With Nuno Espirito Santo being dismissed by Nottingham Forest just three games into the new campaign, Football FanCast have now taken a look at some of the harshest sackings in Premier League history.
5 Nuno Espirito Santo
Nuno’s future at The City Ground has looked uncertain for quite some time, with the 51-year-old choosing to publicly reveal that his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis has deteriorated since last season, which left the owner “baffled”.
Initially, it appeared as though the Portuguese coach was set to keep hold of his job in spite of the comments, but a 3-0 home defeat against West Ham United in his final match at The City Ground may well have sealed his fate.
The sacking seems incredibly harsh, given that Nuno was the man to lead Forest back to Europe for the first time in 30 years, making major strides last season by finishing in seventh place, after taking over a team that only narrowly avoided relegation the season prior.
However, the writing may well have been on the wall for the former Tricky Trees boss as soon as he spoke out about his relationship with Marinakis, and he has now lost his job, with the owner believed to be keen on Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner as a replacement.
Games
73
Wins
32
Draws
15
Losses
26
Points per match
1.48
4 Thomas Tuchel
Chelsea have a history of being a ‘sacking club’, which stems from the Roman Abramovich era, with the former owner known for being particularly cut-throat, although it was not the Russian who dismissed Thomas Tuchel.
BlueCo made the decision to part ways with Tuchel after a 1-0 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, much to the German’s disappointment, saying: “I am devastated that my time at Chelsea has come to an end.
“This is a club where I felt at home, both professionally and personally. Thank you so much to all the staff, the players and the supporters for making me feel very welcome from the start.”
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The sacking felt incredibly harsh at the time, given that the 52-year-old had led the Blues to Champions League glory, while also winning the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, and the decision didn’t pan out how BlueCo would’ve been hoping.
Graham Potter lasted less than seven months in charge after replacing Tuchel in the dugout, with Chelsea going on to finish 12th in the Premier League table.
Games
100
Wins
60
Draws
24
Losses
16
Points per match
2.08
3 Ruud Gullit
Chelsea is a running theme on this list, with Ruud Gullit being dismissed back in February 1998, despite the west Londoners sitting second in the Premier League table at the time, having also been triumphant in the 1996 FA Cup final.
A variety of reasons have been given for Gullit’s dismissal, including the Dutchman’s alleged high wage demands, but he has since been revealed that he was at odds with the club’s hierarchy due to other issues.
Gullit said: “Later on I found out that there was a lot of money going around because all of a sudden the best players wanted to come to Chelsea and they were offering a lot of players that I didn’t want…I was a little bit in the way.
“You had people around you who took care of you and and then all of the sudden they backstabbed you. And that’s a horrible feeling.
“The worst thing of all was also my mum had breast cancer. So I had to go to Amsterdam all the time in order to support her. And then they said, ‘Yeah, but he’s never here because he’s always in Amsterdam’.”
After being sacked by Ken Bates, the now 63-year-old went on to manage Newcastle United, reaching the 1999 FA Cup final, while his replacement, Gianluca Vialli, won five trophies during his spell as Chelsea boss.
Games
83
Wins
41
Draws
18
Losses
24
Points per match
1.73
2 Carlo Ancelotti
Continuing the Chelsea theme is legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was sacked by Abramovich in May 2011 after a second-place finish was deemed below the required standard by the former owner.
That is despite the fact Ancelotti enjoyed a great deal of success in his first season as manager, winning the Premier League title, alongside the FA Cup and Community Shield during the 2009-10 season.
In fairness, Abramovich’s model of regularly sacking managers certainly worked for the Blues over the years, but the Italian’s replacement, Andre Villas Boas, didn’t last long, being dismissed after just nine months in charge.
Eventually, things worked out for Chelsea, with Roberto Di Matteo leading them to a shock triumph in the 2012 Champions League final, but the decision to part ways with Ancelotti still remains baffling, having averaged over two points per match.
Games
109
Wins
67
Draws
20
Losses
22
Points per match
2.03
1 Claudio Ranieri
It will be difficult for anyone to ever top Leicester City’s achievement from the 2015-16 season, with the Foxes defying all the odds to win the Premier League title, having gone into the campaign as 5000/1 outsiders.
However, Claudio Ranieri’s side surpassed all expectations, winning the top division for the first time in the club’s at-the-time 132-year history, with the likes of Jamie Vardy, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez cementing themselves as club legends.
Just nine months after one of the biggest upsets in football history, however, Ranieri was dismissed from his post, with the club statement reading: “His status as the most successful Leicester City manager of all time is without question,”
“However, domestic results in the current campaign have placed the club’s Premier League status under threat.”
Former Manchester United manager José Mourinho famously paid tribute to Ranieri in a subsequent press conference, wearing a ‘CR’ initialed polo shirt in a show of solidarity.
In fairness, things worked out in the long run, with Brendan Rodgers leading Leicester to FA Cup glory in 2021, but the decision remains hugely controversial, given the role Ranieri played in defying all the odds in the 2015-16 campaign.
Games
81
Wins
36
Draws
22
Losses
23
Points per match
1.59