Three Premier League Managers Who Could Be Fired After Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce was sacked by Everton, confirming the rumours of inevitability that have been circulating for weeks.

The 63-year-old met with majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri in a meeting that has been slated for days as a crucial discussion about the future of Everton and the direction that the club is to take, after an underwhelming season.

The outcome was expected - Toffees fans have been vocal in their displeasure at how the team was set-up under Allardyce, and it was these issues with his style of play that have ultimately led to his dismissal.

While this move from Moshiri will not shock many, it could be the start of a mass exodus of Premier League managers as owners reportedly ready themselves to pull the trigger.

Here are three more bosses that may find themselves elsewhere by the start of the next campaign:

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#1 Claude Puel

A strong start to life under Claude Puel gave way to a disappointing end to the season for Leicester City.

Another manager who has accusations of an uninteresting playing style, the Frenchman may have taken charge of his last match at Leicester City.

After a disastrous start to the season under Craig Shakespeare, Puel came in and steadied the ship at the King Power, with star duo Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy the catalysts of a good first few months under their new manager.

However, early momentum quickly faded for the new manager, and the Foxes only won four Premier League games since beating Huddersfield Town on New Year's Day.

A ninth-placed finish is nothing to be ashamed of, but results since January have just not been good enough, as Puel's style of play changed to mirror something similar to what he put in place when he was manager at Southampton.

Speculation of Puel's future began before the final whistle had even blown at Wembley on the final day, so we can probably expect his future to be decided by the Leicester hierarchy sooner rather than later.

#2 Antonio Conte

Conte's Chelsea won the Premier League last term, but second-season syndrome affected the Italian

Rumours questioning the future of the Italian at Stamford Bridge have been around since the very start of the season, when they began the defence of their Premier League title with a loss to surprise-packages Burnley.

As the campaign progressed, Conte's Blues were very hit-and-miss, at times looking excellent but lacking consistency throughout.

A disappointing performance in the Champions League, in which they scraped through their group and exited at the hands of Barcelona in the last-16, put Conte's future under serious doubt.

However, a late revival, a potential top-four finish and an FA Cup final meant that Chelsea's season could still find enough success to keep the Italian in a job.

They missed out on the top four thanks to Liverpool's beating of Brighton and the Blues' capitulation at Newcastle on the final day, meaning that the manager's last chance comes in the form of a must-win final against Manchester United this weekend.

Defeat at Wembley will almost certainly see the end of Conte's tenure, with Juventus boss Max Allegri the reported favourite of owner Roman Abramovich, to replace him.

#3 Javi Gracia

Javi Gracia has done what he was hired to do in preventing relegation but hasn't done an awful lot else in his time at Watford

Watford enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign under Marco Silva, but speculation of his move to Everton as manager contributed to the derailment of their season - after Allardyce's sacking, the Portuguese is once again the favourite to take-over at Goodison Park.

Silva received his marching orders around the turn of the year, with Spaniard Gracia brought in to arrest Watford's slide.

He did enough to prevent relegation for the Hornets, but his 5-month tenure at Vicarage Road has been underwhelming, represented by just one win in their last nine games.

This poor record at the end of the campaign could lead to the notoriously trigger-happy bosses at Watford sacking an eighth manager in four years.

Gracia believes that his job is safe, and has publicly stated that he is planning for next season with the Hornets.

Recent history, however, suggests otherwise, and Gracia could find himself destined for the same fate as a number of his predecessors at Vicarage Road.