Top ten peggiori allenatori della storia EPL... Benitez 8°

Top Ten: Worst managers in EPL history

The greatest league in the world has seen some highly talented managers since its inception in 1992. Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, and now Ancelotti amongst others have all been successful in the Premier League. This latest Top Ten from Sport.co.uk isn’t about them however, it’s about the bosses from Tottenham Hotspur, Derby County, Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic, Hull City, Wimbledon, Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United and Sunderland who have led their clubs to mediocrity, and have since gone down in folklore as some of the worst managerial appointments in Premier League history. Feel free to disagree by voicing your discontent in the comments section below.



Christian Gross – Tottenham Hotspur 1997-98
In November 1997, the Swiss man arrived in North London three minutes late for his opening press conference at White Hart Lane. The reason behind his poor time keeping? Gross had apparently wanted to travel by tube, to feel what it was like to be a Spurs fan. As he waved his underground ticket in front of journalists, he said: “I want this to become my ticket to dreams.” I think what Gross meant was the ticket to nightmares, as the white half of North London stuttered to a mere nine wins in 27 games under his tenure, whilst flirting with relegation from the top-flight. Ultimately, it was chairman Alan Sugar who uttered the immortal words “you’re fired!” to Gross at the beginning of the 1998-99 season, after Tottenham lost two of their opening three games. The undisputed king of managerial flops.



Paul Jewell – Derby County 2007-08
Ok, maybe Jewell being here is a little harsh. The former Wigan and Bradford manager will probably argue that he had an insurmountable task at Pride Park, after the predicament Billy Davies left the club in. However, if you cannot even win a game in the Premier League after you take the reigns, then it makes you wonder whether Jewell was up to the job in the first place. With a little help from Davies, Jewell and his team at Derby broke Sunderland’s lowest points tally of 19, by finishing on 11. It probably comes as no surprise that Jewell has been out of football since he resigned at Derby two years ago.



Ian Dowie – Crystal Palace 2003-06, Charlton Athletic 2006, & Hull City 2010
Hardly the most obvious of candidates for the top ten worst managers, yet his record illustrates that he’s worthy of his place. A management career that includes getting relegated with Palace after a solitary season in 2004-05, and contributing to the demise of Charlton Athletic during the 2006-07 season. Dowie only managed 15 games at The Valley, and was sacked in November 2006. If that wasn’t enough, he took on the impossible task of trying to elevate Hull out of the relegation zone, after Phil Brown was placed on gardening leave, and failed at that too. I could mention his time at Newcastle United as assistant boss to Alan Shearer at the end of the 2008-09 season, but do I need to?



Egil Olsen – Wimbledon 1999-00
Despite a successful spell as Norway boss, Olsen never quite managed to win over the crazy gang’s supporters after the departure of Joe Kinnear. His tedious 4-5-1 formation tactics were labelled as boring by many fans too. The fans displeasure with Olsen was complete when he ended Wimbledon’s 15 year association with England’s top-flight. Olsen was finally shown the door in May 2000. Even though many supporters rejoiced in the sacking, Vinnie Jones, who never played under Olsen, was left aggrieved that the Norweigan left so early because he “never got a chance to chin him”.



Jacques Santini – Tottenham Hotspur 2004
The French coach was awarded the title of ‘The best French coach’ in
2002 following his exploits with Lyon, and then chosen as ‘The Best National Coach of the Year’ in 2003 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics following a spell as French national team boss. Nevertheless it’s his pitiful regime at White Hart Lane where he managed only 13 games, and had a win percentage of 38% that proves his worth in this top ten. Spurs fans may argue that Santini was actually never sacked, as he left England because of personal reasons in November 2004, but others have suggested it was because he fell out with then Sporting Director, Frank Arnesen.



Juande Ramos – Tottenham Hotspur 2007-08
Former Seville manager, Ramos, completes the hat-trick of Spurs managers to reach the top ten of managerial howlers in the eighteen years of the Premier League. The Spaniard arrived in North London with a glittering CV of winning back-to-back UEFA Cups, the Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup, yet flopped just like Gross and Santini. He may have led Spurs to the League Cup, but he still failed to lead a squad with the talents of Berbatov, Woodgate, and Keane beyond 11th place in the table. Poor show.



Brian Kidd – Blackburn Rovers 1998-99
The Manchester City assistant had a far from successful stint at Ewood Park, recording a win percentage of 27%, and losing 14 games out of 44, which led to Rovers being relegated from the Premier League just four years after they clinched the title under Kenny Dalglish. Chairman Jack Walker sacked Alex Ferguson’s former number two after he paid over £30 million for the services of players that included Jason McCateer (£4.25 million) from Liverpool, and Ashley Ward (£4.5 million) from Barnsley. Even in today’s transfer market, that’s money poorly spent. Better stick to assistant manager, Brian.



Rafael Benitez – Liverpool 2004-10
Six years in English football and the only domestic title the Spaniard brought to Anfield was an FA Cup in 2006. Former Liverpool owner Tom Hicks recently said that Benitez was responsible for the club’s demise, and although this will undoubtedly be met with ferocious opposition, it’s not hard to see why. He went on the most lavish of transfer sprees during his six years, spending over £300 million on players. Benitez’ lowest point as manager came at the end of last season, where Liverpool scrapped to seventh, on the back of some shambolic performances and appauling tactics. It baffles me how he can now manage a club that were the European champions last season.



Glenn Roeder – West Ham United 2001-2003
After the departure of Harry Redknapp in 2001, Roeder stepped up as the most unlikely of successors. Roeder who was given a war chest of £15 million to spend on players blew it on the signings of David James, Tomas Repka, and Don Hutchinson; a player whose best days were seemingly behind him. Nevertheless, it was the 2002-03 season that brought one of the lowest points in the club’s history, as they fell out of England’s top division. Roeder even managed to fall out with fans favourite Paulo Di Canio during his tenure, after the former manager substituted the Italian in a game with West Brom.



Howard Wilkinson – Sunderland 2002-03
The former Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United boss was culpable for being responsible for the lowest points tally in Premier League history with 19, up until Paul Jewell’s Derby County went and broke that five year record. Wilkinson throughout his time with the Black Cats struggled, winning a mere two out of a possible 20. Mick McCarthy took over soon after and not much changed, and Sunderland with little more than a whimper retreated back to the Football League.

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troppo facile sparare a zero su benitez perchè non ha mai vinto la premier....avrà anche speso 300 milioni in 6 anni ma c'era chi ne ha speso 500 nello stesso periodo....il liverpool partiva sempre e comunque ad handicap rispetto a manchester e chelsea..eppure ha vinto una champions, ha perso una finale ed è uscita in un'altra semifinale per un autogol di riise al 90 col chelsea....


ah per i detrattori di rafa ricordo che ha vinto 2 scudetti col valencia, non esattamente la favorita nella liga visti real e barca!!