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SCMP Sport

Three managers from top clubs in England and Scotland have lost their jobs within five days of each other in what can only be described as a wild week, even for football.
Chelsea fired their manager Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day. This was followed by Manchester United parting ways with Ruben Amorim on January 5, and Celtic dispatching with Wilfried Nancy just hours later.
In the cases of Maresca and Amorim, despite their teams’ poor run of form, the final straw was reportedly the deterioration in relationships with their respective clubs’ hierarchy.
Nancy, on the other hand, unfortunately looked doomed from the start, losing six of his eight matches in charge.
How it all unravelled
Maresca was midway through his second year of charge, having won the Conference League and Club World Cup in his first season at Chelsea.

However, the team have endured a turbulent last few months – Chelsea had won just one of its last seven Premier League matches under Maresca.
The Italian also publicly expressed his unhappiness at a lack of support at the club in a post-match news conference after the win at Everton on December 13, when he said he had just experienced his “worst” 48 hours at Chelsea. He did not elaborate any further on what this meant.
It had also been reported that Maresca told his bosses late last year that he had discussed succeeding Pep Guardiola at Man City to try to get an improved contract. He also told the club about interest from Juventus.
But, even with all of Maresca’s posturing, and as previous managers found out, no person is bigger than the project at Chelsea.
During a 14-month reign that involved regularly enthralling the media with his emotional pre- and post-match press conferences, Amorim’s employers had clearly heard enough when the manager spoke after the Leeds game on January 4.
“I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach,” the Portuguese said.
“And every department – the scouting department, the sports director – needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.”
This remark was a clear sign of the growing tensions with Old Trafford bosses, including director of football Jason Wilcox.
Amorim experienced a torrid time as Manchester United boss, winning just 25 of his 63 games in all competitions during the shortest reign for a permanent manager since David Moyes was sacked just eight months into his tenure in 2014.
He had the worst win ratio (32 per cent), the worst goals-conceded-per-game ratio (1.53) and the lowest clean sheet ratio (15 per cent) of any United boss in the Premier League.
Nancy, previously in charge at MLS side Columbus Crew, started his job as Celtic manager on December 4, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract and taking over from interim boss Martin O’Neill.
But the Frenchman looked out of his depth from the beginning, with four defeats in his first four games, including a 3-1 loss to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final.

Nancy finally earned his first wins in late December, with Celtic beating Aberdeen and then Livingston in the league.
But they lost to Motherwell and collapsed at home to Rangers, despite taking the lead at Celtic Park on January 3.
Sadly for Nancy, he was never a popular appointment in Glasgow, with fans protesting after the defeat to Rangers sealing his fate.
Looking to the future
Chelsea are looking for their fourth permanent boss since owners BlueCo took control of the Premier League side in 2022. The leading candidate is Liam Rosenior, who is the manager of BlueCo-owned Strasbourg. Rosenior reportedly met with Chelsea’s sporting directors on Monday ahead of his appointment.
Manchester United have placed under-18s coach Darren Fletcher in temporary charge, with the club reportedly keen to appoint a caretaker manager for the rest of the season.
Names in the frame for the full-time job include Maresca, Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, former England manager Gareth Southgate, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, England manager Thomas Tuchel and Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola.
O’Neill, who stepped aside when Nancy was hired, has returned to lead Celtic until the end of the season. The 73-year-old won seven out of eight games as caretaker boss following Brendan Rodgers’ exit in October.


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Sport

Football

Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim tested the patience of their clubs’ hierarchy, while Wilfried Nancy looked out of his depth from the start


Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim tested the patience of their clubs’ hierarchy, while Wilfried Nancy looked out of his depth from the start.


Scott O’Neil

Managerial merry-go-round: Chelsea, Man United, Celtic fire bosses within 5 days of each other

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim tested the patience of their clubs’ hierarchy, while Wilfried Nancy looked out of his depth from the start

How it all unravelled

Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim tested the patience of their clubs’ hierarchy, while Wilfried Nancy looked out of his depth from the start