Premier League managerial exits as Brendan Rodgers becomes the 12th this season

Rodgers follows the likes of Frank Lampard, Patrick Vieira and Antonio Conte.

Tom White
Sunday 02 April 2023 17:27 BST
Brendan Rodgers is the 12th managerial change this season (John Walton/PA)
Brendan Rodgers is the 12th managerial change this season (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

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Brendan Rodgers has become the 12th managerial departure of this Premier League campaign, extending the record for in-season changes.

Antonio Conte’s exit from Tottenham last week surpassed the previous Premier League record of 10.

Rodgers was sacked by the Foxes on Sunday following their defeat by Crystal Palace the day before.

Here, the PA news agency looks at this season’s departures and how the tally compares to past campaigns.

Timeline of trouble

August

Scott Parker took Bournemouth to promotion last season but did not even see out their first month back in the Premier League after a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool.

September

A shock Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb prompted Chelsea to dismiss Thomas Tuchel. Brighton boss Graham Potter was lured to replace him.

October

Wolves moved on from Bruno Lage early in the month, before Steven Gerrard was dismissed by Aston Villa.

November

Southampton’s struggles saw Ralph Hasenhuttl sacked and replaced by Nathan Jones.

January

Everton’s ongoing relegation fears cost Frank Lampard his role at Goodison Park.

February

Leeds ended Jesse Marsch‘s unhappy spell in charge before, a week later, Jones became the second Saints casualty of the season after just three months in charge.

March

Crystal Palace sacked Patrick Vieira after a 12-match winless run before Conte‘s increasingly fractious relationship with Spurs came to an end.

April

Rodgers was dismissed after the Foxes dropped into the bottom three following Saturday’s last-gasp defeat at Crystal Palace, which extended their winless run to six games.

Sacking season

Prior to this season, the record number of departures was 10 – set on three previous occasions in the Premier League era.

The 2013-14 campaign was the first to hit double figures, with Fulham contributing two to that total as first Martin Jol and then Rene Meulensteen were shown the door. West Brom and Tottenham’s in-season appointments, Pepe Mel and Tim Sherwood respectively, lasted only until the end of the season and Spurs then lured Mauricio Pochettino from Southampton, taking the season’s final total to 13.

There were a record 15 in total in 2017-18, with again 10 coming during the season including two each from Southampton (Claude Puel and Mauricio Pellegrino) and West Brom (Tony Pulis and Alan Pardew). West Ham, Everton, Stoke and Swansea each made a second change when the season concluded, while Arsene Wenger resigned from his long reign at Arsenal.

Last season was the other to see 10 managers jettisoned during the campaign, including Xisco Munoz and Claudio Ranieri being flung off the ever-erratic Watford roundabout. An 11th departure came at the end of the season as Manchester United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick, appointed in November to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, left Old Trafford.

There have been three separate instances of nine in-season departures, in 1994-95 – when there were still 22 clubs in the Premier League – 2004-05 and 2008-09.

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