Arne Slot next? Ranking the five post-title managerial sackings from fair to harsh as f***
Arne Slot isn’t in danger really, is he? That’s presumably what these five elite managers thought when they won the title too…
With Liverpool in crisis amid a four-game losing streak, the spotlight is on Slot after some odd tactical decisions following a huge summer spend.
You might think that winning the Premier League title buys you time, especially in your first season in charge. But, no, it does not. As these big names will testify.
From fair to harsh, here’s how we’ve ranked the five managers sacked the season after being crowned champions…
5) Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
So bad was Chelsea’s capitulation in 2015/16, Jose could have few complaints when he was mutually consented in mid-December, even if barely six months had passed since he made them Premier League champions while winning the League Cup.
Never more was his third-season syndrome more evident than when after his final game in charge – a 2-1 defeat at surprise leaders Leicester – he declared that his work had been “betrayed” by his players, who had clearly grown sick of life under the Special One.
Before the start of Chelsea’s title defence, Mourinho signed a new four-year contract then went on a self-sabotage rampage from day one of the season, when he manufactured a clash with physio Eva Carneiro, from which neither the manager or the club emerged well.
After matchday three, Chelsea never saw the top half of the table again under Mourinho. The Leicester defeat made it four wins from 16 matches, making it a simple decision for Roman Abramovich. With Jose gone, Chelsea’s players suddenly perked up for Guus Hiddink and immediately embarked upon a 15-match unbeaten run.
4) Antonio Conte (Chelsea)
Conte was sacked in July 2018, actually a week into pre-season ahead of what would have been his third campaign. But the Italian had been burning his bridges for months, despite winning the Double in his first season in English football.
Given the Chelsea hierarchy’s record, Conte was lucky not to be shown the door much earlier that summer, in the immediate aftermath of a fifth-placed finish that saw the Blues fail to qualify for the Champions League.
By the time the the axe fell, few in the corridors of power at Stamford Bridge were sad to see Conte go. The relationship between manager and board was almost completely broken. Indeed, the only topic of discussion between the two parties that summer had been about the pay-off.
Chelsea only acted decisively when they felt they had grounds to wriggle out of a £9million payment to Conte because of a text message the Italian sent to Diego Costa telling the striker he was no longer in his plans. They were wrong. Conte took the club to a tribunal who awarded him the full pay-off.
3) Roberto Mancini (Manchester City)
Like Mourinho and Conte, everything is sweet with Mancini as long as everything is going well. If it’s not, then the Italian’s brashness inevitably grates on those around him.
City’s title defence in 2012/13 was no disaster. They finished second. But handing the Premier League back to United and allowing them to win Fergie’s final title at a relative canter was never going to be tolerated by the City owners.
Nor was losing the FA Cup final to already-relegated Wigan. That proved to be the final straw. Amid persistent rumours of interest in Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini, Mancini was sacked two days after Wembley, with two dead rubbers remaining.
City’s fans, though, did not hold it against Mancini. They took out a full-page ad in Gazzetta dello Sport to thank the ousted boss, who reciprocated in the Manchester Evening News.
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2) Claudio Ranieri (Leicester City)
Gary Lineker condemned Leicester’s decision to sack Ranieri as “inexplicable, unforgivable and gut-wrenchingly sad”. It was certainly one of those things.
Inexplicable? Not really. Hungover to f***, Leicester had fallen to a point above the relegation zone with two-thirds of their botched title defence gone, and appeared in real danger of becoming the first champions to be relegated since 1938.
Of course, those bare facts ignore the context of what Ranieri achieved as Leicester boss. He won them the title. Which is still utterly mental.
That ought to have earned the then-65-year-old a job for life but, football. ‘A change of leadership, while admittedly painful, is necessary in the club’s greatest interest,’ said the Foxes. And, depressingly, they were probably right.
1) Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea)
Like Mancini, second was failure too for Ancelotti, who was binned in the corridor at Goodison Park immediately after Chelsea’s final game of the 2010/11 season.
‘This season’s performances have fallen short of expectations and the club feels the time is right to make this change ahead of next season’s preparations,’ said Chelsea’s statement at the end of their first season without silverware in three years.
They began the campaign as Double winners and ended it nine points behind champions Manchester United and ahead of third-placed Manchester City on goal difference.
They were top in November upon which point they decided to wave off Ray Wilkins, all-round good egg and assistant to Ancelotti, by refusing to renew his contract. Almost certainly, it was no coincidence that the Blues’ season unravelled from there, despite the £50million purchase of Fernando Torres in January.
