With less than half of the season played and the World Cup break now here, there have already been six managerial changes in the Premier League. While Leeds United are not one of those clubs, there was certainly a period not too long ago where the shouts from supporters were loud for Jesse Marsch to be relieved of his duties.
Leeds had just been beaten 3-2 at home to Fulham and their winless league run had been extended to eight matches after such a promising start. But Marsch has certainly bought himself some time after back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth, which could've been three in a row only for a late collapse at Tottenham.
Without those results, it could've been so different for both Leeds and Marsch, and a new manager could've well been preparing for six weeks with the majority of the squad to work on the training pitch. So, with all that in mind, here is a look at the impact changing managers has had on the six Premier League teams this season.
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Brighton
Brighton are somewhat of an anomaly on this list given that they didn't actually sack their manager, but were forced into a change after Graham Potter left for Chelsea. Under Potter, the Seagulls were flying, accumulating 13 points from their first six matches, which included an opening day win at Manchester United and equates to a points per game (PPG) of 2.16.
Robert de Zerbi was the man Brighton opted to appoint in Potter's place and while there has been a drop off in their PPG, it is clear to see he is building on what his predecessor started. He has picked up eight points from as many matches, which, of course, averages out at one per game.
Chelsea
The man in which the aforementioned Potter replaced at Stamford Bridge was Thomas Tuchel, whose sacking came as a surprise to everyone. He took charge of Chelsea' opening six matches and picked up 10 points - a PPG of 1.66, which of course is below their standards, but it was thought he had enough credit in the bank to continue in the dugout.
Potter enjoyed a superb start to life at the Blues but that has very quickly gone the other way with no wins in five and three straight defeats. Chelsea have accumulated 11 points in eight matches under Potter (1.38 PPG), suggesting the change has not worked the way they would've liked as of yet.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa were almost forced into changing their manager after supporters made it abundantly clear they were no longer behind Steven Gerrard. Based on their results under Gerrard, their criticism was probably fair given they averaged just 0.81 PPG in his 11 matches this season.
While it is a small sample size, it very much appears as though the change has worked having picked up nine points in four games since (2.25 PPG). Unai Emery has been in charge for two of those, with Villa picking up maximum points thanks to impressive wins over Manchester United and Brighton.
Bournemouth
Arguably the most surprising sacking of the season so far came at Bournemouth when they dismissed Scott Parker. Parker guided the Cherries to automatic promotion in his first year at the club and picked up three points from their opening four matches (0.75 PPG), which wasn't considered too bad given they faced Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool in that period.
That said, it's fair to say Gary O'Neil has done a very good job as interim manager since; they were written off by many as clear relegation favourites earlier in pre-season. The Cherries have picked up 13 points from 11 matches (1.18 PPG) under his management, though it still may not be enough to get the job permanently with former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa heavily linked.
Southampton
Ralph Hasenhuttl was relieved of his duties after a continuation of their poor form from last season into the new campaign. He left the Saints sat in the bottom three with 12 points from 14 matches, equating to a PPG of just 0.85.
Having said that, it is impossible to tell whether that has proved to be the right decision as Nathan Jones has only taken charge of one match so far. That came away at Liverpool, where they were beaten 3-1, though his real acid test will come after the World Cup break.
Wolves
Wolves' severe lack of goals is ultimately what brought the end of Bruno Lage's time at the club. He left after Wolves' eighth game of the season having picked up just six points (0.75 PPG), remarkably scoring only three goals.
There has actually been a regression in results since his exit, though, accumulating just four points in the seven games that have followed (0.57 PPG). That said, Julien Lopetegui is now finally set to take the reigns at Molineux and they will be hoping that is the catalyst to firing them up the league table.
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