Top 5 longest serving football managers in the last 50 years

#4 Dario Gradi: 23 years & 10 months at Crewe Alexandra

Dario Gradi has seen the highs and lows at Crewe Alexandra

The Italian-born Englishman is easily one of the most respected managers in England. Although he has been associated with Crewe Alexandra for more than 30 years, it was his first stint between 1983 and 2007 that won him an Outstanding Contribution to League Football award in 2011.

In close to 24 years, he was in charge of the club for over 1200 games. Though he did not have a great win percentage, he did lead the club from the wilderness of the Fourth Division to the First Division over years of hard work.

But his stint at the club was not exactly similar to those of other managers at the time. For starters, he was given a ten-year contract when he finally guided the club to promotion in 1989 but the club flirted with three divisions over the years. Gradi also used to receive a percentage of the profit when players were sold.

Now 75 years old, he is still very much active with the club, albeit in a less busier role. He currently manages the Crewe Alexandra Academy, preferring to work with youngsters and he even managed to field a team made entirely of homegrown academy graduates in 2013.