The Premier League has gone a little bit sack crazy. Managergeddon is upon us and we are entirely here for the drama.

Six clubs have changed manager since September. One has already done so three times. Four managers, Mr Marinakis? Four? That’s insane. Spurs are coming for that record, though.

The pressure has eased on West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo while Eddie Howe pushed Thomas Frank over the edge as he took his own step back,? Sean Dyche has already been defenestratedand he might now rock up at Spurs.

They’ve already removed Igor Tudor after just six weeks, and we reckon there’s still time for them to appoint Dyche?and stillhave time to sack him before eventually settling for Ryan Mason with an eye on next season’s promotion push.

Frank, of course, only moved to Spurs in the summer to replace Ange Postecoglou who has already been hired and sacked by Nottingham Forest since then, while the true lay of the land at big clubs is laid bare by the fact two of the Big Six have binned off managers not for unacceptable results on the pitch but for unacceptable failure to acknowledge infallible wisdom and brilliance of their boardroom superiors. It is immensely modern football and there is still every chance we haven’t seen the last of the nonsense.

Meanwhile, here are possible replacement managers currently between jobs, any one of whom really could, if they’re not careful, accidentally end up manager of Tottenham before the season is out.

Rankings based on the latest best prices available at Oddschecker.com…

18) Keith Andrews (Brentford)

The continuity candidate in the summer, and looked to have received the ultimate hospital pass. How much continuity could there be at Brentford given they’d sold Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard, while Thomas Frank took most of the remaining coaching staff with him to Tottenham? It was a very Brentford move to promote from within and we’ll hold our hands up and admit we thought it would go far, far worse than it has.

With Newcastle and Sunderland added to Liverpool and Manchester United on the list of Gtech victims this season and Villa now sorted out home, away and in the Carabao, it’s an undeniably impressive effort in trying circumstances.

Completing the double over a Newcastle side that also chucked them all the money for Wissa is magnificent. That Brentford now sit cosily in Europe-adjacent upper mid-table, miles clear of the disaster their former manager made of the Spurs job even more so.

17) Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)

An earlier version of this oft-updated piece speculated on what might happen to Mikel Arteta should Arsenal suffer from their Nightmare Start. What if they lost a few early games? What then? We concluded this:

It’s far likelier that Arsenal emerge blinking into the autumn sunshine broadly unscathed from their nightmare horrors. No denying that this season does represent one in which Arteta might completely lose the plot and go entirely off the rails. Or the one where he wins the league by 10 points. Feels like we’re odds-on to get one or the other.

Arsenal emerged duly unscathed, and cashed in on the shift to easier fixtures of their own alongside much tougher ones for Liverpool to take top spot and control in the Premier League which despite the occasional wobble they have never since relinquished.

Only question that remains, therefore, is what Arsenal do from here. We have always been certain they would either end up p*ssing the league by 10 points or bottling it completely, with nothing in between acceptable or even conceivable, and it is only now we really have any certainty that it’s going to in fact be the former.

Won’t do the quadruple, though, will he? Deeply fraudulent behaviour, if you ask us.

READ: Who will be the next manager of Arsenal if Mikel Arteta is sacked?

16) David Moyes (Everton)

Won’t happen this season now, but there really is a non-zero chance Everton lose the run of themselves in the summer, Moyes gets punished for erasing Everton’s relegation fears and they seek some more enterprising footballfrom a squad that is, in fairness, capable of that as climbing into the top six demonstrates. Does feel like a very familiar Everton story, though, and one that ends with them 16th in November, chastened, and bringing in another firefighter.

12=) Nuno Espirito Santo (West Ham)

It was quite a 2025 for Nuno. He ended 2024 as our manager of the year; he ended 2025 looking in imminent danger of his second sacking of the season.

Seven points from three games against Newcastle, Burnley and Bournemouth left things looking far comfier than might have been expected for a manager who, when the Magpies took an early lead at the London Stadium, looked to be heading for a second sack of the season long before the Christmas decorations went up.

But quite why Nuno had to be so very Nuno in the way he, on the back of 3-1 and 3-2 wins and a 2-2 draw, decided to approach a home game against a Liverpool team that had just suffered three consecutive three-goal defeats, is puzzling, irritating and, above all, a reminder that he is here as a firefighter and that the marriage to a fanbase with limited patience for drab and functional let’s-not-get-relegated football is merely one of convenience.

However, 2026 has seen another huge swing in Nuno’s fortunes. For neither the first nor last time, Tottenham came to the rescue. The momentum from a job-saving win at Spurs was parlayed into an even more impressive win over Sunderland and, despite the horrific late gut-punch, there was enough about the defeat at Chelsea to suggest the Hammers can at least drag some of the other stupid teams into the equation.

Nuno and West Ham essentially relegated Burnley with a win at Turf Moor and suddenly, it’s not all so negative at the London Stadium where the delicious prospect grows of not only securing survival for themselves but relegating Tottenham in the process.

12=) Rob Edwards (Wolves)

Might actually have made Wolves… okay? Certainly a lot less bad, anyway. It is too little, too late, but that’s also not really Rob Edwards’ fault either.

The first win of the season was a cathartic dismantling of a doom-laden West Ham, and it didn’t come out of a clear blue sky either. There had been signs of life even in defeat at Arsenal and Liverpool, before running away giggling from Old Trafford with a point.

After a draw at Everton and another at home to Newcastle, that run became six points from four games. That’s a pretty big deal when you only managed two from the previous 18 games.

Lost four in a row after that, but did leave Nottingham Forest with a funny 0-0 draw after their hosts rained down 35 unsuccessful shots at Jose Sa’s goal. Have safely ticked off Derby’s infamous 11-point record and beyond that Edwards’ primary role has always been about what happens next season rather than this.

12=) Regis Le Bris (Sunderland)

Doing so well that even suffering the ultimate embarrassment of defeat at Old Trafford didn’t dampen spirits for the most impressive promoted club in quite some time.

Nine wins in the bag already and more points than any of the promoted-relegated teams managed in the entirety of 2024/25. Widespread expectation that tougher games would bring Sunderland back down with a bump have thus far proved wide of the mark; there won’t be many teams unhappy at taking four points from three games against Chelsea and Arsenal this season. The comeback victory over Bournemouth was evidence, if indeed it was still required, that Sunderland are proper, as was beating beleaguered Palace at home.

Double derby day delight over Newcastle has us firmly into ‘manager of the year’ territory for one of the big pre-season Sack Race favourites.

12=) Unai Emery (Aston Villa)

Extraordinary season for Emery already. Began the campaign right at the outside of this market with your Artetas and – unlikely as it now sounds – Slots. Then jumped right up to third favourite when Villa’s rankling disappointment at how last season ended leaked into a six-match winless start to this campaign.

But then along came four Premier League wins in a row to thoroughly lift the mood at a club where a few short weeks earlier it really did feel like they’d come to the end of something special without ever getting the definitive moment of success it deserved.

That run reached 12 wins in 13 Premier League games to lift Villa right through the mid-table slop, then into the top four, and then genuine title contention. And for the first 45 minutes at the Emirates it really did look like they might stick around for much longer.

A sticky run has brought that talk to an end. There’s obviously no shame in not managing to stick around as unlikely title challengers for longer, but some frustration at the manner in which their charge has been halted. Home defeats to Everton and Brentford, given the fortress Villa Park had become, is a bit of a limp end to a game old fight.

And they do now look rather spent, which could cost them in both the pursuit of a Champions League place via the league and attempting to land the silverware it does feel like Emery’s reign merits in the Europa League.

If it is to be a disappointing end to the season, it’s easy to see how a frustrated Emery might think he’s taken this as far as it’s possible to go.

8=) Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth)

Remained powerfully unsackable even in the depths of one of those long forlorn runs of relegation form that Bournemouth have oft indulged in under Iraola. And now they’re back doing the other thing they do after dramatic 3-2 wins over Spurs and Liverpool and victory over Wolves and Everton.

A streaky manager of a streaky team, then, but with relegation a distant memory after the prognostications of doom when he had to sell pretty much his entire defence in the summer he remains firmly in credit and back in contention for all the many ridiculous Big Six jobs that are or will be available during the summer.

Has ruled himself out of Spurs contention as he has apparently set his sights higher. Ergo, an intelligent man.

8=) Daniel Farke (Leeds)

The hard-nosed yet valid argument persists that Leeds could and perhaps should have taken drastic action in the summer even after their very good week. It would have made Spurs’ decision to sack Europa League-winning Ange Postecoglou look positively kind, Leeds – and Burnley for that matter – might now be better off had they thanked the managerswho secured 100 Championship points and got them back into the big time and then sent them on their way.

Farke had a dreadful Premier League record of only six wins and 26 points from his 49 games in charge of Norwich, a team he twice led to promotion from the Championship with 94 and 97 points.

As well as fighting his own record in this competition, Farke faced the added burden of expectation levels very different to those at just about any other club that could possibly find itself promoted into the Premier League in this current era where that represents the most bittersweet of successes.

Defeat at Burnley was honking, but bouncing back to win another six-pointer against West Ham eased the stress significantly before a paddling at Brighton and events elsewhere – including West Ham themselves – left Farke desperately short of immediate cover before a desperately poor show in a six-pointer at Nottingham Forest.

Another painful defeat having gone in front, against Villa this time, saw Leeds drop into the bottom three ahead of a brutal run of games, but that run has gone surprisingly well. The narrow loss to Man City preceded a rare home win against Chelsea and comeback draw against Liverpool.

The question now is whether Leeds and Farke have really hit on something sustainable, or this is merely delaying the inevitable. After the 4-1 win against Crystal Palace and a very decent point at Sunderland, it really does start to look like it might be the latter which has enormous repercussions for both Farke and several other names around him on this list.

Enormously impressive even in heartbreaking defeat at Newcastle in a wild 4-3 that earned instant classic status.

An irritating home defeat to Sunderland has seen the return of some nervous over-the-shoulder glances, and they do seem to have entirely forgotten how to score goals, which is just about okay if they carry on collecting plenty of 0-0 draws but also makes things dicier than appears necessary for Farke, who also now has them on a slightly unconvincing yet legitimate FA Cup run.

Ultimately, a handful of 0-0 draws probably will be enough to keep them above Spurs. But it’s a big ol’ gamble.

8=) Michael Carrick (Manchester United)

Surely set for the permanent gig rather than the sack. But could Carrick in fact pay the ultimate price for failing to end the Haircut Grift?

8=) Marco Silva (Fulham)

Backed in to a hot favourite as the whispers began before the last international break back in November. But just when we thought it might be time to accept something is fundamentally broken hereas a relegation fight bubbled up, an impressive win over Sunderland and a restorative visit to Tottenham sorted things out.

A fine run after the November international break pulled Silva back from the brink and Fulham clear of the relegation scrap, but they’ve been patchy since.

It is still weirdly important to us that Silva and Fulham remain together forever. We are beyond convinced both would massively regret the divorce.

6=) Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton)

Did appear there was a genuine danger of sliding into actual relegation trouble a few weeks ago, but that appears to be off the table now at least.

But disenchantment with Hurzeler remains strong at Brighton, and he’s now taken to whingeing quite a lot in a discourse-generating manner in between popping up with admittedly eye-catching victories. After a perplexing run of one win in 13 games, Brighton have now won four of their last five to sit slap bang in mid-table.

It’s still pretty congested in there, and Hurzeler’s long-term future may well rest on whether Brighton climb further or sink back into the bottom half over the closing weeks of the season.

6=) Pep Guardiola (Man City)

A sacking remains out of the question despite continued (relative) struggles. There hasn’t been a Premier League manager since Fergie in his pomp with more credit in the bank than Pep.

But is there still a distinct chance Guardiola decides he’s had enough and simply walks away? We reckon there is as they eye ‘two’ alternatives, and it’s always worth remembering that we’re talking Next Premier League Manager To Leave here, and that the traditional ‘Sack Race’ shorthand is a bit misleading.

The last two seasons have been chastening ones. Guardiola couldn’t lay a glove on Liverpool in Arne Slot’s first season in Our League and has now been unable to put proper pressure on an Arsenal side that a few weeks ago were positively itching to bottle it if handed the opportunity.

The Carabao Cup final was restorative, and a personal triumph for Guardiola. But is it enough? Would even a domestic cup double do the trick after failing (again) to even compete for the two big prizes?

5) Scott Parker (Burnley)

Feels like Burnley have spent all season weighing up two options and never really making a definitive decision.

Option one: Burnley decide to really try and beat relegation, and must decide whether they think Parker is the best man for that job.

Option two: Burnley accept their overwhelmingly likely fate, and must decide whether Parker the best man to get them back up again.

Surely past the point of no return now, and thus sacking Parker now would appear futile to the point of self-defeating. Might as well keep him in place for next season’s promotion campaign at this point, given his record in the Championship.

4) Arne Slot (Liverpool)

Impossible to avoid the conclusion that Slot’s reaction to Liverpool’s mini-crisis becoming actual-crisis was poor. He went Full Klopp with his salty loser behaviourwhen Manchester United committed the crime of altering their tactics to give themselves the best chance of success against Liverpool, and the headloss continued after another chaotic and unstructured performance led to a 3-2 defeat at Brentford.

Having ticked ‘opposition doing tactics wrong’ off his rattled manager bingo card, he added ‘losing his mind over entirely uncontroversial refereeing decisions’ with his response to both the Cody Gakpo non-penalty and Virgil van Dijk penalty at the Gtech.

It has to be a worry for Liverpool that Slot found himself under any kind of pressure after a chastening run of defeats, he suffered severe and instant headloss as a result.

Funny to think of a manager who’s beaten Real Madrid in the Champions League being under threat, but defeat at the Etihad was miserable?before Nottingham Forest came along and achieved the amusing feat of being the first team to shut Liverpool out in the Premier League at Anfield since Nottingham Forest.

And then there was a new nadir against PSV. That really was very, very bad.

Predictably, they were poor in a 1-1 against proper team Sunderland and showed no backbone in the collapse at Leeds United, which was then followed by a distinctly unwelcome MO SALAH BOMBSHELLthat did leave things looking distinctly like either he or the manager will have to go. We now know Salah is indeed leaving in the summer, and Slot has dropped back a place here since that news broke.

A run of four consecutive wins cooled the immediate temperatures, but it all felt extremely precarious. The wins over Spurs and Wolves lacked any real authority. And then there were careless draws against Leeds and Fulham.

An impressive win over Newcastle eased the pressure, but that ludicrous conclusion to the Man City gameput Slot firmly back in the spotlight, while defeats at Wolves and Brighton, either side of a humiliating home draw against Tottenham (with more late drama), have the knives out. Does feel like he probably just about survives the season, but if he falls short in an increasingly chaotic and unconvincing four-way fight for the three remaining Champions League places, does he get next season?

3) Eddie Howe (Newcastle)

A 4-1 thumping of Everton followed a?simply huge and wildly unexpected win over Manchester City. Had Newcastle lost that, as all pre-interlull indications suggested they would, then the spotlight would have been harsh indeed on Howe and his team. They would at that point find themselves slap bang in the muck of a relegation scrap; instead they have lifted themselves back into the mid-table morass and – with absolutely nobody in there being actually any good at all – have now managed to get themselves right to the very top of it, firmly back into the Champions League equation, via nothing more complicated than three straight wins.

The 4-3 victory over Leeds was admittedly quite complicated, but also just tremendously exciting. Pure Newcastle heritage. The drab 0-0 at Wolves, not so much, while a limp home defeat to Aston Villa had Howe once again under fire?before a tame surrender at Liverpool.

A home defeat to Brentford confirmed Newcastle’s slump back into mid-table and had Howe under some notable pressure before Dr Tottenham turned up with the usual cure. The win over Man United was great fun, while victory over Chelsea looks less impressive now because everyone else is beating them by three goals, and another derby defeat now has Howe shuffling slightly nervously in his seat.

1=) Liam Rosenior (Chelsea)

Instantly unseated Eddie Howe and Thomas Frank at the top of the list of Premier League managers to sound most like a High Performance Podcast guest with that absurd cack about ageing menand has now said some ridiculous guff about ‘respecting the ball’ after his team decided to form a pre-match huddle around the referee before losing to Newcastle.

That defeat was at least only by one goal, which marks it as an outlier in Chelsea’s last four games; they’ve lost each of the other three by three clear goals – twice to PSG and now also to Everton.

This is Chelsea, so he absolutely could be gone before the end of the season. And it does seem entirely plausible that they’ll be looking in the summer. It’s a shame because we hate to think of Rosenior being forced out of Chelsea before he’s had any real chance to age any men at allbut they are a large, successful club and should probably have a real manager instead of an influencer.

We are also 100 per cent sure those glasses he wears have plain lenses.

1=) Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace)

Definitely leaving at the end of the season, and very possibly before that given the extent to which this relationship now appears to be breaking down.

He’s currently among the names being considered by Manchester United for the permanent manager’s jobthat may or may not be available this summer. And that’s before we mention Liverpool and Spurs. He really does deserve a crack at a big job; it’s just a shame really that they are all, in their way, so very silly.

But so too are Palace. They have just about managed to drag themselves away from a very silly relegation scrap but have been in miserable form have achieved an FA Cup first as a top-flight side in managing to be eliminated by a sixth-tier one. This is all either very bad or very clever timing, depending on how you view the desirability of those various Big Six options.

The prospect of Glasner walking long before his contract expires sounds very real.