Hot-Seat Watch for World Football Players, Coaches After the New Year
New year, new resolutions, turning over a new leaf: 2015 no doubt started with the best of intentions for everybody, but some clubs have already made a bit of a slip-up or two in the opening days.
Our hot-seat watch focuses our attentions on those managers and players who have endured a downturn in results or performances of late, have made questionable decisions or just generally need to improve their output over the coming weeks.
It's not a call-to-arms for the P45s or transfer lists to be handed out, but the scrutiny and pressure is growing on these guys all the same.
Roberto Martinez, Everton
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We'll start off with a clutch of names from England and the Premier League, as that's the top flight which has been playing on through winter and thus has given us more names to go on.
Roberto Martinez wooed onlookers last season with good football and results at Everton, but this term is fighting a losing battle against injuries and poor form.
A 2-0 defeat to lowly Hull City was a bad start to 2015 and only an injury-time equaliser at home kept his side in the FA Cup on Tuesday. Everton have lost four in a row in league play, face Manchester City next up and have sunk to 13th in the table.
Phil Jagielka, Everton
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Of course such poor form means it's not just the manager getting things wrong, but those on the pitch as well, and a hefty portion of questioning has to go the way of central defender Phil Jagielka.
The England man has been in pretty wretched form this term, battling his own injury problems as well as trying to steady the back line of the side, which is leaking goals at an alarming rate.
Jagielka struggled against West Ham for much of the FA Cup third-round game, didn't look domineering in the slightest inside the box and really needs to pick up quickly.
Harry Redknapp, QPR
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Harry Redknapp's QPR side might have gotten out of the relegation zone recently with two draws, but two points from back-to-back home games against Crystal Palace and Swansea City isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of improvement.
Rangers were also then embarrassingly dumped out of the FA Cup by losing 3-0 at home to Sheffield United.
It's just one win in six now for Redknapp and, just days after saying it would be near-impossible to find a striker on loan in January (per ESPN), has brought Mauro Zarate to Loftus Road to strengthen his side in yet another deal for the relegation-battling club.
Wojciech Szczesny, Arsenal
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Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made a couple of errors in the recent game against Southampton, which the Gunners lost 2-0, and was since left out of the team to face Hull City in the FA Cup.
The worst of his behaviour came after the Saints game though—when he was found smoking in the showers in the changing rooms after full time.
Mirror reports that the keeper will be fined around £20,000 and that manager Arsene Wenger was furious.
Simon Mignolet, Liverpool
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Another Premier League goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet, saw his "indefinite" spell out of the team last just slightly more than two matches, as he had to replace the injured Brad Jones.
Back in the side, he was beaten twice in three minutes at home by Leicester City as Liverpool threw away two points on New Year's Day, though his defence had just as many questions to answer as the keeper himself on that occasion.
In the FA Cup against AFC Wimbledon, Mignolet completely missed a corner he went for, allowing the home side an easy goal from close range. With the January transfer window now open, the Reds will be expected to target a new goalkeeper.
Luis Enrique, Barcelona
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Barcelona missed a fantastic chance to move top of La Liga as Spain's top flight got back underway at the weekend.
With Real Madrid having lost earlier in the day, Barcelona knew a win would send them top—but they lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad after boss Luis Enrique opted to start the game with both Neymar and Lionel Messi on the subs bench. Both were on early in the second half, but couldn't turn things around.
The Daily Mail reports the player is completely unhappy with his manager, might be sold, missed training and that Enrique has two games to save his job.
Pippo Inzaghi, Milan
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Milan got their Serie A campaign started back up on Tuesday with an afternoon home match against Sassuolo, which should have been seen as a fairly routine win.
After a good start, though, Milan succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to their inferior opponents, who in fact were better than Milan in every department after the opening 20 minutes or so.
Inzaghi made numerous changes including bringing on debutant Alessio Cerci, but his side couldn't respond and begin 2015 with another damaging defeat.
Edinson Cavani, PSG
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Edinson Cavani is one of the most talked-about strikers in world football every transfer window it seems, and this one will be no different.
The Uruguayan was disciplined by his club Paris Saint-Germain, report ESPN, who have fined and dropped him from the squad for two games—along with Ezequiel Lavezzi—after they came back late from the winter break.
It remains to be seen whether that means Cavani, who has just one goal in his last six league games, has played for PSG for the final time.
Vincenzo Montella, Fiorentina
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Back to Italy and Serie A, where Fiorentina also made a troubling start to 2015 on Tuesday.
La Viola had what looked like a straightforward game to start the year with: Away to bottom-of-the-table Parma, who had taken just one point from their last six games.
It all went horribly wrong for boss Vincenzo Montella, though, as Parma won 1-0 and Fiorentina had two players sent off. It's just one win in five now for Montella, whose side dropped to ninth.
Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
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Our final port of call sees us head back to Spain and league leaders Real Madrid, and their record signing Gareth Bale.
The Welshman had everything going for him last season, winning the Champions League, scoring for fun and delivering exhilarating performances—but that hasn't really happened yet this term with anything like regularity.
Against Valencia at the weekend he was poor, unable to beat his man, having no impact in the final third and unable to help his side get back into the match—exactly all the things you'd expect the world's most expensive player, an attacker, to be able to do when things get tough. Even during Real's fantastic winning streak, Bale did not hit his electric best and arguably the side looked a little better without him, with Isco and James Rodriguez occupying wide midfield roles in a 4-4-2.
More is needed from Bale, who should now be well over his injury problems from earlier in the season. The 25-year-old has only scored seven in the league this term and is capable of far, far more.
