Nobody in the Premier League has lost a job yet this season. All 20 managers are still in place, which is about to start feeling like a statistic from another era. History says the axe tends to fall in the weeks ahead, and BBC Sport has been counting.
The Calendar Is Not On Their Side
November and December are the busiest months for managerial exits, accounting for almost a third of them. Across the Premier League's 34 completed seasons, boards have shown a clear habit of changing coach around the autumn international breaks and before Christmas, and in particular before the winter transfer window, which arrived in England in 2003. Last season 11 bosses left, and only Enzo Maresca's departure at Chelsea was a resignation. Those who went had lasted 310 days on average, the second-lowest figure on record, with only 1994-95 shorter at 154.
Patience Is Running Thin
Short reigns have become almost routine. Les Reed lasted 40 days at Charlton, sacked on Christmas Eve 2006 after one win in seven. Sam Allardyce had 30 days at Leeds in 2022-23. Ange Postecoglou went after 39 days at Nottingham Forest last year, and Igor Tudor managed 44 days at Spurs, with one point from five league games. Famous names go in November too: Roberto di Matteo at Chelsea in 2012, Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs in 2019, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at United in 2021. Jose Mourinho left in December twice, in 2015 and 2018.
A record nine clubs began this season with a new permanent manager, and five of those sit in the bottom half. With relegation so costly and social media so loud, BBC Sport says clubs are showing little mercy.
Who Is Looking Over Their Shoulder
Michael Carrick at Manchester United is the obvious one, and Sunday's 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth made it worse. Roberto de Zerbi has eased the heat at Spurs with successive wins that lifted them to 12th, and Alvaro Arbeloa at Fulham bought himself time with back-to-back 1-0 wins. Nottingham Forest's Oliver Glasner and Sunderland's Regis Le Bris are described as anxious, Le Bris with a side juggling Europa League football and still bottom of the table after a goalless draw with Leeds. Bournemouth's Marco Rose has the midweek win over AC Milan to lean on.
Crystal Palace's Pierre Sage apologised to fans after a 5-0 beating by Brighton and joined from Lens only four months ago; Newcastle then beat his side on Sunday, and BBC Sport's headline was that pressure is mounting. Matthias Jaissle, Newcastle's own new boss, needed a positive result quickly, and he got one. My guess is that Carrick or Sage goes first, probably before the November international break.
Context: 2025-26: 11 Premier League managers left, average tenure 310 days. 2026-27: all 20 still in place when BBC Sport ran its analysis. Source: BBC Sport.
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