5 managers who are favourites lose their job this season

#2 Gian Piero Gasperini – Atalanta

Gasperini

The Italian league has a habit of binning managers as soon as things go a bit sour. Teams also have a precarious record on firing coaches that have one spectacular year that is then followed by an unremarkable one.

What a potent mix for Gian Piero Gasperini to be facing for this upcoming season, then.

For starters, they have lost two key starters to AC Milan in right-back Andrea Conti and midfield marvel Franck Kessie. Then you have to worry whether the likes Alejandro Gomez can produce the same kind of brilliance he did during the 2016/17 campaign.

The young squad have a year’s experience now under their collective belts but that also means that teams are more aware of their capabilities, along with retooling themselves. It’s an unfortunate one, where you hope Gasperini beats the odds, but it’s an all too familiar pattern for teams that go well above their means.