In this article we look at 6 of the shortest managerial reigns in Premier League history, some times so short that the managers name wouldn’t be put on the door.
Yes, we can confirm there is one Watford manager in the list.
Interview room door concept for recruitment or medical checkup with a consultant
6. Terry Connor – Wolves (91 days)
Connor served as a coach under various Wolves’ managers before being promoted to assistant manager under Mick McCarthy in August 2008.
In February 2012, he was given the role of manager by Wolves until the end of the current season, after the sacking of Mick McCarthy.
Connor took charge with Wolves in 18th. His first game in charge brought a 2–2 draw at Newcastle United on 25 February 2012. However, his side then suffered seven consecutive defeats which left them rooted to the bottom of the table and were relegated on 22 April.
In his thirteen games, he failed to get any wins and gained only four points from a possible 39. The team finished bottom of the table with one of the lowest points tallies in their history.
5. Quique Sanchez Flores – Watford (85 days)
No-one should be surprised that at least 1 watford manager is on this list considering the way the club is run.
This was actually his second spell at the club
Flores returned to Watford on 7 September 2019, replacing his compatriot Javi Garcia. His team drew 2–2 with Arsenal at Vicarage Road in his first game back.However, one week later, they were defeated 8–0 at the City of Manchester Stadium by Manchester City, conceding five goals in the first 15 minutes.
On 30 November 2019, Watford went to Southampton and lost 2–1. The next day, Flores was sacked after securing only one victory in his second stint.
4. Bob Bradley – Swansea City (84 days)
On October 3, 2016, Bradley was appointed as the new Swansea City manager. With the appointment, Bradley became the first American to manage a Premier League club. Many fans and pundits criticized the appointment, suggesting that he had been given the job by the club’s new American owners by virtue of being American.
On December 27, 2016, following a 1–4 defeat by West Ham United, Bradley was sacked after only 85 days and 11 games in charge of the club .He left with a 2–7–2 record, conceding 29 goals, with Swansea gaining only 8 out of 33 points available for the 11 games.
Paul Clement replaced him and kept Swansea up mainly due to 13 from 15 points in the last 5 games of the season.
3. Frank de Boer – Crystal Palace (77 days)
Frank de Boer had a fantastic playing career for Holland and at club level with Ajax and Barcelona
The writing was on the wall in the fact he had only lasted 85 days and lost 4 of 5 games.
Crystal Palace came calling and he only lasted 77 days. Palace lost their first four league matches of the season without scoring a single goal – the first team in 93 years to have begun a top-flight season to achieve this feat.
He left having managed the team for only 450 minutes of game time, making it the shortest reign of the Premier League era in terms of number of matches. Roy Hodgson came in and steadied the ship.
2. Rene Meulensteen – Fulham (75 days)
On paper this appointment made a bit of sense, he had spent many years under Alex Ferguson at Manchester United helping contribute to the successes at the club.
Meulensteen returned to take up the position of head coach under Martin Jol at Fulham. Less than three weeks later, Jol was sacked by Fulham after five consecutive league defeats, with Meulensteen taking over as manager.
His first match as Fulham manager was a 2–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Fulham won their first match under Meulensteen days later on 8 December, beating Aston Villa 2–0. On 14 February 2014, Fulham hired Felix Magath to replace Meulensteen as manager, sacking Meulensteen four days later.
1. Les Reed – Charlton Athletic (41 days)
He returned to Charlton to become Iain Dowie’s assistant manager in the summer of 2006. Dowie was sacked on 14 November 2006 and Reed was promoted to replace him.
During his spell as manager Reed managed just one victory, and Charlton were knocked out of the League Cup by League Two team Wycombe Wanderers. He was replaced as manager by Alan Pardew on 24 December, leaving Charlton Athletic by mutual consent
In 8 games he managed 1 win, 1 draw and 6 defeats. Charlton Athletic were relegated that season from the Premier League
