An English manager has never won the Premier League. In fact, the only Brits to get their hands on the illustrious trophy have been Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Kenny Dalglish. But that’s not to say England hasn’t been blessed with some of the most talented and charismatic coaches football has ever seen.
The fact that English football proudly created managers like Alf Ramsey, Bob Paisley and Brian Clough only for their successors at the top level to later create such a dismal Premier League record makes it all the more bizarre.
In the Premier League era, Sir Bobby Robson and Kevin Keegan particularly stand out, but the truth is that England’s best products came before the top flight received a new lick of paint.
Before Robson and Keegan, the likes of Ramsey and Paisley etched their legacies into English football history. Paisley’s name still echoes around Anfield as one of the most successful managers in their incredible history, whilst Ramsey remains the last manager to win silverware with England – winning the 1966 World Cup.
|
Best English Managers |
Clubs managed |
|---|---|
|
Bob Paisley |
Liverpool |
|
Sir Alf Ramsey |
Ipswich, England, Birmingham |
|
Sir Bobby Robson |
Fulham, Ipswich, England, PSV, Sporting, Porto, Barcelona, Newcastle |
|
Kevin Keegan |
Newcastle, Fulham, England, Man City, Newcastle |
|
Roy Hodgson |
Inter, Blackburn, Udinese, Finland, Fulham, Liverpool, West Brom, England, Crystal Palace, Watford |
Out of all those names, from Paisley to Hodgson, one manager who doesn’t get enough credit at times is Keegan. But the iconic David Ginola wasted no time before giving his former boss his flowers.
Ginola: Keegan made Newcastle feel “invincible”
The man who took Newcastle United closest to the Premier League title, Keegan is unfortunate to be known for his famous “I would love it if we beat them” rant, but the story behind that infamous interview is even more dramatic.
Labelled “The Entertainers”, Keegan’s Newcastle side finished second and third in their first seasons back in the top flight before going toe-to-toe with Ferguson’s Manchester United side.
Ginola and Les Ferdinand were among those to arrive in a £16m spending spree, and the Magpies soon found themselves 10 points clear at Christmas.
“The freedom he gave me … I never had that in my entire career. He didn’t want to enclose me in silly tactics.
“I enjoyed every single day in training. The facilities at Maiden Castle in Durham weren’t the best, but the atmosphere was great.
“The lads had days out together, nights out in town and we’d be surrounded by people all the time, because they wanted to be with us. On the pitch, we felt invincible. It was so easy for us to score goals. The entire team were always reacting in a positive way. We surprised everyone.
“It’s really sad, because you can play the best football but the fact is we didn’t win the league.” (Ginola via The Mag)
By the time that March arrived and United came to town to secure victory, however, Newcastle’s lead had been cut to just four points following the beginning of a collapse. Stan Collymore then famously closed in at Anfield a month later to hand Keegan another defeat.
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It was then Ferguson’s suggestion that Nottingham Forest could hand Newcastle preferential treatment due to their meeting for Stuart Pearson’s testimonial which sparked Keegan’s infamous rant. In the end though, as much as he wished it to happen, Newcastle could not find a way to beat United to the title in the 1995/96 campaign.
