Worst Managerial appointments and spells Part 2
Welcome back to this series, and in this article we will be taking a look at some more of the most terrible managerial spells/appointments in the past 10 years. Let’s get started.
- Bob Bradley – Swansea
This dreadful spell lasted a grand total of 11 games, as Bradley struggled to inspire a half-decent Swansea team to better results, winning a mere 18.2% of his games. His style of football was horrific, as the team conceded 29 goals in 11 games. That’s more than two goals per game, a disastrous defensive record. His final game was a 4–1 defeat against West Brom, which says a lot about how bad his team was. This disastrous spell more or less ended any chance of a managerial career in Europe, and now his name is stuck to the Hall of Shame for PL managers.
2. Frank De Boer – Crystal Palace
Ahh. The man who Jose Mourinho trolled. You know things have gone bad when an angry, defensive manager drags your name through the mud after hearing your comments. Frank De Boer was quite the player, but as a manager, it’s fair to say that he was out of his depth. Netherlands, Inter Milan and Crystal Palace are all jobs he failed at, but the Palace Fiasco is the one that stands out. His Palace team lost it’s first FOUR PL games without scoring a SINGLE goal. That is Norwich levels of bad. Obviously, he was sacked swiftly soon after making this record. That Palace side still holds the record, which isn’t something to be proud of. De Boer may be a nice guy, but please stick to commentating.
3. Bryan Gunn – Norwich City
Again,another former player who didn’t really make the cut as a manager. Gunn was a great goalie, but was a terrible manager. The only job he has was at former club Norwich City, where he relegated the Canaries to League One and also lost 7–1 to Colchester United in their first game in the third tier, Norwich City’s biggest defeat till the 7–0 loss against Chelsea this season. Quite understandably, Gunn was sacked after that thrashing. He hasn’t had a managerial job since.
4.Chris Coleman – Sunderland
If this guys sounds familiar, it’s because you probably saw him lead Sunderland headfirst into the cliff that is League One on the Netflix show about the club. If you thought you were going to see some sort of great escapade, you were woefully wrong. The Welsh manager was seen as a massive hire, given his massively successful spell as the manager of Wales, during which he led Wales deep into the Euros knockout stages. However, he was helpless in stopping the club’s second relegation in a row, winning only 17.2% of his games. Sure, Sunderland did have a terrible January window, with their owner unwilling to even cash out a single pound to save the club, but even then, that team’s performances were simply unacceptable. Even their draws were painful to watch. As expected, Coleman was sacked after the new owners took over, while Sunderland are still confined to League One despite their new billionaire owner. Oh, and Coleman also wrecked the only job he got after that debacle. What a tragic managerial spell.
5. Steve McClaren – Newcastle United
Honestly, there are many terrible managerial spells McClaren has had to choose from, but this one is the worst of the worst. Why do clubs keep hiring him even though he’s shown he can’t manage a team to consistent results? Well, this Newcastle United spell is the epitome of his horrendous spells, with the former England manager having a mere 22.6% win rate when he was in charge of the Magpies. He won his first league match with Newcastle only after 8 matches, and even after that he couldn’t turn the club around. He was deservedly sacked six days after a 3–1 loss to newly promoted Bournemouth. What a truly terrible spell.
6.Alan Shearer – Newcastle United
What is it with Newcastle United and tremendously horrible managers? Well, Shearer’s short but impactful spell was nothing short of disastrous, as he relegated the club despite being in charge for a mere 8 matches. He had a dreadful win rate of 12.5%, and was completely unable to inspire that Newcastle squad to fight for survival. 1 win in 8 matches is quite bad, but the fact that he lost four of those 8 matches further confirmed the fact that Shearer had no managerial ability whatsoever. Obviously, Shearer has not taken a managerial job since.
7. Sam Allardyce – West Brom
West Brom feature again on this list, with this spell only having ended a few months ago. Sam Allardyce was brought into the club despite his predecessor Slaven Bilic securing a draw against eventual champions Man City, and was given the task of keeping the Baggies up. Allardyce had a reputation of being a relegation battle expert, having kept the likes of Sunderland and Crystal Palace up. However, his efforts to keep the Baggies up were futile, as he won a meagre 15.4% of his games. He was also unable to sign three players due to work permit complications, which further reduced West Brom’s chances of staying up. Allardyce eventually resigned after West Brom’s inevitable relegation to the Championship, despite the club wanting him to lead them back to the PL. Allardyce is a great manager, but this spell was genuinely one of his worst ones.
So, that’s all for this article. What are some of the worst managers you have seen? Feel free to share your thoughts in the responses section, and do check out my older articles too! Look out for my next article coming later this week, and till then, adios!
