Man Utd could copy Spurs, Watford international break panic with Ten Hag sack as Ranieri option emerges
The clues are there that Man Utd are about to replace Erik ten Hag with Claudio Ranieri, but Spurs and Watford love an international break sacking the most.
The conventional wisdom is that international breaks spell bad news for under-pressure managers. If the trigger fingers of Premier League executives only become itchier the longer they are given to contemplate such decisions, that week or so when players are sent around the world to represent their countries can be the most dangerous time for struggling coaches. It used to give Steve Bruce sleepless nights.
That vibe feels particularly relevant for Erik ten Hag and Gary O’Neil at Man Utd and Wolves, while Russell Martin might not be too eager to check his work emails before Southampton reconvene.
But are international breaks really that perilous for a Premier League manager? And what is it about them which makes chairmen desperate to get hold of a particular Italian’s number? Sir Jim Ratcliffe might try and drag Claudio Ranieri out of retirement soon.
READ NEXT: Man Utd star ‘fed up’ with Ten Hag and ‘offers himself’ to Barcelona; Tuchel unimpressed by squad
Antonio Conte – left Tottenham by mutual consent six days into March 2023 international break
The only surprise was that it took so long. Conte spent his final press conference as Spurs manager systematically dismantling any bridges back to north London and indeed very possibly the Premier League itself to such an extent that Daniel Levy needed eight days to properly digest the tongue-lashing.
The chairman eventually responded with a 111-word statement pretending the Italian’s exit was in any way ‘mutual’, delivered an hour or so after England dispatched Ukraine in Euro 2024 qualifying with an opening goal from Harry Kane. The Spurs striker had quite inevitably scored in the draw with Southampton which triggered Conte’s last, exit-inducing outburst, the captain being rendered collateral damage like everyone else.
It did not exactly come out of nowhere. Conte, as is his legal obligation, had been growing increasingly tetchy over previous weeks. Spurs remained in a theoretical race for Champions League qualification but they limped out of the same competition to AC Milan in the last 16 and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Sheffield United in the build-up to the Southampton game. They led 3-1 at St Mary’s by the 76th minute but drew after a stunning collapse culminated in James Ward-Prowse scoring a stoppage-time penalty. Their form was disastrous, the relationship was broken and the international break offered a chance to reset.
It also provided an opportunity to appoint Conte’s assistant as his replacement; Cristian Stellini lasted four games as interim manager before himself being shown the door following a 6-1 defeat at Newcastle. But at least he managed to leave without offering every past, present and future club employee outside.
Claudio Ranieri – sacked by Watford three days into January 2022 international break
In the penultimate post of a glittering managerial career, Ranieri’s 16-week, 14-game reign at Vicarage Road was an all-timer for ridiculousness.
They failed to keep a clean sheet and conceded four goals or more in four games. The Italian’s first match against Liverpool was very possibly the single worst team performance ever committed to Premier League history. His last game was a 3-0 defeat to Norwich.
But his two wins were remarkable: 5-2 against Everton and 4-1 against Man Utd to maintain at least mathematical hope of a survival which was never realistically going to be achieved.
Ranieri was, at the very least, more popular than his successor – and possibly even his predecessor.
Xisco Munoz – sacked by Watford one day into October 2021 international break
Not 24 hours after a 1-0 defeat to Leeds described by goalkeeper and captain Ben Foster as “a battering”, Watford dispensed with Munoz 10 months into his reign after sensing “a negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be visibly improving”.
The Hornets were 14th with seven points from as many games, having beaten Aston Villa; how many managers would they would sack to return to such “a negative trend” three years later?
Munoz’s longest coaching stint since is his current reign with Slovakian top-flight side Dunajska Streda, with spells at Huesca, Anorthosis and Sheffield Wednesday hardly suggesting Watford made a glaring error in parting with the manager who had secured automatic promotion so recently.
Ranieri was soon installed, himself only lasting until January before handing over to Roy Hodgson who barely muddled through until May as Watford suffered a Premier League relegation from which they are yet to recover.
Daniel Farke – sacked by Norwich about a minute into November 2021 international break
One of the precious few Premier League managers to be sacked after winning their final game, Farke’s fate was sealed long before Norwich earned their first victory of the season 11 games in. A matter of minutes after conducting post-match media duties having beaten Brentford, the Canaries told the manager that he would be left in the coalmine.
The decision to part with Farke had apparently been made on the morning of the game, regardless of the result. Norwich were bottom after a run of two draws, three goals scored and eight defeats in their first ten matches; they remained rooted to the foot of the table even after the Brentford win.
But the timing was curious. While the international break was an in-built momentum killer anyway, Norwich seemed desperate to crush even the pretence of an hour’s worth of overdue positivity.
It took them another nine days to unsuccessfully pursue Frank Lampard and bring in Dean Smith, who won his first game but only three of the subsequent 26 as Norwich finished precisely where they were when Farke was forced out.
Dean Smith – sacked by Aston Villa two days into November 2021 international break
Norwich’s delay can be explained at least in part by the fact the manager they eventually settled on was busy himself being sacked in the interim.
Smith was regrettably shown the Aston Villa door after five consecutive defeats, the last of which came against Southampton. He remains the only manager to face the same opponent in consecutive Premier League games in the same season, but with different clubs; Norwich beat Saints a fortnight later and Smith went on to force three separate sackings later in the campaign.
It was an undoubted gamble on Villa’s part and many felt Smith had been dealt with harshly, particularly considering Jack Grealish had been sold the summer before. But it seemed as though they nailed the call when Steven Gerrard was brought in from Rangers and immediately oversaw an improvement in results and performances.
Those wheels soon came off and Gerrard did not last a year. In all fairness to Villa, they did alright with their next appointment.
Mauricio Pochettino – sacked by Tottenham nine days into November 2019 international break
Levy tends to let things stew before bringing them to the boil. In the official statement announcing a parting of the ways with Pochettino after five-and-a-half years together, the chairman said “it is not a decision the board have taken lightly, nor in haste”.
More than a week after Spurs broke up for international duty following a 1-1 home draw with Sheffield United, the speculation had been that Pochettino faced a ‘make-or-break’ meeting with West Ham on their return. That was instead the dug-out debut of Jose Mourinho in a thrilling win which teased a generational manager-player link-up with Dele.
Pochettino had reached a Champions League final on the back of a season with no signings only a few months before, but some relationships had inexorably broken and the trajectory was very much downwards for a side 14th in the Premier League table who had just been dispatched 7-2 at home to Bayern Munich.
Javi Gracia – sacked by Watford seven days into the September 2019 international break
The law of averages dictate that most international break Premier League manager sackings would have been meted out by Watford. The proof is in the P45-based pudding served to a succession of coaches at Vicarage Road.
Gracia had taken the Hornets to an 11th-placed finish and the FA Cup final in 2019, but there was a falsity about those seemingly strong foundations: Watford ended the Premier League season losing seven of their last 11 games before being absolutely hammered by Manchester City at Wembley.
It was a warning they failed to heed in the summer, with Gracia authorised to oversee an opening month in which Watford lost three games and drew one before the international break allowed time for pause.
Watford sacked Gracia, brought in Quique Sanchez Flores, sacked Sanchez Flores, brought in Nigel Pearson, sacked Pearson and accepted relegation with Hayden Mullins at the helm. It is genuinely shocking to learn that only one of Gracia and Sanchez Flores had two spells as Watford manager, and despite having literally just checked I’ve forgotten which one it was.
Slavisa Jokanovic – sacked by Fulham three days into November 2018 international break
One win and nine defeats in 12 games after promotion through the play-offs did for Jokanovic, whose longest spell in management by about a year was brought to an abrupt end as Fulham tried to prevent a relentless slide back to the Championship.
The Cottagers spent a small fortune in the summer, including £15m invested on Alfie Mawson for as many Premier League appearances in four years. A powder keg partnership with the club was always liable to explode and a 2-0 defeat to title-chasing Liverpool at Anfield just happened to light a fuse which would have burned eventually.
In a wonderful show of ambition, relegation-bound Fulham chased Arsene Wenger before quickly admitting defeat. In the same statement announcing Jokanovic’s sacking, they unveiled Ranieri as his replacement. Man Utd will be relieved to learn he is still available.
