5 controversially ruthless manager sackings vindicated by history: Adkins, O’Neil…
Leeds United are reportedly considering sacking Daniel Farke – which would be an extraordinarily bold decision, given the German coach has just led the club back into the Premier League.
Time will tell if that proves to be the correct call, but it could go down as an inspired one.
Farke has an excellent track record in the Championship and delivered on his remit, but his Premier League record at Norwich City was extremely sketchy.
We’ve taken a look at five ruthless managerial sackings that were controversial at the time, but have since proven vindicated by history.
Nigel Adkins – Southampton
This remains the standard-bearer in how to pull off a managerial upgrade.
Adkins is a hero at St. Mary’s for achieving back-to-back promotions, taking Southampton from League One up to the Premier League.
It was inevitable there’d be uproar – from the fans to the media – when he was ruthlessly replaced in January 2013.
“I don’t know if Nigel was becoming too popular and the chairman didn’t like it, but he does appear to have a bit of an ego problem,” Saints legend Matt Le Tissier responded on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The fans voiced their displeasure at Adkins’ sacking in Mauricio Pochettino’s first game in charge, but they soon came around as the Argentinian lived up to his billing as one of the best young coaches in Europe.
It’s wild to look back now, but Pochettino was even asked by reporters if he should have ‘apologised’ for taking Adkins’ job.
“I did not feel like a bad guy at all. I felt very comfortable from the beginning,” he responded, ahead of a meeting with Adkins’ Reading in April 2013.
“That was the good thing about not being able to read English – I did not see anything. From the first moment I felt very well treated and everyone has been great.
“I respect Nigel as a fellow manager, but I do not have to thank him. I thank the chairman, the staff and the supporters for the way they have welcomed me into their family.”
Gary O’Neil – Bournemouth
Equivalent to the Adkins-to-Pochettino situation a decade later, English football media’s old guard were up in arms when Bournemouth decided to replace O’Neil with Andoni Iraola in the summer of 2023.
The fledgling coach did a solid job in his first managerial role, steering the Cherries to safety following the dismissal of Scott Parker early in the 2022-23 campaign.
But some of the underlying data raised red flags and the Bournemouth board’s ambition of thinking they could do better has since been vindicated.
The old-school ‘proper football men’ were crowing when Iraola made a slow start at the Vitality Stadium while O’Neil delivered decent results at Wolves.
Things came to a head when O’Neil appeared on Monday Night Football, effortlessly breaking down Bournemouth’s early shortcomings under Iraola and how he’d masterminded a victory over them.
The Richard Keyses of this world were inevitably loving it; a proper English manager getting one over a foreign coach arrogantly thinking he could come into ‘our league’, knowing better. Pffft.
Obviously, that has not aged well. Iraola has done a superb job at Bournemouth, leading the club to record Premier League points tallies in back-to-back campaigns.
Now he’s being talked up as the next Pochettino, potentially in line for some of the biggest jobs in the country.
O’Neil, meanwhile, was sacked at Wolves in December. And under his successor, another foreign coach, they’ve seen a major uptick in results.
Your proper football men aren’t quite as loud now.
Claudio Ranieri – Leicester City
You’d never believe it if you were told Ranieri would be shown the door at Leicester City less than 12 months on from that iconic, teary-eyed Premier League title celebration alongside Andrea Bocelli’s rendition of ‘Nessun Dorma’.
But football is a cut-throat sport and the reigning champions genuinely looked in danger of relegation, 17th in the table and one point above the drop zone, when the Italian was sacked in February 2017.
In a BBC Sport poll, 87% of voters believed it was wrong for the Foxes to sack Ranieri.
Former assistant coach Craig Shakespeare (RIP) came in and oversaw a second-leg comeback over Sevilla in the Champions League, booking their place in the quarter-finals, while guiding them away from the threat of relegation.
Sentiment be damned, Leicester’s ongoing top-flight status vindicated the decision.
Shakespeare only lasted a few months into the following campaign, while Claude Puel’s 16-month stint was entirely forgettable, but under Brendan Rodgers the club went on to lift the FA Cup and challenge for Champions League qualification once again.
Slavisa Jokanovic – Watford
Technically speaking, this one wasn’t a sacking. But the Hornets’ decision not to extend the Serbian’s contract after he achieved promotion in 2014-15 certainly raised eyebrows.
“I felt he didn’t have a real will to renew my contract. My priority was to stay at Watford after promotion. It made sense to think that way,” Jokanovic told The Sun.
“What happened next made me realise there was no real intention to renew my contract. There was a first contact but there wasn’t a follow-up from him, which should be normal in any negotiation process. After waiting, I assumed that I had to move on.”
Watford appointed Quique Sanchez Flores that summer, and the Spaniard led the club to a comfortable 13th in their first season back in the top flight as well as the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Sanchez Flores was later controversially given his P45, but his work was integral to establishing the club in the top flight for five successive seasons.
Meanwhile, Jokanovic burnished his Championship credentials by leading Fulham to play-off glory in 2017-18.
But he was sacked just seven games into the following season, and little he’s done in an eclectic, well-travelled coaching career since suggests he had the chops for the Premier League.
Chris Hughton – Newcastle United
One of football’s good guys, Hughton always carried himself with class and was treated shabbily during Mike Ashley’s reign at St. James’ Park.
The former Republic of Ireland manager just got on with his job quietly, earning the Magpies’ gig on a full-time basis after their exceptional start to the 2009-10 Championship campaign.
Hughton’s Newcastle went on to breeze to promotion with 102 points and had made a reasonable enough start to life back in the Premier League before he was sacked in December.
Alan Pardew is not entirely unfairly a bit of a joke figure these days, and his appointment at the time reeked of jobs for the boys.
But you can’t argue with his early record on Tyneside, steering Newcastle to midtable safety in 2010-11 before getting them within a whisker of Champions League qualification in his first full season.
That short-lived era of excellent recruitment, exciting football and decent results now feels like a bit of a fever dream in the wider picture of Ashley’s time at St. James’ Park. It inevitably wouldn’t last.
Brighton later showed much more patience with Hughton, who had two full seasons consolidating the Seagulls’ Premier League status. Ultimately, their decision to replace him with Graham Potter proved an important step in the club’s upward trajectory.
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