The Premier League’s double sacking seasons: Commandeered taxis, emails and found fivers

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It happens more often than you might imagine — and Harry Redknapp is involved more frequently than you would expect.

Premier League clubs sacking managers is a common occurrence. But teams sacking more than one in the same season is not too rare either.

Southampton became the latest when Ivan Juric followed Russell Martin out of the door having failed to slow down the slide towards relegation.

It turns out that the south-coast club are serial offenders — just two seasons ago, they sacked both Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones, and 20 years ago they dispensed with both Paul Sturrock and Steve Wigley before ending up with Redknapp.

Redknapp is not always the beneficiary, though. In 2004-05, both he and Velimir Zajec were both given the boot by Portsmouth, who sacked him again 13 months later in the same season in which they axed Tony Adams.

Claudio Ranieri has been part of two double-sacking seasons, too — at Fulham in 2018-19 after Slavisa Jokanovic, and Watford in 2020-21 after Xisco Munoz.

There are several notable examples. The Athletic has taken a look at the most standout ones below.

Leicester City, 2001-02 (Peter Taylor, Dave Bassett)

The writing may have been on the wall for Peter Taylor by the way the previous season had fluctuated, from being top of the table after eight games for the first time since 1963 to a shock FA Cup defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers and a record nine-game losing streak.

A supporter was ejected from a game and his season ticket was withdrawn for falling asleep during one particularly bad performance.

Despite spending £7million on Dennis Wise, Ian Walker and James Scowcroft, after just one win in eight games and with the fans turning on Taylor, he was sacked. Dave Bassett, with Micky Adams as assistant, came in but the die was cast.

The season didn’t get any better. Ade Akinbiyi, a £5million striker, had a record of 83 per cent of his shots being off target. The only shot on target at West Ham United was delivered by goalkeeper Walker. Frank Sinclair scored a freak own goal from 40 yards out against Middlesbrough.

Before relegation was finally confirmed, Bassett became director of football, making way for Adams to step up and Leicester went down unbeaten in their final four games as they said goodbye to Filbert Street and a fleeting hello to the Walkers Bowl — which was renamed, after fans’ protests, to the Walkers Stadium.

Bassett at the stadium as it was being built (Ross Kinnaird/ALLSPORT via Getty Images)

Charlton Athletic, 2006-07 (Iain Dowie, Les Reed)

Les Reed remains the answer to a quiz question. Unfortunately for Charlton, he was not the answer to their prayers.

“In discussing our strategy going forward, it became clear that the continuous speculation surrounding my position was counter-productive to our plans and Charlton’s future,” said Reed, sending an email to a journalist from the Daily Mail after his sacking days before Christmas in 2006 after just seven games and 41 days in charge — still a Premier League record.

“We agreed mutually that it was in the best interests of the club for me to stand down and this I have done in order that this great club can move on.

”My position had become untenable in circumstances not of my making and beyond my control. I have not run away from this challenge, I have done what is right for Charlton.“

Reed might not have run away but Charlton sent him packing less than six weeks after he replaced Iain Dowie, who himself had lasted just six months.

And you would hope that some of the circumstances that led to the decision were at least partly within his control — one win and just four points from seven league games, perhaps, or the League Cup defeat to League Two Wycombe Wanderers.

Reed was replaced by Alan Pardew, who will crop up later…

Swansea City, 2016-17 (Francesco Guidolin, Bob Bradley)

You should probably get the message that your managerial tenure is doomed when the man you have replaced turns up at your unveiling.

So when Francesco Guidolin made an unscheduled appearance at Swansea’s Marriott hotel moments before successor Bob Bradley was about to walk in to greet the media at his maiden press conference, it did not augur well.

Guidolin had checked in by chance to the same hotel after leaving the job, but nevertheless, Bradley’s lengthy press conference lasted almost as long as his reign, which spanned 11 games, brought just two victories, eight points and eight occasions on which his side conceded three or more goals.

Bradley was unsurprisingly sacked and replaced by Paul Clement, who somehow managed to save the club from what looked like almost certain relegation.

As for the first managerial victim of the South Wales season, Guidolin had somehow survived a moment before the campaign started when the club had the chance to bring back former manager Brendan Rodgers but opted to stick with the Italian.

So, that went well.

Guidolin was the first head coach Swansea sacked in 2016-17 (Geoff Caddick/AFP via Getty Images)

West Bromwich Albion, 2017-18 (Tony Pulis, Alan Pardew)

If there is one thing guaranteed to get a Premier League manager sacked, it is four of his players commandeering a taxi from a McDonald’s in Barcelona, driving it back to the team hotel following a team night out and sparking an official investigation by Spanish police.

Well, you’d think so. In fact, Alan Pardew survived for a further six weeks before a 2-1 home defeat to Burnley was deemed a more heinous offence and the Hawthorns board finally yelled “taxi for Pardew” and sent him packing.

That was not the first time in that campaign they had ignored warning signs. Tony Pulis travelled to China to meet the club ownership before it even began and basically told them he had taken them as far as he could.

Pulis’s long-standing assistant Dave Kemp choosing to retire to his family home in California, around 5,000 miles from the Black Country, might have helped persuade Pulis their time was up.

Owner Guochuan Lai instead persuaded Pulis to sign a new contract before sacking him in November after an 11-game winless run.

It probably goes without saying, but the season ended in relegation despite Darren Moore, the fourth manager and second caretaker appointment of the season, managing three wins and two draws from the final six games.

Watford, 2019-20 (Javi Gracia, Quique Sanchez Flores, Nigel Pearson)

Even by the incredibly chaotic Gino Pozzo-period standards at Watford, the Covid-19 interrupted 2019-20 season was remarkable as it included three sackings.

Spanish coach Javi Gracia lasted just four games (three defeats and one draw) before he was replaced by a returning Quique Sanchez Flores, with Watford bottom of the table.

Flores was the fifth manager in 12 months when he was first in charge in the 2015-16 season and despite a mid-table finish, he was another casualty of the Vicarage Road revolving door.

So, he may not have been too surprised when it happened again by December after just one win in 10 league games.

After back-to-back Spanish coaches, Pozzo went in a completely different direction, appointing former Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson. Pearson was on a season-long contract and having been seven points adrift of safety when he took charge, Watford were three points above the relegation zone with two games to go in the restarted season when Pearson was sacked. This happened after he picked up six points in his previous three games in charge.

Hayden Mullins was given the impossible task of managing the final two games, against Manchester City and Arsenal, which Watford lost to be relegated.

Pearson was sacked before the end of the COVID-disrupted 2019-20 season (Matthew Childs/Pool via Getty Images)

Leeds United, 2022-23 (Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia)

When Sam Allardyce, Leeds’ third manager of a season of unrelenting struggle, found a £5 note randomly on the touchline at West Ham United on the penultimate game, there were laughs all around, but not many Leeds fans had cause for much joviality that season.

The way things had gone, it wouldn’t have been surprising if, as Allardyce tried to hand the fiver to the fourth official, he was subsequently charged with trying to bribe an official. After all, Allardyce’s attempt to bring in his long-time assistant Sammy Lee to help him had been thwarted by Lee’s call-up to jury service.

It proved to be mission impossible. Jesse Marsch had been sacked in February following a 10th defeat in 20 games and not much improved under Spanish coach Gracia, who had been involved in another two-sacking relegation season at Watford in 2019-20. He lost six of his 11 games in charge.

Before Allardyce arrived, there was the sight of a furious away end at Bournemouth venting their feelings after a 4-1 defeat to a group of players unsure of how to respond.

The campaign, which ended in relegation, had been a disaster. It finished with uncertainty over the ownership, director of football role (Victor Orta left the club by mutual consent), and who would actually lead the recovery on the pitch. Leeds are still in the Championship now.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

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