5% Villa: Premiership Managers Ranked by Playing Ability

[damon loves JT]

Alastair Campbell posted this on his blog a few days ago, and it's stuck in my mind ever since.

Rank the Premiership's managers according to their skill as players: this is his verdict.

1. Dalglish. 2. Hughes. 3. O’Neill. 4. Mancini. 5. Lambert. 6. McLeish. 7. Di Matteo. 8. Jol. 9. Ferguson. 10. Redknapp. 11. Moyes. 12. Connor. 13. Coyle. 14. Pardew. 15. Martinez. 16. Pulis. 17. Wenger. 18. Hodgson. 19. Kean. 20. Rodgers.

[Boz]

Alastair Campbell posted this on his blog a few days ago, and it's stuck in my mind ever since.

Rank the Premiership's managers according to their skill as players: this is his verdict.

1. Dalglish. 2. Hughes. 3. O’Neill. 4. Mancini. 5. Lambert. 6. McLeish. 7. Di Matteo. 8. Jol. 9. Ferguson. 10. Redknapp. 11. Moyes. 12. Connor. 13. Coyle. 14. Pardew. 15. Martinez. 16. Pulis. 17. Wenger. 18. Hodgson. 19. Kean. 20. Rodgers.

Just shows that a good player doesn't necessarily make a good manager, and how was the players skill rating arrived at anyway?


Might make more sense to rate them across their managerial careers to date.

[Risso]

Leaving aside all the nonsense about his managerial style, I'd say it's hard to judge McLeish as a player, as he only played in Scotland, albeit at a very successful Aberdeen.  Mest have been hard to separate the bottom few, as Hodgson only ever played non-league I think, although I can't say that I've heard of Rodgers as a player in any context, which is why I assume he is bottom.

[Dave Cooper please]

Might make more sense to rate them across their managerial careers to date.

Yes, let's do that and turn this thread into yet another McLeish Out thread, great idea.

[Dave Cooper please]

I think Brendan Rodgers retired very early due to a bad injury, he had just been picked up by Chelsea at the time so may have been a decent player, but we'll obviously not know.

[damon loves JT]

I was listening to a commentary of a Chelsea game while Villas-Boas was still manager. Claridge, I think it was, remarked scornfully that AVB was squatting on the touchline, which `made it obvious he'd never played much football', ie because his knees weren't completely knackered.

Made me wonder whether players automatically have less respect for a coach who hasn't been a prominent player.

[Risso]

I was listening to a commentary of a Chelsea game while Villas-Boas was still manager. Claridge, I think it was, remarked scornfully that AVB was squatting on the touchline, which `made it obvious he'd never played much football', ie because his knees weren't completely knackered.

Made me wonder whether players automatically have less respect for a coach who hasn't been a prominent player.

I think you've maybe got a point, and AVB's age probably didn't help either.  But I think the important bit is ability and personality.  Mourinho, Wenger and Sir Graham Taylor are all examples of great managers who don't have much in the way of playing experience.

[Brend'Watkins]

Mourinho wasn't anything like a prominent player.  Chelsea's most respected manager of the last 20 years or more?

[UK Redsox]

Roberto Martinez is way too far down the list.

I'd move him up around the level of Martin Jol and Siralex

[pauliewalnuts]

Skill is a difficult thing to rank them by, whereas achievements as a player would be easier.

I mean, there are a lot of managers on that list who may have played at a lower level, but been cracking players.

Also, there is the question of how much you know of them as players. How can Campbell be that sure how good Ferguson or Wenger were, for example?

[Chico Hamilton III]

Remember when Jol used to be thin and had a tache when he palyed for Smethwick?

I'm sure he used to spell his name "Marten" as well.

Give him credit, McCatpiss was a top player at a time when the gulf between Scotland and England was nothing like it is now. Beat Real Madrid to win th Cup Winners Cup too

[Hillbilly]

I was listening to a commentary of a Chelsea game while Villas-Boas was still manager. Claridge, I think it was, remarked scornfully that AVB was squatting on the touchline, which `made it obvious he'd never played much football', ie because his knees weren't completely knackered.

Made me wonder whether players automatically have less respect for a coach who hasn't been a prominent player.

Arrigo Sacchi said he didn't realise that to be a jockey you had to have been a horse first. So the question is, how many European Cups has Claridge won as a coach, compared to the ex shoe salesman Sacchi?

[TaxDodger]

O'Neill above Mancini? Really? I know he won the European Cup with Forest, but that still suprises me.

[Tom Sawyer]

This is Alistair Campbell we're talking about.

[curiousorange]

To me it seems as if he got to about 8 and then realised he didn't have a fucking clue about the rest of them.