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4 August 2026

Nine clubs will start this Premier League season with a new manager in the dugout, underlining why 2026-27 represents one of the biggest managerial shake-ups in recent memory.

Spoiler alert: football managers do not stay in their jobs for very long. It is hardly the profession to choose if job security matters to you.

That is especially true in the Premier League. The average manager in England’s top flight now remains in the role for roughly 20 months, showing just how brief life can be in one of football’s most demanding jobs.

Yet no recent close season has seen the managerial merry-go-round turn as quickly as it has ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

Of the 17 clubs who played in the Premier League last season and return for this one, seven have already appointed a new manager or head coach. That figure will become eight once Newcastle United confirm Eddie Howe’s successor, with Matthias Jaissle expected to take the job.

One of the promoted sides has also made a change, with Gary O’Neil replacing Kieran McKenna at Ipswich Town.

That means nearly half the division will begin the new season under fresh leadership, with nine clubs in all changing managers:

Bournemouth: Marco RoseChelsea: Xabi AlonsoCrystal Palace: Pierre SageFulham: Álvaro ArbeloaIpswich Town: Gary O’NeilLiverpool: Andoni IraolaManchester City: Enzo MarescaNewcastle: Matthias Jaissle*Nottingham Forest: Oliver Glasner

*yet to be officially announced.

Nine managers taking charge of their first league match with a club on the opening weekend would be the highest total in a top-flight season since 1946-47, the first campaign after the Second World War.

The only other exception came in 1888-89, the inaugural Football League season, when every club naturally started out with a new manager.

Five of those nine coaches have never managed a Premier League game before: Rose, Alonso, Sage, Arbeloa and Jaissle. Add Hull City’s Sergej Jakirović to that group and there will be six managers making their Premier League debut on Matchday 1.

That would equal the competition record, previously established in both 1995-96 and 2016-17. The latter intake featured Mike Phelan, Aitor Karanka, Claude Puel, Walter Mazzarri, Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte. It is fair to say some of them left a more lasting legacy than others.

The extent of this turnover is historic. It has also created some remarkable effects on the overall picture of the league when it comes to the tenure length of every current Premier League manager.

Michael Carrick, who only took over at Manchester United in January of this year, is already the league’s 10th longest-serving manager.

Marco Rose has not yet taken charge of a competitive game for Bournemouth, but he is already the 12th longest-serving manager in the division. He has been in the post for a little over two months.

Only five managers – Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Daniel Farke, Fabian Hürzeler and Régis Le Bris – have been with their clubs for two full seasons.

That amount of change only increases the intrigue around the new campaign, especially with three of the league’s traditional heavyweights – Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea – all beginning new eras under different managers.

History indicates that instant success is difficult to achieve. In the history of the Premier League, only seven managers have won the title in their first season with a club, with Arne Slot’s success at Liverpool in 2024-25 the latest example.

The fact that Slot was sacked only 12 months after winning the title in his very first season highlights just how unforgiving modern management has become. Even lifting the Premier League trophy, the very objective top clubs appoint managers to achieve, offers no guarantee of a long stay.