Where are all the great English managers?

Out of the 20 sides in this season’s Premier League, only 7 are managed by Englishmen. English managers are a minority in their own top flight. But this isn’t a new trend. English managers have bee excluded from the top football jobs for years: Man U have Sir Alex, Arsene reigns at Arsenal, Rafa is at Liverpool and Chelsea rule with Ancelotti. The real kick in the teeth for aspiring English coaches came in 2001 when the FA selected for the first time a foreign coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson, as national team manager over a host of born and bred candidates. And when Steve McClaren fell flat on his face the FA again went overseas. We all know what a fantastic job Fabio Capello has done in dragging England out of the international football wilderness, but he’s no Sir Bobby. And if England do win the World Cup in South Africa, the one smidgen of regret is that there won’t be an English manager leading them to glory.

Here’s how things stand for English managers in the top flight today:

Highest ranked in the league: Harry Redknapp. The Spurs supremo and man-manager extraordinaire (although Darren Bent would argue otherwise) sits 4^th in the league but tops the ‘English table’. His side hold a five-point lead over its closest English rival, Steve Bruce at Sunderland.

Lowest ranked in the league: Paul Hart. And you thought Phil Brown had it bad… Hull aren’t even in the relegation zone. Pompey’s Paul Hart is the real man on borrowed time. Although sitting dead last in 20^th place, 4 points adrift of Brown’s Hull, Pompey have started to show signs of life – collecting as many points in their last 5 fixtures as Manchester United.

National ambitions: Harry Redknapp was blanked by the FA when Sven left the hot seat and Tottenham is his last big job (so he says). Although Sam Allardyce was on the shortlist to succeed Sven, a career in tatters following a dismal spell at Newcastle, sees Big Sam’s England dream done and dusted? Steve Bruce is the only one out of the bunch to play in the Premier League but he is unproven as a manager; who knows what would happen if he had a moody Drogba or lazy Ronaldinho under his command? Roy Hodgson seems the most logical choice having enjoyed relative success coaching abroad although that could also be his drawback. Hodg has coached just about every third-tier football team on the planet and nobody likes sloppy seconds. And as for the hopes of Gary Megson, Phil Brown and Paul Hart… the hapless Graham Taylor has a better chance of being reinstated.

When Slaven Bilic recently suggested before Croatia’s World Cup qualifier that England had lost their ‘Englishness’ under Fabio Capello, he wasn’t just referring to the team’s long ball tactics.

Harry & Brucey laugh at their prospects of managing a top four side

4 Responses to “Where are all the great English managers?”

1. Football Links: Real Madrid knocked out of Spanish Cup, the Premier League’s tastiest pies, Cesc to Barcelona and more… » Who Ate all the Pies says:

   November 11, 2009 at 7:04 pm

   [...] Where are all the great English football managers? [Footy Factor] [...]
2. Daily Dose: November 11th, 2009. - - The Offside - Soccer News and Opinion from leagues around the world says:

   November 12, 2009 at 12:32 am

   [...] The plight of the English manager. (Footy Factor) [...]
3. davi says:

   November 12, 2009 at 1:27 am

   so who’s the last englishman to manage a team that finished in the top four? i give up…
4. Bishop says:

   November 12, 2009 at 12:18 pm

   Sir Bobby at Newcastle 02/03