The Premier League sack race

Even though the Premier League season is just four games old, you won’t be surprised to hear that the odds for the first managerialcausality are already out!

Despite back to back promotions Southampton’s Nigel Adkins is the 7/4 favourite to be out of a job before anyone else! Incredibly harsh, yes; however the relatively new chairman Nicola Cortese isn’t the most popular with the St Mary’s faithful and dismissing the likeable Adkins would go someway to ensure that popularity nosedives further!

Successive promotions won't save you from the sack!

Andre Villas-Boas has only been at the club five minutes; however he is joint second favourite in the sack race following an indifferent start to Tottenham’s Premier League campaign. It won’t happen overnight and hopefully Daniel Levy will give the former Chelsea manager time, and despite picking up just five points from four games, the players appear to be on side and have frequently defended Villas-Boas.

Along with Villas-Boas at 7/1 is QPR’s Mark Hughes. A very good transfer window for the club has ensured that expectations at Loftus Road will be high; however a start that has included the away trips to Manchester City and Spurs, as well as the recent visit from the European Champions, is far from ideal, and come the half-way stage QPR will be in and around the middle of the Barclays Premier League, and Hughes will still be a job.

Both Brendan Rodgers and Sam Allardyce are at 10’s and for me neither will be the first out of a job as one is there for the long-term whilst the other will keep his side away from trouble!

For me the two who I’ve yet to mention who are at long odds but are very much in the ‘sack-race’ are Roberto Di Matteo and Alan Pardew who are 25/1 and 33/1 respectively. Two words sum up why these two are even considered and they are ‘Crazy Owners'! Both Roman Abramovich and Mike Ashley have previous when it comes to dismissing managers, and as crazy as it sounds, if either Di Matteo or Pardew were sacked, it wouldn’t surprise me. Very little in football does nowadays.

Ashley stunned the football world when he sacked Chris Hughton in 2010

I said 4th for Spurs; if I could change it I would, will be a Europa League spot for them again!

It’s fair to say Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy has taken a risk! Sacking Harry Redknapp, who guided the club to Champions League football after arriving when they were bottom, and appointing Andre Villas-Boas whose previous Premier League experience was hardly a success. However I do believe there to be method in madness!

As great as Redknapp was for Spurs, in the really big games, his side went missing and given his age, he was always going to be a short-term fix. Villas-Boas on the other hand is 34 and, despite his poor spell at Chelsea, has the potential to be a great manager. It’s not going to happen overnight, Villas-Boas has brought new ideas and a new philosophy to the club, however I do believe if he is given a chance then he’ll be at Tottenham for a hell of a long time!

The loss of Luka Modric was a huge blow to Spurs; however for me they've found a like for like replacement in the classy Moussa Dembele. He can play just off the striker, but figured mostly in the centre of the park for his previous club Fulham, and will do so at White Hart Lane. Having missed out on Joao Moutinho on deadline day, Dembele needs to hit the ground running.

£15million well spent!

One thing you won’t see under Villas-Boas that you did with Redknapp is short-term fixes. Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen were added in January, both have left already. Jan Vertonghen, Hugo Lloris and Dembele are players who could be playing at White Hart Lane in eight years time, all of whom have their best years ahead of them.

Key player- Gareth Bale. Having lost both Modric and Rafael Van Der Vaart, Gareth Bale is going to have to step up and really rubber stamp his authority on games. For me he drifts in and out of football matches too much, and he, like Spurs have had a poor start to the season. The Welshman has undoubted quality and if Tottenham are to challenge for those Champions League spots then he needs to be more consistent.

More performances like the two vs Inter are needed from Bale

Prediction- 4^th. When I started these predictions (before the start of the season, I’ve just been slow typing them!) I believed Tottenham would edge Chelsea out of the top four; however having seen both clubs starts I no longer feel this is the case; however will stand by my prediction, as it isn’t horrendously unlikely. It’ll take time for the Villas-Boas mentality to rub off on Spurs, and a top six finish is more realistic.

View from a fan – DanUnderwood

What would be a good season?
Qualifying for the Champions League as well as a decent FA Cup run like last year.

What would be a nightmare year?
Finishing outside the Europa League positions, this could happen considering where we were before Harry Redknapp.

Do you have the right man in charge?
Given time he is the right manager! Whether he’ll be given that is another matter.

How would you rate your transfer dealings?
I like who we’ve brought in; however we need cover at left back and go into the year with just two strikers! I don’t like the fact we sold Van Der Vaart either, whilst Modric’s exit was inevitable.

Who should we watch out for this year?
The likes of Jake Livermore and Sandro will probably get more game time considering Modric has left, and the latter is a really good player who could edge out Scott Parker.