The English Premier League isn’t exactly an easy place to manage a football team. It has often been labelled as faster, more physical and more competitive than any other league. With Pep Guardiola set to take over the reigns at Manchester City next season, the football world will be closely watching to see if the current Bayern Munich boss can replicate the success he found in La Liga and the Bundesliga.
As we wait in anticipation for Pep’s Premier League revolution, we decided to find five previously successful managers who failed in the Premier League.
#1 Andre Villas-Boas
Great things were expected of Andre Villas-Boas (aka AVB) when he was appointed as Chelsea manager in 2011. The then 32-year-old was effectively bought from Porto for a record €15 million and was widely compared to Jose Mourinho. Spending just one season at Porto, AVB led the side to an undefeated treble where they won the Primeira Liga, Europa League and Portuguese Supercup.
But things didn’t go quite as well as expected at Chelsea for the Portuguese and he soon racked up losses to Manchester United, Queens Park Rangers, Arsenal and Liverpool. A dressing room bust-up with the club's senior players saw AVB drop Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole from a Champions League encounter against Napoli, which led to the manager having his tactics questioned by Roman Abramovich.
The final nail in the coffin for AVB came just two weeks later when Chelsea lost to West Bromwich Albion, leaving the side three points adrift of Arsenal who were in fourth place. The Portuguese was relieved of his duties after just eight months in charge.
AVB then went on to manage Tottenham Hotspur, but despite leading the team to their highest ever amount of points (which was largely thanks to Gareth Bale), they still finished a point adrift of the club’s top four target before they sold Bale for a record €100 million. Players such as Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen were signed to fill the void of Bale, but a poor run of form including a 6-0 loss to Manchester City and a 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool saw AVB relieved from his position with Spurs sitting in seventh.
Now coaching at Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia, Andre Villas-Boas was a perfect example of how success in one league doesn’t necessarily mean success in the English Premier League.
#2 Juande Ramos
A two-time winner of the UEFA Cup and one-time winner of the Copa del Rey with Sevilla, Juande Ramos took over Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 while the side was sitting in the relegation zone. After improving the Lily Whites’ fortune rapidly, the new manager became a fan favourite.
His fanfare took a giant leap when he led Spurs to a 5-1 League Cup win over Arsenal, the sides first win in the North-London derby since 1999 and the biggest win for either side since 1983. Things were looking promising under Ramos, and the team went on to win the League Cup against Chelsea and finish fifth in the league.
But little did anyone know that everything would go completely pear shaped the following season. Ramos only managed to gain two points from his first eight games, leading Tottenham to their worst ever start in Premier League history. His inability to speak English was largely criticised by fans and he was sacked shortly after. Less than 24 hours after his dismissal, Harry Redknapp was announced as his replacement.
Not everyone’s belief in Ramos was gone after that, though, and the manager somehow went on to manage Real Madrid as his next role.
#3 Louis van Gaal
While many may disagree with the choice to place Louis van Gaal on the list considering he still remains in the Premier League, it’s time to face the facts. Since his appointment at Manchester United, the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager has spent £250 million in order to rebuild what he described as “a broken squad”, but his side has failed to show little, if any improvement.
A 4-0 loss to League One side MK Dons in the Capital One Cup last season was just the beginning of a horrible run for United. At that time, Untied were in ninth place after 10 games with just 13 points and two victories, the team's worst start since 1986.
Despite spending £150 million in his first season alone, Van Gaal finished the season just six points higher than United did under Moyes.
The Dutchman spent another £100 million in his second season with signings that included Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Anthony Martial. While his new additions have shown glimpses of their potential, the team has shown little creativity and often looked shackled under LVG’s militant tactics.
By December of last year, LVG officially had a win percentage of just 50 per cent, a worse record than David Moyes who lasted just 51 games in charge of the Red Devils. Currently sitting fifth in the league with seven games to go, things are looking grim for United who have been dumped out of the Champions League, Europa League and Capital One Cup, with the side relying on youngsters such as Marcus Rashford to bail them out regularly.
Still unable to produce any performances that looking remotely inspiring, it was revealed last month that Van Gaal’s United had managed either zero or one shot on target in eight of the side’s last 30 Premier League matches, something Sir Alex Ferguson only managed 15 times in his entire United career.
As United now fight desperately for fourth place, calls for LVG to be sacked have continued to grow and it looks like Jose Mourinho may be the one to replace him in the summer. Having won the Champions league, La Liga, Bundesliga, Copa Del Rey and many other titles before his stint at United, Van Gaal is another perfect example of how success elsewhere doesn’t necessarily guarantee success in England.
#4 Remi Garde
Having previously worked as a coach at Lyon, Remi Garde helped his club win the French Ligue 1 in both 2004 and 2005. He later worked as a director of Lyon’s training complex before he was appointed as manager in 2011, but left shortly after due to personal and family reasons.
It came as a surprise then, when Garde was chosen as the man to save Aston Villa from relegation. Appointed in November, Garde joined the club on a three and a half year deal while Aston Villa were sitting at the bottom of the table.
Having drawn 0-0 in his first game against Manchester City, Garde quickly became known for his discipline when he dropped midfielder Jack Grealish from the first team for going nightclubbing after a 4-0 defeat to Everton.
But Garde’s discipline did not help his Villa side and he soon became disillusioned with the poor performance of his players. He went on to win just two games out of 20 with the club and left by mutual consent after just 147 days.
His only wins were against Norwich City and Crystal Palace in the league, and a win in the FA Cup against League Two side Wycombe Wanderers.
Having lost to Liverpool 6-0 and Everton 4-0, Garde had a success rate of just 10 percent and holds the lowest win percentage of any Aston Villa manager in history.
Losing 1-0 to Swansea during his last match in charge, Garde left Villa while they were sitting 12 points from safety with just seven games left.
Despite having moderate success in the French Ligue 1 beforehand, the poor performance of Aston Villa under Garde’s reign means the club are almost certain to be relegated, with Garde’s name set to be frowned upon in the English Premier League forever.
#5 Felix Magath
A two-time winner of the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and a one-time winner with Wolfsburg, Felix Magath was the first ever German manager in the Premier League when Fulham hired him as their manager. Known for his hard training methods, Magath became well known for his emphasis on discipline and fitness and was once described by a former player as the “last dictator in Europe”. He also had unusual methods for treating injuries, and allegedly suggested one of his players rub cheese on a thigh injury.
When hired, Magath told the media that he believed he could save the side from relegation who were sitting at the bottom of the table with just 12 games to go. This was despite inheriting a team that had conceded 58 goals in 26 matches.
But instead of focusing on fixing the sides leaky defence, Magath instead decided to focus on strengthening the club’s midfield and attack, a choice which was largely questioned by the media and the club’s fans.
This resulted in a disastrous run for the side at a crucial time and Magath only managed to win four points in his first six matches. The side was promptly relegated after a 4-1 loss to Stoke and Magath said he believed he could earn immediate promotion from the Championship.
Unfortunately, the German manager just wasn’t cut out for English football and started the new season with consecutive losses to Ipswich Town, Millwall, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Derby County. After a run of 11 games without a win, Magath was removed from his position.
Despite being one of the most successful managers in German history, Magath simply couldn’t handle the English Premier League, or the English Championship for that matter.
