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The Premier League is not one for the faint-hearted, with surprise results and performances by teams up and down the table, which is one of the key reasons that make it one of the most watched leagues in the world.
Quite a lot has changed since its inception way back in 1992, with homegrown players replaced by quality foreign players from around the globe, as well as the best managers.
With the huge sums of money coming into the league, the time that Premier League managers are afforded has dropped significantly, but there have been a few managers who’ve stood the test of time!
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five managers who managed the most number of Premier League games.
#5 Sam Allardyce - 512 games
Premier League record: Wins - 174 Draws - 138; Losses - 200
‘Big Sam’, as he is affectionately called, came to the limelight after he took Bolton Wanderers to the Premier League in the 2000-01 season, and a strong fifth-place finish in his final season at The Trotters, in the 2006-07 season.
The English manager signed players from big clubs who were on the wrong side of 30, with the likes of Real Madrid’s Ivan Campo and Fernando Hierro, Nigeria captain Jay-Jay Okocha, as well as controversial striker El Hadji Diouf, from Liverpool. Following a disagreement over transfer money with Bolton chairman Phil Gartside, Allardyce quit the club at the end of the 2006-07 season.
He moved to Newcastle United the very next season but didn’t even last the entire campaign at The Magpies and was sacked in January 2008.
Following the sacking of then Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Ince, in December 2008, Allardyce was given the duty of saving the club from relegation. He helped stave off relegation and finished the season in 15th, but was sacked unmercifully by the new owners in December 2010.
In 2011, Allardyce was tasked with bringing West Ham United back to the Premier League, and after signing a string of his former players, the English manager took the club back to the top division after victory in the play-off final. Even though he helped the Hammers to three strong finishes in the three years in charge of the club, Allardyce and the club decided to not renew his contract on the back of fan protests regarding his “boring style of play”.
Allardyce was back to saving clubs from relegation as he worked his magic to keep Sunderland and Crystal Palace in the league, but his last job as Everton manager was deemed a failure by many.
He won the Premier League Manager of the Month on 6 occasions, joint sixth in the list of most Premier League Manager of the Month awards won.
#4 David Moyes - 526 games
Premier League record: Wins - 204; Draws - 144; Losses - 178
David Moyes will forever be remembered as “The Chosen One” who failed, at Manchester United. Managing a club as prestigious as Manchester United is one of the toughest tasks in the world - as Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho will corroborate, but following the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson made the task a hundred times over.
But many will forget the great work he put in to help Everton avoid relegation and turn them into a top 6 side, and even took them to a Champions League spot. Moyes made the switch to Merseyside in 2002 after a fruitful spell as manager of Preston North End. He kept the club in the Premier League and guided the team to a 7th place finish in the next season.
The Wayne Rooney sale helped Everton rebuild and the results were there to see: the club finished fourth and secured a place in the Champions League. After an unsuccessful next season, where they finished 11th, the club then finished in the top 6 in the next three seasons; Moyes had made the turnaround and brought some stability.
After the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson as the manager of Manchester United, Moyes was ‘chosen’ by the outgoing Scotsman to replace him. But it wasn’t to be for him; dreadful results and boring football resulted in his sacking.
A brief spell in Spain with Real Sociedad didn’t do much to his managerial credentials as he was sacked, and couldn’t help Sunderland from relegation, but did help West Ham United stay in the league in the 2017-18 season.
With 10 Manager of the Month awards, he’s third in the list of most Manager of the Month wins.
#3 Harry Redknapp - 641 games
Premier League record: Wins - 236; Draws - 167; Losses - 238
Harry Redknapp may be one of the most amiable and well-liked managers in Premier League history, but behind the goofiness is a shrewd manager who could get the most out of his players and what he’s well-known for: making incredible deals in the transfer market.
Redknapp took over from Billy Bonds as manager of West Ham United in the 1994-95 season and helped the team to 14th place finish, in the 22-team league. After yo-yoing in mid-table for a few seasons, Redknapp guided the team to a strong 5th place finish in the 1998-99 season, thanks to the introduction of future England stars Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, and Michael Carrick, as well as experienced players like Stuart Pearce, and the ever controversial Paolo di Canio.
He helped the team finish in the top-half of the table for the next two seasons, before being sacked at the end of the 2000-01 season after he made some comments that didn’t please the West Ham chairman.
A move to Portsmouth as director of football and later as a manager was a fruitful one, where he helped the team to a promotion to the Premier League, and after one year in the league, he resigned after another disagreement with the Pompey director.
A controversial switch to Portsmouth’s arch-rivals Southampton followed, but he couldn’t keep the club in the Premier League nor bring them back up from the Championship the next season. He returned to Portsmouth once more and kept them in the league, and ended his tenure as manager of Portsmouth with a historic FA Cup victory - their first FA Cup final in 69 years.
He replaced Juande Ramos as manager of Tottenham and took the side to an 8th place finish, followed by a very impressive 4th place finish, guaranteeing Spurs their first Champions League spot in their rich history, and a semi-final defeat. The next season was another strong 5th place finish, while the bowed out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League to Real Madrid.
In his final year with the club - 2011-12 season, the veteran English manager helped the Lilywhites to another 4th place finish, but left the club after not agreeing to a new contract.
He joined QPR later that year but couldn’t help the club from being relegated to the Championship. He brought them back up the very next season, but left mid-way through the disastrous season.
He won seven Manager of the Month awards and a Manager of the Year award.
#2 Sir Alex Ferguson - 810 games
Wins - 528; Draws - 168; Losses - 114
Sir Alex Ferguson’s achievements will be incredibly tough to overtake in the next century or even more. In his 26-year spell as Manchester United manager, the Scot won 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 Champions League titles - a truly remarkable tally that will take some doing to better.
But it wasn’t all hunky dory for the Scotsman as he went trophyless in the first few seasons. But after a few key signings and the addition of youth - most notably, the ‘Class of 92’, ‘Fergie’ and United went on to win trophy after trophy and rule the English Premier League.
A win every 1.5 games (528 wins in 810 matches) shows the dominance of United under Ferguson, and how the team were always on the front foot in the Premier League!
Sir Alex Ferguson will for a long time be spoken in the same breath as great managers like Arrigo Sacchi, and Bob Paisley.
#1 Arsene Wenger - 828 games
Wins - 476; Draws - 199; Losses - 153
Pipping Sir Alex Ferguson to the top spot on this list by 18 games is former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger. Wenger will be remembered for revolutionizing the English game, with his tactics on the pitch, and his emphasis on fitness, diet, and discipline off the pitch.
Wenger arrived at Arsenal in 1996 as an unknown quantity, but left the club having done a stellar job, helping the team transition from the Highbury to Emirates, but will more likely be celebrated for guiding Arsenal through an unbeaten season in the 2003-04 campaign.
Wenger won three Premier League titles in his 22-year spell and seven FA Cups, making him the manager with most FA Cup wins. The former Arsenal manager has 476 wins in the Premier League; second only to the great Sir Alex Ferguson in most wins in the Premier League.
After several disappointing seasons, star players leaving the club for rivals, and teams overtaking them in the Premier League pecking order, Wenger left Arsenal in 2018.
