latest news
Early 'Leaders' In Big Sack Race...
Gary Megson probably should be odds-on favourite for the sack (£11m for Elmander?) but Kevin Keegan takes that honour. But would the smart money be on Alan Curbishley? This way please...
KEVIN KEEGAN (5/1)
There's clearly some residual distrust about Kevin Keegan with the suspicion that Keggy will quit the Toon in some kind of panic when he realises that he is in fact in charge of a Premier League club again. Then there's the ridiculous managerial structure at the club where the Executive Director (Football) is based in London, and the suspicion that Newcastle actually don't have a lot to spend, with a distinct lack of utterly mental transfer rumours emanating from the north east. It all adds up to a slightly unstable picture that makes Keegan the favourite to jump/be pushed.
GARY MEGSON (7/1)
Having just bought the decidely average Johan Elmander for £11m and the decent but not overwhelming Fabrice Muamba for £5m, the pressure is on a manager who is still not a popular choice with the fans despite engineering their survival last season. The football will be dire and the prognosis might be just as poor if Bolton get off to a poor start. He had better hope that the relatively generous opening quartet of games - Stoke, Newcastle, West Brom, Fulham - reaps points before the ManYoo-Arsenal one-two in September.
ALAN CURBISHLEY (7/1)
Two wins in the last 12 games of last season is a record that makes West Ham the Premier League's woefully out-of-form team. Funnily enough, the Hammers' board wanted more for their money than a mid-table finish that was sealed before Christmas. Curbishley's side had better hit the ground running or you fear that Mr Average will meet with Mr Chop. Hopefully for Curbishley, it really was injuries that stopped his club from pushing on last season and not a flawed policy of paying massive wages to dislikeable players.
TONY MOWBRAY (8/1)
The managers of the promoted clubs always figure highly on these pre-season odds and Mowbray probably features higher than most because of the personnel he has lost this summer - Martin Albrechtsen, Kevin Phillips and Zoltan Gera all exiting on free transfers. If Mowbray cannot replace those three with players of equal calibre, he will soon lose the good will of the fans. So far he has only spent money on making loan players permanent so has spent a big wedge of money and the squad has in fact been weakened.
ROY HODGSON (8/1)
Fulham have sacked two managers in 18 months and it's on that basis that Hodgson is on this list at all. He pulled off something of a miracle to keep them in the Premier League but those heroics could be forgotten by October if the Cottagers get off to a bad start. But he has done well in the transfer market so far, bringing in Zoltan Gera and Mark Schwarzer for nothing. A lot will depend on whether he can find a striker and no, Bobby Zamora does not count.
TONY PULIS (8/1)
Fans of promoted clubs are slowly finding out how difficult it is to put together a Premier League squad - decent players do not want to join teams that are destined to struggle. Pulis is yet to make a signing and all but the most deranged Stoke fan will admit that the current squad would be relegated. Pulis is known for his prudence in the transfer market but that might well be his death warrant if they are rock bottom in November.
Odds provided by the lovely Skybet.
Sarah Winterburn
