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All across Europe, clubs have been busy changing managers this summer.
In some cases, it was because the previous incumbent was fired, or moved on, whilst in other instances there was a vacancy to be filled.
Here are some of the change sin the major European leagues.
England
Crystal Palace:
Previous Manager: Roy Hodgson
What happened to him: Hodson, the oldest manager in the Premier League, decided to step down at the end of last season, because he did not want the demands of day-to-day club management any more.
Who have they appointed?: Patrick Vieira
His Managerial CV: The former Arsenal midfielder and French international was In charge of MLS side Ney York City between 2016 and 2018, and then was appointed by Ligue 1 side Nice a year later. He was fired by them last December after a run of poor results.
The Challenges: Crystal Palace are among the early favourites to be relegated next season. Vieira inherited a squad with only 18 registered players, with a number of out contract at the club. He is busy recruiting more bodies and is also looking to reduce the age profile of the squad.
Their biggest asset, Wilfried Zaha, wants to leave the club.
Everton:
Previous Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
What happened to him: Ancelotti surprised Everton by accepting an offer to return as Real Madrid manager
Who have they appointed?: Rafa Benitez
Benitez has a glittering managerial CV having previously worked with Real Madrid, Valencia, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Napoli. However, n England he is best remembered for his seven seasons with Liverpool, winning the Champions League with them back in 2005.
He is back in Europe after a spell in Chinese football.
The Challenges: Benitez has to convince the Everton fans that he is the man to lead them. Many are sceptical because of his Liverpool connections whilst comments he made about Everton being a small-town club when he was at Anfield continue to rankle with some.
He also needs to revitalise the project that Ancelotti started to try and make the club a Champions League side.
Tottenham Hotspur:
Previous Manager: Jose Mourinho; Ryan Mason (interim coach)
What happened to them: Mourinho was dismissed in April and has since taken over at Roma. Mason who took charges of Spurs on an interim basis until the end of the season, has returned to his role as a youth-team coach.
Who have they appointed? Nuno Espirito Santo
Santo was not the first choice of Spurs’ chairman, Daniel Levy Or even hs second, third, fourth or fifth preference. However, after being linked with numerous other candidates, they turned to the former Wolves manager.
One of the biggest early problems he faces is over the future of Harry Kane, The England captain wants to leave the club this summer, and, although Levy insists he is not for sale, things may yet get ugly.
One of the reasons why Kane wants io leave is that Spurs are not regular challengers for major honours. Can Santo rectify that situation?
Wolverhampton Wanderers:
Previous manager: Nuno Espirito Santo
What happened to him: Santo surprised many by resigning at the end of last season, but there was a feeling that, after four years in charge of the club, he had become to grow stale in the role.
Who have they appointed: Bruno Lage
Wolves turned to another Portuguese in the form of Lage, whose previous roles include assistant manager roles with Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City, as well as taking charge of Benfica, where he won the league title.
Having achieved two consecutive 7th placed finishes, last season was a disappointing campaign for the West Midlands club,, and Lage will be hoping he can make them a top ten club again, and one able to challenge for European football at the end of the season.
Scotland
Celtic:
Previous Managers: Neil Lennon; John Kennedy (Interim coach)
What happened to them: Lennon, despite leading Celtic to a domestic treble the previous season, resigned in February, with the side way behind Glasgow rivals Rangers in the title race. Kennedy took over on a caretaker basis until the end of the season.
Who have they appointed? Ange Postecoglou
Celtic have taken a gamble by appointing Postecoglou, who has managed the Australian national side, and won league titles in Australia, and Japan, as well as the Asian Cup,. But has never worked in Europe before.
Hs biggest challenge is to help close the gap to Rangers, who dominated Scottish domestic football last season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.