20 Best Coaches in English Premier League History

Phil ConstableCorrespondent IOctober 18, 2011

20 Best Coaches in English Premier League History

0 of 20

    Since its formation in 1993, the Premier League has had its fair share of managers come and go. Some have tasted success but many have struggled to cope with unruly fans, board expectations and the ever-evolving complexity in top-flight football.

    As much as we all enjoy a good slating of an ex-manager, not enough credit goes to those who do succeed. This is mainly because our lasting impression of a manager is generally when they depart.

    So let's pay some respect to some of the best managers by looking at 20 of the top men English Premier League history. 

20. Sam Allardyce

1 of 20

    Despite complaints about his style of play, including from myself, Allardyce has enjoyed success at the Premier League level.

    Allardyce took Bolton up to the Premier League and to an FA Cup semifinal.

    After surviving relegation in his first year, a success for any first-year Premier League manager, Bolton finished eighth and sixth.

    After an unsuccessful spell at Newcastle, Allardyce was replicating his Bolton performance at Blackburn, until leaving after the Venky's takeover.

    He's now leading West Ham back to the Premier League.

19. David O'Leary

2 of 20

    O'Leary achieved fourth-, third- and two fifth-place finishes at Leeds.

    He went on to achieve a top-half finish at Aston Villa before departing.

    He's now coaching Al-Ahli in the United Arab Emirates.

18. Avram Grant

3 of 20

    Grant seems to be a cult figure wherever he goes despite enjoying limited success.

    Grant however can count himself as somewhat unfortunate. He led Chelsea to a second-place finish in the Premier League and if John Terry hadn't slipped on the fateful penalty in Moscow, Grant would have succeeded where Mourinho, Ancelotti etc. had failed: winning the Champions League. 

17. Glenn Hoddle

4 of 20

    Despite his somewhat bizarre, insensitive comments while England boss, Hoddle was a competent manager.

    He took Swindon Town to the Premier League before leaving for Chelsea who he led to successful campaigns in cup competitions. However, he could only achieve an 11th-place finish in the league.

    He then led Spurs to ninth- and 10th-place finishes respectively.

16. Caludio Ranieri

5 of 20

    Despite not being able to speak English when he first arrived at Chelsea, Ranieri consistently had Chelsea in the top six of the Premier League and improved the team's points total with each year he was in charge.

    Ranieri also brought in Chelsea stalwarts Frank Lampard and John Terry, which I'm sure all Chelsea fans thank him for. 

15. Roberto Mancini

6 of 20

    In his limited spell at Manchester City, Mancini has performed admirably given the tumultuous, egotistical dressing room he has to contend with.

    He's taken City from noisy neighbours to legitimate title contenders and it appears the success will only continue. 

14. Martin Jol

7 of 20

    Jol enjoyed a successful period in charge of Tottenham, leading them to successive fifth-place finishes in the Premier League.

    Now at Fulham, Jol's side currently sit 14th in the league.

13. Gianluca Vialli

8 of 20

    In his first year at Chelsea, Vialli's side won the League Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup as well as finishing fourth in the league.

    After a third-place finish, Chelsea finished fifth in 2000 and won the FA Cup.

12. Martin O'Neill

9 of 20

    O'Neill kept Leicester around mid-table in his spell at the Walkers Stadium before joining Aston Villa, with whom he led to a sixth-place finish after the club had placed 16th just two seasons prior.

    He repeated his feat consistently and is one of the best managers in Britain currently not in employment. 

11. Alan Curbishley

10 of 20

    Curbishley spent 15 years at Charlton, an incredible feat given the short life spans of managers today. Also, when you consider the state of the club at the moment, it just shows how good a job Curbishley did.

    Two promotions saw Charlton reach the Premier League before the club was relegated back to the First Division. However, after bouncing back into the top flight, Charlton achieved good results and appeared sporadically in the top half. They once finished seventh.

    Curbishley also brought through now-Premier League regulars like Scott Parker and Darren Bent.

10. Gerard Houllier

11 of 20

    At Liverpool, Houllier won the cup treble and guided his team to second- and third-place finishes, the best by the club in the Premier League.

    Houllier also had a brief spell at Aston Villa before leaving after health issues.

9. Kevin Keegan

12 of 20

    Keegan took Newcastle back into the Premier League after being inserted as manager in 1992.

    Incredibly, Newcastle finished third in their first season back in the top flight. After a sixth-place finish the following year, Newcastle looked set to win their first Premier League title before squandering a 12-point lead in the second half of the season.

    After leading Manchester City back to the Premier League, Keegan's side finished ninth in their first year back.

8. David Moyes

13 of 20

    For me, David Moyes is the most underrated manager in the Premier League.

    With little to no money to work with, Moyes has achieved great success in his nine-year tenure at Everton.

    Moyes has achieved seventh-, sixth- and an unprecedented fourth-place finish coming out of the shadow of the European powerhouse that is Liverpool.

    He had no money to spend this summer whilst losing the likes of Mikael Arteta and is still fielding a very competitive team. 

7. Bobby Robson

14 of 20

    Robson spent five Premier League years at Newcastle.

    After taking over with the club bottom of the league, Robson led them to a 11th-place finish before finishing fourth the following season.

    Newcastle would finish third the following year and fifth the next.

    That's the kind of success Newcastle fans long for nowadays. 

6. Harry Redknapp

15 of 20

    Redknapp led West Ham to eighth- and fifth-place finishes in 1998 and 1999 respectively.

    He then led Portsmouth to the Premier League and then after returning, following an unsuccessful spell at Southampton, affirmed their status as a Premier League club before taking them to ninth the following year. They then won the FA Cup in 2008.

    Redknapp took over a Tottenham team bottom of the table and now has them as a perennial top-four contender. 

5. Kenny Dalglish

16 of 20

    Dalglish confirmed his place on this list when he won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995 following previous successful campaigns at the club.

    After a fourth-place finish and an FA Cup final at Newcastle, Dalglish left English management before returning to Liverpool this year where he's once again found success.

4. Rafa Benitez

17 of 20

    Benitez took over at Liverpool in 2004 and despite finishing fifth, won the Champions League in that epic final that none of us will ever forget.

    They would go on to finish third next season and won the FA Cup in the process.

    Despite finishing second in the league in 2008 and reaching another Champions League final in 2007, Benitez could never achieve cohesion with the American owners and left in 2010.

3. Jose Mourinho

18 of 20

    Mourinho's three years at Chelsea were enigmatic and charismatic.

    He won the league twice, the FA Cup once and the League Cup twice.

    The only achievement lacking from Mourinho's Chelsea CV was the Champions League triumph he's achieved numerously elsewhere.

2. Arsene Wenger

19 of 20

    No one had a clue who Arsene Wenger was when he took over at Arsenal in 1996; everyone knows who he is now.

    He has three Premier League crowns, including an unprecedented unbeaten season in 2004, as well as four FA Cup titles.

    It's an incredible resume but still looks meagre in comparison to the man ahead of him.  

1. Sir Alex Ferguson

20 of 20

    With 12 Premier Leagues, five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League triumphs, Sir Alex is undoubtedly the greatest manager in the history of the Premier League and history period.

    By the looks of things, the great man has a few more years in him yet and as long as he's in charge, United will continue to rebuild and win trophies.  

X