13 Premier League managers dismissed in 2023 and how their clubs have done since
The last 12 months have brought plenty of changes in Premier League dugouts - some fot better and some for worse.
Every season, clubs' higher-ups decide the grass is greener on the other side, making changes as they seek to avoid relegation or chase European qualification. This season, though, there have been far fewer changes in the first half of the season as there were in the corresponding period last term.
How many of the changes have worked, though? Here, Mirror Football takes a look at what has happened to those dismissed managers' teams in the days, weeks and months after they were given their marching orders.
Frank Lampard
Everton boss Lampard was the first casualty of 2023, losing his job on January 23. Everton were 19th in the league at the time, but only two points from safety, and their board decided Sean Dyche was the man to save them from the drop.
Dyche made an immediate impact with a win over Arsenal, but the Toffees had dropped back into the bottom three with four games remaining. It was only on the final day that they made sure of their safety, with Abdoulaye Doucoure scoring a crucial winner against Bournemouth.
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Doucoure, sidelined by Lampard, has remained a key figure this term under Dyche. Despite a 10-point deduction, Everton sit outside the bottom three going into this weekend's match against Wolves.
Jesse Marsch
Marsch was the next to go, just a fortnight after Lampard. The American lasted just under a year at Elland Road, having saved Leeds from relegation on the final day of the previous season.
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Jesse Marsch lasted just under a year at Leeds (PA)
Despite a memorable win away at Anfield, Marsch second season brought many of the same problems as the first. Nevertheless, they were above the drop zone on goal difference when he was given his, ahem, Marsching orders.
Leeds turned to Javi Gracia as the former RB Leipzig boss' successor. The fact that Gracia also features on this list might give you an idea of how that panned out, but more on that later...
Nathan Jones
Jones was himself a mid-season appointment, taking over from Ralph Hasenhuttl shortly before the World Cup break. Despite having time to get his squad in order, and despite being backed in the January transfer market, his spell in charge was a nightmare.
There was just one league win - against Lampard's Everton - though a League Cup elimination of Manchester City was another rare high point. Ruben Selles took over on an interim basis, only managing two league wins of his own as the Saints finished rock bottom.
This season, under new permanent appointment Russell Martin, Southampton remain in the promotion picture as they look to return to the Premier League. Some of Jones' additions have played their part, not least Charly Alcaraz, but two of his failed recruits - Mislav Orsic and Paul Onuachu - have already moved on.
Patrick Vieira
Former Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira is now at Strasbourg (AFP via Getty Images)Some felt Vieira was a victim of the fixture list when Crystal Palace pulled the trigger on St Patrick's Day (yes, really). An 11-game winless run proved to be his downfall, though, with successor Roy Hodgson benefitting from a friendlier run of games in the final two months of the season.
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Hodgson oversaw a run of 18 points from the final 10 games, leading the Eagles to a respectable 11th place finish. They were 12th when Vieira made way, but that position was deceptive with just three points separating them from 18th-place Bournemouth at the time.
Veteran boss Hodgson was kept on after securing survival, with some positive results to begin the 2023-24 campaign. Now, though, he too could find himself out of a job before too long.
Antonio Conte
Some eight days passed between Antonio Conte's rant after a draw at Southampton and his dismissal by Tottenham. Which is to say the writing felt like it was on the wall before the call was made.
Conte had led Spurs to a top four finish the previous season, but they flirted with group stage elimination before eventually falling to a limp knockout defeat against AC Milan in the round of 16. The Southampton game, less than a fortnight later, saw the Italian hit out at the club in the kind of speech you don't tend to return from.
Spurs were in top four contention when Antonio Conte left the club (PA)Spurs sat fourth at the time of his exit, though the teams behind had games in hand. Christian Stellini came in as his interim replacement and, well, the fact that he didn't last the season it quite telling.
Brendan Rodgers
All three of last season's relegated trio attempted to save themselves with managerial changes. In Leicester's case, this meant letting the relatively long-serving Rodgers move on, with Dean Smith replacing him on a short-term deal eight days after his April 2 exit.
Rodgers' final game, a defeat at Crystal Palace, capped a run of just one point from six games. After back-to-back defeats under caretakers Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler, a return of five points from Smith's first four games offerd hope, only for the Foxes to still fall short.
Under new manager Enzo Maresca, Leicester are making a decent fist of their attempt to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League. Despite losing stars such as James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, they will enter 2024 top of the Championship table.
Graham Potter
Appointed in September and dismissed in April, Graham Potter's Chelsea spell wasn't exactly a roaring success. He has opted against rushing back into a return, but the Blues struggles since his exit suggest it's not been an easy job of late.
Graham Potter has yet to take another job (PA)Chelsea won just one of the 11 matches after the former Brighton boss' dismissal, with Bruno Saltor drawing his one game in caretaker charge and interim boss Lampard - back after his Everton pain - picking up just five points from a possible 30. Change was always going to arrive in the summer, and Mauricio Pochettino was handed the reins.
Things have needed to get worse before getting better. Pochettino has added plenty of new faces but Chelsea remain well off the pace. After finishing 12th last term, having sat 11th when Potter make way, they find themselves in 10th at the halfway mark in the current campaign.
Cristian Stellini
If Stellini was supposed to steady the ship in North London, it didn't go to plan. Under Conte's interim successor, Spurs' defensive struggles increased, and Stellini was dismissed after four points from four games - including a 6-1 humbling at Newcastle.
Ryan Mason took over for the final six games, though by then any hopes of a Champions League finish had begun to fade fast. Ange Postecoglou took permanent charge over the summer, with the former Celtic boss tasked with rebuilding after the August exit of talisman Harry Kane.
Postecoglou has hit the ground running, with a long unbeaten start to the season leaving some dreaming of a title challenge. While things have slowed in that regard, they're still in with a good chance of making a solid improvement on last season's eighth-place finish.
Javi Gracia
Javi Gracia was unable to see out the season at Leeds (PA)Former Watford boss Gracia took over from Marsch at Leeds, winning his first game against Southampton, but a worrying slump saw his tenure end in May. After 10 points from six matches gave the Whites hope of survival, they took just one from the next five and shipped 18 goals in the process.
Leeds were outside the bottom three when Gracia went, but only on goal difference. Sam Allardyce's rescue mission proved unsuccessful, though, with one point from the last four games not enough to salvage their season.
Daniel Farke was brought in over the summer in an effort to harness the German's Championship experience. An unbeaten home record has left the team in the play-off places, with promotion very much a possibility.
Gary O’Neil
A 4-1 defeat away to O'Neil's Bournemouth proved to be Gracia's farewell game. It also helped O'Neil's side bolster their own push to avoid the drop, and they did just that with time to spare.
Despite securing survival, O'Neil was no longer at the helm when the new season began. The Cherries decided to throw the dice, replacing the Englishman with former Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola.
The decision wasn't universally welcomed, and a slow start under Iraola left some wondering if the wrong call had been made. However, after waiting until his 10th Premier League game for his first win, Iraola has overseen six further victories to lead his team to mid-table.
Julen Lopetegui
O'Neil didn't have to wait long to return to the Premier League, with Lopetegui's Wolves exit a factor. The Spanish boss saved the team from relegation last term, despite Wolves sitting bottom at Christmas, but issues with transfer funds meant he left on the eve of the new campaign.
Julen Lopetegui left Wolves over the summer (PA)The Molineux side lost talented duo Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes over the summer, prompting relegation fears from some. However, O'Neil has been able to work competently under tough conditions, even shaking off some controversial refereeing calls against his team.
After 19 games, Lopetegui's former club sit 11th in the table. A seven-game unbeaten run has been a big factor in that, with memorable victories over Manchester City, Spurs and Chelsea.
Paul Heckingbottom
Heckingbottom's interim spell at Sheffield United in 2021 came too late for him to save his team from relegation. He would eventually return on a permanent basis, though, securing promotion in his first full season.
The Blades were shorn of two of the key figures from that promotion campaign, Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge, and started the season slowly. Perhaps for this reason, their manager was given time to turn things around while working with a much-changed squad, but a 5-0 loss to Burnley in early December proved to be the final straw.
Chris Wilder, the man who Heckingbottom succeeded in 2021, has since returned. His five games in charge have brought four points, but there's still an uphill battle to be fought as the team looks to keep hold of its Premier League status.
Steve Cooper
Steve Cooper's Nottingham Forest spell came to an end in December (PA)There was still time for one more dismissal after Heckingbottom's December departure. Like the former Blades boss, Cooper secured a promotion before making way, but the Nottingham Forest boss also had a season of Premier League survival under his belt.
Cooper got his marching orders on December 19 after a run of just one point from six games left his team in danger of the drop once more. Nuno Espirito Santo has overseen just two games since taking his place, but there are green shoots of recovery.
Nuno's first game brought a painful defeat, with Bournemouth claiming a last-gasp victory after Willy Boly's controversial first-half red card. The second, though, saw Forest come from behind to claim an impressive win away at Newcastle.
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