July of this year saw a potentially defining moment in the future of women in the men’s game. Hannah Dingley was appointed caretaker head coach of League Two side Forest Green Rovers, becoming the first female manager to take charge of a professional men’s football team in England.
Although her tenure was short-lived after Forest Green were relegated to League Two last season, to this day she remains the only female to take charge of a men’s side.
With World Cup fever sweeping through England as the Lionesses prepare for a first ever final this weekend, reports have suggested that Euro-winning manager Sarina Wiegman is being considered as Gareth Southgate’s successor.
The growing presence of the women’s game has led to a feeling that is it more of a question of ‘when,’ rather than ‘if’ a female coach will ever take over in the Premier League.
In preparation for that eventuality SportsLens have compiled exclusive odds for each side in the top-flight, indicating how likely it would be they would appoint a female manager in the future.
- Brighton 3/1
- Brentford 5/1
- Crystal Palace 9/1
- Fulham 11/1
- Chelsea 12/1
- Bournemouth 14/1
- Luton 18/1
- Sheffield United 18/1
- Forest 18/1
- Burnley 18/1
- Wolves 20/1
- Everton 20/1
- West Ham 20/1
- Villa 20/1
- Spurs 33/1
- Newcastle 50/1
- Man Utd 50/1
- Arsenal 100/1
- Liverpool 100/1
- Man City 100/1
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Brighton lead the way as 3/1 favourites to appoint a female coach first. The Seagulls tend to operate a little differently from the rest of the top-flight, existing as the only club to report a positive net spend over the last five years.
Chairman Tony Bloom and the rest of the hierarchy are not shy of taking necessary, and sometimes drastic steps, which is almost always backed up with the self-assurance that they can implement a better strategy.
Whether this will take them in the direction of a female manager in the future remains to be seen, but the type of image the club have cultivated in recent years makes them a seemingly good fit.
Fellow favourites Brentford are also cut from a similar mould, with owner Matthew Benham once working under Bloom.
The Bees have risen from financial ruin all the way to the top-flight, and their progressive approach to challenging the status-quo would make for a welcoming environment for a pioneering female manager.
At the other end of the spectrum, the established elite are handed the longest prices, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal all 100/1.
With elite managers in Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta all at the helm currently, the possibility of a female manager taking over at one of these clubs doesn’t appear likely any time soon.
That isn’t to say there aren’t any that are sufficiently qualified, but it would take several years of experience at a club lower down the league table, or elsewhere in Europe’s top five leagues, to enter consideration.
Chelsea would appear to be the likeliest of the so-called ‘Big Six’, with the club’s women’s side led by six-time WSL winning manager Emma Hayes.
Hayes has long been viewed as the likelist female manager to break the mould and make the leap into Premier League management, and where better to do it than her current home.
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