The 2026/2027 edition of the Premier League has not yet started, but it has already made history, the BBC wrote on Tuesday.
Nine clubs will start the season with a new manager, the highest number of debuting managers in the first round of the English top flight ever.
From Liverpool and Manchester City, to Newcastle United and Chelsea, the change has affected almost half of the league.
Nine clubs, nine stories
The scale of change has dramatically reshaped the Premier League coaching scene.
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Newcastle – Liverpool, first round derby in the Premier League
Liverpool appointed Andoni Iraola after Arne Slot was sacked. Manchester City decided on Enzo Maresca after the resignation of Pep Guardiola, who brought many trophies to the Etihad.
Chelsea have signed Xabi Alonso after a disappointing season with Liam Rosenior. Bournemouth have signed Marco Rosen after Iraola's contract expired. Oliver Glasner has joined Nottingham Forest. He replaced the sacked Vitor Pereira.
Crystal Palace have appointed Pierre Sage as their new manager after Glasner left at the end of his contract. Alvaro Arbeloa has replaced Marco Silva at Fulham, while Ipswich Town have appointed Gary O'Neil as their new manager after Kieran McKenna resigned.
Matthias Jaissle will be the new Newcastle manager, following Eddie Howe's resignation last week.
So there are a total of nine clubs starting the season with a new permanent coach.
The previous record was set in 2016/17, when eight clubs started the season under new management. It was the summer Pep Guardiola took charge of City.
Seven clubs changed coaches before the 1995/1996 season, while six in the summer of 2012.
Generation change
Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, appointed in December 2019, is now the league's longest-serving manager, despite being in charge for less than seven years.
Only Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone, who has led the Spanish team since December 2010, has been in charge of a club for longer in Europe's top five leagues.
Aston Villa's Unai Emery and Leeds' Daniel Farke have been with their teams for more than three seasons, while Sunderland's Regis le Brice, appointed in July 2024, is fourth on the list, as far as the Premier League is concerned.
Michael Carrick best demonstrates how things have changed for the better, writes the BBC.
Although he became permanent manager in May, having taken over on an interim basis in January, only ten Premier League managers have been in the position longer than Carrick.
The famous threat
It remains to be seen whether the traditional “new coach threat” still exists. This theory suggests that teams often enjoy a short-term improvement after the appointment of a new coach, aided by renewed motivation, tactical changes and a psychological reset.
This edition, this theory can be tested like never before.
The first round features three matches between teams with new managers. Liverpool will play the first six matches against teams that have changed managers.
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Maresca, Manchester City coach
new epoch
For the first time since the 1985/1986 season, England's top flight will begin without Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola in charge. They have won 26 of the 34 league titles. What's more, these iconic managers have defined successive generations of English football.
Ferguson's ruthless United teams set the standard during the Premier League's formative years, before Wenger transformed perceptions of preparation, sports science and nutrition at Arsenal.
Mourinho introduced a new level of tactical pragmatism and psychological warfare. Klopp's high-intensity pressing reshaped Liverpool, while Guardiola's positional football created one of the most dominant teams in English football history.
Only Ferguson, Mourinho and Guardiola have defended their Premier League titles. Arteta can do so, having guided Arsenal to the title last season. His traditional rivals have new managers. Carrick begins his first full season in charge of the Red Devils.
Time will tell whether the next defining figure will emerge immediately. But with managers who have shaped more than three decades of Premier League history, the upcoming season marks the start of a new chapter.
Does change guarantee success?
The big changes didn't start this summer. Last season included 11 coaching changes.
The average tenure of a top-level coach is now around 20 months, illustrating how short life can be in one of the most coveted jobs in football.
And coaching changes offer no guarantee of success.
During the last season, several clubs that changed managers continued to struggle. Nottingham Forest hired three managers, Tottenham changed their head coach twice, and Chelsea also made a change before the end of the season.
But there were other teams that showed immediate improvement. Carrick's United won an average of 2.6 points in the first five rounds.
Research shows that player quality and spending remain stronger predictors of results than just changing coaches.
Other reports say that success or failure depends on the environment that coaches inherit, as much as their abilities.
Since the Premier League era began in 1992, only six managers have won the title in their first season in charge.
Mourinho achieved this in the 2004/05 season with Chelsea, before Carlo Ancelotti repeated the feat with the same club in the 2009/10 season.
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Liverpool make Iraola official
Manuel Pellegrini led Manchester City to the title in his first season in charge, 2013/14, while Claudio Ranieri led Leicester City's incredible campaign in 2015/16. Antonio Conte won the league with Chelsea in 2016/17 and most recently Arne Slot led Liverpool to his first season in charge, 2025/26.
With almost half of the coaches new names, the Premier League is getting ready for one of the most unpredictable seasons yet.
