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English football has seen a lot of top class managers taking their clubs to new heights. But it has been a rare occurrence that they have stayed at the same club for any extended period of time. Here, we take a look at 5 of the best managers who have been at one club for a long time (the list is only of managers since the start of the Premier League Era).
5. Sean O’Driscoll
He may not have managed a Premier League club yet but Sean O’Driscoll has had a very successful managerial career so far. He started out as a manager at Bournemouth, from 2000 to 2006. Even though there was very little money to spend, he still managed to get promotion for the club to Division 2 in the 2002-2003 season.
He became the manager of Doncaster in 2006 and he was there till 2011, in which time he was a huge success for the club. In his first season in charge, he won the Football League Trophy while he helped Doncaster get promoted to the Championship in the next season itself. While he could not help them gain promotion to the Premier League, he did make them a comfortable mid table team even though he was on a very tight budget.
4. John Coleman
John Coleman is another manager who is not popular but has achieved quite a lot in his career, albeit at one club. His first full-time managerial role was with Accrington Stanley, where he was manager for 13 long years, 1999 to 2012.
In this long period, he has managed to gain 3 promotions for the club, with all 3 as champions. They started in the Northern Premier League First Division and finally entered the Football League in 2006. He’s the longest serving manager for Accrington Stanley and in fact is the 3rd longest serving manager for a single club in English football, behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
3. Tony Pulis
Tony Pulis needs no introduction for English Premier League fans. He’s probably been the best manager Stoke City has had. But before Stoke, he had several stints in various other clubs, with his time at Gillingham being the best, earning them multiple promotions.
He had 2 stints at Stoke City. The first one lasted only 3 years, from 2002 to 2005, in which time he stabilised the club. But a dispute with the chairman regarding the funds available for transfer saw him dismissed. But he was approached again in 2006, and this time, he remained for 7 good years, till 2013. He guided them to the Premier League and ensured they did not go into the relegation battle, with Stoke City finishing mid table most of the time.
2. Arsene Wenger
The top 2 managers are perhaps the most easiest to point out. At number 2 would be Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger, who has been the club’s manager for 17 years and is their most successful manager. Arsene Wenger was not exactly a known manager when he was signed by Arsenal, but the way he has revolutionised the club and the league has been nothing short of legendary.
Arsene Wenger has many achievements credited to his name, the biggest of which is perhaps the unbeaten season of 2003-2004, earning the nickname “Invincibles” for his team. He won the double in his first full season at the club and has 2 doubles in total. He is still the manager of Arsenal and though the last 8 years have been barren, there is no taking away from what he has achieved so far.
1. Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson is the most iconic manager in English football and perhaps even the world. He has taken a club that was underperforming and made them one of the biggest clubs in the world. Not only has he achieved multiple Premier League titles with Manchester United, he has won 2 Champions League titles with them, making sure that the club will forever be regarded as one to be feared.
One of the first vows Sir Alex took when he took charge of Manchester United was to, in his own words, knock Liverpool off their perch. With the 19th title win a couple of seasons ago, Sir Alex made his promise come good. His retirement will be one of the saddest things to happen to English football but none can grudge the man the fame he has earned and the plaudits he has received for what has been a truly phenomenal managerial career.
Honourable Mentions
David Moyes has been in charge of Everton for a long time too, bringing stability to the club. Though he has not won anything with the club, he did always keep them perennially close to a potential Champions League spot, achieving it in the 2004-2005 season. However, despite his longevity, he doesn’t have many achievements of note, and so doesn’t make it into the top 5.
