Which Premier League coach was sacked from his job the quickest?

The Premier League has seen many clubs and even more managers since its inception. Arséne Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson are managers who have managed to spend more than two decades at the helm of their teams. On the other hand, we can also find coaches who were fired from their jobs after a few games. Let’s take a look at the ones fired the fastest.

Les Reed – Charlton Athletic – 41 days
The Charlton Athletic coach spent the shortest amount of time ever as a team manager in the 2006/2007 season. This was manager Les Reeds, who took over at Charlton on 14 November 2006. He didn’t do too well and got an unpleasant Christmas present, as he was sacked as head coach on 24 December.

He was Charlton manager for just 41 days. In that short time, he only recorded one league win. Otherwise, he suffered several defeats. His most fatal defeat was in the English Cup, when he was knocked out by Wycombe, a team playing in a much lower competition than Charlton Athletic.

He was replaced by Alan Pardew. The change of coach did not help, Charlton Athletic finished second to last in the 06/07 season and were relegated from the Premier League.

Rene Meulensteen – Fulham – 75 days
We can put Rene Meulensteen in second place in the ugly stats. He came onto the Fulham bench on 1 December 2013 and only lasted until 14 February 2014. This manager received an unpleasant Valentine’s Day present, as he was sacked by the management after 75 days.

This manager was notable for his unconventional approach. For example, he asked his players to identify with an animal and wanted them to justify their identification. He managed Fulham for 13 league games, winning only three. That wasn’t enough for the club’s management and they replaced him with Felix Magath.

However, Felix Magath could do nothing more than Rene Meulensteen. Fulham finished 19th and were relegated.

Frank de Boer – Crystal Palace – 77 days
The Crystal Palace manager rounds off the list of the three fastest sacked managers. Frank de Boer spent just two days more in charge of his team than Rene Meulensteen, so it was 77 days.

He sat on the bench at the end of the 2016/2017 season on 26 June 2017 to be precise. He spent the summer season and the transfer window on the club’s bench. He failed to start the new Premier League season and was sacked on 11 September 2017.

Frank de Boer joined Crystal Palace after an unpleasant period when he was sacked as manager at Inter Milan. Although he spent 77 days in the London team, he only trained 4 games in which his team failed to score a single goal. He was replaced by Roy Hodgson.

So Crystal Palace lost their manager soon after the start of the season and found themselves in the relegation places. However, the early sacking of the coach did the team good. At the end of the season they were in a good 11th place.

Bob Bradley – Swansea – 84 days
Fourth place goes to Bob Bradley. He joined the Swansea City team on October 3, 2016. He was sacked on 27 December 2016. Interestingly, this spot was originally supposed to go to legendary Manchester United player Ryan Giggs.

However, instead of Giggs, Bradley became the coach. Swansea were performing poorly under him and looked set for relegation. However, Paul Clement replaced him and he took it from 19th place to 15th position.

Quique Sanchez Flores – Watford – 85 days
Spanish coach Quique Sanchez Flores rounds off the top five fastest sacked Premier League coaches. He took the Watford job on 7 September 2019, shortly after the start of the season. However, he only lasted 85 days and was sacked on 1 December 2019.

Watford did not start the 2019/2020 Premier League season well at all and the Spanish coach was supposed to give the team a boost. It failed and Watford hired a third coach that season. That was Nigel Pearson.

The new coach lifted Watford’s game. However, they only moved from 20th position to 19th, which meant relegation. But they fought to the last round to stay up. They were one point short of staying in the league.

Tery Connor – Wolves – 91 days
Colin Todd – Derby County – 98 days
Tony Adams – Portsmouth – 106 days
Claudio Ranieri – Fulham – 106 days
Steve Wigley – Southampton – 107 days

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