Ranking all 20 Premier League Managers by Their Playing Careers

For every Pep Guardiola or Carlo Ancelotti, there’s a Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger. The most successful managers in the history of football are a volatile mix of legendary former players and those who failed to make it at any level of the professional game.

In some cases, players that are less technically gifted are forced into thinking about the game in more detail and thus, become very good coaches and managers in their later years. The English top flight does have a couple of bosses who lifted the Champions League trophy as players, and several former Premier League stalwarts.

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Here we rank the 20 Premier League managers this season based just on their playing careers. Taking into consideration longevity, the level they reached and the quality of their individual performances, there are a couple of surprises along the way.

Ranking Factors

• Quality of teams they played for
• Quality of leagues they played in
• How important they were for their teams
• Any major trophies won
• Longevity

20

Thomas Frank

Tottenham Hotspur

Out of all the managers in the Premier League, Thomas Frank arguably comes in with the least experience playing at any level, let alone a high one. The 52-year-old was a midfielder by trade but only had a short career playing amateur football at his local club, Frederiksvaerk BK, and never made it to the professional stage.

It was perhaps why Frank quickly moved on to his real dream of coaching, spending a good 18 years or so with youth teams. It was only in 2011 that the now-Tottenham Hotspur boss caught the eye of his country, and he was named Denmark’s U16 and U17 manager in 2008. For any of those people who wish to become a football manager but have never gotten further than a kickabout with mates, Frank is the ultimate inspiration.

19

Fabian Hurzeler

Brighton & Hove Albion

Taking charge of Brighton as a 31-year-old, one of the youngest Premier League managers in the competition’s history is several years younger than some members of his squad. Fabian Hurzeler turned away from the pitch to the dugout while he was still in his early 20s, joining amateur side FC Pipinsried as a player-coach.

Most of Hurzeler’s fleeting time on the pitch came at Bayern Munich’s prestigious academy. Lining up alongside the likes of future Germany international Emre Can – who predicted that his fellow central midfielder would have a “great career as a coach” – Hurzeler’s time with the Bavarian giants informed his preferred style of play. “I spent 10 years at Bayern,” the son of a Swiss dentist explained, “so it’s in my DNA to want possession and to dictate the game.”

18

Daniel Farke

Leeds United

Daniel Farke had a modest playing career as a striker, primarily in Germany’s lower leagues. Born in 1976, he started relatively late, with his first stint in football coming in his late teens and early twenties. He spent the majority of his time at SV Lippstadt 08, where he became a key figure, and also had short stints with SV Meppen and Bonner SC.

Farke never played in the Bundesliga and retired relatively early, partly due to injuries and limited professional opportunities. While his playing days lacked major accolades, his experience at the grassroots level deeply influenced his coaching philosophy. His deep understanding of the game later helped him succeed as a manager, particularly in English and German football.

17

Unai Emery

Aston Villa

A left-sided midfielder who came through the academy at Real Sociedad, Unai Emery’s playing career was nothing to write home about. The current Aston Villa boss ended up making just a handful (five) of appearances for the first team at La Real, before embarking on a new adventure with Toledo, where he played the majority of his games.

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Emery mostly featured in the second division of Spanish football and retired after one season with Lorca Deportiva CF at the age of 32. He did, however, sign for Burgos CF, but due to a lack of funds within the club, Emery was released without even making a single competitive appearance.

16

Oliver Glasner

Crystal Palace

Oliver Glasner is a relatively new name to the majority of Premier League fans. The Austrian took over in the Selhurst Park dugout from Roy Hodgson in February 2024 after the Palace favourite stepped down from his boyhood club. Glasner’s appointment came after he caught the eye during his time with Eintracht Frankfurt, in which he lifted a Europa League trophy, and he found more success as he guided Palace to their first ever trophy in 2025.

This surpasses any achievements he managed as a player, however. Playing as a defender, his entire career was spent with SV Reid in his native Austria. A season-long loan to LASK was the only interruption to his 19-year stint with the club, where he won two Austrian Cups before a brain hemorrhage ended his career.

15

Marco Silva

Fulham

A more-than-decent right-back during his playing days, Marco Silva endured a journeyman career. The Portuguese schemer spent 15 years playing in his home country, rarely settling down for more than a season until he eventually landed at Estoril, where he spent six campaigns.

Silva’s time at the club was all spent in the second tier of Portuguese football, and after going into early retirement at the age of just 34, he would be appointed immediately as Estoril’s director of football. That was then followed up by his appointment as the club’s manager, carving out a name for himself before one of Portugal’s traditional giants, Sporting CP, came calling.

14

Regis Le Bris

Sunderland

Another relatively short playing career fell the way of Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris. The Frenchman only played in his native country, but began his career at a relatively well-known club in Stade Rennais. Operating as a right-back before the days when the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold made the position a more glamorous one, Le Bris spent five years at his first club before moving on to join Stade Lavallois.

While it certainly wasn’t a trophy-laden career, it was a respectable one for Le Bris, who made a handful of appearances in Ligue 1 and even more in the second tier – a level far higher than most footballers will ever reach in their respective careers. He’s now a top-tier manager, one that will certainly go on to great things in the future.

13

David Moyes

Everton

A typical no-nonsense defender, David Moyes was a very similar breed of player to the man he replaced in the hot seat at Everton, Sean Dyche. Some of the pictures of a red-headed Moyes frothing at the mouth are rather intimidating to see, so just imagine coming up against him.

Most known for his spell at Preston before becoming manager there, that was actually the final club of his playing career. He started in the youth set-up at Celtic before moves to the likes of Cambridge, Bristol and Shrewsbury followed. He returned to Scotland to play for Dunfermline before moving to Hamilton Academical prior to the switch to Deepdale.

12

Eddie Howe

Newcastle United

Injuries robbed Eddie Howe from going on to enjoy a long and successful career, and for the current Newcastle boss, his playing days will surely be thought of as a “massive what if?”. Having started at Bournemouth – where of course he enjoyed a superb spell as manager – the Englishman moved to Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth back in March 2002.

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However, a serious knee injury suffered shortly after his arrival presented an immediate obstacle before eventually making his return on the opening day of the 2002/03 season. Such was his luck though, Howe ended up getting another major knee injury just nine minutes into the game, and it cost him the entire year. Whilst he may look back on his playing career with a bit of regret, he has made the most out of being a young, up-and-coming manager.

11

Sean Dyche

Nottingham Forest

Tasked with steadying the ship after Ange Postecoglou’s 39-day stewardship, Sean Dyche has taken the reins at Nottingham Forest and will be hoping they can rise up the Premier League table between now and the end of the campaign. Back when he had hair as a player, he was a commanding centre-back renowned for his leadership qualities at the heart of the back line.

Dyche started off his career at the City Ground before playing for the likes of Chesterfield (where he was captain and scored in an FA Cup semi-final), Bristol City on loan and Luton Town. Most of the Kettering-born defender’s matches came for Watford, but he also chalked up 75 appearances for London club Millwall between the years of 1999 and 2002.