With the Premier League season just around the corner, here’s four managers who could be in trouble if their teams start slowly.
Mark Hughes
Knowing that Stoke City have been in the third tier since the turn of the century, some might say it’s unfair to criticize the manager for a 13th place Premier League finish – 10 points above the drop zone. However, expectations have been raised by nearly a decade of top flight football, which included three years in ninth prior to the 16/17 campaign.
As big a bugbear for fans as results was performances. For the last two seasons, their best player has been a goalkeeper, Jack Butland then Lee Grant. They failed to beat a top half team last season, losing by a margin of 3+ goals more often than any side bar Hull, Sunderland and Leicester. The Potters scored only 41 goals, fewer than any team outside the bottom five, whilst playing a style of football that inspired little confidence of future progression.
For a club that has become part of the top flight furniture, such poor performances are not acceptable. Take 7/2 on the Stoke board to act quickly.
Frank De Boer
Over a number of years, Crystal Palace’s squad has been built with the task of staying compact, hitting early balls to the wings and getting crosses in to the front man. Their performance in the 3-0 win over Arsenal in April provided the indication of what the team is best at, playing the opposition off the park through pace, power and intensity. New manager De Boer, who preached an extreme version of possession football at Ajax, will demand a complete sea change in strategy. His methods however, do not suit the players available.
Wayne Hennessey, Joel Ward and Damien Delaney were guilty of playing a lot of inaccurate long balls last season. Jeffrey Schlupp, Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend, to varying levels of ability, typically run forward quickly. Christian Benteke had 49 aerial attempts last term, the most in the top flight and seven of his fifteen goals were headers.
Defender Jairo Riedwald and loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be good signings, but more than two new players are surely needed to smoothen the transition. Without more additions, we can imagine defenders looking uncomfortable keeping the ball for long spells, wide men growing agitated at not receiving it quickly and Benteke becoming isolated. Once the Crystal Palace board feel their change in direction is a doomed enterprise, De Boer could be first to go at 16/1.
Rafa Benitez
Despite promotion last season, political tensions remain at Newcastle United. In the long-term, manager Benitez wants to turn the club into a European force, challenging for the top four and competing well in cup competitions. Owner Mike Ashley on the other hand, would be happy to spend the bare minimum required to attain 17th place every season, raking in the TV revenue that comes with it.
That has been backed up by Newcastle’s transfer business. They have only added three new players to last season’s squad, the most expensive of which, Jacob Murphy, having had just one good season in the Championship. Right-back Javier Manquillo was at last-placed rivals Sunderland last season while Florian Lejeune comes under the category of left-field gamble. Although Benitez would like ideally to stay on Tyneside due to adoration he has from fans, realistically, he may have to move elsewhere to manage at the level he wants. Take 4/1 on him to leave first.
Antonio Conte
We saw in the Community Shield that all was not right at Chelsea. Defensively, they relied on an excellent performance from Thibaut Courtois. Their midfield looked uncharacteristically soft without the muscle of Matic helping to sustain any attempts to press. Going forward, they missed the hold-up qualities of Diego Costa and the individual magic of Eden Hazard.
Conte looked a little cagey in his post-match press conference, declining to answer one or two searching questions. Reading between the lines, he may be a little unhappy that the club has not signed the players he wanted this summer with similar disgruntlement to Jose Mourinho two years ago. Despite all the good work he has done for the club, he has not been given the power he arguable deserves.
The Blues will not be given any time to ease themselves into the new campaign, either. After Saturday’s opener against Burnley, the West Londoners play four of last season’s top seven before September ends. If they get off to a bad start, Conte could walk, or the board might act ruthlessly as they did the season before last – 9/1.
All odds courtesy of Betway Sports.
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