Every Premier League Manager of the Season

The Premier League is arguably more defined by its managers than any other competition. While England's top flight boasts world-class players, it is widely regarded as the best league in the world largely due to the elite group of coaches who mastermind success season after season.

Notably, the last Premier League player to win the Ballon d'Or was Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008, with Michael Owen the only other player from England to claim the honor this century. In contrast, Premier League managers have dominated recent editions of The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award, highlighting the league's reputation for exceptional tactical minds.

Since 1994, the Premier League has awarded its own Manager of the Season title, a fiercely contested accolade reflecting the intense competition. The 2024/2025 campaign promises more drama, with managers like Liverpool’s Arne Slot aiming to etch their names into the history books. From serial winners to one-season wonders, here’s the complete list of every Premier League Manager of the Season.

12. Kenny Dalglish

One win

When billionaire Jack Walker purchased his boyhood club, Blackburn Rovers, in 1991, he spared no expense in assembling a team capable of greatness. Before twice smashing the British transfer record to sign Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, Walker secured the services of Kenny Dalglish, one of the finest managerial minds available at the time.

Dalglish, a Liverpool legend as a player, became the first manager to break Manchester United's dominance in the newly formed Premier League, guiding Blackburn to the title in 1995. While his squad boasted immense talent — with six players earning spots in the PFA Team of the Year — Dalglish deserves significant credit for molding that quality into a championship-winning side.

11. George Burley

One win

After four consecutive playoff heartbreaks, George Burley finally guided Ipswich Town into the Premier League in 2000. With a modest £8.5m spent on a handful of new signings—less than Arsenal shelled out on Francis Jeffers that same summer—expectations for survival were low. Yet, against all odds, Ipswich not only stayed up but secured UEFA Cup qualification. Even Burley admitted his surprise:

"Going into the season, I'd thought if we'd finish fourth-bottom it would have been a fantastic season, so to finish fifth was unbelievable for the players and myself. It was something you could never have dreamed of."

Ipswich’s remarkable campaign was powered by Marcus Stewart’s prolific form—his 19 league goals were second only to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink—and the defensive contributions of a young Titus Bramble. While Burley rightly earned recognition for the incredible season, he struggled to sustain the club’s momentum, with Ipswich relegated from the top flight in 2002.

10. Harry Redknapp

One win

For the first two decades of the Premier League Manager of the Season award, it almost always went to the coach who led their team to the title. However, in 2010, Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Redknapp became only the second manager to break that trend, earning recognition for guiding Spurs to Champions League qualification.

It was a historic achievement, as Spurs had not finished in the top four since 1990, when Gary Lineker spearheaded their attack, supported by the brilliance of Paul Gascoigne. Under Redknapp, Jermain Defoe filled the role of the lethal striker, benefiting from the creativity of a young Luka Modric.

Although Redknapp's tenure often divides opinion, he was quick to share the credit upon receiving the award, naming each of his assistant coaches. "Really, I'm just part of the team," he humbly insisted.

9. Alan Pardew

One win

Roberto Mancini may have ended Manchester City's 44-year wait for a top-flight title in dramatic fashion in 2012, but it was Newcastle United's Alan Pardew who claimed the Premier League Manager of the Season award. Tasked with replacing the popular Chris Hughton, Pardew exceeded expectations by guiding Newcastle to a fifth-place finish, just two years after their promotion from the Championship.

The Magpies thrived on the scoring exploits of Senegalese strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse, who combined for more than half of the team's goals. It was Newcastle's highest league finish since the legendary Sir Bobby Robson era.

In recognition of his success, owner Mike Ashley handed Pardew an ambitious eight-year contract in September 2012. However, Pardew’s tenure came to an abrupt end just over two years later, underscoring the unpredictability of football management.

8. Tony Pulis

One win

When Tony Pulis signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Crystal Palace in the autumn of 2013, the club was rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table with a dismal four points from their first 11 games. No team that had been in last place at the end of November had ever finished higher than 17th—but by season's end, Palace had soared to 11th, their highest league finish in 22 years.

Pulis later acknowledged that most people warned him against taking on what seemed like a doomed project—except for one notable exception. "Sir Alex Ferguson," Pulis revealed, "thought it was a job that could be done because of the club, because everybody had written it off, because of the fantastic supporters." True to form, Ferguson’s faith was vindicated as Pulis orchestrated a remarkable turnaround.

7. Claudio Ranieri

One win

Less than a year after enduring a humiliating defeat to the Faroe Islands as Greece's national team manager, Claudio Ranieri was being celebrated as the best coach in the Premier League. The former Chelsea boss masterminded Leicester City’s stunning and historic title win in 2016, one of football's most improbable triumphs.

Dubbed 'The Tinkerman' during his Chelsea days for his penchant for constant tactical adjustments, Ranieri adopted a different approach at Leicester. He devised a winning system and stuck with it, ensuring consistency. Remarkably, 10 players in his squad started at least 30 of the 38 league games that season—a level of stability unmatched by any other team, none of whom had more than seven such regulars.

Ranieri’s charm and humility perfectly captured the spirit of Leicester's triumph. Reflecting on their achievement, he said, "In an era when money counts for everything, I think we give hope to everybody."

6. Antonio Conte

One win

Antonio Conte’s transformation into one of the Premier League’s most successful managers can be traced back to a pivotal moment in the away dressing room at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in September 2016. Conte's Chelsea side had been torn apart by their hosts, trailing 3-0 at halftime. Reflecting on the defeat, Conte admitted, "We have not got the balance, and now is the moment to consider everything." Yet, even in that moment of adversity, he had already identified the solution.

The former Juventus midfielder introduced a back-three system during the interval, bringing Marcos Alonso on as a left wing-back. That tactical switch not only became the foundation of Chelsea's title-winning campaign but also revolutionized the Premier League itself. Conte's 3-4-3 formation proved so effective that it disrupted a league filled with tactical minds like Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, Arsène Wenger, and José Mourinho.

Before Conte's innovation, just 2.7% of English teams used a three-defender system. By the end of the season, inspired by Chelsea’s dominance, that figure had soared to 27%, as highlighted by The Athletic. Conte didn’t just win the league; he changed the way it was played.

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5. Jurgen Klopp

Two wins

As Jürgen Klopp basked in the glory of delivering Liverpool’s first top-flight title in 30 years, he couldn’t resist sharing the moment—even at 3 a.m. A groggy Sir Alex Ferguson answered the call to hear the jubilant German inform him that Liverpool had indeed reclaimed their perch.

The extraordinary achievements of Liverpool's 2019/20 title-winning campaign can sometimes be overshadowed by Manchester City’s ongoing dominance. Between March 2019 and February 2020, Klopp’s side produced a near-flawless run of 35 wins in 36 Premier League matches, dropping just two points from a possible 108—a staggering feat.

Despite surpassing the 90-point mark in three out of four seasons, Klopp managed only one league title during that spell, a testament to the relentless competition posed by Pep Guardiola's City. In 2022, the Premier League honored Klopp with another Manager of the Season award, a well-deserved acknowledgment of his remarkable impact, even in the face of narrowly missing out on further titles.

4. Arsene Wenger

Three wins

Arsène Wenger’s appointment as Arsenal manager in 1996 raised eyebrows across English football. Poaching the little-known Frenchman from Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight, many questioned the decision. Even Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson dismissed him as a "novice" who "didn’t know anything about English football." However, within just two years, Wenger had led Arsenal to the title, edging out United, and was named Premier League Manager of the Season.

The Frenchman revolutionized not only Arsenal but the entire Premier League, introducing a culture shift that redefined the game. Gone were the days of binge drinking in dressing rooms, replaced by healthier practices—broccoli instead of beer, stretching in place of smoking. Wenger went on to manage more Premier League games than anyone in history and remains the only manager to lead a team through an unbeaten league season.

3. Jose Mourinho

Three wins

Jose Mourinho made his intentions clear from the very beginning. Upon his arrival at Chelsea in 2004, the newly crowned Champions League winner with Porto boldly declared during his first press conference: "Please don't call me arrogant because what I'm saying is true. I'm European champion, so I'm not one from the bottle, and I think I'm a special one."

The confident Portuguese coach quickly proved his words weren’t just bluster. In his Premier League debut, he led Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United, setting the tone for his success. That season, Chelsea’s defense was impenetrable, conceding a mere 15 goals in 38 league games, matching a record low set by Preston North End in 1889, before goal nets were standard. Mourinho won two more Premier League titles with Chelsea but couldn't replicate his success at Manchester United or Tottenham.

2. Pep Guardiola

Five wins

Pep Guardiola’s continued success in the Premier League (and beyond) can be attributed to a multitude of factors. While his relentless work ethic, personal approach, and considerable financial resources all contribute, his ability to adapt and evolve is arguably his greatest strength.

"After winning, you have to change, I know that from my experience as a player. The easiest thing would be not to touch anything."

The variations in Guardiola’s tactics—from one match to the next, or even from one half to another—are striking, not to mention the dramatic shifts in strategy between seasons. The Catalan mastermind has secured titles with a range of approaches: from wingers on their natural flanks and inverted dribblers, to the use of false nines and, more recently, Erling Haaland. As Jurgen Klopp once noted, facing a Guardiola team is unpredictable: "You never know exactly what will happen." Well, usually, you do—his teams tend to win.

1. Sir Alex Ferguson

11 wins

Unsurprisingly, the greatest manager in Premier League history, Sir Alex Ferguson, has dominated the seasonal awards throughout his illustrious career. The extent of his dominance over England’s top flight is nothing short of staggering. In his final season, Ferguson handed a debut to Nick Powell, who scored in yet another title-winning campaign for Manchester United. Remarkably, Powell was just two months old when Ferguson claimed his first Premier League Manager of the Season award in 1994.

The cold, hard statistics—13 top-flight titles, 27 Manager of the Month awards, and 528 Premier League wins—only begin to scratch the surface of Ferguson’s unrivaled legacy. A master tactician and revered man-manager, the Scottish legend had English football under his control for two decades, orchestrating his dominance with precision and authority.