Who will act first out of Newcastle and West Ham?
These days, the race for the sack is almost as exciting as the race for the title, with constant speculation as to whom might be next for the chop.
As a football manager, you do not tend to be given much time to make an impact at your club and we see a lot of teams that will end up averaging one manager per season, sometimes more.
The two most likely managers to face the sack at the moment are Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce, despite both managers having done a great job at their respective clubs and staying at the helm for more than just one season.
The heat is perhaps a little hotter on Pardew over at Newcastle at the moment after the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Southampton. During the game, chants of “Pardew out” and “It’s never your fault” could be heard and it felt like the atmosphere was quite a tense one with the travelling supporters piling the pressure on the team from the first minute of the game.
The Geordies currently sit at the bottom of the Premiership table with only two points from four games, which is part of a very poor run that has seen them collect only five points from a possible thirty six. Reports suggest that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is considering pulling the plug early on the manager’s eight year contract and he could go as early as before the next game at Hull, with an ironic twist in the tale that sees present Hull manager Steve Bruce as favourite to replace Pardew at St Jame’s Park.
Another manager that has been feeling a lot of pressure recently is West Ham’s Sam Allardyce. He has been quite the unpopular figure at Upton Park from day one with some of the fans despite doing a fantastic job for the club so far. He got them promoted at the first time of asking and managed to gain stability for the team in the Premier League since their return, despite flirting with the drop at times last season.
The main issue with Allardyce has been surrounding his style of football and team sheet selection more than actual results themselves, a very different type of problem than the one Pardew is facing up north with the results and lack of points being the main issue. Big Sam has always been known for his route one, boring football, which sees him try and keep a clean sheet and hope for the odd goal to win the game, a system which does not really fit in with the Hammers way of playing and traditions.
Until the thrilling 2-2 draw with Hull last Monday night, it was looking like Allardyce could be in big trouble and a lot hinged on the game against the Tigers. The board of directors at West Ham set out a new plan for the manager to stick to after a summer of heavy spending in the transfer market. It was made clear to the gaffer that he had to play a more attacking, exciting brand of football whilst getting better results than last season as well.
It was feared Allardyce would stick to his usual formation and stick to the same players who were not performing for the Hammers rather than use the immense new talent at his disposal, but he proved everyone wrong with a fine attacking display of entertaining football, indicating that there is a promising turn around of style and results to come at Upton Park.
If they avoid the chop, both managers have a lot of hard work still to do to show their employers and their clubs’ respective supporters that they are worthy of the job. Pardew looks the most likely to go with his team rooted at the bottom of the table and should he stay to manage his side against Hull at the weekend, the minimum result will surely have to be three points to Newcastle. The axe is looming for the Magpies’ boss and his time is running out. The club are in big danger of entering a relegation scrap unless their fortunes are turned around.
As for Allardyce, he might have a little longer. If his line-up and style of play is similar to the one at Hull then he’ll no doubt start winning over the very fans calling for his head, but the Hammers face two big tests in the shape of Liverpool and Manchester United in their next two fixtures, which doesn’t give him much hope.
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So unless both managers start improving soon, then West Ham and Newcastle will be back in the market for a new manager.
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