After just four Match Days in the Premier League, the first casualty of the high expectations the competition comes with was served. Scott Parker was sacked. This came in the aftermath of a tough start to the season that has seen his team then, Bournemouth suffer a third straight loss. It was not an ordinary loss, it was a 9-0 thrashing by Liverpool.
While it is not absurd for a newly promoted team to lose to Liverpool by such a margin, and especially considering this is a team that in the past few seasons won the European and English titles, it is what Parker said after the game that riled the management.
The allusion that they were inadequate, in attempting to state that they need more new signings did not go down so well and saw him become the first manager to lose his job. His sacking seems to have revived the team, as two matches later, Bournemouth haven’t lost, and if anything, they look stronger and dedicated to avoiding going back to the Championship right away.
So, the big question lingering is, who will be the next casualty? It is hard to take the focus off Brendan Rodgers when addressing this question. The Leicester City manager seems to have the weight of the whole world on his shoulders after a tough start to the season.
Things have been tough for his team and it was worsened with the departure of key players including iconic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, AdemolaLookman and most recently Wesley Fofana. The fact that the 2016 Premier League champions weren’t active in the transfer window makes it tougher and even bookies and tips on SportyTrader haven’t favored Leicester to win in most of their league matches so far. It looks bleak for Rodgers, and he may be the next on the chopping board.
Closer to Brendan Rodgers in the league standings is Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest. The league’s new boys have struggled so far and this is despite being the team with the most new signings. All the promise the team showed after beating West Ham United has fizzled out and four defeats in six matches means they are in the red, which doesn’t make it any easier for Cooper. Conceding 10 times in the last three league games means Cooper will not be getting very comfortable in the position any time soon.
Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard is the other manager occupying a hot seat in the league. All the promise he came with at Villa Park after a fine reign at Glasgow Rangers is fading and his team has even been booed at home. Villa have no win in their last four matches and they next play a game that could determine the fate of one or more managers – they face bottom placed Leicester City in a game that both sides must win.
The season also hasn’t looked so good for West Ham United, though a number of wrong refereeing decisions are also to blame, especially in their most recent game. Manager David Moyes is indeed under pressure but there has been promise of improvement seen in the team’s performance. It doesn’t look likely that Moyes could get sacked on account of the team’s slow start.