While football brings lots that enriches the lives of all those who follow it, one thing it does not seem to have is job security if you're a manager. Following Kaizer Chief's sacking of Molefi Ntseki, we look at some other tacticians who have already been given the boot this season!
Last season saw a great deal of managers being released from their respected posts. In fact, in England's Premier League alone, 14 managers were sacked – the most ever in one EPL season.
Read: 'Man Utd star told me not to kill them in UCL tonight'
This campaign, it seems the trend is continuing, with a number of top coaches having already been given the boot.
1) Laurent Blanc
After 11 months at the helm, Blanc was sacked by Olympique Lyon following an awful start to the season that saw the Ligue 1 side sit bottom of the table. The club has failed to register a single victory all campaign and are still rock-bottom of the table today. This after the French giants secured a seventh-place finish in the league last season.
Ironically, the former Paris Saint-Germain coach jokingly suggested that the club's hierarchy should "change the coach" after a 4-1 home defeat to Montpellier, just a month before he was actually let go.
2) Marcelino
Just nine days after the sacking of Blanc, Marcelino parted ways with Olympique Marseille on 20 September. He had also endured a difficult start to the 2023/24 season, and faced angry supporters who reportedly threatened him and his coaching staff during a meeting between fans' groups and club staff.
After being appointed in June this year, he decided enough was enough. According to a statement released by the French giants, the heated meeting with the fans "prevents Marcelino and his coaching staff from being able to do their job in good conditions".
"As a consequence of this deplorable situation, Marcelino and his staff will not pursue their work at Olympique de Marseille," the statement added.
3) Maurice Steijn
The now-former Ajax manager, who is one of the more recent tacticians to have been sacked, suffered through a similar scenario. He and his side had a very slow start to the season, only managing one win in seven. It is a run that sees them second-last on the Eredivisie table after accumulating just five points.
Similar to Marseille, the Ajax faithful did not take kindly to the team's poor run of form. His last game in charge was a chaotic one to say the least. It ended in a 4-3 defeat to Utrecht, who scored a late goal after play had to be suspended twice due to enraged fans throwing missiles and other objects onto the pitch.
After just 11 games at the helm, Steijn was booted from his position earlier this week.
4) Julen Lopetegui
Lopetegui was unfortunate enough to become the first victim of the 2023/24 campaign, having been sacked by Wolverhampton Wanderers before the season had even properly started.
According to reports, the ex-Real Madrid and Sevilla coach left the club because he was unhappy with the lack of investment in the squad. And during a time when everyone in the league is splashing the cash on various players to help strengthen their teams, one could understand Lopetegui's frustrations.
5) Quique Setien
Setien was the first LALIGA manager to be relieved of his duties this season. He paid the ultimate price after his Villarreal side won only one of their first four games of the season, losing the rest.
His sacking came after he finished the 22/23 campaign in fifth position with the side following his arrival in October 2022.
6) Vicente Moreno
The former Almeria coach survived a little bit longer that Setien, until 29 September. The club was bottom of the table after going winless in their first seven matches of the season when they decided to part ways with Moreno.
7) Jose Luis Mendilibar
Mendilibar was the third victim of LALIGA's managerial massacre in 23/24 to date. He was given the boot by Sevilla after managing only two wins from the side's opening eight games.
Last season, he saved the club from relegation following his appointment in March. He also led them to a seventh UEFA Europa League title and consequently earned automatic UEFA Champions League qualification for this campaign.
8) Shaun Bartlett
Cape Town Spurs' dream of reaching South Africa's top flight after a lengthy absence was realised under Bartlett's guidance. However, they endured a rude awakening from the very beginning, and a long-awaited dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
On 2 October, after a 3-1 loss to Cape Town City and going seven games without picking up a single point, Spurs announced that the two parties had "mutually agreed to the termination of the Head Coach's contract with immediate effect". That marked the anti-climactic end to what was supposed to be an inspirational fairy-tale in the Cape.
Read: Messi speaks out on Benzema's 2022 Ballon d'Or triumph
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH: