Best English Premier League Coaches, Ranked

These soccer team managers are among the elite in their field.

Best English Premier League Coaches, Ranked

The English Premier League is widely considered to be the best soccer league in the world, which makes the coaches who run the teams among the elite in their field.

How do we measure the success of a coach? If it’s the clubs with the highest budgets for salaries and transfers who end each season top of the league, we have look at those who made the best of what they had and overachieved given their resources.

In the pressure-cooker environment of the Premier League, longevity also is a marker of success. For many teams, just staying in the league is the goal, and some coaches are tailor-made for that challenge.

The following names are the best that the Premier League has had to offer since it began in 1992.

You might have your own opinion. Feel free to disagree.

Note: All coaching records are through Nov. 5.

#20: Eddie Howe

Years coaching in EPL: 4 (2015-present)

Teams coached in EPL: Bournemouth

Games coached: 125

Record: 40 Wins / 32 Draws / 53 Losses

Winning percentage: .320

Championships: 0

Bottom line: The highly rated English coach took Bournemouth from the brink of bankruptcy in the third tier up to the Premier League and maintained its place with a core of English players and a belief in passing and possession football. Eddie Howe has confounded expectations of relegation for the last three seasons and represents the heart and soul of the coastal club.

#19: Harry Redknapp

Years coaching in EPL: 18 (1994-2001, 2003-13)

Teams coached in EPL: West Ham, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, QPR

Games: 641

Record: 236 Wins / 167 Draws / 238 Losses

Winning percentage: .368

Championships: 0

Bottom line: The experienced Harry Redknapp was known for his love of the transfer market but also was a canny operator in the dugout. He helped keep Portsmouth up and guided West Ham to a best-ever eighth finish, before leading the Spurs into the Champions League. He was unable to avoid the drop with Southampton and QPR, where he is less fondly remembered.

#18: David Moyes

Years coaching in EPL: 15 (2002-14, 2016-18)

Teams coached in EPL: Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland, West Ham

Games: 526

Record: 204 Wins / 144 Draws / 178 Losses

Winning percentage: .387

Championships: 0

Bottom line: David Moyes saved Everton from relegation in his first season at Goodison Park before establishing the team as a regular top-seven Premier League side, qualifying for the Europa League three times and the Champions League once. His reward was the tricky task of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. He struggled at Sunderland before helping West Ham avoid the drop — but deserves his place here for his sterling work at Everton.

#17: Tony Pulis

Years coaching in EPL: 10 (2007-17)

Teams coached in EPL: Stoke, Crystal Palace, West Brom

Games: 322

Record: 98 Wins / 93 Draws / 131 Losses

Winning percentage: .304

Championships: 0

Bottom line: Tony Pulis led Stoke into the Premier League and consolidated their position over the next five years, even taking them to the 2011 FA Cup final. He made his sides desperately tough to beat and found an edge with goals from set pieces and long throw-ins. The same methods helped Palace stay up but his reputation as a survival specialist took a hit at West Brom, which lost patience with him in November 2017.

#16: Roberto Mancini

Years coaching in EPL: 4 (2009-13)

Teams coached in EPL: Manchester City

Games: 133

Record: 82 Wins / 27 Draws / 24 Losses

Winning percentage: .616

Championships: 1

Bottom line: The Italian ended Manchester City’s 44-year wait for a title, in the most dramatic of circumstances, as Sergio Aguero’s last-minute effort clinched the 2012 Premier League title from United on goal difference. Roberto Mancini toughened up the team and helped City believe it was finally among the elite — even if there were some controversies involving star players like Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli along the way.

#15: Brendan Rodgers

Years coaching in EPL: 5 (2010-15)

Teams coached in EPL: Swansea City, Liverpool

Games: 160

Record: 75 Wins / 41 Draws / 44 Losses

Winning percentage: .468

Championships: 0

Bottom line: Brendan Rodgers coached Swansea into the Premier League and kept it there with its own brand of attractive football. He led Liverpool to a second-place finish, inspired by a front three of Luis Suarez-Daniel Sturridge-Raheem Sterling, before heading to Celtic where he won trophies galore. He is expected to reappear at a top Premier League club in the future.

#14: Antonio Conte

Years coaching in EPL: 2 (2016-18)

Teams coached in EPL: Chelsea

Games: 76

Record: 51 Wins / 10 Draws / 15 Losses

Winning percentage: .671

Championships: 1

Bottom line: Conte won the Premier League in his first season as Chelsea boss, switching the team to a defensive back three and watching as other coaches followed suit. His exacting methods were not as successful in season two, but his impact, although brief, was decisive.

#13: Sam Allardyce

Years coaching in EPL: 16 (2001-17)

Teams coached in EPL: Bolton, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United, Sunderland, Crystal Palace

Games: 512

Record: 174 Wins / 138 Draws / 200 Losses

Winning percentage: .339

Championships: 0

Bottom line: Big Sam, as Sam Allardyce is known, led Bolton to the Premier League and kept it there, even finishing fifth after buying a raft of foreign players all with a point to prove. He kept Blackburn Rovers safe, led West Ham to the Premier League and kept them up for three seasons, before survival periods with Sunderland and Crystal Palace. His teams were not always pretty to watch, but they were effective.

#12: Martin O'Neill

Years coaching in EPL: 11 (1996-2000, 2006-13)

Teams coached in EPL: Leicester City, Aston Villa, Sunderland

Games: 359

Record: 130 Wins / 115 Draws / 114 Losses

Winning percentage: .362

Championships: 0

Bottom line: Martin O’Neill won promotion with Leicester City into the Premier League and guided them to four top 10 finishes and three Cup finals. After a spell at Celtic, he took Aston Villa to an impressive sixth place for three seasons running and then kept Sunderland, the team he supported as a boy, out of the drop zone.

#11: Kevin Keegan

Years coaching in EPL: 9 (1993-97, 2001-05, 2008)

Teams coached in EPL: Newcastle United, Manchester City

Games: 267

Record: 116 Wins / 65 Draws / 86 Losses

Winning percentage: .434

Championships: 0

Bottom line: KevinKeegan’s Newcastle side was one of the most entertaining in the history of the Premier League, and even though it fell short in the 1997 title race, a 5-0 win against Manchester United and a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool remain iconic in the league’s history. He also guided Manchester City into the Premier League and a creditable ninth in its first season back.

#10: Carlo Ancelotti

Years coaching in EPL: 2 (2009-11)

Teams coached in EPL: Chelsea

Games 76

Record: 48 Wins / 13 Draws / 15 Losses

Winning percentage: .631

Championships: 1

Bottom line: The quietly-spoken Italian turned Chelsea into the entertainers, ending his first campaign in charge by winning the 2010 Premier League title with 103 goals, the first team to top the 100 mark. Carlo Ancelotti was sacked hours after the last game of the following season, after finishing second in the table. It was harsh treatment for one of football’s good guys.

#9: Rafa Benitez

Years coaching in EPL: 10 (2004-10, 2012-13, 2016-)

Teams coached in EPL: Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle

Games: 312

Record: 156 Wins / 76 Draws / 80 Losses

Winning percentage: .500

Championships: 0

Bottom line: Rafa Benitez has won the Champions League with Liverpool, the Europa League with Chelsea, and took Newcastle into the Premier League and somehow kept it there. Despite that — and leading Liverpool to second place in 2009, its joint-best finish since the Premier League era began — he is not revered as the elite coach he is.

#8: Jurgen Klopp

Years coaching in EPL: 4 (2015-)

Teams coached in EPL: Liverpool

Games: 117

Record: 64 Wins / 34 Draws / 19 Losses

Winning percentage: .547

Championships: 0

Bottom line: Jurgen Klopp has yet to win a trophy at Liverpool despite reaching two European finals. His Liverpool side plays with a verve and swagger which has reignited the connection between the famous club and its community. He is the perfect fit for a passionate football city.

#7: Mauricio Pochettino

Years coaching in EPL: 6 (2013-)

Teams coached in EPL: Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur

Games 217

Record: 114 Wins / 54 Draws / 49 Losses

Winning percentage: .525

Championships: 0

Bottom line: A trophy still eludes him but no one can doubt that Mauricio Pochettino is a top coach in the true sense of the word. At one stage, 15 of the previous 30 England debutants had been coached by the Argentine at Southampton or Spurs. He succeeds on a budget and improves his players, which is why Real Madrid has been casting covetous glances in his direction.

#6: Kenny Daglish

Years coaching in EPL: 8 (1992-95, 1997-98, 2011-12)

Teams coached in EPL: Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, Liverpool

Games: 238

Record: 115 Wins / 60 Draws / 63 Losses

Winning percentage: .483

Championships: 1

Bottom line: After winning the old first division with Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish guided big-spending Blackburn Rovers, inspired by Alan Shearer’s goals, to glory in 1995. The Rovers may have had a generous owner, but many clubs have spent big money and failed. Dalglish made it work. He remains revered for his dignified and humane response to the Hillsborough tragedy.

#5: Claudio Ranieri

Years coaching in EPL: 6 (2000-04, 2015-2017)

Teams coached in EPL: Chelsea, Leicester City

Games: 209

Record: 104 Wins / 55 Draws / 50 Losses

Winning percentage: .497

Championships: 1

Bottom line: The Italian helped Chelsea qualify for the Champions League on the final day of the season in 2003, which encouraged Roman Abramovich to buy the club and change its history. Claudio Ranieri was mocked when appointed Leicester boss in 2015 but had the last laugh when his team, tipped for relegation, stunned everyone to win the Premier League in one of the greatest shocks in the history of all sport.

#4: Pep Guardiola

Years coaching in EPL: 3 (2016-present)

Teams coached in EPL: Manchester City

Games: 87

Record: 64 Wins / 15 Draws / 8 Losses

Winning percentage: .735

Championships: 1

Bottom line: An innovator during his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola won the 2018 Premier League title by a record 19 points as his City side played some of the finest football in the league’s history. No team has won more points, and games, or scored more goals as records toppled. Guardiola’s standards inspire opponents to improve just to keep up — even if this season’s side could be even better. With a few more seasons under his belt, he could yet make it into the top three.

#3: Jose Mourinho

Years coaching in EPL: 10 (2004-07, 2013-present)

Teams coached in EPL: Chelsea, Manchester United

Games: 299

Record: 189 Wins / 67 Draws / 43 Losses

Winning percentage: .632

Championships: 3

Bottom line: For all his bluster and bravado, Jose Mourinho was outstanding in his first spell as Chelsea coach, leading them to the then-highest points totals in the Premier League. He won the title again in a second spell at Chelsea, though has found things trickier in his latest spell at Manchester United.

#2: Arsene Wenger

Years coaching in EPL: 18 (1996-2018)

Teams coached in EPL: Arsenal

Games: 828

Record: 476 Wins / 199 Draws / 153 Losses

Winning percentage: .574

Championships: 3

Bottom line: Arsene Wenger won three Premier League titles as Arsenal coach, with the 2004 team, known as The Invincibles, making history as the only team to go unbeaten throughout the whole season. Wenger brought a new edge to the Premier League, with his pioneering approach to player development, nutrition and recruitment.

#1: Sir Alex Ferguson

Years coaching in EPL: 21 (1992-2013)

Teams coached in EPL: Manchester United

Games: 810

Record: 528 Wins / 168 Draws / 114 Losses

Winning percentage: .651

Championships: 13

Bottom line: Sir Alex Ferguson was appointed Manchester United coach in 1986, and ended United’s 26-year wait for a title triumph by winning the Premier League’s inaugural season in 1993. United dominated the league over the next two decades, with Ferguson winning an astonishing 13 league titles while sticking to United’s principles of developing young players and playing offensive football. That’s why he is often called the greatest British coach ever.