Manager Merry-go-Round: Which Premier League Team Has Had the Most Managers?

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Manager

Ever wondered which Premier League team has cycled through the most managers?

We’ve been hard at work trying to determine who out of the current Premier League cohort has gotten through the most managers since 1992 – the year of the league’s inception.

It is worthwhile noting we are are not including caretaker managers on this list, with some club’s handing over the job to temporary figures more often than not. However, interim bosses have been included, so too have returning managers who will be counted every time they have re-taken the hot seat.

There are also some instances where teams have dropped out of the league and subsequently been promoted again, so the key metric for our list is simply who has gotten through the most managers over the last 30 years.

5. Chelsea: 21 Managers

You would be forgiven for thinking Chelsea might top this list given the revolving managerial door at Stamford Bridge over the years.

While the-now-former owner Roman Abramovich ushered in a period of unprecedented dominance in west London, the Russian oligarch was notoriously gung-ho when it came to sweeping managers from under the rug at the first sign of trouble.

Gus Hiddinck was probably patiently waiting in the basement of Stamford Bridge for Graham Potter, the latest manager to feel the heat of the Chelsea hot-seat, to get his P45.

It would appear that the notoriously ruthless approach to zero tolerance of bad results will continue under new owner Todd Boehly, who is now on the lookout for a permanent replacement for the second time under his year-long tenure.

Claudio Ranieri, who was the Blues’ first manger during the reign of Abramovich, remains their longest-serving manager since 2000.

4. Leeds United: 22 Managers

Coming in at fourth are Leeds, who have inevitably made their way into the top five after a succession of managers tried and failed to lift the Whites back up to the promised land.

Rather incredibly, between April 2013 and June 2018, Leeds hired and fired 10 managers over five years.

It wasn’t until the arrival of the enigmatic Marcelo Bielsa that the Yorkshire club underwent a significant culture shift, which now seems them back in the Premier League having won promotion after 16 long and painful years in the Championship.

The Argentine was replaced by the 21st manager in 30 years, Jesse Marsch, who did exceptionally well to steer them clear of relegation at the end of last season, but seven wins from a possible 30 have them scrambling once more which ultimately saw the American’s reign cut short in February.

3. Nottingham Forest: 23 Managers

Premier League newcomers Nottingham Forest come in at joint-second, and their story is strikingly similar to Leeds.

A sleeping giant of English football, Forest returns to the top-flight for the first time since 1998 after clinching the Championship play-off place last season.

However, years spent wondering why a club, who won back-to-back European Cups just over 15 years before, saw managers come and go with very little luck.

The Tricky Reds have not had a manager in charge at the club for longer than more than three years since Frank Clark, who exited the club in December 1996.

2. Southampton: 25 Managers

Southampton share the less than favourable record of having 25 managers since 1992, putting them joint-second.

The Saints have flittered between the top-flight and the Championship since the Premier League was born – they were among the inaugural 20 sides and remained there for 13 years until dropping out in 2005, but promotion back in 2012 has seen them stay in the Premier League ever since.

Despite this, they have struggled to replace now-PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino, who  led the team to an eighth-placed finish and their highest points tally among any of the other 22 managers.

Ruben Selles is the latest to try and rectify their truly dismal season, which sees them almost a dead cert to go face the drop after Ralph Hasenuhttl and Nathan Jones could do little to steer them clear earlier in the season.

1. Crystal Palace: 27 Managers

Palace would not have been the team many would have guessed to be topping this list.

However, the Eagles have astonishingly worked their way through an incredible 27 managers, although they have made a habit of bringing back former bosses in the hope of steadying the ship.

At this point they’ve had more managers coming back for multiple spells than there are recurring characters in Eastenders; the worst culprits being current manager Roy Hodgson, Neil Warnock and Alan Smith who all had two stints at the club, but none more so than Steve Coppell who incredibly was in charge of Palace on four differences occasions between 1984 and 2000.

 

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