Vitor Pereira, Will Still sacked with 52 of 94 English clubs having changed manager since summer 2024 - Between the Lines

Does English football have a manager sacking problem?

Vitor Pereira and Will Still became the latest victims as they were axed by Wolves and Southampton respectively over the weekend.

Since the summer of 2024, 52 of the 94 clubs to have appeared in England's top-four tiers have changed their manager at least once.

Twenty-three of those 52 clubs have changed their manager more than once, with Wolves becoming the latest example following Pereira's sacking after 11 months in charge. Southampton are on their third managerial change in 18 months following Still's exit.

This week's Between the Lines digs into the numbers around managerial changes in the Premier League and explains why clubs could be on track for a record figure this season.

• Got Sky? Watch the biggest games LIVE on your phone?
• No Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW?

Four sackings after 10 games

Pereira was axed with Wolves bottom of the table, having taken only two points from their first 10 games. His departure follows the sackings of Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou by Nottingham Forest and Graham Potter by West Ham.

After only 10 games of the campaign, Premier League clubs have already equalled the number of managerial changes in two of the last six full seasons in the competition.

Based on historic data for sackings by month, Premier League clubs are now on track to set a new record for a single season, surpassing the total of 14 in 2022/23, with a further 12 changes projected at the current rate between now and the end of the campaign.

November marks start of sacking season

So, should other Premier League managers be worried?

History shows club owners tend to get twitchy at this time of year.

November and December are the most popular months for managerial changes, suggesting sacking season has in fact only just begun despite four bosses having already been axed this term.

Could more follow? The three relegation places are still occupied by Wolves, Nottingham Forest and West Ham but other sides could easily be dragged into trouble, with newly-promoted Burnley and Leeds sitting 17th and 16th respectively.

Manchester United have eased the pressure on Ruben Amorim by embarking on a four-game unbeaten run but there is pressure on head coaches higher up the table too, including Thomas Frank and Enzo Maresca following inconsistent starts by Spurs and Chelsea.

Premier League clubs are far more likely to sack managers mid-season than during the off-season, with a combined total of only four managerial changes having been made in June and July, in stark contrast to the 70 across November and December.

Do sackings equal survival?

Wolves, West Ham and Nottingham Forest hope to have boosted their survival prospects by sacking managers this season but do changes usually pay off for clubs fighting the drop?

It's far from guaranteed.

Since the start of the Premier League era, only 42.5 per cent of clubs who have changed their manager while sitting in the relegation zone have gone on to survive, with 57.5 per cent going down.

History suggests survival chances decrease the longer clubs wait to make a change, which helps to explain why Wolves, West Ham and Forest all acted early this season.

The survival rate for clubs who have changed their manager while sitting in the bottom three stands at 100 per cent in August but drops to 50 per cent in December and 25 per cent in January.

No manager has ever kept a club in the Premier League's bottom three up after taking over from March onwards.

Pereira has become just the latest victim.

And there could soon be more now that sacking season is here.

Read the last Between the Lines

Four Premier League clubs in crisis? The last instalment of Between the Lines, published two weeks ago, broke down the problems facing Liverpool, West Ham, Wolves and Nottingham Forest.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Vitor Pereira, Will Still sacked with 52 of 94 English clubs having changed manager since summer 2024 - Between the Lines