The Premier League has the best managers in the world in charge of its teams, but how do they rank up against each other? Let’s take a look.
Arsenal – Arsene Wenger
Age: 66
Experience in the league: Most experienced manager in the Premier League. Joined Arsenal in October 1996.
Playing career: Modest, played for Mutzig, Mulhouse and Strasbourg.
Trophies: Ligue 1 1998, French Cup 1991, Emperor’s Cup 1996, Premier League (1998, 2002, 2004) FA Cup (1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014).
Ability to handle the dressing room: The players respect him; it’s the fans that he needs to get onside.
Favourite tactics: Simple pass and move and promote young players. The formation resembles 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1.
Best move/worst move: His best moment was managing Arsenal to an unbeaten season and double in 2004. His worst is not investing in on-field leaders and replacing key players who’ve left.
Controversy: Has a big rivalry with Jose Mourinho and has come to blows with Alan Pardew before. His most notable conflict was with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Weakest points: His stubbornness and reluctance to invest in the transfer market. Relies too much on players who don’t give anything back.
Chances to win something this year: None unless they buy a striker and a defender. Does fourth place count?
Chelsea – Antonio Conte
Age: 47
Experience in the league: None, appointed Chelsea manager just before Euro 2016.
Playing career: Impressive. Captained Juventus, won the Champions League and 5 Serie A titles. Played for Italy 20 times.
Trophies: Serie B 2009, Serie A (2012, 2013, 2014) Italian Super Cup (2012 and 2013).
Ability to handle the dressing room: Good, Andrea Pirlo spoke of how he made one speech at Juventus which “conquered both me and Juventus.”
Favourite tactics: Used 3-5-2 in Euro 2016 or 5-3-2 when more defence is needed. Conte’s teams are built on pace, work-rate, athleticism and tactical intelligence.
Best move/worst move: Recognising the strengths of the Italian team in Euro 2016 and managing them to the quarter-final stage. His worst was his reported involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
Controversy: Hasn’t had any controversial moments with other managers, but was implicated in a match fixing scandal and later found not guilty.
Weakest points: No real major flaws in his management. Juventus had no competition in Serie A when he was in charge.
Chances to win something this year: Conte loves winning and will look to mount a title challenge. They should compete in Cup competitions.
Everton – Ronald Koeman
Age: 53
Experience in the league: Spent 2 years in charge of Southampton, before moving to Everton earlier this summer.
Playing career: Legendary, 192 appearances for Barcelona, winning 4 La Liga titles and the European Cup. Played 78 times for Netherlands and was one of the stars of their team of the 1980s and 1990s.
Trophies: Eredivisie (2002, 2004, 2007), KNVB Cup 2002, Johan Cruyff Shield (2002 and 2009) Portuguese Super Cup 2005, Copa del Rey 2008.
Ability to handle the dressing room: It was tough for Koeman at Southampton, considering the best players were sold every season. Victor Wanyama had a discipline problem and Sadio Mane sulked after being denied a big move. No major stories of a lack of team harmony came out though.
Favourite tactics: Plays good football, with a solid defensive edge and a potent attack.
Best move/worst move: His best was getting Southampton to finish in the top 8, despite the departures of the best players the previous summer. His worst was clashing with Southampton Chief Executive Les Reed over the involvement of youth players.
Controversy: None to speak of, apart from a long standing feud with Louis Van Gaal.
Weakest points: Hard to think of any after two excellent seasons at Southampton.
Chances to win something this year: Everton haven’t won anything since 1995. They’re outsiders for the Premier League, but will target the Cup competitions.
Leicester – Claudio Ranieri
Age: 64
Experience in the league: Took over as Leicester manager in 2015, previously managed Chelsea from 2000-2004.
Playing career: Modest, played for Roma, Catanzaro, Catania and Palermo.
Trophies: Serie C1 1989, Serie B 1994, Coppa Italia 1996, Italian Super Cup 1996, Copa del Rey 1999, UEFA Super Cup 2004, Ligue 2 2013, Premier League 2016.
Ability to handle the dressing room: Leicester players love him and he knows how to keep them motivated. Pizza was the key last year.
Favourite tactics: Known as the “Tinkerman”, but used 4-4-2 in last season’s title winning campaign with a counter-attacking style.
Best move/worst move: Managing Leicester to the Premier League title. His worst was losing to the Faroe Islands whilst in charge of Greece.
Controversy: None, he’s too nice! Mourinho has had a few digs at him, but Ranieri hasn’t bitten back.
Weakest points: He’s managed some big clubs, Chelsea, Valencia, Roma, Inter Milan and Monaco, but hadn’t won a league title before Leicester last season.
Chances to win something this year: Slim, but anything’s possible after last season.
Liverpool – Jurgen Klopp
Age: 49
Experience in the league: Appointed in October last year. 2016/17 will be his first full season in charge of Liverpool.
Playing career: Spent his entire career at Mainz, making 337 appearances.
Trophies: Bundesliga (2011 and 2012), DFB Pokal 2012, DFL Super Cup (2013 and 2014).
Ability to handle the dressing room: Good man manager and players want to play for him.
Favourite tactics: The “Gegenpress” or “Heavy Metal” football. The style involves lots of high tempo pressing and energy.
Best move/worst move: His best moment was claiming that he was “The Normal One”. His worst is his run of five consecutive losing Cup finals.
Controversy: Has hit out at rivals for big spending in the transfer window. Was sent to the stands and received a €10,000 fine for criticising the referee in a Bundesliga game.
Weakest points: Inability to win Cup finals.
Chances to win something this year: Reached two Cup finals last season, but lost both of them. Will look to win a Cup and mount a title challenge.
Manchester City – Pep Guardiola
Age: 45
Experience in the league: None, announced as new manager in January and took over in the summer.
Playing career: Played in the same Barcelona team as Koeman and later captained the team. Played 47 times for Spain.
Trophies: Tercera Division 2008, La Liga (2009, 2010, 2011), Copa del Rey (2009 and 2012), Spanish Super Cup (2009, 2010, 2011), Champions League (2009 and 2011), UEFA Super Cup (2009, 2011, 2013) FIFA Club World Cup (2009, 2011, 2013), Bundesliga (2014, 2015, 2016), DFB Pokal (2014 and 2016).
Ability to handle the dressing room: With the exception of Ibrahimovic, every player that Guardiola has managed has said that he improved them.
Favourite tactics: Famed for the tiki-taka style, invented the false-nine position, and changed the role of the defenders and also the game of football.
Best move/worst move: Winning the sextuple in 2009. His worst move was falling out with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Barcelona.
Controversy: Has an intense rivalry with Jose Mourinho.
Weakest points: He’s had mixed success in the transfer market.
Chances to win something this year: High, they’re favourites to win the league and are the best equipped of the English teams to compete in the Champions League. They should win something.
Manchester United – Jose Mourinho
Age: 53
Experience in the league: Won 2 league titles in his first stint as Chelsea manager, before returning and winning another one.
Playing career: Lacked pace and power to become a professional footballer and became a coach instead. Never played top level football.
Trophies: Primeira Liga (2003 and 2004), Portuguese Cup 2003, Portuguese Super Cup 2003, Champions League (2004 and 2010), UEFA Cup 2003, Premier League (2005, 2006, 2015), FA Cup 2007, League Cup (2005, 2007, 2015), Community Shield (2005 and 2016), Serie A (2009 and 2010), Coppa Italia 2010, Italian Super Cup 2008, La Liga 2012, Copa del Rey 2011, Spanish Super Cup 2012.
Ability to handle the dressing room: Players start off loving him, but Mourinho will pick a fight which will destroy morale in the dressing room. Think Ramos and Casillas at Real Madrid, Hazard and Eva Carneiro at Chelsea.
Favourite tactics: 4-2-3-1, but has played a defensive 4-3-3 in big games. Will look to score early goals, then rely on the defence to withstand pressure.
Best move/worst move: His unbeaten home record of 150 league matches between 2002 and 2011 was his best moment. His worst was anything that happened at Chelsea last season and selling Kevin de Bruyne.
Controversy: Take your pick, it follows him everywhere.
Weakest points: His volatility is both a good and bad thing. Provides the public with entertainment, but can be detrimental to some of his players.
Chances to win something this year: High and should be competing on all domestic fronts. They’re also one of the stronger teams in the Europa League.
