As the 2022/23 season creeps closer and closer, there’s excitement in the air. Fans want to see their favourite players in action. They want glory, success, and trophies.
But not every team can win. And for some sides, expectations are higher than others. For managers around the world, that excitement is tempered with just a little bit of worry. Because when things go wrong on the pitch, it’s the man in the dugout who takes the blame.
Here are four managers to keep an eye on in the coming season. Because things might start to heat up for them quicker than you’d expect.
#4: Thomas Tuchel – Chelsea
Tuchel won a Champions League title with Chelsea. But so did Roberto Di Matteo, and it didn’t save his job.
Tuchel might have guided Chelsea through a rocky season off the pitch, but with a new board in place, he needs to start winning domestic trophies on it. Back-to-back final losses, and finishing 19 points adrift of the Champions isn’t the kind of performance the Chelsea ticket buying support expects at Stamford Bridge.
It would’ve sounded ridiculous 12 months ago, but maybe Thomas Tuchel won’t be in West London much longer?
#3: Pep Guardiola – Manchester City
Four Premier League titles. Four League Cups. One FA Cup – and a domestic treble. People buying Manchester City tickets know they’re guaranteed domestic glory. So what on Earth has Pep got left to prove at City?
Nothing, maybe. But he does have something to win.
The world’s richest club hired him to do what he did at Barcelona twice, and win the Champions League. But other than a final loss in 2021, he’s never come close. He has to. Following up a £100m player in Jack Grealish with another mega-signing in Erling Haaland has to deliver European glory for Pep and for City.
Otherwise, what’s the point?
#2: Gareth Southgate – England
World Cup 2018, beaten semi-finalists. Euro 2020, beaten finalists. World Cup 2022?
Gareth Southgate is on the cusp. If he can take that final step and win a tournament with England, it’ll be Sir Gareth. There’ll be statues outside Wembley. He’ll have streets named after him. Babies. Given that “Gareth” went from the 117th most popular boy’s name in England before his penalty miss in 1996 to 1,903rd the year after, he’ll know just how much pressure is on him.
But if England move backwards, it could be curtains for Southgate. No statues. No knighthoods. No baby Gareths for a generation. And England fans could be left staring at Frank Lampard failing upwards yet again into the very biggest job, bemoaning what could have been.
Come on Gareth. Do it for everyone with World Cup tickets. Do it for everyone who can’t stand Frank Lampard. Do it for the Queen. Do it for yourself if that’s what it takes. Just do it.
Please.
#1: Erik ten Hag – Manchester United
It must take a special kind of person to look at Manchester United and think “that’s the job for me.” It’s been a decade since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club, and his long, long shadow still looms from the directors’ box at Old Trafford. They’ve tried club legends – Giggs lasted a few weeks, Solskjaer a few years. They’ve tried legendary managers – Mourinho and van Gaal. They even let David Moyes have a go for a laugh. And they’re still without a title in ten years, with Liverpool poised to knock them off their perch.
Erik ten Hag knows he’s in for a challenge, with an unbalanced squad and a fanbase on the verge of rebellion. He must think he’s got what it takes. Seeing whether he can live up to the club’s reputation and history means Manchester United tickets are must-have purchases for the coming season.
