As April 1 marks the day when Alan Shearer took over as manager at Newcastle United, presenting him with what some might call the poisoned chalice, this has led us to reflect on the briefest tenures in thePremier League’s history.
The Toon legend had been granted eight matches to rescue his cherished team, yet with Shearer at the helm, Newcastle secured only one victory and faced relegation in 2009.
As Shearer transitions from the sidelines to the BBC studio, we take a look at the 10 briefest tenures of managers in Premier League history.
To ensure fairness, we’ve excluded interim managers from our list—so Shearer doesn’t qualify—and we’re concentrating solely on the Premier League period. Although it’s tempting to recall Brian Clough’s brief tenure of 44 days at Leeds.
Considering this, here are the 10 gentlemen who felt the heat a bit too intensely.
10. Tony Adams – 106 days
Before achieving widespread fame for his dance coaching videos filmed at Granada, Adams honed his management skills at Fratton Park under the guidance of Harry Redknapp.
After his time with Wycombe and Feyenoord, Adams joined Portsmouth in June 2006.
The Arsenal center-back initially served as an assistant but took over the top position in October when Redknapp departed for Tottenham. However, he was dismissed in February after overseeing only 16 matches.
Under his leadership, Pompey scored only 10 additional points and finished the season merely seven points above the relegation zone.
9. Colin Todd – 98 days
Colin Todd, who played for Brian Clough’s Derby County side, is dearly recalled by Rams supporters; however, attention tends to be drawn more towards his accomplishments as a player rather than his managerial endeavors.
The player assumed control as manager at Derby in October 2001 but failed to reverse their dismal beginning to the year. During his tenure, Derby suffered defeats in 11 out of 17 matches and ultimately finished the campaign just above relegation, with only Leicester below them.
Todd didn’t last long and was let go after only three months.
8. Nathan Jones – 95 days
There were not many who could outdo me in Europe.
These words came from Nathan Jones, who certainly lacked nothing in terms of self-confidence.
After establishing his reputation at Luton, the Welsh player was signed by Southampton in November 2022 only to depart again by mid-February.
Venting over xG, the Saints suffered another defeat;Jones alienated both the players in the locker room and the supporters before being let go.
His greatest accomplishment was defeating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.
7. Terry Connor – 91 days
Similar to a child venturing out from their family home for the first time, Terry Connor discovered that managing a team isn’t as simple when lacking the supportive guidance of Mick McCarthy.
Following McCarthy’s dismissal in February 2012, Connor was appointed as his successor and assumed control of a team positioned 18th in the rankings.
His team drew their first game against Newcastle, offering hope for a strong performance ahead. However, Connor’s Wolves went on to suffer seven consecutive losses and ultimately finished at the bottom of the league standings.
After being hired by Ipswich, Connor quickly returned to McCarthy’s side as part of their joint appointment.
6. Quique Sánchez Flores – 85 days
Getting let go by Watford isn’t something to be embarrassed about, considering the team’s history. However, Quique Sanchez Flores’ tenure of just 85 days stands out as an exceptionally tough period for the club.
The enthusiastic Pozzo family, who have a fondness for tigers, had initially hired the Spanish coach back in 2016. Despite his winning the December Manager of the Month award, leading the squad to a middle table position, and reaching the FA Cup semifinal, Flores left the club the next summer.
However, the ex-Valencia right-back came back to Vicaridge Road in 2019, and although their performance included a promising 2-2 tie with Arsenal, this was swiftly succeeded by an overwhelming 8-0 defeat against Manchester City.
A 2-1 loss at Southampton confirmed Flores’ exit as he was dismissed by the club following only one victory.
5. Bob Bradley – 84 days
In 2016, an American revolution reached Swansea when Bob Bradley made history as the inaugural US-born manager in the Premier League.
Sadly for Swansea supporters, things didn’t go as planned.
Eager to bring someone new aboard, Swansea’s American ownership chose Bradley as their pick. However, his resume, which included various MLS teams and a period coaching in Egypt, didn’t indicate he would make an instant impact in European football.
The outcome was eight points in 11 matches, during which the team conceded many goals. Bradley’s most enduring contribution to English soccer came from being featured in a skit on Soccer AM.
4. Frank de Boer – 77 days
During the summer of 2017, Crystal Palace was considering between appointing Roy Hodgson or Frank de Boer as their new team manager and decided on the latter, anticipating that he would introduce an appealing style of play at Selhurst Park.
A brief 85-day tenure at Inter Milan ought to have served as a red flag, yet Crystal Palace proceeded with the Dutch manager, resulting in catastrophic outcomes.
The Eagles failed to score in their first four league matches, which resulted in them losing all of these games. After only 77 days, De Boer was relieved of his managerial duties.
Perhaps Jose Mourinho put it most aptly when he later referred to De Boer as “the worst manager ever in the Premier League.”
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3. Rene Meulensteen – 75 days
Rene Meulensteen is among the numerous pupils of Sir Alex who found it challenging to succeed outside of Old Trafford.
The Dutch manager spent six years with Manchester United prior to joining Anzhi Makhachkala. Despite his brief 16-day tenure leading the Russian team, this didn’t deter Fulham from extending an offer in November 2013.
Meulensteen took over from Martin Jol, but his suggestion for players to “discover their spirit animal” failed to produce positive outcomes.
Before being succeeded by the stringent manager Felix Magath, Fulham only managed to win three out of the 13 league matches under Meulensteen’s leadership.
2. Les Reed – 41 days
Given his authorship of ‘The Official FA Guide to Basic Team Coaching,’ one might assume that Les Reed would indeed excel at coaching.
During his tenure with the England national team from 1998 to 2004, where he managed to alienate Steven Gerrard to such an extent that the Liverpool captain stated he held “no respect” for him, Reed initially joined Charlton Athletic as a consultant.
He subsequently transitioned into an assistant manager position. When Iain Dowie was dismissed in November 2004, Reed was elevated to the managerial role but held onto this post for only six weeks.
During that time, Charlton managed to win only one match and were eliminated from the League Cup by League Two team Wycombe.
Reed faced severe criticism from the media prior to his dismissal on December 24th.
The individual, who is 72 years old, is currently serving as an advisor for Wrexham.
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1. Sam Allardyce – 30 days
In May 2023, Leeds United activated the emergency measure labeled ‘Big Sam’ as the club was at risk of being relegated from England’s Premier League.
Javi Gracia had only managed to stay for about two and a half months before stepping down, putting Leeds dangerously close to relegation. Consequently, Allardyce was handed the task of salvaging their season with just four matches remaining.
For someone who took pride in never being relegated, the team under his management suffered three losses and only secured one draw, ultimately leading to their descent.
Following the confirmation of their relegation, Allardyce departed, stating that he was not prepared for undertaking a “long-term commitment.”
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TRY A QUIZ:
Could you list all of Newcastle United’s managers during the Premier League era?
