Who has managed the most premier league teams and more
England’s top flight football league has had a range of managers for the ever revolving collection of teams within the 20 places available. In 1992 the Premier League was created as a breakaway from The Football League in pursuit of TV rights and riches from Sky TV. Since then it is the most watched sports league in the world. With a TV audience of over 4.7 Billion for the 2018/19 season, it is easy to argue that the Premier League is the most competitive sports league in the world. There’s a common rhetoric that managers must prove themselves in all leagues across the world, not just their home country or a singular league. There are a few contradictions to this. The famed Arsene Wenger spent the majority of his coaching career at Arsenal, committing 22 years of his life to the club.
You could argue that Wenger was the most loyal of managers but that does not answer the question of who has managed the most premier league teams. In short, the answer is Sam Allardyce. He has managed a total of 8 clubs to date as a Premier League manager. The teams he has managed so far, in order that he was in charge of them, are Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton and West Bromwich Albion. A manager with a journeyman playing record as well as managing record, he is often thought of the man to turn to in situations where a club needs saving from disaster. Allardyce actually signed a contract to manage the England National team in 2016 with his first match being a win. However, due to allegations of malpractice, he resigned after only one match in charge.
Moving on from who has simply been manager of the most teams, who could be the most successful manager? This is a question you could sit yourself down with a few friends, colleagues and experts in a room and you still wouldn’t get a definitive answer. One stats based point of view is that you could look at the most number of match wins by a manager. I imagine there are a few that would come to mind if you didn’t know the answer off the top of your head. However, the winner is clear cut. Sir Alex Ferguson has the most wins as a premier league manager. In his time at Manchester United, he won a total of 528 matches.
soccer manager
There is an argument too for him simply being the most successful manager overall. He managed in the Scottish League for 5 years before making his mark in the Premier League, winning 10 titles in 5 years with Aberdeen. He then went on a 27 year career with United and collected a total of 48 titles. Not bad. The only potential challenger to such a legacy is, unsurprisingly, Pep Guardiola. Starting out as Barcelona B’s head coach, he has racked up 32 titles in total, from the premier league and more. There is still time for Pep to challenge. He is rooted at Manchester City and the club have been incredibly successful under his reign.
Sticking to the theme of Premier League managers, Frank Lampard comes into discussion. The Chelsea Hero and Manchester City and MLS mercenary was known as a professional in all aspects of his game. He began his football career with the West-Ham academy and then after a small loan spell at Swansea City, he began his 13 year saga at Chelsea alongside playing for the England National team. Sparking much controversy, his last club in the Premier League was Manchester City for just a year then to the MLS, also for a year. He then turned his attention to managing.
Derby County were first to have the pleasure of “Super Frank” at the helm of their club. This was followed by another controversial turn in his life. Lampard was appointed as Chelsea manager in 2019. It was a short story for him, being fired after 1 ½ seasons. He then took up a managerial role at Everton last season, narrowly keeping them out of relegation. Lampard is an interesting character to put under the managerial spotlight as he is the richest manager in the league, being worth around $90 Million. Commitment to a sport despite huge personal wealth shows his love for the beautiful game. His Chelsea love story has been a rugged one, making him an interesting character to follow.
To summarise, it's no easy job managing in the premier league and there is a spread of personalities that are appointed to the managerial role. The role itself is a heavy crown to wear with so many high pressure decisions to make and ultimately, the buck of responsibility ending with yourself. Without a doubt, to commit yourself so wholeheartedly to a sport strikes a balance between madness and passion. There were plenty of names that were not mentioned in this article but are worth talking about.
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