The Premier League has been the home for some of the best managers the world of football has ever seen. Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, and many more, have spent the majority of their coaching careers in England.
However, there have been some managers that took up the reigns of a Premier League club and, well, probably wish they hadn’t. This list rounds up some managers that probably wish they stayed out of the Premier League.
Jan Siewart
Jan Siewart is a name many Huddersfield fans have made the effort to forget. Granted, they were definitely not the best team, they weren’t even an average team when Siewart was in charge, but when results fall on the shoulders of the manager, you expect better.
Huddersfield were already struggling when Siewart took charge, replacing the fairly enigmatic David Wagner, but the Huddersfield team that Siewart inherited went 15 games with only one win, two draws, and 12 losses.
The Premier League is cutthroat, and 15 games with only 1 win is more than enough for you to get the sack. Yes, the team has to take some blame, but you can’t fire all of them.
Frank de Boer
It may seem harsh to put de Boer on this list, considering he only managed four games for Crystal Palace, but four games were enough to show he just couldn’t cut it. After letting go of Sam Allardyce, Palace were looking for a new style of play, and they decided that de Boer was the man to make it happen.
However, de Boer was given the short end of the stick, he was only given one player to implement his new style into the team, Jairo Riadewald, he also got two young players on loan, and for some reason, spent £26 million on Mamadou Sakho on deadline day.
None of this was close enough to what was needed, and Palace ended up being the team where anyone could get an easy 3 points. They were painful to watch, had zero structure, and de Boer’s tenure, as mentioned, came to an end after only 4 games.
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Avram Grant
It is easy to forget how bad a time Grant had in England considering he had a fairly successful run at Chelsea. After a loss in the Champions League final, Grant was sacked, and made his way to Portsmouth.
Portsmouth were already dead last when they went into administration due to financial problems. This means they were last, and then lost 9 points on top of it. Grant struggled tremendously, and after a loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup, he left Portsmouth for West Ham.
Whereas Portsmouth had many backroom issues, his time at West Ham showed everyone that he just couldn’t cut it. The team lacked inspiration, drive and motivation. West Ham were eventually relegated, and thus ended Grant’s time in England. He moved to Partizan Belgrade the next season.
Peter Taylor
Taylor was in charge of Leicester at the turn of the new millennium. He was regarded as a great young manager who had the potential to be one of the best in the world. He took Leicester to the top of the league, and even managed England for a game, giving David Beckham the captaincy and giving chances to a few young players.
However, he ended up getting the sack after a terrible slump that saw Leicester go 11 games with 10 losses, and their great start to the season was quickly demolished. This also damaged their next season, as they were only able to scrape 5 points from their first 8 games.
Terry Connor
Terry Connor is in the unfortunate position of being a man that was a terrible manager, that was forced into the position when he wasn’t ready. After sacking Mick McCarthy, Wolves had no back-up plan, and the weight of the team was put onto Terry Connor, the then assistant manager.
His first game in charge developed some hope for the struggling team, drawing 2-2 with Newcastle, but this was to be the highlight of Connor’s time in charge. Wolves would go on to suffer 7 defeats, then 3 draws, then 2 more defeats. No wins in 13 games means Connor was replaced quickly, and his nightmare was over.
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Steve Wigley
Wigley was given the caretaker job at Southampton in 2004, before being made the permanent manager from August to December of that year. Unfortunately, he was the man in charge when Southampton were relegated that season, and obviously, not many managers survive relegation.
His results didn’t help his cause at all, he only managed to get one win in 16 games, and relegation looked inevitable before those 16 were even played. Much like Jan Siewart and Huddersfield, the Southampton team were abysmal, but the final punishment will always land on the manager.
These are but a few of the managers that had a dreadful time as the big boss of a Premier League team. There are many more, but these are a handful of the ones who’s legacy in the Premier League will be forever tainted, and legacies many fans and players have long forgotten.
