It’s a tough gig being a football manager.
Don’t get us wrong, a lot of people would kill to be in the position of a football manager. A great wage, the chance to establish a philosophy and play style in a club and ultimately a chance to manage some of the world’s most talented ballers out there, however, the job has its undeniable pressures.
This usually leads to some manager stints not lasting long whatsoever, as it simply was not meant to be – particularly in the top flight of English football.
So, with this – here are the 10 shortest managerial reigns in Premier League history.
10 Claudio Ranieri, Fulham (106 days)
A Premier League winner kicks off our list. It just didn’t seem to click for Claudio Ranieri at Craven Cottage.
He took charge in November 2018, after Fulham‘s first season in the top flight once again wasn’t going swimmingly, they thought the Tinkerman would be the man to guide them to safety. This wasn’t the case, and the Cottagers parted ways with the Italian in February of the next year, after just over 100 days in charge.
9 Tony Adams, Portsmouth (106 days)
From one managerial Premier League winner to a player that won it twice during his time as Arsenal captain – Tony Adams.
Despite having that winning feeling many a time during his playing days, he certainly couldn’t reflect this during his time on the South Coast. During his tenure, he had just two wins in 16 league games, which certainly wasn’t helped by the sale of Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe.
He had big boots to fill following Harry Redknapp, and unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for the rather inexperienced manager.
8 Colin Todd, Derby County (98 days)
Sometimes when legends come back to the club they were made at, it works out tremendously – this wasn’t the case for Derby icon Colin Todd.
He lasted three months with the Rams and was probably a good thing he departed when he did as his legacy remains… as a player at least.
7 Nathan Jones, Southampton (95 days)
Our most recent addition to the list is Nathan Jones of Southampton – who had an unbelievably torrid time during his time with the Saints.
It was a big step-up for Jones to begin with, arriving from Luton with the on-paper, simple task of keeping them up. They possessed some immensely talented players such as James Ward Prowse, Kyle Walker-Peters and Roman Lavia – yet the football he played was nothing short of dire.
The pressure evidently got to him, and he showed this in some of his press conferences – saying some rather inappropriate things for a head coach.
6 Terry Connor, Wolves (91 days)
When Mick Mccarthy departed Wolves in 2012, it was his assistant Terry Connor who took over – which proved to be a horrendous call.
Wolves finished on an absolutely terrible 25 points in the league, winning just one game and picking up four points under Connor’s reign – subsequently relegating them to the Championship.
5 Quique Sanchez Flores, Watford (85 days)
The first on our list that was actually in his second stint for the club, is Quique Sanchez Flores.
He was mightily successful in his first spell, getting the Hornets a comfortable mid-table finish, but the second was nothing short of an utter failure. His worst moment had to be a 7-0 thumping from Manchester City and a defeat to the Saints which sent them down.
4 Bob Bradley, Swansea City (84 days)
Swansea had an American dream in the form of Bob Bradley, but it quickly turned into a sour nightmare.
Eight points from 33 were enough to send him packing, lasting just under three months during his horrendous time in Wales.
3 Frank de Boer, Crystal Palace (77 days)
Frank de Boer needed a rebound after a miserable time in Italy with Inter Milan which lasted a grand total of just 85 days… but he managed to go eight days worse at Selhurst Park!
The Dutchman was meant to implement exciting, cultured football into the Eagles – but he ultimately made them look more like Pigeons. He was gone after 77 days and is regarded as one of the Premier League’s worst-ever managers.
2 Rene Meulensteen, Fulham (75 days)
Just missing out on the top spot, is the second Fulham manager to grave this list – it’s Rene Meulensteen.
Widely regarded as a great manager, impressing during his time being part of the coaching staff at Manchester United – he looked like he didn’t have a clue at Craven Cottage and thus lasted for as little as 75 days.
1 Les Reed, Charlton Athletic (41 days)
Taking the not-so-very coveted title of the top spot (by a long way as well) is Charlton Athletic‘s, Les Reed.
Remarkably lasting less than six weeks, Reed was sacked on the 24th of December 2006, giving Charlton fans a wonderful, but Reed a terrible Christmas present.
