There comes a point in time when it is inevitable that a club must make a managerial change. Whether it comes during the middle of the campaign or at the end of the season, sometimes there is no alternative but to wield the axe.
Clubs that are struggling at the bottom of their respective divisions can often make more decisive and drastic moves to save their seasons. It has become commonplace in the Premier League for at least one manager at the bottom of the pile to lose his job.
Teams at the top end of the ladder are usually more reserved in their decision-making, although Manchester United moved to fire Jose Mourinho after their struggles in the English top flight.
The move mirrored the Portuguese’s two exits from Chelsea – albeit without the success this time around.
There are always managers out of work desperate to get back into the fold. Occasionally, there are the choices out of left field that astound the media and pundits.
Change does not always bring success, but in specific cases, teams have gone from strength-to-strength with a new man in charge. We’ll now break down the best managerial changes of recent history, beginning with a familiar name to all fans of football.
Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
The Frenchman was one of the finest players to take the field for Madrid and France during his illustrious career.
He won almost every award possible during spells with Bordeaux, Juventus, Madrid along with Les Bleus. Success on the pitch does not always translate towards being a top-quality manager, however.
Zidane recognised this, picking his spot carefully in developing Los Blancos’ young players before being called on by the senior side after the dismissal of Rafael Benitez during the 2015/16 campaign.
Zidane had a job on his hands reviving the term and was outstanding from start to finish, with two blemishes on his record. Los Blancos surged past Roma in the Champions League round of 16 before losing the first leg of their quarter-final clash against Wolfsburg.
However, they bounced back to see off the German outfit 3-0 at the Bernabeu. Zidane’s men edged past Manchester City in the semi-finals before their incredible victory over city rivals Atletico Madrid in the final.
Sergio Ramos’ last-gasp equaliser sent the game to extra-time then penalties where Los Blancos outlasted Diego Simeone’s team to win the crown for the second time in three years.
Under the Frenchman, Madrid improved even further in the 2016/17 season. Their La Liga form improved, displaying an impressive level of consistency. In a close race, Los Blancos were able to outlast Barcelona to win the crown for the first time in five years.
In the Champions League, Real overcame Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals and Atletico in the last four, before hammering Juventus in the final, becoming the first team to win back-to-back European crowns in the modern era.
Zidane's final season was the worst of his tenure in terms of league position, although it still resulted in an incredible third Champions League title on the bounce.
Real battled past Juventus and Bayern before seeing off Liverpool in the final thanks to mistakes from Loris Karius.
Zidane opted to bow out after his third triumph, and given Madrid’s issues since – given how far they're valued in the La Liga betting odds – it’s clear to see the quality of his managerial skills.
Sam Allardyce (Sunderland)
Whenever a team is in the dark despair at the bottom of the Premier League, they usually knock on the door of Allardyce, who is always seemingly well-placed in 888sport's managers betting odds.
He has the reputation of never having experienced relegation during his managerial career, although his record was put to the test by the Black Cats.
Sunderland had collected three points from their opening eight matches of the campaign under Dick Advocaat. The Black Cats were perennial strugglers in the top flight and had barely avoided relegation in the previous three terms.
Advocaat had resigned amid claims of broken promises from Sunderland owner Ellis Short after a 2-2 draw against West Ham. Allardyce was hired to right the ship, although he began with a 1-0 defeat to West Brom at The Hawthorns
A win over local rivals Newcastle United got the Wearsiders off the mark, but they were unable to put together a run of results to pull themselves out of the relegation zone.
The January transfer window proved to be crucial for the Black Cats, as they signed Wahbi Khazri, Jan Kirchhoff and Lamine Kone. All three players hit the ground running as Sunderland enjoyed a resurgence after the turn of the year, losing four of their final 18 matches.
The Black Cats overcame Manchester United at home, along with launching a 2-2 comeback against Liverpool on the road.
Those results kickstarted their survival run, aided by the goals of Jermain Defoe, which culminated with back-to-back triumphs over Chelsea and Everton. Sunderland stayed up at the expense of Norwich City and Newcastle.
However, Allardyce’s exploits saw him lured away by England, forcing Sunderland’s hand to hire David Moyes.
Without Allardyce, whose England sojourn ended in scandal, the Wearsiders were relegated with a whimper under Moyes and have since fallen into the third tier of English football.
Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace)
From one former England manager to another. Hodgson’s reputation was tarnished by England’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Iceland in the first knockout round of Euro 2016.
Many believed that he would not get enough opportunity to manage in the Premier League, despite his pedigree at Fulham and West Brom.
However, Palace came calling after their disastrous start to the 2017/18 Premier League campaign, where the club had lost faith in Frank De Boer after just four matches.
The Eagles had been defeated four times in a row, losing twice at Selhurst Park. De Boer was sacked in the second week of September after a tepid loss to Burnley on the road, and Hodgson was appointed the following day.
He did not have a perfect start to his return to management. Palace lost three further games to drop their opening seven matches of the term without scoring, although the last two were against Manchester City and Manchester United on the road.
The Eagles ended their losing run by beating the champions Chelsea at home, courtesy of an own goal from Cesar Azpilicueta and Wilfried Zaha.
Palace would lose only three of their next 14 matches, although their abysmal start had left them with a huge task to make up ground on their rivals.
Hodgson managed to galvanise his team for one last effort in the final eight games of the campaign. Zaha found his best form in wins over Huddersfield and Brighton.
The results moved the Eagles out of the mire, and they ensured their Premier League survival in style with a 5-0 of Leicester before condemning Stoke to the drop with a 2-1 triumph on the road.
Palace climbed into 11th place as Hodgson defeated his former club West Brom 2-0 at Selhurst Park, capping a remarkable recovery.
Hodgson remains with the team to this day, seemingly on the road to Premier League safety as highlighted in the football betting odds for another term in the top flight.
