Five Premier League managers on the hot seat already

We’re only three matches into the Premier League season, but it’s not too early for managers’ jobs to be on the line. Some teams have started out strong this season, while others are struggling. Manchester United couldn’t be off to a better start. The likes of West Ham and others have their work cut out for them.

Here’s a look at five Premier League managers who are already on the hot seat.

5) Antonio Conte, Chelsea

Conte is Chelsea’s tenth manager since Jose Mourinho first departed the club in September 2007, so it’s not like this position ever has any job security under notoriously fickle owner Roman Abramovich. Conte is just four months past winning the title for the club, but even that matters little to Abramovich. The last two managers to win Abramovich a title — Carlo Ancelotti and Mourinho — were both gone within a year, as was Champions League winner Roberto Di Matteo.

What’s the issue with Conte? Some are of his own making — the club’s underwhelming summer transfer business raised eyebrows, but how much of that is down to the manager and how much of it is up to his superiors is debatable. A loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield followed by a shocking home defeat to Burnley on opening day made his seat even hotter, which is saying a lot since he was favored to be the next manager to go in mid-August. His case wasn’t helped with constant rumors that the Italian was considering leaving the club during the summer for family reasons, which he more or less confirmed was true before ultimately signing a new contract.

Is Conte fully committed to Chelsea? For now, yes, and the club appears to have stabilized, but if the results don’t keep coming, Abramovich won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. He never has before.

4) Arsene Wenger, Arsenal

Wenger can’t really win these days, but he keeps making it so easy to criticize him.

Criticized for years for not doing enough to keep his star players from forcing exits to rivals, the longtime manager put his foot down when it became clear that Alexis Sanchez, entering the final year of his deal, was seeking a move to Manchester City. They maintained a stance all summer that Sanchez would not be sold, until they appeared ready to relent with 72 hours to go in the transfer window. They accepted a bid for Sanchez, said he could go as long as they signed a replacement, and then were left embarrassed as the would-be replacement, Thomas Lemar of Monaco, turned them down with hours to go before the window closed. Sanchez’s move collapsed, leaving Manchester City furious and Wenger needing to figure out how to placate a player who is now exceptionally angry and won’t even entertain the thought of negotiating a new deal.

That alone would be bad enough, but the issue is compounded by the fact that Arsenal are sitting in 16th place, and have no Champions League soccer to look forward to. A loss at Stoke could have been written off as a fluke, but they were thoroughly demolished 4-0 by Liverpool a week ago. The blowout left Wenger to answer questions about whether he had the talent in the dressing room to turn this around — and if said players still had any faith in him. He’d be higher on this list at any other club — in fact, both Manchester clubs and Chelsea probably would have sacked him long ago. But Arsenal are intensely loyal, and he just started a new two-year contract. Still, how much can the Gunners bear if things don’t turn around?

3) Rafa Benitez, Newcastle

Benitez may well leave by his own volition. After easily maneuvering his side to promotion, the former Champions League-winning manager frequently clashed with owner Mike Ashley over spending, or more accurately, a lack thereof, as he sought to strengthen Newcastle for their return to the Premier League. Benitez ultimately missed on most of his targets, sparking a flood of rumors that he would walk out and seek a new job — perhaps the one at West Ham — over a lack of support from the board.

For now, reports indicate Benitez has decided to stay on. Ultimately, though, when one’s relationship with the decision-makers at a club has deteriorated to the point that it appears Benitez’s has, one’s job is never safe. He may still leave — be it by his own choosing or not.

2) Frank De Boer, Crystal Palace

De Boer has managed just three Premier League games for Crystal Palace and his job is already in jeopardy. He’s lost all three, including a 3-0 home defeat to newly-promoted Huddersfield and another home loss to a Swansea side that has otherwise failed to impress. De Boer, a Dutchman who has the philosophy of possession-based dominance deeply ingrained within him, was supposed to turn Palace into a slick outfit, particularly at home, and they have been anything but, sparking rumors that he may be out the door already.

Palace seem content to give him more time at the moment, but their resolve will be tested if things don’t turn around quickly. They made few major additions over the summer in the transfer window, and the team may simply lack the technical ability required to play the style of soccer that De Boer is asking for. He may simply be a solid manager who is miscast in his current role.

1) Slaven Bilic, West Ham

Barring a remarkable turnaround, it may be a matter of when, not if Bilic finds himself unemployed.

The Croatian raised expectations in his first season with the Hammers, guiding the club to a seventh-place finish. So sound was the 2015-16 West Ham team that some began to talk of potential continental qualification in the years to come. They did nothing to back up those assertions last season, limping to an underwhelming 11th-place finish. They invested heavily over the summer, bringing in former Manchester City stalwarts Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta, signing Marko Arnautovic from Stoke, and making a real statement by adding star Mexican striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, a man who has scored big goals for a Manchester United side in its prime.

Despite all this, the Hammers have fallen flat on their faces. A drubbing by Manchester United at Old Trafford was worrying; following it up with another away loss at Southampton was deeply concerning. A 3-0 away defeat to newly-promoted Newcastle, though, was where the panic really started to set in. There are rumors that Bilic’s job is under immediate threat.

West Ham have yet to play a home game, and a game at London Stadium against newcomers Huddersfield should provide a solid opportunity to finally get a win. If they fail to do that, Bilic may not survive the week.

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