Hot-Seat Watch for World Football Players, Coaches After Weekend of March 19-22
Another weekend of action has seen plenty of talking points in the world of football, with plenty of positive results and performances for teams and individuals...and plenty of the complete opposite, too.
Our hot-seat watch looks at those who had a bad time of things, either over the course of the 90 minutes this weekend or cumulatively over recent weeks, with poor results, performances or other noteworthy instances reflecting badly on themselves and the club.
Steven Gerrard's red card for Liverpool against Manchester United naturally makes the cut, but so do plenty of others from the past few days.
Emmanuel Emenike
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We'll start over in Turkey and the Super Lig, where Emmanuel Emenike needs a hug—and a reminder of his responsibilities.
The Fenerbahce forward started the key title match against Besiktas at the weekend, but after being booed by some of his own fans, he opted to remove his shirt and storm off the pitch, demanding not to play any more. He was talked back on by his manager, per BBC Sport, but was then subbed at half-time anyway.
This wasn't a racist incident, and it wasn't something physical being thrown from the crowd; Emenike was simply booed, jeered for a season of apparent poor performances. He can take issue with it by all means, but he has no right or reason to walk off in such a massive match. As a paid employee, a player of the team, he simply has to shut out the reactions and get on with his game, not demand to get his own way and feel insulted.
He'll be waiting an awfully long time if he's waiting for universal acclaim.
Steven Gerrard
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In the north-west derby in the Premier League, Liverpool hosted Manchester United looking to win and go above them, but it all went wrong as the Reds lost 2-1.
The worst moment came just after half-time when captain Steven Gerrard, introduced at the break, received a straight red card less than a minute into his afternoon for a stamp on Ander Herrera, who had gone in with a late challenge of his own.
Though the Reds actually fared a little better in the latter stages of the game, it was always an uphill battle with 10 men, and their chances of finishing in the top four have suffered a serious set-back as a result.
Manuel Neuer
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Bayern Munich suffered a first home defeat of the season at the weekend, losing 2-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Culprit for the opening goal was Manuel Neuer, who missed a routine save from a shot and spilled the ball into the back of the net. With star attackers like Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben missing, Bayern struggled to get back in the game with clear chances and conceded again later on.
Pep Guardiola said Neuer wasn't to blame, per Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC, but the keeper himself took responsibility for the goal and defeat.
"It was the first ball that came my way," Neuer said. "I tried to secure it, but should have played for safety."
Mesut Ozil
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Back in the Premier League, Mesut Ozil missed out on Arsenal's win over Newcastle United at the weekend through injury, but The Telegraph cites a report from Bild saying that he was seen at a nightclub in Germany just a few hours later.
He had seemingly been given permission to travel, but revelling at a party is probably not what the Gunners had in mind for him.
In the grand scheme of things, it's no big deal, but footballers and the public light they are in these days give rise to negative headlines at the slightest thing, so it's no surprise to see Ozil coming under criticism on social media from certain fans as a result of his decision-making.
Carlo Ancelotti
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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti would have been pretty happy with how much of the first half of El Clasico went on Sunday night, but come full-time, there were once more questions to be answered and fingers being pointed as Barcelona won 2-1 to go four points clear.
Ancelotti didn't appear to have too many options to turn to on the bench to change the shape or flow of the game, and once more, his front line was extremely disconnected from the rest of the team once Luka Modric gave way to tiredness and substitution.
Real have won just one of their last four in La Liga and one in five in all competitions, a far cry from the pre-Christmas 22-match win streak.
2 Real Madrid Fans
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It's not just the boss and players who get criticism after El Clasico, though, as the behaviour of some fans was unacceptable, too.
Gareth Bale wasn't even given a rating for his poor performance by Marca, but the same publication later reported that his car was "attacked" by two fans who ran at it and kicked out while shouting at the player as he left the training ground.
Jese was also targeted, the manager was sworn at, and Sergio Ramos stopped his car to talk to the fans and stop them insulting his team-mates.
Roberto Mancini
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Pippo Inzaghi is a regular guest to our column, but this time around, we're swinging focus toward Inter Milan rather than AC, where Roberto Mancini's recent revival has slumped dramatically once more.
Inter lost 1-0 at Sampdoria at the weekend to make it two defeats and two draws in their last four Serie A matches, dropping back down to 10th place in the process. Their only two wins in the last six came against the 17th- and 18th-placed teams.
When Mancini took over Inter in November, they were six places and five points off the top three. One transfer window and four months later, it is seven places and 15 points.
Chris Ramsey
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On the subject of poorly performing bosses, Queens Park Rangers' Chris Ramsey takes some beating.
Named as Harry Redknapp's successor until the end of the season, Ramsey initially guided the team to a first away win of the season, but it's five straight defeats since then. QPR look down and out of the Premier League barring a miraculous turnaround.
The sheer incompetence at the club in its entirety over the past three years is staggering given the money spent, but surely a run of 10 defeats in 11 must now signal that an overhaul in approach, on and off the field, is necessary for the team to be a serious contender to stay in the top flight next time they come up.
