Tim Sherwood is now the 3/10 favourite to be the next Premier League manager to lose their post after his Aston Villa side suffered their fifth consecutive defeat at the weekend. A home tie against Swansea this coming Saturday could, ultimately, seal his fate.
The Villains’ chairman Randy Lerner is known as one of the more patient decision-makers in football – he kept the faith with previous manager Paul Lambert for longer than most would have, and with Sherwood trying to build a young side from a shoestring budget he might just be given longer. But his inability to replace Christian Benteke effectively in the summer could prove costly.
Being able to appoint a new boss without needing to pay compensation to their present club would appeal to Lerner too, although David Moyes – who used to play for Villa in the 1980s – is the early bookmakers’ favourite despite being in employment presently at Real Sociedad.
The Scot is enduring a tough time in Spain, however, with his Sociedad side down in 16th place in the La Liga table, and he would surely be tempted by a move back to UK shores. He has been quoted this weekend as saying that his ‘intention is to stay here at La Real, I’m not thinking about anything else’, but that is the standard line trotted out in these situations. His price of 4/5 looks tempting enough.
You’d expect that Brendan Rodgers would want to right the wrongs from his tenure at Liverpool, and he can be backed from 3/1 to take the hot seat at Villa Park, with Nigel Pearson – who guided Leicester City to a miraculous escape from relegation last season – next in the market at 10/1. Jurgen Klinsmann (16/1), Bob Bradley (20/1) and Frank De Boer (20/1) look some of the more likely candidates from the fanciful list of outsiders.
If you think that Sherwood might get more time in the Villa dugout then other contenders to consider in the ‘next Premier League manager to leave their post’ market are few and far between. The next two in the running – Steve McClaren (12/1) and Jose Mourinho (20/1) – both strengthened their claims for more time with convincing wins at the weekend, whilst the only manager whose price has shortened is Norwich City boss Alex Neil, who has come in to 20/1 with some bookmakers. His sacking, after working a minor miracle at Carrow Road last season, would be harsh; although football chairmen are not known for having forgiving long-term memories.
Relegation Frustration
The other bit of bad news for Villa fans is that the club’s price for relegation has shortened once again, and they are now best odds of 8/13 to drop through the dreaded trapdoor.
Sunderland look criminally lacking in quality, and new boss Sam Allardyce will have his work cut out maintaining their Premier League status. The Black Cats’ price for relegation, 1/3, looks quite short as a result.
Elsewhere the other candidates look as inconsistent as each other, although with matches against Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal in their next five perhaps now is a good time to have a flutter on the 5/2 offered by Betway on Norwich City’s time in the top flight to last just one season.