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Another exciting Premier League season is nearing its conclusion. Manchester City have already been crowned champions of England as Pep Guardiola proved to the country that the title can be won playing his way. Meanwhile, quite a few clubs are looking likely to end with a different manager than the one who was in the dugout at the start of the season.
On the other hand, a select few showed their worth to their respective clubs and are set to end the 2017/18 season on a happy note. While the PFA Player of the Year and the Golden Boot are the talk of the town, there is a separate award for the best manager known as the Premier League Manager of the Season.
This award was established in the 1993/94 season and former Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, is the only one to have won the prestigious award more than twice (he won it eleven times). Chelsea's stupendous title win led to Antonio Conte picking up the accolade last season but the Blues struggle in their title defence all but rules the Italian out of the reckoning.
Before we list out the contenders, a special mention to Eddie Howe who is doing a terrific job at Bournemouth. He has brought the club up from the lower divisions and is now set to keep them up for the third consecutive season with an English core and an attractive brand of football, something very uncommon in mid-table teams. The 40-year old definitely deserves credit and could be due for a move to a bigger club in the near future.
Thus, without further ado, let us take a look at the contenders for the Premier League Manager of the Season.
#5 The Entertaining One - Carlos Carvalhal, Swansea
Almost coming out of nowhere, Carlos Carvalhal will be a strong contender for the award if he helps Swansea avoid relegation at the end of the season. The Portuguese was appointed as the Swans manager on December 29th, 2017 with the Welsh club sitting in 20th place and the mood around the club was as low as it could be.
However, the 52-year old pulled the club from the bottom and went on a superb run, which included wins against Liverpool and Arsenal, a first FA Cup quarterfinals appearance since 1964 and more importantly the club are 17th in the table, four points away from the drop zone with a game in hand. In fact, the Swans are just 5 points behind Bournemouth in 11th with two games in hand compared to the Cherries.
This is a remarkable achievement considering the club's position back in December and Carvalhal's quirky press conferences have lifted the mood as well. Considering this is his first time in the Premier League, it is a remarkable achievement indeed.
#4 The Surprising One - Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool
The inclusion of the Liverpool boss as a strong contender will be a surprising one for many but to understand the reasons behind it, we need to revisit a few stages of this season. After a decent start, Liverpool's defensive problems came to the fore which culminated in a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of top four rivals, Tottenham, back in October.
Considering the problems and the smaller squad when compared to their rivals, the Reds were tipped for another finish outside the Champions League places with a few sections of the fanbase and media wanting Klopp to walk. After a slight upturn in form, the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January dampened the positivity around Virgil van Dijk's signing a week earlier. As no replacement came in during the winter transfer window, Liverpool's top four hopes were written off.
However, the clubs are currently in third place ahead of Tottenham, Chelsea, and Arsenal and need only two wins out of the remaining four matches to qualify for next season's Champions League. Further, existing players have improved, the defence has tightened and defensive errors have come down drastically while the attack has blossomed with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane scoring 82 goals between themselves so far.
Thus, Klopp has not only turned the tide but also took the Merseyside club to another level as discussions of a title-push next season are now regular amongst the media and fanbase. The German has definitely shown a glimpse of his world-class managerial ability this season and is an unlikely yet strong contender based on the evidence above.
#3 The Champion One - Pep Guardiola, Manchester City
The most obvious entry on this list, Pep Guardiola is the top contender for winning English football's biggest prize with Manchester City. His side has steamrolled everyone in their way to win the title with four games still left to play. Further, the Spaniard has done this playing his fabled brand of football, previously seen at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
In fact, Pep put an end to claims from the media and pundits on how the Premier League cannot be won as comfortably as seen in Spain and Germany, especially playing attacking football. Manchester City currently has a 13-point lead over second-placed Manchester United after 34 matches and still have a game in hand, something unheard of in English football.
The football has been a delight to watch and Pep's team always found answers as they went unbeaten until January when Liverpool inflicted their first defeat of the season. Thus, the numbers speak for themselves as Guardiola has arguably the best chance to win the award.
#2 The Overachieving One - Rafa Benitez, Newcastle United
In terms of doing the absolute best with whatever he has, Rafa Benitez is one of the best managers in world football. Now, his achievement with Newcastle United this season is up there with his best ones. The Magpies were staring at a swift return to the Championship after only one season but things look pretty rosy at the moment.
Benitez's side coasted their way to a Championship win in the 2016/17 season, clinching promotion to the Premier League. After an unspectacular start, things started falling apart as a lack of quality players, bad form and injuries derailed the side. Benitez's repeated requests for club owners Mike Ashley to loosen their purse strings were unanswered in January as well and the Spaniard was forced to look for budget options.
The loan signings of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Sparta Prague and attacking full-back Kenedy from Chelsea have reinvigorated the side. This has added to an upturn in form and the Magpies registered their first home win since October against Manchester United in February. Newcastle currently sits in 9th place, a point behind Everton and three points behind Leicester City, albeit with a game in hand.
This is a remarkable achievement with a shoe-string budget considering there are several teams around and below Newcastle who have spent more to strengthen their squad. Thus, Benitez presents a pretty good case for winning the Manager of the Season.
#1 The Deserving One - Sean Dyche, Burnley
The manager who deserves to win the accolade this season is none other than Burnley's Dyche. The Clarets sit comfortably just outside the top six in seventh place, eight points ahead of 8th-placed Leicester City. This is a remarkable achievement for a club of Burnley's stature as they can even think of a possibility of finishing sixth ahead of Arsenal which is two points ahead with a game in hand.
This would have been unthinkable even last season when they finished 16th after clinching promotion the season prior, which came on the heels of relegation at the end of the 2014/15 season.
Instead of resting on the safety of previous season, Dyche built upon the progress made and his side's attacking intent went up by a few notches. The spectacular results are there for all to see as Burnley are very likely to play in next season's Europa League unless Southampton wins the FA Cup.
Thus, Dyche's Burnley has caught everyone's imagination and earned the respect of their peers this season. Hence, the 46-year old absolutely deserves the award for progressively improving the Clarets and make them a strong contender for the best team outside of the top six.
