EPL
Where does Southampton’s Nathan Jones rank?

The Nathan Jones appointment at Southampton didn’t go well, with him becoming one of the shortest-reigning managers in Premier League history.
It would be wrong to call that ‘an achievement,’ but it is genuinely a very difficult list of names to get yourself onto. You need a special level of failure to even stand a chance.
Jones has done that though and become one of just eight managers to last fewer than 100 days.
Former assistant managers stepping up to the top job and not lasting long is a common theme on this list, and that was the case with Colin Todd.
Todd had a successful spell with Bolton in the 1990s and joined Derby as assistant to Jim Smith in November 2000. Smith resigned in October 2001 and the Rams thought they had a ready-made replacement in-house.
As a player Todd had won league titles with Derby but that didn’t buy him any time. He was sacked after winning just four of his 17 games in charge.
Jones will go down in history, for now at least, as the man with the 17th shortest managerial reign in the Premier League following his Southampton sacking.
He actually won five of his 14 games, but only one game in the eight Premier League matches he oversaw from the Saints’ dugout.
Perhaps it’s a red and white stripes thing with him as he had a remarkably similar record at Stoke, where he won just six of his 38 games in charge.
Another man who stepped up from an assistant role yet was unable to affect any kind of meaningful change was Terry Connor.
Connor took over from Mick McCarthy at Wolves at the end of the 2011/12 Premier League season.
That gave him 13 games in which to try to do something. He won none of them and lost nine.
Quique Sanchez Flores had a really good spell with Watford in 2015/16, so much so that it came as a genuine surprise when he left at the end of the season.
He was tempted back in 2019, taking over from Javi Garcia just four games into a new season. Perhaps he should have stayed away and protected his legacy.
The second time around he lasted just 12 games, of which he would only win two.
There is perhaps an unfair perception of American managers working in England, and Bradley has to take his share of the blame there.
He was the top US coach at the time and Swansea took a chance on him. From the moment he uttered his first Americanism by calling a penalty a ‘PK,’ it always looked like he would struggle to survive the optics.
Sure enough, he was sacked after just 84 days that saw 11 matches and two wins.
Sometimes, like with the Bradley or Cooper appointments, it just looks like a bad idea from the start.
That wasn’t the case with Frank de Boer and Crystal Palace, though. De Boer had an imperious record at Ajax and had won four Eredivisie titles there. A poor spell at Inter followed, but it wasn’t unforgivably bad.
Palace saw his as a bit of a coup when he agreed to take over from Sam Allardyce. They wanted a new possession-based philosophy instilled. They didn’t want to give him time to implement it though, and he was sacked after losing all four of his Premier League games in charge. He did manage a win in the League Cup, though.
Another Dutchman that many expected to cope better in English football was Rene Meulensteen. He had some Premier League previous as a coach under Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd.
Fulham appointed him in November 2013 but it really didn’t go well. He was in charge for 17 matches in all competitions and won just four. They were even knocked out of the FA Cup by a League One side.
Remarkably, it wasn’t to be Meulensteen’s shortest spell in charge of a club. In his first top job, at FC Anzhi Makhachkala, he lasted just 16 days.
When it comes to shortest Premier League managerial stays, Les Reed is very much the man to beat. In fact it may never be beaten.
Les Reed was the assistant to Iain Dowie at Charlton. Somehow, the words ‘number two to Iain Dowie’ didn’t terrify Charlton anywhere near as much as it should have, and he was promoted to the position of manager in November 2006.
He was sacked on Christmas Eve after one win in seven games.
EPL
Harry Maguire suggests he isn’t ‘properly appreciated’ at Man Utd

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has suggested that he is not as appreciated at club level as he is for England.
Maguire made the switch to the Red Devils for £80m back in 2019 and has since divided opinion after being named the skipper less than a year later. This season, he was quickly dropped by incoming United manager Erik ten Hag in favour of Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez.
At international level however, the centre-back has been one of England’s most dependable performers under Gareth Southgate, playing a major role in the Three Lions’ deep tournament runs over the last five years.
Maguire started for England in Thursday’s 2-1 win at Italy in Euro 2024 qualifying. He didn’t cover himself in glory for the Azzurri’s goal but stood tall late on to help grind out the victory.
Speaking to the media post-match, Maguire was asked if he feels ‘properly appreciated’.
“For England, yes, I do,” he replied. “Obviously, last season was difficult for the club, but, listen, I’ve proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide range of centre backs. He has the choice of all the English centre-backs in the country and I play, every time I’m available, I’ve been in the team.
“I’m sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team. I’m 30 years old but I shouldn’t really need to prove myself at this level. I’ve over 50 caps. I’m England’s top-scoring defender.
“I’ve played nearly 200 times for Manchester United, I’ve captained the club for three years now, but I do also understand that when you’re the captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny. Last season at club level, my performance wasn’t good enough, alongside everybody else at club level, not just myself struggled. Everyone else struggled.”
Maguire recognises that he has not always been at his best while wearing a United shirt.
He was an easy scapegoat during their dreadful 2021/22 season in which they recorded their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League era.
That said, Maguire has also failed to kick on and if anything has taken several steps backwards after what was a promising first half to 2021, emerging as one of the league’s leading centre-backs and playing out of his skin while unfit in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.
His case hasn’t been helped by his outward need silence critics, notably scoring for England and sticking his fingers in his ears as a celebration amid his decline for United.
EPL
Arsenal lead Rice race; Man Utd eye Ferguson

90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…
Arsenal remain ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham this summer. The midfielder’s preference is to stay in London amid previous links to Manchester City and Manchester United. (Football Insider)
New Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel will look to reunite with Chelsea duo Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy when the summer window rolls around. (Calciomercato)
Manchester United are ready to send Amad Diallo back to Sassuolo as part of a bid to sign Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi. (CMW)
Another player on Manchester United‘s radar is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson. The 18-year-old scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland earlier this week. (Football Insider)
Liverpool will look to strengthen their defensive ranks with the signing of Dutch defender Perr Schuurs, with current club Torino ready to sell for a fee of €50m. (Tuttosport)
Ilkay Gundogan is likely to leave Manchester City for Barcelona on a free transfer this summer. His contract expires at the end of the season. (The Athletic)
Real Madrid have joined Barcelona and Liverpool in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. (Fabrizio Romano)
Meanwhile, Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga would prefer to join Real Madrid over the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United this summer. (Cadena SER)
After failing with a bid last summer, Chelsea are working on another offer to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton. (Football Insider)
Arsenal and Newcastle are monitoring Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojland, who grabbed a hat-trick on his international debut for Denmark this week. (Tutto Atalanta)
EPL
Arsenal pre-season 2023/24: Fixtures and schedule

Having reached new heights in the Premier League in 2022/23, Arsenal will soon be beginning their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season tour to get ready for 2023/24.
Preparations for last season took place in Germany for Arsenal but with the Covid-19 pandemic a bit more of a distant memory for many, it is expected that more teams will be heading further afield again to either the United States of America or Asia.
Arsenal are yet to announce a full training camp location for their pre-season but they do have one fixture already confirmed which drops a big clue.
The Gunners are going to be coming up against an MLS All-Star team in Washington D.C. which will be coached by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney. That takes place on July 19 and it is hard to imagine that Arsenal will only play one game in America.
A semi-regular fixture of Arsenal’s pre-seasons in recent years has been the Emirates Cup, but there has not been any word on whether an edition of that will be taking place or not this summer. If there is, then Arsenal could be splitting their time between America and London.
All times BST.
As is the case for almost every big club in football now, all of Arsenal’s pre-season friendlies are expected to be televised live on Arsenal.com and their official app with a subscription.
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