Hot-Seat Watch for World Football Players, Coaches After Weekend of Dec. 12-14
It's the time of week again when we look around the biggest leagues in the world and see which weekend results left coaches and players coming under the watchful eyes of their fans or the media, on account of games or performances not going as expected.
We have a few familiar faces on the list this week as certain teams struggle to lift themselves out of a recent funk, but as ever, we also bring a number of new names into the frame.
These aren't calls to be sacked, dropped or taken out of the picture, but there are certainly a few names who will be looking for better displays in the weeks ahead.
Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool
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Liverpool's week didn't get any better following their exit from the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday.
Brendan Rodgers took his side to Old Trafford to face rivals Manchester United, and despite a better performance, the Reds ended up losing 3-0 to their bitter enemies and top-four-chasing opponents.
It's two wins in 10 in all competitions now for Liverpool, who drop into the bottom half of the Premier League table as a result.
Fran Escriba, Elche
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Elche faced what looked like a make-or-break fixture against Deportivo La Coruna on Monday night, two of the league's bottom-three sides in Spain's La Liga.
Elche, managed by Fran Escriba, lost.
The 1-0 reversal leaves Escriba's side bottom of the table, with just one win in all competitions since September, and looking heavy favourites for relegation this season. They have one more chance to pick up points before the winter break, at home to Malaga.
Divock Origi, Lille
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Liverpool have seemingly been considering bringing Divock Origi back to the club in January to help with their goalscoring woes.
If that's the case, maybe they need to reassess their options: Origi hasn't found the net since the end of September in Ligue 1 with Lille and was booed off the pitch by his own fans at the weekend after another blank return.
With Lille finally returning to winning ways, they move up to 12th.
Hatem Ben Arfa, Hull City
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Hatem Ben Arfa was seen as a coup signing for Hull City in the Premier League, but he hasn't sparked for the Tigers during his loan spell.
Boss Steve Bruce looks to have confirmed that the French playmaker won't be continuing with the club beyond January by leaving him out of his most recent squads and telling the Hull Daily Mail that he "can't see there being a future" and that Ben Arfa "wants to do things his [own] way."
It doesn't help that Hull are performing poorly, of course, which leads us to...
Steve Bruce, Hull City
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...manager Steve Bruce, who doesn't escape without further acknowledgement of his side's woeful form.
Despite actually looking like they might get a surprisingly positive result for part of the game against Chelsea at the weekend, Hull eventually lost 2-0 and saw Tom Huddlestone sent off after a few other refereeing decisions went against them.
It's two wins from 16 this season for Bruce and Hull, who are now 19th in the table, two points from safety.
Jozy Altidore, Sunderland
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Sunderland picked up their fourth draw in five games at the weekend and their 10th in 16 league games this season, with a 1-1 result at home to West Ham United.
They could have made things a lot more comfortable for themselves in the league table if they had nabbed a winner to take the extra two points—but unfortunately, the best chance fell to epically misfiring striker Jozy Altidore.
His bizarre attempt to score saw him almost fall sitting on the ball as his luckless streak continued. His current record for Sunderland reads three goals in more than 50 games.
Jurgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund
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"It's a relegation battle," said Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp ahead of BVB's battle with Hertha Berlin at the weekend, per Goal.com.
The strange, incredible domestic demise of Dortmund continued, as Hertha beat them 1-0 to leave Klopp and his side back in the relegation playoff place. They have a quick chance to turn that around on Wednesday at home to Wolfsburg—who are second in the league, unbeaten in three.
A defeat by more than one goal will leave BVB in the bottom two.
Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli
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Over in Italy, Gonzalo Higuain had been in good form for Napoli, scoring frequently as they soared back up the table toward the top three—but the goals have dried up, his form has deteriorated and Napoli's results have plunged of late.
Higuain was left on the bench against Empoli after failing to score in his previous two games, but he is now without a goal in five—and Napoli haven't won in six.
The Argentine has to get back on the goal trail to lift his side up from seventh in Serie A.
Marco Silva, Sporting CP
9 of 10
Sporting Lisbon's season continues to be up and down, with manager Marco Silva unable to coax consistent results from his squad in the Primeira Liga where, in the normal course of things, his club would expect to be in the top three.
Another draw this weekend—achieved with a last-minute equaliser at home to Moreirense—leaves them down in fifth place, already now 10 points behind leaders Benfica.
Silva has only managed six wins from 13 in his first season at the club.
Antonio Mohamed, Formerly of Club America
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Yes, that's right, the man in the middle lifting the trophy.
Technically he's manager of nobody now—Antonio Mohamed won the Liga MX Apertura stage with Club America at the weekend, defeating Tigres UANL in the two-legged final, before the club opted not to renew his contract.
Mohamed was not retained on account of his brand of football not being what the club were looking for, despite it bringing them great success at the start of this season.
