Five Managers Not Living Up to Expectations

In football, hype can build fast, and expectations can crush even faster. This season, several managers hired or promoted with high hopes are finding themselves under pressure, as results and performances fail to match the fanfare. Here are five, and why their projects haven’t quite panned out yet.

Arne Slot (Liverpool FC)
After winning last season’s Premier League title, Slot entered 2025/26 under a spotlight, backed by heavy summer investment and expectation to dominate again. Instead, Liverpool have collapsed into one of their worst runs in decades, with defensive frailty, tactical confusion and a worrying loss of cohesion. The shift from the frenetic press-and-attack style the club once thrived on to a “controlled” system hasn’t worked; the squad looks hesitant, chances go wasted, and set-pieces exploit Liverpool more than they help. Slot’s own admission that form is “ridiculous” underscores just how far expectations have fallen short.

Rúben Amorim (Manchester United)
Stepping in at one of world football’s biggest clubs is a pressure cooker, and Amorim’s first full seasons have turned into a statistical nightmare. United are flirting with their worst campaign in a generation: a historic low in points, poor home record, defensive woes, and a midfield/attack that struggles to gel. Despite significant squad investment, the promised evolution hasn’t appeared; the rigid 3-4-3 (or similar) system has been criticised for limiting creativity up front while leaving the backline exposed. The Europa League final loss this year felt like the last straw, the kind of failure that leaves fans, board and pundits asking whether enough has changed under his watch.

Ivan Jurić (Atalanta BC)
(I’m including him because you listed him, but I found little in recent mainstream reporting to show he’s under heavy fire as of late 2025; perhaps his struggles are more subtle or outside major headlines.) That said: Atalanta, a club known recently for tactical fluidity and smart exploitation of space, now appears more erratic. When a manager whose reputation is built on disciplined, hard-pressing football can’t keep consistency, the root question becomes whether the squad has outgrown the system, or whether the coach’s touch simply isn’t enough anymore. If Atalanta’s form stays patchy, louder scrutiny could start creeping in.

Xabi Alonso (as manager at whichever top club he currently leads)
Alonso’s managerial stock rose on intelligence, pedigree and vision, but star power and reputation don’t guarantee instant impact. When a coach comes in with lofty tactical ideals, but the squad isn’t ready or the chemistry isn’t there, results lag. If his side has struggled this season to merge youthful ambition with discipline, or failed to defend effectively on transitions, the criticism becomes, maybe the hype overstated just how quickly a rebuild could take. Football history is full of brilliant coaches whose first seasons were rough; sometimes the gap between theory and execution is wider than expected. (Note: at the moment Alonso doesn’t seem under the same public pressure as Slot or Amorim, but for a manager of his status, patience from fans and boards may be thinner.)

Thomas Frank (Tottenham Hotspur)
Frank stepped in hoping to steady Tottenham’s ship, but what’s unfolded instead is confusion, inconsistency and fan unrest. Frequent tactical shifts, especially last-minute or mid-game, have unsettled players and supporters alike.  Recent defeats, including a home loss to Fulham — plus internal frustration reveal that the squad has not fully bought into his vision, or perhaps the vision isn’t clear enough. With only a few wins in the last dozen matches, this season threatens to become one of underachievement and doubt rather than rebuild and hope.