Premier League managerial turnover has reached the point where head-to-head records between clubs tell you less than the form of the two men in the technical area, according to fresh Guardian analysis.
The numbers are brutal. Twenty-two of the past 50 permanent Premier League managers to leave their roles lasted less than a year in the job, and six of the eight bosses bookmakers rate most likely to be the next to go were appointed in 2026.
That cuts both ways for anyone studying fixtures.
Take Nottingham Forest's trip to Anfield this Saturday. Forest have won on their two most recent visits to Liverpool, one under Nuno Espirito Santo and one under Sean Dyche. Forest are already on to their second manager since Dyche was dismissed, and the men in the home dugout keep changing too.
The argument doing the rounds in tactical circles is whether we should now read fixtures through the manager rather than the club.
Nottingham Forest's Oliver Glasner is the obvious test case. He has won four of seven matches in all competitions against Liverpool, including a Community Shield penalty shootout, and is one of the favourites to be the next Premier League manager sacked. Against the rest of the so-called big clubs, however, he has only three wins in 21 games against Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea combined.
Why does the manager matter more than the club head-to-head?
Because a new coach can crack a tactical code overnight, as Glasner did against Arne Slot, and then be gone within months. The head-to-between Liverpool and Forest on paper is one story; the man sent to deliver the game plan is another.
Source: The Guardian
