“He’s so relaxed, the game’s so easy to him. It’s almost like poetry in motion.” Those words capture the early promise that accompanied Kobbie Mainoo as he forced his way into Manchester United’s first team during 2023–24. His breakout campaign ended with a defining moment: the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.

Mainoo’s rise was rapid. After three appearances in 2022–23 he made 32 in 2023–24, logging 2,389 minutes and contributing to six goal involvements. His performances earned him a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad and a start in the final against Spain. Expectations were high, but the following season did not follow the same script.

In 2024–25 Mainoo featured 36 times, starting 23 matches and totalling 2,031 minutes with three goal contributions. The arrival of Ruben Amorim and his preferred 3-4-2-1 shaped squad selection. Amorim’s two-man midfield has reduced opportunities for a natural free-roaming No.8. Casemiro has provided the defensive backbone, while a more creative role looks set to be occupied by Bruno Fernandes, limiting Mainoo’s pathway into the team.

Injuries have also interrupted continuity. Mainoo missed the start of 2023–24 with an ankle problem and suffered two further setbacks last term, missing 17 matches in total and three months across two spells. Those absences made it difficult to build momentum and allowed others to move ahead in the pecking order. He was given just four starts between April and the season end and was used only in stoppage time during the Europa League final as United chased an equaliser, with Amorim turning to Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho ahead of him.

“He’s the nearest thing I’ve seen to [Zinedine] Zidane in taking a ball, receiving the ball, cruising past people,” enthused Scholes in the aforementioned interview. “The sky’s the limit for this lad if he keeps his head down. And he looks like the type who will stay on an even keel.”

Mainoo sought a loan move to secure regular minutes but the transfer was blocked. With the 2025–26 season under way he has made two appearances so far, and consistent starts and fitness will be decisive if his development is to resume.

New campaigns bring hope but sometimes clubs act swiftly when early results or boardroom disputes threaten momentum. The following cases record the earliest managerial departures in Premier League history, ranked by games played at the opening of a season.

Watford, 2018–19 — Games lasted: 4, Date sacked: September 4
Gracia began 2018–19 with four wins from four and a third-place position. The side finished the season in 11th after being seventh as late as Gameweek 34 and suffered a joint-biggest FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City. The club dismissed him four games into the next season after Watford had taken just one point. Still, he lasted longer than most.

Bournemouth, 2021–22 — Games lasted: 4, Date sacked: August 30
Parker had secured promotion to the Premier League three times as a manager but struggled to establish a top-flight methodology. His tenure ended after a 9–0 defeat at Anfield, the joint-heaviest loss in Premier League history.

Newcastle United, 2004–05 — Games lasted: 4, Date sacked: August 30
Sir Bobby Robson was dismissed 16 days into the season amid reported player discontent. Former chairman Freddy Shepherd likened sacking Robson to “shooting Bambi.”

Manchester City, 1993–94 — Games lasted: 4, Date sacked: August 26
Player-manager Reid was dismissed 12 days into the campaign after City earned a single point from their first four fixtures, and the fast start by champions Manchester United across town convinced the club to act.

Nottingham Forest, 2025–26 — Games lasted: 4, Date sacked: September 9
Nuno, who returned European football to the City Ground for the first time in almost 30 years and led Forest to a seventh-place finish in 2024–25, left after a summer of unrest following Evangelos Marinakis’s appointment of Edu Gaspar as Global Head of Football. The manager and the new executive reportedly fell out and were not on speaking terms. The club went on to appoint Ange Postecoglou.

Earlier and shorter spells include Tottenham Hotspur in 1998–99, Newcastle United in 2008–09 and 1997–98, and West Ham United in 2008–09, where managers left within the first three games of those campaigns. “And even Christian Gross…”, the draft of that era summed up the uncertainty in north London.

David Coote, the former Premier League referee dismissed in December 2024 after comments about Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp, has been charged with making an indecent video of a child. He was charged on Aug. 12 and is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Thursday, Sept. 11. Coote has been released from custody on conditional bail.

Coote’s top-flight refereeing career was ended by Professional Game Match Officials Limited after those comments were judged a “serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract.” The Football Association also imposed an eight-week ban in August related to the remarks about Liverpool and Klopp.

Earlier, Coote initially disputed the legitimacy of the video but later admitted it was genuine. In a lengthy interview with The Sun he acknowledged drug abuse and spoke about his struggles with hiding his sexuality. He said that he “didn’t recognise” himself in the video where he called Klopp a derogatory term.

UEFA has already barred Coote from officiating until June 30, 2026. That suspension followed the publication of photographs showing him snorting a white powder, after he had been selected to appear as an assistant VAR official at Euro 2024.

The sequence of sanctions and allegations has removed Coote from match duties at domestic and European levels while criminal procedures proceed. He faces the upcoming magistrates court hearing in September and remains on conditional bail as the legal process continues.