The "battlefield" of Premier League managers: a record 9 new coaches in the new season

Written by Han Bing The new Premier League season hasn't started yet, but it has already set an unprecedented historical record: with Newcastle United's new manager Yasir taking over, there will be 9 new managers leading teams in the new season, nearly half of the league's managers. The number of new managers is a record high, breaking the 2016/17 season record of 8, and also the highest number of new managers before the start of England's top division since 1946/47. Last season, the Premier League saw 11 managerial changes. Before the new season, as many as 9 clubs completed manager changes, making the summer window for Premier League managers more like a full-scale revolution of the entire league.

Football management is not known for stability, and the fiercely competitive Premier League seems to have multiplied its "danger factor" by ten. British media like BBC are shocked by this unencouraging new record for the Premier League, believing the new season will be an even more brutal "battlefield" for managers. Three of the traditional top six clubs have changed managers: Liverpool (Iraola), Manchester City (Maresca), and Chelsea (Alonso). Additionally, Newcastle United (Yasir), Bournemouth (Rose), Nottingham Forest (Glasner), Crystal Palace (Sage), and Fulham (Aveiro) have also changed coaches. Newly promoted Ipswich Town, after McKenna's resignation, chose Gary O'Neill.

The previous record for new managers before the Premier League season was 8 (2016/17), when Guardiola and Conte took charge of Manchester City and Chelsea respectively. The former began a 10-year era at City, while the latter won Chelsea's most recent Premier League title. Mourinho managed Manchester United, and other famous coaches like Koeman, Moyes, Mazzarri, and Puel also took up new posts. This time, among the 9 new managers, five—Alonso, Rose, Aveiro, Yasir, and Sage—have never coached in England. Alonso, Rose, Aveiro, and Sage at least had top-five league coaching experience last season, while Yasir got the opportunity to coach the Premier League quasi-giant Newcastle United from the Saudi league in Asia, proving the unprecedented openness of Premier League manager recruitment. The young German coach previously only coached in Austria and Saudi Arabia, but achieved success in Asia (winning consecutive AFC Champions League titles), enough to prove himself on the biggest stage in club football.

As many as 9 new managers leading teams in the new season demonstrates the short tenure of Premier League managers. Carrick, who took over as a temporary firefighter in January and later became permanent, has only 4 months of coaching experience. Yet, among the current 20 Premier League managers, only 10 have longer tenures at their clubs than him. Besides the 9 new managers, De Zerbi, who took over at Tottenham in March as a firefighter, has an even shorter tenure than Carrick. Currently, the longest-serving manager in the Premier League is Arteta, who has been in charge for only 6 years and 9 months. Emery (Aston Villa) has less than 4 years, Farke (Leeds) 3 years, Le Bris (Sunderland) and Hürzeler (Brighton) 2 years, and the remaining 13 managers have been in charge for less than a year. Andrews (Brentford) and Jakirović (Hull City) were appointed last summer, followed by Carrick and De Zerbi who took over late last season.

The first round of the Premier League features six matches between new managers: Aveiro (Fulham) against his former Real Madrid predecessor Alonso (Chelsea), Maresca (Manchester City) against the Premier League debutant Rose (Bournemouth), and Iraola (Liverpool) against Yasir (Newcastle), who hastily took over from Saudi Arabia. Among them, Liverpool's new manager Iraola has a particularly special start: his first six Premier League opponents are all managed by new coaches, including Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich Town, Fulham, Bournemouth, and Manchester City.

BBC believes that with the absence of the five legendary managers who defined an era—Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, Klopp, and Guardiola—the new Premier League season may usher in a completely new era. However, they also face a more brutal competitive environment. Rose and Sage both have to measure up to the high standards set by their predecessors Iraola and Glasner, especially Glasner, who led Crystal Palace to consecutive FA Cup, Community Shield, and Europa Conference League titles. As a result, his successor Sage is considered a hot favorite to be sacked early. Fulham's choice of Aveiro is also surprising; although Spanish coaches are well-regarded in the Premier League, Aveiro's previous firefighting stint at Real Madrid was not successful, and his sudden move to the unfamiliar Premier League is widely seen by British media as a risky move.

Those with relatively better resources—Iraola (Liverpool), Alonso (Chelsea), and Maresca (Manchester City)—are considered more likely to succeed. Glasner and Gary O'Neill have Premier League experience, so at least they don't have to start from scratch like Aveiro, Sage, Yasir, and Rose. It is worth noting that since the Premier League's inception in 1992, only six managers have won the title in their first season. Chelsea's Mourinho (2004/05) was the first, and Liverpool's Slot (2024/25) is the most recent. Among them, Chelsea accounts for three: Mourinho, Ancelotti, and Conte all won the title in their debut seasons, which makes outsiders particularly optimistic about Alonso.

Nine clubs chose to start anew, some betting on proven winners, some on emerging tactical masters, and others simply using a new manager to temporarily appease public and fan discontent after a disappointing season. Whether this unprecedented wave of managerial changes will give birth to a new golden generation of coaches or just trigger another round of sackings remains to be seen. Last season, the Premier League saw 11 managerial changes, with Nottingham Forest alone changing three times, and Postecoglou having a tenure of only 39 days. Chelsea and Tottenham both changed twice, and the average tenure of managers across the league was only 20 months. Surviving in the Premier League's "battlefield" is no easy task.

In the latest Premier League manager sack odds, the newly promoted Hull City's Bosnian coach Jakirović tops the list, followed by Glasner, who moved from Crystal Palace to Nottingham Forest, in second place. Another newly promoted team, Coventry City's manager Lampard, is third, and Aveiro (Fulham), with the least coaching experience, is fourth. Among the nine new managers, Glasner is the most "dangerous" simply because his boss at Nottingham Forest, the Greek shipping magnate, has extremely limited patience. Therefore, in the new season, Premier League managers not only have to compete in tactics and speed of managing the dressing room, but their tenures are also affected by the patience of their respective club owners.