11. Nuno Espírito Santo (Nottingham Forest)

Just three matches of the Premier League season had elapsed when the weary axe of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis came down on Nuno Espírito Santo. Despite the Portuguese coach guiding the club to a surprise Europa League berth the previous campaign, Marinakis’s trademark impatience and combustibility led to Nuno’s dismissal after less than a month of the term.

Forest had accumulated four points from their opening matches, but Nuno’s exit was unrelated to on-field performances. The 52-year-old’s public fallout with Marinakis sealed his fate, no matter how impressive displays had been during his 21 months at the helm.

Forest supporters were understandably furious with the decision to sack a coach that had guided them to seventh in the Premier League the previous season. Few departures have been less justified in recent years.

10. Sean Dyche (Nottingham Forest)

Sean Dyche’s reputation as a firefighter saw him appointed as Nottingham Forest’s third manager of the term. After Ange Postecoglou’s dreadful stint (we’ll get to that), the former Everton and Burnley manager was tasked with steering the Tricky Trees from the drop zone. He did exactly that.

Dyche arrived with Forest 18th in the standings and left the Midlands having lifted them to 16th spot, as well as helping them into the knockout stage of the Europa League. Sure, the soccer wasn’t particularly inspiring or consistent, but he’d helped steady the ship.

Just 114 days after being hired, Dyche was fired, despite the fact that Forest would have been 12th in the Premier League purely based on results under the Englishman. He was also nominated for the division’s Manger of the Month in January, just two games before being sacked.

9. Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)

Chelsea’s ownership group, BlueCo, are never shy in rolling out the guillotine for managers they perceive to be underachieving. Despite winning the Europa Conference League and Club World Cup in his debut term, as well as guiding Chelsea back to the Champions League, Enzo Maresca succumbed to the same fate as his predecessors.

Maresca technically departed Chelsea by “mutual consent,” but Chelsea’s statement at the time revealed they believed a change was necessary to turn the season around. Progress had stagnated under the Italian, whose methodical soccer rarely wowed the Stamford Bridge faithful.

Maresca left Chelsea on New Year’s Day with the club in eighth place and while performances were underwhelming, it was the Italian’s discussions with Manchester City over a potential move in the future that appeared the final nail in the coffin, while his public disappointment towards the club’s transfer dealings didn’t help.

Despite the credit he stored in the bank, Maresca was just another up-and-coming coach unable to appease Chelsea’s brutal owners.

8. Scott Parker (Burnley)

For the second time, Scott Parker has failed to avoid relegation from the Premier League as a coach. The Englishman was demoted with Fulham back in 2020–21 and couldn’t better that campaign as Burnley manager, the Clarets relegated to the Championship with four matches remaining.

Parker’s ability to guide teams back to the top flight is commendable, but he’s often appeared out of his depth as a Premier League boss. Burnley’s relegation was all but certain months before its confirmation, with the Lancashire side managing just six wins in all competitions this season.

Parker’s dismissal was inevitable, although he was dealt a rough hand during the summer. Burnley’s lackluster transfer window left them with the league’s weakest squad, with plenty of managers likely to have struggled in Parker’s shoes.

7. Liam Rosenior (Chelsea)

Liam Rosenior was the surprise successor to Maresca. Plucked from Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg having impressed in France, the aspiring 41-year-old was an unexpected choice, but made a bright start in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

After winning eight of his first 11 games, Chelsea fans grew hopeful that Rosenior’s potential would materialize in west London, but times soon turned tough.

The nickname ‘LinkedIn Liam’ was handed out after some bizarre motivational tactics and cringy soundbites, and his predicament was exacerbated by rumblings within the dressing room. With performances on the pitch also turning woeful, BlueCo swiftly dismissed Rosenior after just 104 days in charge.

It was little surprise to see him ousted so quickly, few managers boasting the skill set to handle an inexperienced squad littered with large egos and outspoken stars.

6. Graham Potter (West Ham United)

Graham Potter lasted just three weeks longer than Nuno, his eventual successor and the first manager to be dismissed in 2025–26. A little over a month had passed before the Hammers pulled the trigger, following a dire start to the term that left them in 18th place.

Potter had only been appointed in January 2025, and despite keeping the Irons from relegation, he could have few complaints about being sacked after just 25 matches in charge. Winning just 24% of his games—the lowest return across his managerial career—the Hammers understandably sought a change.

The fact that Nuno has struggled to steer West Ham away from the relegation zone since replacing Potter suggests the Englishman was not solely to blame at the London Stadium, but he certainly underperformed massively with an expensively assembled squad.

5. Ruben Amorim (Manchester United)

Ruben Amorim arrived at Old Trafford with a burgeoning reputation as Sporting CP’s savior. The 41-year-old’s success in Portugal resulted in selection as the man entrusted to usher in a new and exciting era in Manchester. However, things hardly went to plan.

A disastrous debut season saw Man Utd place 15th, their lowest ever finish in the Premier League era. The move to a 3-4-2-1 formation backfired, and even a sizeable summer spend before the current campaign couldn’t drag Amorim and his players out of the mire. Both performances and results were utterly dreadful.

Man Utd were justified in their decision to eventually fire Amorim in January, especially with the club stranded in seventh and increasingly unlikely to qualify for the Champions League. Players and supporters had completely lost faith in the Portuguese coach, with the only surprise about his sacking being that it hadn’t occurred earlier.

Michael Carrick has since done a terrific job as interim head coach, shining an even harsher spotlight on Amorim’s shortcomings.

4. Thomas Frank (Tottenham Hotspur)

Thomas Frank wasn’t the most glamorous appointment as Postecoglou’s successor, especially given the club had just confirmed its return to the Champions League courtesy of Europa League glory. However, an impressive body of work with Brentford convinced Spurs decision-makers of his merit.

Things started promisingly enough for Frank, despite his lack of charisma and following several media faux pas. Tottenham won four of their opening five matches, tightening up a previously porous defense and even securing an impressive scalp away at Manchester City.

However, things soon went awry as results, performances and injuries led to Frank’s downfall. The club were dragged into the relegation fight on his watch, and an increasingly turgid approach ensured nobody at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was having fun. Unsurprisingly, he was fired in February as Spurs sought to save their campaign.

3. Igor Tudor (Tottenham Hotspur)

The man chosen to lead Tottenham away from the relegation zone and back to comfort was Igor Tudor. Despite having never worked in England previously, a reputation earned primarily in Italy as a steady pair of hands capable of stabilizing struggling teams saw Spurs take a punt on him in March.

The Tudor experiment backfired dramatically, however. Five of his seven matches at the helm ended in defeat, including heavy losses to Arsenal and Atlético Madrid—the latter offering a stellar example of dreadful man-management as he thrust back-up goalkeeper Antonín Kinský into the XI, only to substitute him after 17 minutes following two errors.

A dire 3–0 defeat at home to relegation rivals Forest was the final straw, Tudor justifiably removed from his post shortly after another embarrassing display. Not only was his tenure one of the shortest in Premier League history, it was one of the most catastrophic.

2. Ange Postecoglou (Nottingham Forest)

Spurs and Forest are the two prevailing themes running through the Premier League’s extensive list of dismissals, Postecoglou having been fired by both clubs over the past year. Europa League glory was not enough to save the Australian in north London last season, his exit leaving him free to take the Forest job after Nuno’s sacking.

Postecoglou arrived at the City Ground in October with a point to prove, all eyes turning to his tactical approach with a side bereft of confidence. Despite boasting a reputation as an offense-first coach, goals proved hard to come by during his nine games in charge, while glaring defensive issues were frequently exposed.

Only 39 days after his arrival, Marinakis expelled Postecoglou, results having dramatically worsened in a short period of time. He failed to win any of his nine games in charge, losing five of six outings in the Premier League.

1. Vítor Pereira (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Vitor Pereira has enhanced his reputation since becoming Forest’s fourth manager of the season, an impressive stint with the Tricky Trees likely to save them from relegation and resulting in a deep Europa League run. However, things looked very different for the Portuguese coach back at the start of November.

Pereira began the season with Wolverhampton Wanderers having enjoyed a strong 2024–25 campaign at the club after arriving midway through the term. But things turned ugly at the beginning of the current season, an utterly disastrous start largely responsible for the Old Gold’s relegation to the Championship.

After 10 Premier League games under Pereira, Wolves had amassed just two points, and were already eight adrift of safety when he was dismissed. Such a dismal run was only going to end one way, even if Pereira has been able to restore some pride with his Forest stint.

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