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With just nine matchdays gone in the Premier League, there's already a clear view of what the table might look like by the end of the season.
Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea side have continued to impress since last season's UEFA Champions League title run and currently sit at the top of the Premier League standings with only one game lost. Manchester City and Liverpool are both breathing down their necks, declaring themselves as fierce contenders for the title.
While Jurgen Klopp seems intent on adding another Premier League trophy to Liverpool's cabinet, Pep Guardiola wants to show the world how to win a trophy without a striker.
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These world-class managers are clearly the best in the Premier League right now, but the less fancy side of this spectrum is already bubbling with sackings and firings.
Sitting in the relegation doldrums are Burnley, Newcastle and Norwich City. None of these three sides have won a single game this season, and while Newcastle's Steve Bruce has already been fired, Norwich's Daniel Farke is reportedly getting dangerously close to the sack as well.
While the season is still mostly in its infancy, some managers like Brighton & Hove Albion's Graham Potter are exceeding expectations already. Meanwhile, Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is struggling at the moment despite having a talented squad at his disposal.
Without further ado, let's rank the five worst managers in the Premier League this season, starting with Xisco Munoz, who has already been fired from his post as Watford's manager.
#5 Xisco Munoz | Watford
The former journeyman winger has had a fairly successful entry into management in comparison to other new managers. He started with Dinamo Tbilisi, a club he had played for during his career and led them to a trophy in less than six months. Following this success, Watford came calling for Xisco Munoz in December 2020.
By the end of the 2020-21 season, he had guided Watford back to the Premier League, where he notched up two wins from seven games. This doesn't sound so bad, considering Watford were just promoted and sat in 15th place on the table at the time of his sacking.
However, it wasn't good enough for the Hornets board as they fired Munoz, citing a "negative trend" in results as the reason in their official statement.
#4 Marcelo Bielsa | Leeds United
When it comes to Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds United fans have a lot to be thankful for. In many ways, the tactician was the key to their rise to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years, and his legendary "concede many, score many" style gave him a lot of fans. Although he drove Leeds to a ninth-place finish last season, much to the excitement of the Peacocks, a torrid start to the new season has given them little to cheer about.
It's quite clear that Bielsa's tactical style of play has been figured out by other Premier League managers. Rather than scoring as many goals as they concede, just as they did last season, Leeds have lookedd lackluster and uncertain in attack. The side currently lie just outside the red zone, with just one win in nine Premier League games.
#3 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | Manchester United
Since late 2018 when the Manchester United board hired him as caretaker manager after Jose Mourinho's firing, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has failed to win a single trophy with the side. A sub-par run of results with United this season has seen the Red Devils record just four wins in nine games, which is below average for a side that aspires to win the Premier League title.
Their poor run of results isn't just a Premier League problem: Manchester United have lost to Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League and West Ham in the League Cup. The Red Devils also seem unable to keep the ball out of the net, having conceded 15 goals in nine Premier League games this season - the joint-highest in the top half of the table.
After a horrendous 5-0 loss to Liverpool this weekend, calls for the manager's sacking have only continued to increase.
#2 Steve Bruce | Newcastle United
Newcastle United entered the headlines dramatically over the last few weeks after news of the club's sale to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund broke. While reports linking world-class players to the newly oil-rich club came to the fore, Steve Bruce learned that he would not be in charge of managing Newcastle United's new era.
Since his appointment in 2019, Bruce broke the club's transfer record by signing Joelinton for £40 million, while guiding the Magpies to 13th position by the end of his debut season. His sophomore season also continued in fine fashion with Newcastle finishing in 12th place, but a very poor run of results since the beginning of this season quickly saw the former Manchester United player end his managerial career with Newcastle. Unable to win a single game, the Magpies currently lie in 19th place in the Premier League.
#1 Daniel Farke | Norwich City
The German manager may have had an enjoyable experience managing Borussia Dortmund's second side, but his work with Norwich City has been rather topsy-turvy since he joined in 2017. His accolades should be handed to him though: Daniel Farke's tactics are unparalleled in the second tier of English football. However, his Premier League story has been dramatically different, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon.
Farke has won the Championship trophy twice in three years. It might sound good, but that also means that Norwich were relegated immediately after they entered the Premier League. They amassed 97 points in the Championship last season to jump right back into the Premier League, but once again, with zero wins in nine games, Norwich look set to fall back into the second tier next season.
He may be capable of winning lower league trophies, but calls for Farke's sacking have gained momentum, especially after the damaging 7-0 defeat against Chelsea.
