5 Premier League Managers Who Were Surprisingly Appointed

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Since the English Premier League began, there have been many unexpected events, especially when it comes to changing managers. No matter how big or small the clubs are, they have all had changes that football fans never expected.

Today we will take you to meet 5 trainers who were appointed to work unexpectedly.


1. Attilio Lombardo (Crystal Palace 1998)

Terry Venables and Attilio Lombardo

Lombardo joined Palace from Juventus in the summer of 1997. After the Eagles had been promoted to the Premier League. With the former Italian winger impressing on his debut, scoring against Everton.

However, Lombardo was unfortunately injured and was out for several months. At a time when Palace’s performances began to decline and new owner Mark Goldberg wanted to make a change. Goldberg

decided to sack Steve Coppell as manager after the team’s 6-2 defeat to Chelsea and appointed Lombardo as caretaker manager. With former Swede Thomas Blorin as assistant and interpreter. Lombardo made his

 first start in charge of the team, leading Palace to a victory over Newcastle. And stepped down in April 1998 to return to his homeland to play for ufabet http://ufabet999.app Lazio.

2. Sven-Goran Eriksson (Manchester City 2007)

Manchester City Training & Press Conference

After former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra successfully took over Manchester City. He aimed to make the “Sky Blues” the biggest football club in England. And of course, a big-name manager like Eriksson was brought in to lay the foundation. The former

Swedish coach led the team to three straight victories, including a win over city rivals Manchester United in early December 2007. But after that, Man City began to lose form, especially the game that lost to Middlesbrough 1-8, which was the main cause of Eriksson’s dismissal.

3. Alan Pardew (Newcastle 2010)

Alan Pardew, Andy Carroll, Shola Ameobi

Back in the 2010/11 Premier League season, although Chris Hughton led Newcastle to promotion, in December, the Magpies dropped to 11th place in the standings and the board of directors dismissed him from his position, stating that they wanted someone more experienced to manage the team.

However, a few days later, Newcastle fans were shocked by the news when the club announced the appointment of Alan Pardew, who was currently managing Southampton in League One, as the new manager on a 5-and-a-half-year contract. During Pardew

’s 4-year spell with Newcastle, he led the team to 5th place in the 2011/12 season, winning the Manager of the Year award, and the following year, he led the Magpies to the Europa League semi-finals. 

4. Mauricio Pochettino (Southampton 2013)

Mauricio Pochettino

Nigel Edkins enjoyed a successful two-and-a-half year spell at Southampton, taking the Saints from League One to the Premier League. However, he found himself in the relegation zone in January 2013, prompting the board to appoint Pochettino as his replacement.

 Former Southampton manager Lawrie McMenemy said of the switch: “With all due respect, what does Pochettino know about Southampton, or what does he know about Premier League football?” Pochettino did, however, steer Southampton out of the relegation zone to

finish eighth in the table and steer the Saints to their highest points tally in the club’s history since 1992/93.

5. Paolo Di Canio (Sunderland 2013)

Paul DiCanio

The former Italian striker was a surprise choice to take over as Sunderland manager from Martin O’Neill in late March 2013, despite having successfully guided Swindon to promotion to League One. Di

Canio had no Premier League experience, was also a brash and often politically charged man, prompting Sunderland vice-chairman David Miliband to step down. The West Ham United legend began by imposing strict rules on his

players, including no ketchup or mayonnaise, which did not help Sunderland’s results, with just eight points from seven games before he was sacked.