Terry, in the summer, which is a worry for their defence. As they struggle near the foot of the table around December, the powers that be might decide to pull the trigger on Smith and see if someone else can extract some kind of performances from their new signings.
Anthony: Xisco Munoz. Do I really need to explain why Munoz will be the first one sacked or does him managing Watford tell the whole story already? The trigger happy Pozzo family will pick up where they left off and sack Munoz by Christmas time.
Akshat: Xisco Munoz. For someone just 38 games into his managerial career, leading a lower-mid table Premier League side is a huge ask. Though Watford players waxed lyrical of him as they secured a surprise promotion back to the top division last year, the chance to lead the Hornets in one of the most competitive leagues in the world has come too soon for Munoz.
Barrett: Steve Bruce. Newcastle are in terrible shape and as is the case 99 percent of the time, the manager will pay the price for the club’s failures.
Daniel: Ralph Hasenhuttl. Southampton has just lost its top scorer and its talisman. He’s been there for awhile with a couple of scares, so I believe this year will be a scare too many for Hasenhuttl.
Gabe: Xisco Munoz. Anthony and Akshat summed it up nicely. Watford is an abysmally run football club, the Hornets’ owners are braindead and Munoz is going to look like a deer in headlights in the English top flight. Harsh? Perhaps, but Watford is a shoe-in to get relegated, which means Munoz (and perhaps a handful of other managers throughout the year) will pay the price.
Kevin: Dean Smith. Jack Grealish has gone, John Terry has gone and a poor run of form before Christmas will see the owners look to salvage the club’s season. Of course, it will be JT they turn to in his first outing as a manager and he will drag them away from the relegation zone and Premier League safety.
Leighton: Ralph Hasenhuttl. Having lost Danny Ings, I struggle to see how Southampton will score goals. It will be a long and hard season for the Saints in my opinion and they’ll be in the mix at the wrong end of the table.
Mike: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be the first manager sacked for the same reason that Frank Lampard was last year; he is just fine. Manchester United have a squad that is more than capable of winning the Premier League with the arrivals of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, but Solskjaer’s lack of tactical aptitude will hold the Red Devils back. As much as I love watching our rival fans suffer this trophyless period of almost four years, United should take a page from Chelsea’s playbook and sack the cheerleader on the touchline. Standards are on the floor.
Nate: Xisco Munoz. I’ll be honest, I’m just betting it’ll be the Watford manager. I had to look it up to even see who it was, but he’ll be gone before Christmas.
Olaoluwa: Mikel Arteta. Arteta has escaped a sacking for far too long. The Arsenal hierarchy will have had enough when they finally realise that “he was Pep’s assistant” is not a coaching qualification. Arteta delivered the FA Cup and Community Shield and has seemingly been immune from responsibility by the Arsenal fans and board alike. The FA Cup tinted veil would finally be pulled away from their eyes when they play Norwich.
Olly: Steve Bruce is going to win this most undesirable race. It was tempting to say Sean Dyche for the betting odds considering he the longest serving PL manager, but Burnley will stick with Dyche cause it’s Burnley. That means, unfortunately, ol’ Brucey has got it coming. Newcastle wants to be on the up, but it’ll figure out Bruce is not the route to the top (of the middle part of the table).
Travis: Watford are in the Premier League again, so it’ll be Xisco Munoz by October if they aren’t top of the table.
Yi Hao: Patrick Vieira. The new man in charge of the Eagles just does not seem to have the necessary pedigree or experience to handle a job as tough as this. Yes, Crystal Palace has recruited well and will most likely stay up. However, a poor run of results at the start of the season will most likely see the Frenchman make way when the board gets cold feet from making such a bold appointment.
Vansh: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. At some point, United’s board will realize that he is NOT the man.
Varun: Steve Bruce. Newcastle is a horribly run club that has small periods of surprising stability from time to time. Bruce has enjoyed that so far, but his cycle is due to come to an end soon.