Jamie Carragher Ranked His 5 Greatest Managers in Premier League History

There have been some incredible managers to grace English football over the years who rank highly among the best to ever step foot on the touchline. The likes of Brian Clough, Bill Shankly, and Sir Matt Busby paved the way for the new generation that would come to define the Premier League era.

Since the division’s rebrand in 1992, the English top flight has gone from strength to strength, resulting in an influx of world-class coaches gracing these shores, all looking to implement their style to create success. Someone who knows a thing or two about playing both for and against these managers is Jamie Carragher. The former defender made 508 Premier League appearances during his career and, back in May 2024, he revealed his picks for the top five managers the Premier League has ever seen.

5

Arsene Wenger

Arsenal

Only one other manager has picked up more points in the Premier League era than the legendary Arsene Wenger. Yet that was not enough for the Frenchman to be any higher than fifth on Carragher’s list. At Arsenal, Wenger managed to win three league titles and completed a never-replicated ‘Invincible’ season during their 2003/2004 success.

As for why Carragher didn’t place him higher, like Stick to Football co-host Gary Neville did, the former Liverpool man explained that Wenger’s failure to get over the line in Europe was the difference maker, with the Gunners only reaching the Champions League final once during his reign – falling to a 2-1 defeat against Barcelona in 2006.

4

Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool

With a Champions League win and two other finals in his back pocket while in charge at Liverpool, Carragher opted to place Jurgen Klopp in fourth over Wenger. The German took over at Anfield with the Reds in a difficult position. At the time, they were nothing more than mid-table fodder, but by the time Klopp departed at the end of the 2023/2024 campaign, they were back among the top dogs.

Despite coming up against one of the greatest footballing sides known to man during his time in English football, the former Borussia Dortmund coach still enjoyed a host of domestic successes and capped it off with the club’s first league title in three decades.

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3

Jose Mourinho

Chelsea, Manchester United & Tottenham Hotspur

Although Jose Mourinho’s love affair with the Premier League appears to be over, he has already achieved enough to be firmly within the conversation as one of the division’s greatest-ever managers. The ‘Special One’ did something that arguably only he managed when he first arrived at Chelsea in 2004: he took the league by storm.

He immediately bulldozed his way to the top, surpassing Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson in the process, and won two titles in his first two seasons. What actually cemented his place in third for Carragher, though, was that almost a decade later, Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge and won the title for a third time with a weaker squad on paper. While his tenures at Manchester United and Tottenham may not carry the same legacy, what he achieved at Chelsea cannot be rewritten.

2

Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United

While Ferguson would be many people’s pick for number one, Carragher ranks him second despite his remarkable longevity at the very top of the industry. Is it the rivalry between Liverpool and United that sees the great Scot fall to the runners-up spot? The ex-defender claims it is not and even goes as far as to say that what Ferguson achieved during his time at Aberdeen makes him the greatest ever.

However, in terms of the Premier League alone, the pundit believes that another man’s record over a shorter period is even more impressive than the 13-time champion’s. Therefore, the former Red Devil had to settle for a place on the second step of the podium.

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1

Pep Guardiola

Manchester City

Given that Ferguson allegedly tried to persuade Pep Guardiola to replace him at Old Trafford, he must surely appreciate the Catalan’s brilliance and accept Carragher placing him at number one. The former Liverpool defender waxed lyrical about Guardiola’s incredible run of six league titles in seven years, during which he achieved feats never before seen in English football.

The former Barcelona coach became the first manager to guide an English club to four consecutive Premier League titles and also the first to oversee a 100-point season. With such accomplishments, it is hard to argue with Carragher’s logic.

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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – accurate as of 05/01/2024.