You're an embarrassment! 10 managers who were sacked after high-profile defeats

Published 12:16 15/02/12

Mick McCarthy's sacking at the hands of the Wolves board on Monday morning surprised few in the wake of the embarrassing 5-1 home thrashing by fierce Black Country rivals West Brom on Sunday afternoon. He was under pressure to deliver results after a disappointing run that had seen the Molineux faithful become increasingly unsettled and, ultimately, paid the price for a defeat that sees the Baggies get breathing space from the basement battle and Wolves stuck precariously in the middle of a five-team fight for survival.

Mick's far from the first manager to have been giving the boot on the back of a high-profile humbling though, as this list proves:

1) Ron Atkinson (Manchester United)
Big Ron didn't know it at the time, but his Old Trafford sacking would spark a monumental period of success at Manchester United under a wily Scot lured from Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson may have taken some time to find his feet before the 1990 FA Cup win, however at least he delivered titles to the trophy cabinet unlike his flashy predecessor who only had the 1983 and 1985 FA Cup wins to his name.

Having bedded in promising players like Norman Whiteside and Remi Moses, together with United legends in waiting Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, Atkinson took his charges into the 1986-87 season full of hope. Sadly for the outspoken Liverpudlian they were put to the sword in their first three games and, despite a brief upturn, the board lost patience with him on the back of an embarrassing 4-1 League Cup hammering by Southampton that ushered in the Fergie era.

2) Howard Wilkinson (Leeds United)
Sergeant Wilko will always be fondly remembered by the Elland Road faithful for the way he got the team back into the top flight and moulded an enterprising team of ball players like Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister and Gary Speed together with the grit of David Batty. Not only that, he managed to inspire a forward line comprising of Lee Chapman and surly Frenchman Eric Cantona to fire the goals that took them to the very last First Division title in 1992 before the advent of the Premier League.

Unfortunately for Wilkinson, the years that followed were not notable for the same success with Cantona's crazy November 1992 departure to Manchester United on the cheap symptomatic of the decline which saw them finish 17th the following season. The Whites reached the 1996 League Cup final in the season before his exit, a 4-0 Elland Road thrashing dished out by visitors United finally persuading the board that new blood was needed to take advantage of the promising players coming through the youth academy.

3) Graeme Souness (Liverpool)
Mention the former Scottish international's name as a player round Liverpool way and you will be hard pressed to find anyone who would talk ill of their bullish former captain. Switch the conversation to his managerial capabilities, though, and see the smile fade. Having picked up five League Championships, three European Cups and four League Cups under Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan, Souness finished his glittering playing career at Sampdoria and Rangers.

After enjoying a prosperous spell in his first managerial role at Rangers, the stage was set for the Edinburgh native to keep the trophies arriving consistently at Anfield. However, he inherited an ageing squad where John Barnes was arguably the only player in his prime and the players he did buy like Julian Dicks, Paul Stewart and Nigel Clough were simply not up to the job. The 1993-94 season started well, but went rapidly downhill with the axe coming on the back of Bristol City's shock FA Cup replay victory at Anfield.

4) Ruud Gullit (Newcastle United)
There is no denying that the Dutchman in his pomp was one of the greatest players to have wowed the world in the last three decades. His goal-heavy early years bursting from midfield at HFC Haarlem, Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven saw Gullit join compatriots Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten at AC Milan. The Dutch trio helped the Italian juggernauts rack up a succession of Serie A titles and European Cups to leave football purists salivating in delight.

Like his English counterpart Hoddle, Gullit used the player-manager role at Chelsea to hone his tactical skills with the 1997 FA Cup triumph becoming the club's first major trophy in 26 years. Ken Bates' controversial sacking of the confident Dutchman saw him head to Tyneside where he guided them to an FA Cup final appearance. Bizarre handling of Alan Shearer, Rob Lee and Duncan Ferguson, though, culminated in a humiliating 2-1 loss to neighbours Sunderland and Gullit subsequently leaving before he was pushed just five games into the 1999-00 season.

5) John Barnes (Celtic)
The former England international's managerial stint north of the border at the Glasgow giants has to go down as one of the most confusing appointments in top-flight European football. Having won plaudits as a player during his Watford days and trophies galore at Liverpool in his prime, the Jamaican born left-winger wound down his playing career at Newcastle and Charlton before he became part of a managerial "dream ticket" at Celtic under director of football and fellow Kop legend Kenny Dalglish.

Barnes, to be fair, started well in Glasgow with Swedish striker Henrik Larsson rattling in the goals to give the supporters hope after seeing their Old Firm rivals Rangers romp to the league title the season before. Sadly for Barnes, Larsson broke his leg and replacement Ian Wright did not enjoy the same success thereafter. A shock Scottish Cup defeat at the hands of Inverness Caledonian Thistle in February, which gave birth to the famous Sun headline "Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious", was a defeat too far for the board.

6) Glenn Hoddle (Tottenham)
Much like Souness, Hoddle suffered somewhat from the memorable success he enjoyed as a player ahead of his stint in the dugout. An integral part of Keith Burkinshaw's classy Cup sides that won the 1981 and 1982 FA Cups, together with the 1984 UEFA Cup, Hoddle wound down his playing career at Monaco, Swindon and Chelsea - the latter two in a player-manager role where he was able to cut his teeth in the hotseat.

Hoddle's ability to get his sides playing attractive football saw him gain the England post followed by a spell at Southampton where he kept them up before jumping ship to north London. A frustrating League Cup final defeat to Blackburn in 2002 sat badly among mid-table Premier League campaigns that ultimately left him in dire need of a good 2003-04 season. With just four points from his opening four league games, though, back-to-back losses against old clubs Chelsea and Southampton saw the board bring his tenure to an end.

7) Bryan Gunn (Norwich City)
A legend in the north of East Anglia for his heroics between the sticks in 390 appearances at Carrow Road, the goalkeeping coach came to the managerial hotseat in a roundabout way after initially only taking charge on a temporary basis. The goodwill he had built up with the fans over the years, coupled with a friendly father figure outlook, meant that he was given the job on a permanent basis following the sacking of Glenn Roeder in January 2009.

At the time, the Canaries were struggling in the Championship and sadly for the gentle giant, he could not stop the rot. At the back end of the 2008-09 season Norwich were relegated to League One - the first time in nearly 50 years that the club had been forced to play in the English third tier. Gunn was given the chance to try and take them back, only for Colchester to inflict a 7-1 home thrashing on the opening day that saw fans throw their season tickets in thehapless manager's direction. The board bowed to supporter and media pressure by sacking Gunn and hiring the manager who had masterminded Colchester's win, Paul Lambert. The rest is, as they say, history.

8) Mark Hughes (Manchester City)
Whenever one former Manchester player switches sides to the other half, there is always going to be a significant uphill struggle whether you eventually win the fans over or not. For a time, it looked like it might work out for Hughes. However the elevated ambition of a suddenly cash rich club meant that he did not get the type of time and patience that previous City managers had enjoyed in their attempt to make a perennially underachieving side bring home the trophy bacon.

Moderate success in charge of Wales and Blackburn meant Hughes was still a relatively unknown quantity when replacing Sven-Goran Eriksson and his dubious purchases before and after the Abu Dhabi takeover did not help his cause. City finished 10th in Hughes' first season and also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. Seven successive draws part-way into the 2009-10 campaign meant he was on thin ice and a 3-0 defeat at Spurs eventually leading to his sacking - ironically on the day he led his team to a 4-3 win over Sunderland.

9) Tony Mowbray (Celtic)
Just when you thought Barnes' swift exit at Celtic could not be repeated, up stepped Tony Mowbray. The former Celtic Park defender was, in hindsight, on a hiding to nothing after the dominance of his predecessors Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan, who won 1 trophies between them. Nevertheless, Mobray's his exit was still a surprise to some.

Appointed in June, Mowbray promptly won the Manager of the Month award in September as his charges started promisingly. Unfortunately results took a turn for the worse soon after and Rangers built up a healthy lead post-Christmas. The controversial sales of Barry Robson and Gary Caldwell in the transfer window precipitated a further slump and an Old Firm defeat followed by a 4-0 spanking against St Mirren put the final nails in the coffin.

10) Sam Allardyce (Blackburn)
Big Sam's managerial journey has certainly not been without incident. Early dugout stints at Limerick, Preston, Blackpool and Notts County eventually saw him eventually return to Bolton where he turned the unfashionable team into a tough Premier League outfit.

Openly ambitious, Allardyce resigned after eight years at the helm to take the poisoned chalice at Newcastle, a tenure that lasted just under eight months. Blackburn was his next port of call and chance at redemption, the club finishing 15th after he was parachuted in during December 2008. A League Cup semi-final appearance and 10th place the following season promised much, but a poor start to the 20010-11 season saw the Rovers board act quick to restore order with the side 13th in the table after, ironically, a 2-1 defeat by old club Bolton.

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