Ferguson – Best ever PL manager and one of the greatest ever. At this stage of his career, don’t think he has what it takes to do the business at every club, but could probably still win things with any of the big clubs in Europe.
Mancini – Not quite sure what to make of him. The resources available to him while at Inter then at City, has made it difficult to gauge how good he would be in another more competitive environment. I think he’s a decent manager who is better at league formats than cup competitions. Don’t think he would be good enough to take any other job at a top club and expect him to succeed more often than not.
Benitez – A good tactician, who probably overthinks things too much at times. Reckon he could do a job at any PL team or in Europe excepting Real and Chelsea.
AVB – Needs to prove he can bounce back from the disappointment at Chelsea, but believe the Spurs job is an ideal chance to establish himself in this division. He has plenty of time on his side and reckon he is capable of pushing Spurs further than Redknapp did.
Moyes – Has done a brilliant job with Everton and the neutral in me would like it if he managed to get them into the CL. Has had bad patches with them, but after 10 years has got them playing consistently. Deserves a shot at a bigger club, but should avoid immediately succeeding the likes of Ferguson or Wenger.
Wenger – Would like to see him move on to see whether my opinions of his current ability as a manger are true. Should still be able to secure most of the big roles around Europe, but I have doubts as to how many of them he would actually succeed at.
Clarke – Out of the shadows now and doing pretty well. A fantastic start for WBA, but their lack of quality will not see them maintain it. Could be a very good manager, but far too early to know how capable he is. Reckon he needs a shot a big club sooner rather than later if he is to show he can make the step up.
Rodgers – Someone who I think will move to foreign club once his time at Liverpool comes to an end. Will take time to transform Liverpool and some of his signings have been poor, but overall I think he is a very capable PL manager. Probably could take on any of the PL jobs, but needs to prove that he can make Liverpool consistently good before he gets a shot elsewhere.
Laudrup – I am keen to see how Laudrup gets on at Swansea. Think they are now a better outfit than under Rodgers and he has made some pretty good signings as well. Think he is capable of managing any of the teams in the PL, but needs probably still needs another season at Swansea to allay any doubts as to his suitability for bigger roles.
Pulis – Done very well for Stoke and the bastion of pragmatic football. Don’t think he will be offered any bigger jobs than Stoke.
Allardyce – An underrated manager. He may annoy with his talk at times, but apart from a short lived spell at Newcastle, consistently gets his teams to perform better than expected. Has made many smart buys in his time, particularly at Bolton and is doing a great job with newly promoted West Ham. I reckon he is good enough with reasonable investment to push West Ham into contention for 7th-4th place in a season or two. Has a fairly direct style, but his teams can be quite fun to watch at times.
Hughton – Done very well with Norwich. His treatment at Newcastle has meant that we probably want him to do quite well despite his Spurs background. Lower to middle PL quality as a manager IMO.
Jol – IMO he is a solid top flight manager who can probably do a job at any club bar the top 3. His Tottenham team and Ajax teams were fun to watch, but the limitations of this Fulham squad haven’t helped him replicate that flair with them yet. Has spent well with funds given and in a couple of seasons could push them close to consistent top 8 finishes.
O' Neill - Consensus seems to be that he's a great motivational manager rather than a tactician. Probably still good enough to be a PL manager, but really needed the move to a big club a few years ago.
Pardew - A better than ok manager, but Europa league places probably the limit of his ability. Has done well with Newcastle despite their recent poor form. Reckon he will steer them comfortably towards mid-table in the second half of this season.
Lambert - In a real rut with Villa at the moment, but I still think he can be a very good manager. Think he has the potential to take on a club even like Utd, but really needs to get Villa moving. Don't think it's all his fault, but needs to keep them up and push them in cup competitions next season. I reckon one of the more likely candidates to have a go abroad.
Adkins - Can't say too much about him, but has done fantastically well with Southampton. Should the Saints survive the drop, would be interested to see how he develops the squad for the next season. Like their style of play even if their defending is comical at times, but has impressed me with the team's ability to score goals and his handling of youth players. Probably can be a good PL manager, but will need to stay up with Southampton to be offered the opportunities.
Martinez - I do like Martinez. Polarises opinion on whether he is a good manager stuck at a poor club, or an overated manager whose level is lower PL/Championship. I tend to think it is the former. Wigan does not have the best resources nor pulling power for decent players which makes it difficult to take them further. Paul Jewell did brilliantly with them, but I think Martinez has underpinned a certain style that can possibly take them into Europa League contention with more investment, but more realistically ensure that they are decent bets to win automatic promotion should they ever get relegated. I reckon he could do the job at any of the PL teams bar the top 3. Not sure whether he would replicate Wenger's consistency of top 4 finishes, but believe he is capable of at least matching Wenger's recent record in the PL.
McDermott - Still very early in his managerial career. Has done fantastically well to get Reading where they are, even if they are struggling in the PL. Will probably remain an accomplished manager at Championship level, but depends on what chances he gets at reasonable PL clubs before we can judge whether the PL is beyond his ability.
Redknapp - Despite his association with Tottenham, I still think he is a dependable PL manager who more often than not, gets his teams to perform better than people think they would. Tottenham was probably his last shot at a big job, but should be able to manage well in this division for a few more seasons.
