Hot Seat Watch for World Football Players, Coaches After Week April 17-20
It's the time of week again where we round up the individuals who have been in the media or under fire from fans after poor results, bad performances or other reasons.
Cagliari boss Zdenek Zeman was due to feature amongst our bosses—but the Czech manager resigned on Tuesday, per Sky Sports news. We have looked elsewhere to round up those who need improvements fast, on or off the pitch, taking four familiar names from last week's column in addition to a clutch of new faces.
Here is our updated hot seat watch.
Roberto Mancini
1 of 8
Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has made no real impact on Serie A since rejoining the club last year, with results and performances both lacking despite an active January transfer window for the team.
This weekend saw a chance for at least a positive result and a bit of pride in the Milan derby against AC, but a dour match with few moments of quality ended in a 0-0 result, with both teams having goals chalked off for earlier infringements.
Inter stay in mid-table, in 10th, eight points off a top-five place for European football.
Marcelo Bielsa
2 of 8
Marseille would have hoped to bring to an end a losing streak at the weekend with a trip to mid-table Nantes who have little to play for, but Marcelo Bielsa's team ended up losing 1-0.
It marked a third successive Ligue 1 loss, meaning Bielsa and his side are now on a run of just two wins in the last 11 in all competitions, with title hopes well out of the window and even Champions League football for next season now looking doubtful.
After a tremendous opening to the season and some extremely exciting times initially, it is all rather falling apart for Bielsa, who looks unable to galvanise his team over the finishing line.
John Carver
3 of 8
Newcastle United have been on a really poor run in the Premier League, sliding down the table after six defeats in a row.
This weekend saw them tamely lose 3-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, meaning they have won just two of their 15 fixtures in 2015. The Magpies have slipped to 14th in the table, still seven points above the relegation zone but certainly falling quickly toward it as the bottom teams battle for points and Newcastle already look on holiday.
To make matters worse, an open letter to the club by a fan group demanded that Mike Ashley, owner of the club, guarantee that rumours of a full-time role for Carver as manager be dismissed as 100 percent inaccurate, per BBC Sport.
Mike Ashley
4 of 8
Carver isn't the only one in trouble at Newcastle, with a large portion of the blame falling squarely on the rather broad shoulders of the owner.
Mike Ashley has twice attempted to sell the club in the past, without success, has renamed the stadium after his own sports company, has failed to provide funds to strengthen the side when needed and is of course now overseeing this latest slump under Carver, who was appointed until the end of the season when Alan Pardew left.
The Fans Forum letter openly addressed Ashley, asking his view on a boycott by thousands of fans who want him gone. BBC Sport's Ian Dennis gave the lowdown on the empty seats:
"It's difficult to gauge how successful the boycott was but I can't recall seeing so many empty seats at St James' Park for a Premier League match. We will never know how many season ticket holders did not attend but the crowd of 47,427 is the lowest of the season."
Rudi Garcia
5 of 8
Back to Italy now and Roma's Rudi Garcia continues to be unable to halt his side's slump.
Having been second place in Serie A for a couple of seasons now, Roma had hoped this year would be different...and it is in a way, as they have dropped to third for now, behind rivals Lazio and out of the automatic Champions League spots.
A 1-1 draw at home to lowly Atalanta, 17th in the table, leaves Roma 15 points off leaders Juventus after three wins in 14 in the league.
Brendan Rodgers
6 of 8
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has come in for criticism by his own supporters and plenty in the media after he failed to guide his side through the FA Cup semifinal against Aston Villa.
A lethargic display by the Reds, during which Rodgers changed formation and tactics four times, saw them crash out at Wembley 2-1 despite having taken the lead against the relegation strugglers. With the top four in the Premier League looking beyond them, silverware was the big chance for Rodgers to show his team continues to progress.
Now without that, he really needs to see out the season positively, picking up as many wins as possible to stay close to the top four.
Sam Allardyce
7 of 8
Another Premier League manager now and West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce.
Despite the Hammers challenging in the top seven or so earlier on in the campaign, a weekend defeat to Manchester City, 2-0, was a 12th loss of the campaign which now leaves them in 10th after only one win in the last 12 in all competitions.
Marcelino
8 of 8
The final manager on our list this week is Villarreal's Marcelino, who had done a fantastic job for much of the season but, similar to Bielsa, has been unable to get his team over the line.
Having gone out of the Copa del Rey, the Europa League and the race for a top-four finish in rapid succession, Villarreal drew 0-0 this weekend with bottom club Cordoba, making it eight games without a win and having scored just once—a penalty—in the last five.
Villarreal remain in sixth on account of Malaga's inconsistency, but they must pick up more points soon to ensure European football next term.
