Nottingham Forest recently set tongues wagging across English football after sacking Ange Postecoglou just 39 days into his tenure, one of the shortest managerial spells in Premier League history.
The decision has raised talks about managerial patience in the top flight, prompting a new analysis from footballblog.co.uk that ranks clubs by how long they typically keep faith with their managers.
Arsenal lead the Way in managerial patience
According to the report, Arsenal top the list as the most patient Premier League club, with their first four managers averaging 3,021 days, a testament to their long-standing culture of stability, most notably under Arsène Wenger.
At the other end of the scale, Chelsea rank as the least patient, averaging just 623 days per manager across 18 permanent appointments since 1992.
This figure excludes current head coach Enzo Maresca but underlines the club’s revolving-door approach, particularly during Roman Abramovich’s ownership era.
Nottingham Forest among the more loyal clubs
Interestingly, despite their latest swift dismissal, Nottingham Forest actually rank fourth overall for managerial longevity, with an average of 1,462 days per Premier League manager.
This places them ahead of many established clubs, including Liverpool and Tottenham.
Brentford sit second on the list, Manchester United follow in third, with an average of 2,067 days per permanent manager, driven largely by Sir Alex Ferguson’s long spell.
The bigger picture: A tough job with short leashes
Across all clubs, the average Premier League manager’s reign stands at 891 days, or just under two and a half years. The median tenure is 607 days, while the mode sits at 629 days, coincidentally the exact duration served by Nuno Espirito Santo (Nottingham Forest), Nigel Adkins (Reading), and Ron Atkinson (Coventry City).
Only six clubs, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Everton, have competed in every Premier League season since 1992. Yet even among them, managerial turnover remains high.
Postecoglou’s 39-day spell now ranks as the second-shortest in Premier League history, behind Sam Allardyce’s 30-day tenure at Leeds United in 2023.
