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With today’s top Premier League clubs – and even the lesser ones – looking to bring in the best managers in the world to attempt to guarantee (or buy) success, the days of handing the reigns to a player-manager seem to be well and truly over. The last high-profile one in the league? Probably Ryan Giggs’ brief run at Manchester United following the David Moyes disaster in 2013/14. But of course, that didn’t really go to plan either.
Could we see a return of the player-manager in the future? It’s doubtful given the amount of hoops that potential coaches have to go through today, as well as the risk that it involves for the club. In the past though, a handful of players have turned their hand to management while still getting on the pitch themselves, and some were pretty successful too. Here are five of the most memorable player-managers in recent memory.
#1 Glenn Hoddle
Widely recognised and respected today as one of the game’s most knowledgeable pundits, the height of Glenn Hoddle’s managerial career saw him lead England to the 1998 World Cup finals, where they were knocked out in controversial fashion by Argentina. He was one of the youngest England managers in the history of the team, and the reason for this was largely due to his success as a player-manager in his two previous jobs.
After highly successful runs at Tottenham Hotspur and Monaco, Hoddle returned to England as the 1990/91 season was coming to a close and took over Division 2 side Swindon Town, who were in danger of relegation following financial difficulties. He had just eight games to save the club and did so, with a 5-2 win over Leicester City confirming their safety. After a solid showing in 1991/92 - his first full season – saw Swindon finish 8th, narrowly missing out on the playoffs, Hoddle improved the team further in 1992/93 and took them to the playoff final, where he scored the opening goal as his side beat Leicester 4-3 to take them into the Premier League for the first time.
Weeks later, Hoddle resigned from his job at Swindon and was appointed as the new boss of Chelsea, but given he was still just 35; he remained on in the playing squad, too. His first season at Chelsea – 1993/94 – saw them reach the FA Cup Final, where they were beaten by Manchester United, and Hoddle himself still played in many of the games, making 24 appearances in all competitions. 1994/95 saw him only play 15 games, but he took Chelsea to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup-Winners Cup.
The end of the 1994/95 season signalled Hoddle’s retirement from active duty, but he stayed on for another season at Chelsea – taking them into the FA Cup semi-finals and signing two huge stars in Ruud Gullit and Mark Hughes, changing the perception of Chelsea at the time – before moving onto the England job. Regardless of what happened to him later, Hoddle was undoubtedly a fantastic player-manager at both Swindon and Chelsea, improving the stock of both clubs measurably.
#2 Ruud Gullit
Although his managerial career ended largely with a series of disasters – remember the farce of his “sexy football” at Newcastle United, for instance? – his initial run at Chelsea, at first as a player-manager, was actually highly successful. The Dutch legend was first brought to Chelsea solely as a player by the aforementioned Glenn Hoddle, and as he was at the tail end of his career, he initially played in a sweeper role before moving back into his more familiar role as an attacking midfielder.
When Hoddle took the England job in mid-1996, Chelsea were evidently happy with the idea of a player-manager and decided to appoint Gullit in the role; similarly to when Hoddle took over at Swindon, the Dutchman was just 33 years old at the time. His first season was highly successful, too. 1995/96 saw Chelsea finish 11th in the Premier League while under Gullit, they finished 6th. They also won the FA Cup, beating Middlesbrough 2-0, a victory that ended a 26-year trophy drought for the club.
The other impressive side of Gullit? Evidently, he was a highly attractive manager to top players, as Chelsea were suddenly able to bring in proven international talents like Roberto di Matteo, Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli. Unfortunately, despite things going well on the pitch, off the pitch things were nowhere near as rosy. With Chelsea sitting in 2nd place in the Premier League in February 1998, Gullit was abruptly fired by the club due to disagreements over his financial compensation. The move also signalled the end of his playing career – his final appearance came in the first leg of a League Cup semi-final tie against Arsenal.
Whether Gullit’s level of success at Chelsea could’ve continued is very much up in the air given his poor subsequent runs in management, but at the time, the sacking seemed baffling and remains one of the Premier League’s biggest shockers even 20 years on.
#3 Gordon Strachan
The current manager of the Scotland national side, Gordon Strachan began his managerial career as a player-manager and while he didn’t win any trophies during his stint at Coventry City, he certainly had a major impact on the fortunes of the Sky Blues at the time and played a huge role in saving them from relegation in 1996/97 – one of the Premier League’s all-time “great escapes”.
Strachan was brought to the Midlands club by manager Ron Atkinson in the latter half of the 1994/95 season, initially as a player and also as Atkinson’s assistant manager. According to reports, the club had an agreement with Strachan – who was approaching the end of his career at the age of 38 – to work under Atkinson during the 1995/96 and 1996/97 seasons, and then retire and take over as manager in the summer of 1997, with Atkinson becoming Director of Football.
Things didn’t quite go to plan, however – for Atkinson, that was. Strachan had an immediate impact on the pitch, becoming a key player and still showing signs of the class he had in his runs at Manchester United and Leeds – famously coming on as a substitute in an FA Cup tie with Manchester City to set up an injury-time equaliser for Dion Dublin. When Coventry started the 1996/97 season badly, though, despite Strachan brokering a deal to bring in Scotland captain Gary McAllister, Atkinson was fired and Strachan appointed as player-manager.
Despite more struggles, Strachan eventually saved the club from relegation in his last season as an active player; while only making 9 appearances himself on the pitch he masterminded late wins over Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as a victory over Spurs on the final day of the season to keep Coventry in the Premier League by a margin of just one point. Although he was sacked four seasons later, his efforts in saving Coventry as player-manager earn him a spot on this list.
#4 Kenny Dalglish
Although his most recent tenure as manager of Liverpool ended in abject disaster, Kenny Dalglish’s initial run as Anfield boss– most of the tenure as player-manager– was hugely successful, making him perhaps the most successful player-manager of all time. Dalglish had already spent eight seasons at Liverpool prior to his appointment as manager, and in that time he’d amassed a ludicrous haul of trophies, winning the First Division title 6 times, the European Cup 3, and the FA Cup once. He was appointed as Liverpool’s player-manager in the summer of 1985, at the age of 34.
Despite only starting in 21 league games in 1985/86, his first season as player-manager, he still played a key role in Liverpool’s ongoing success and led them to a club first – a league and FA Cup double. Dalglish scored five goals that season, including a goal in a 1-0 win over Chelsea that confirmed the Reds as league champions. While he scored 8 goals in 1986/87, Liverpool didn’t win any trophies, but 1987/88 saw them back on top – they won the league with four games to go, following an unbeaten run of 29 league games that ended in February 1988.
Dalglish eventually began to play less and less, ending his active playing career in May 1990 with a final appearance as a substitute in a game against Derby County. He was 39 years old at the time, making him one of Liverpool’s oldest ever players. He would remain at Liverpool until 1990/91 when he surprisingly resigned with the side still top of the league and in the FA Cup, a move that still baffles people today.
His final trophy count was 11, including three league titles and two FA Cups, making him probably the most successful player-manager ever, and it was no surprise when he returned to football as manager of Blackburn Rovers and led them to success too.
#5 Gianluca Vialli
After Ruud Gullit’s surprising sacking in February 1998, Chelsea turned to their third player-manager in a row in the form of ageing Italian striker Gianluca Vialli, who had been brought to the club by Gullit prior to the 1996/97 season. Vialli was 33 when he took charge of Chelsea and he was only two seasons removed from winning the Champions League with Juventus, apparently at the peak of his powers despite his advanced age.
Vialli was the first Italian to ever manage in the Premier League and he saw immediate success with the Blues, as they won both the League Cup and the UEFA Cup-Winners Cup in 1997/98, although it must be said that they were already in the semi-finals of both competitions prior to Vialli taking over the reins following the removal of Gullit. He did oversee a league finish of 4th place, though – the highest Chelsea had achieved in the Premier League to that point. And at 33, Vialli also became the youngest manager to ever win a UEFA competition.
While Vialli made 31 appearances in 1997/98, that number was almost halved to 18 in his first full season as player-manager, 1998/99. The success continued though as he led Chelsea to victory in the European Super Cup (a 1-0 win over Real Madrid) and a 3rd place finish in the Premier League – Chelsea’s highest finish since 1970. He also scored in his final competitive game, a win over Derby County.
Once he’d retired, he took Chelsea to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 1999/00 and also won the FA Cup, but ended up being fired in the early part of 2000/01 after a shaky start and some arguments with key players such as Gianfranco Zola and Dan Petrescu. He remains a rare case of a manager who only went downhill after his player-manager days ended, as he went on to an unsuccessful spell at Watford after his Chelsea days and hasn’t managed since.
