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Life as a manager is far from a walk in the park. Serious amounts of stress and sleepless nights await the ones who chose to go into this profession. Ridicule from the media, abuse from the fans, being questioned by your own club, it is all part of the job.
So why is it, when they get sacked the first thing they want to do is to go straight back into the hot seat? Here are three men who will be keeping a keen eye on the vacant managerial roles ready for next season.
David Moyes
The former Everton and Manchester United manager has been out of the game since being sacked by Spanish club Real Sociadad in November 2015. The Scot has repeatedly said he was in no rush to return to management and is waiting for the right job to pop up. After spending 11 years at Everton, in which he guided them to eight top ten finishes, including one fourth place, Moyes left in 2013 to become Manchester United manager. He was sacked after ten months in charge, with horrible records against the top four and sat in seventh place 13 points behind Arsenal in fourth.
A year later Moyes was then sacked by Real Sociadad. Poor form and a bottom half table position meant he was released for the second time in as many years. Celtic, Newcastle and Aston Villa all popped up as possible jobs, but with all those positions now filled going into the new season where will the Scot end up?
Well, his chances of getting a job in the Premier League are getting slimmer every day. only Southampton are currently without a manager, after Ronald Koeman left for Moyes’ old club Everton.
Frank De Boer is the hot favourite to take over at St. Marys, according to the Express, and the only club that may look at replacing their manager would be West Bromwich Albion, after reports during the most recent season suggested that Tony Pulis may be tempted to leave.
The club seem to be stuck in-between the relegation fight and mid-table every year and you could say that Tony has taken them as far as he can. Moyes could be the man to establish the Baggies as a top table team, with the possibility of challenging for the European places.
Apart from that it is slim pickings in England for Moyes, who may have to look at the Bundesliga as his next destination.
Julen Lopetegui
Julen Who? you may ask. Well, other than fans of the Portuguese top flight, he may be a name very few will recognise. The former Spanish goalkeeper has spent the last two years as manager of Porto and, despite not winning any silverware, boasted an impressive win percentage of 68%.
Lopetegui took over in 2014 after successfully guiding Spain’s under 19s and under 21’s to the UEFA European title. He was given a huge budget in his first season at Porto, but could only guide them to a third place finish. It is fair to say his playing career was more successful with spells at Barcelona and Real Madrid, as he won the UEFA’s Cup Winners Cup, La Liga and the Copa Del Rey.
After being sacked in January, due to a run of poor form the Spaniard has been out of work. Nonetheless, he clearly has the potential to become a successful manager, whether that be in international management or at club level.
A job in La Liga would be the most obvious move. Having played there and coached the Spanish youth side, he will have a great understanding of the way the league is played as well as having several links to young Spanish players, who he could bring to which ever club he is at.
Roberto Martinez
A more familiar face: Roberto Martinez was sacked at the end of his third season with Everton, after a bellow par year which saw them finish 11th.
He was a popular choice when he took over from Moyes after steering Wigan to FA cup glory and enjoyed a good first season at Goodison Park, taking the club to sixth in the table. An even better season followed, when they finished 5th and splashed out £28 million on Romelu Lukaku.
His experience with Wigan shows he can cope with a tight budget, finding players on the cheap as well as bringing the best out of them.
Should Eddie Howe leave Bournemouth for a bigger club, Martinez would be the perfect replacement.
Bournemouth showed they had talent last season and with reports of a possible move across cities to Southampton, Eddie Howe’s seat could become vacant.
Martinez spent most of his playing career in the UK and all of his managerial one so he would have to dip his toe in uncharted waters if he were to leave for Europe.
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