We have played (simulated) 20 seasons of the Premier League, every manager has been in charge of nearly every team, and this is the way the table looks:
It might technically be possible for someone to catch Unai Emery, but realistically he became our Manager League champion several seasons ago. Similarly, Roberto De Zerbi has a 1400pt cushion in second place, which is far more than is realistically possible for the chasing pack to overturn, especially when you consider that he is with England for the final go, who have delivered at least 300pts every season.
What is closer is the battle for the bronze medal: a huge late resurgence from Jurgen Klopp has him putting Pep Guardiola under real pressure, and the Spaniard has to take on Wolves in his final go, a side which has sacked their manager in the last four seasons. Erik ten Hag, Eddie Howe and Brendan Rodgers are all within a couple of hundred points of Klopp too, and all five managers are in control of mid-table teams. So that could make it very close!
The other big point of pride is the race to avoid finishing bottom. Patrick Vieira has effectively coasted all competition on the back of one huge season with Liverpool, but another good one with Arsenal has him safe. It leaves a three-way battle between Gareth Southgate, David Moyes and Mikel Arteta. Here, all three teams have sides in Europe (and therefore with extra points available). Southgate may be highest in the table now, but West Ham have sacked their last five managers and last time Guardiola set a record negative score with them. David Moyes has Spurs whilst Mikel Arteta has Liverpool, who deliver the second-best average score.
So, let's play out this final season!
June - November
The first event was the Nations League, where De Zerbi's England had a perfectly mixed campaign: 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses. It left them in 3rd place, watching as Italy performed the rare feat of finishing above Germany.
So to the Premier League then. It's Arteta's Liverpool and Marco Silva's Chelsea who make the early running, but by the winter break Unai Emery's Arsenal and Graham Potter's Man City had fought back, and excitingly all four teams are level come the break, albeit with City having a game in hand.
But more crucial at this stage is the goings-on at the bottom, as that's where we will see managers' ML campaigns prematurely ended. And the first manager to go was the one manager his real-life team this campaign: Brendan Rodgers, who left Leicester far earlier than he did in real life. Across 20 seasons Brighton have sacked their boss in 13 of them, and Eddie Howe proved no exception. Another P45-happy club is Wolves, as alluded to earlier, and Pep Guardiola only lasted until late October. It's a huge blow to his top 3 chances, and the other manager to go on the same day had similar implications for the final position, as David Moyes had lead Spurs to 13th place and so picked up a very poor score that surely consigns him to last place.
This only left two candidates for third place, and it is currently looking very good for Erik ten Hag, as his Crystal Palace side held a good 10th place, whilst Jurgen Klopp's Southampton joined Leicester and Brighton in the drop zone. Klopp was one of two managers who was left nervously under pressure as the World Cup break arrived, along with West Ham boss Gareth Southgate, who was left relying on a perfect record in Europe to compensate for a very poor league position. Every other English team also qualified from their European groups, although Chelsea were the only ones to finish top.
In the League Cup we had a lot of Premier League casualties, with the most notable being Liverpool and Man United losing to Championship teams West Brom and Sheffield United respectively.
What is closer is the battle for the bronze medal: a huge late resurgence from Jurgen Klopp has him putting Pep Guardiola under real pressure, and the Spaniard has to take on Wolves in his final go, a side which has sacked their manager in the last four seasons. Erik ten Hag, Eddie Howe and Brendan Rodgers are all within a couple of hundred points of Klopp too, and all five managers are in control of mid-table teams. So that could make it very close!
The other big point of pride is the race to avoid finishing bottom. Patrick Vieira has effectively coasted all competition on the back of one huge season with Liverpool, but another good one with Arsenal has him safe. It leaves a three-way battle between Gareth Southgate, David Moyes and Mikel Arteta. Here, all three teams have sides in Europe (and therefore with extra points available). Southgate may be highest in the table now, but West Ham have sacked their last five managers and last time Guardiola set a record negative score with them. David Moyes has Spurs whilst Mikel Arteta has Liverpool, who deliver the second-best average score.
So, let's play out this final season!
June - November
The first event was the Nations League, where De Zerbi's England had a perfectly mixed campaign: 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses. It left them in 3rd place, watching as Italy performed the rare feat of finishing above Germany.
So to the Premier League then. It's Arteta's Liverpool and Marco Silva's Chelsea who make the early running, but by the winter break Unai Emery's Arsenal and Graham Potter's Man City had fought back, and excitingly all four teams are level come the break, albeit with City having a game in hand.
But more crucial at this stage is the goings-on at the bottom, as that's where we will see managers' ML campaigns prematurely ended. And the first manager to go was the one manager his real-life team this campaign: Brendan Rodgers, who left Leicester far earlier than he did in real life. Across 20 seasons Brighton have sacked their boss in 13 of them, and Eddie Howe proved no exception. Another P45-happy club is Wolves, as alluded to earlier, and Pep Guardiola only lasted until late October. It's a huge blow to his top 3 chances, and the other manager to go on the same day had similar implications for the final position, as David Moyes had lead Spurs to 13th place and so picked up a very poor score that surely consigns him to last place.
This only left two candidates for third place, and it is currently looking very good for Erik ten Hag, as his Crystal Palace side held a good 10th place, whilst Jurgen Klopp's Southampton joined Leicester and Brighton in the drop zone. Klopp was one of two managers who was left nervously under pressure as the World Cup break arrived, along with West Ham boss Gareth Southgate, who was left relying on a perfect record in Europe to compensate for a very poor league position. Every other English team also qualified from their European groups, although Chelsea were the only ones to finish top.
In the League Cup we had a lot of Premier League casualties, with the most notable being Liverpool and Man United losing to Championship teams West Brom and Sheffield United respectively.
World Cup
Five managers have lead England to World Cup glory this competition, can Roberto De Zerbi cap a really strong campaign by adding to the list?
Kicking off with a tight win over Iran, England followed it up with a fairly straightforward win over USA. But a surprise defeat to Wales lead to a three-way tie at the top of the group, and England came second behind USA.
It lead to a second round clash with Netherlands, and a bad-tempered affair saw a raft of yellow cards but no goals in normal time. So to the added period we went, and it was Xavi Simons who broke the deadlock for the Dutch. England were offered hope when Matthijs de Ligt picked up a second booking, but they couldn't find a way back level. It meant that De Zerbi became the only manager to fail to make the quarter finals with England, and the result was that he also became the only manager to be fired from the job!
After that, Netherlands overcame Argentina and surprise semi finalists Switzerland, only to lose to Uruguay in the final, with Giorgian de Arrascaeta the hero as the South Americans became three-time winners.
Five managers have lead England to World Cup glory this competition, can Roberto De Zerbi cap a really strong campaign by adding to the list?
Kicking off with a tight win over Iran, England followed it up with a fairly straightforward win over USA. But a surprise defeat to Wales lead to a three-way tie at the top of the group, and England came second behind USA.
It lead to a second round clash with Netherlands, and a bad-tempered affair saw a raft of yellow cards but no goals in normal time. So to the added period we went, and it was Xavi Simons who broke the deadlock for the Dutch. England were offered hope when Matthijs de Ligt picked up a second booking, but they couldn't find a way back level. It meant that De Zerbi became the only manager to fail to make the quarter finals with England, and the result was that he also became the only manager to be fired from the job!
After that, Netherlands overcame Argentina and surprise semi finalists Switzerland, only to lose to Uruguay in the final, with Giorgian de Arrascaeta the hero as the South Americans became three-time winners.
Here is how the points stand, and the current ML position, at the end of the World Cup break:
December - January
It took just one further defeat to convince West Ham's board to dispense with Southgate, although he had done enough to avoid finishing last. For now, Klopp manages to hang onto his position at St Mary's, although taking just 3 draws and no wins from 5 league matches following the resumption means he - and his club - are bang in trouble.
Potter's City had the best month, winning all-but-one league games, but also winning their cup games. As well as getting through two rounds in the FA Cup they also overcame Chelsea over two legs in the League Cup semis. The other semi saw Antonio Conte's Newcastle edge out Ralph Hasenhuttl's Brentford. There weren't any huge upsets in the FA Cup, the most notable being Thomas Frank's Everton knocking out Julen Lopetegui's Man United.
As well as being the best side on the pitch, City had a very active transfer window, with Ferland Mendy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek coming in on loan, and Declan Rice arriving for £84m. This was almost three times the size of the second-highest fee paid, which was for Douglas Santos to trade St Petersburg for Newcastle.
It took just one further defeat to convince West Ham's board to dispense with Southgate, although he had done enough to avoid finishing last. For now, Klopp manages to hang onto his position at St Mary's, although taking just 3 draws and no wins from 5 league matches following the resumption means he - and his club - are bang in trouble.
Potter's City had the best month, winning all-but-one league games, but also winning their cup games. As well as getting through two rounds in the FA Cup they also overcame Chelsea over two legs in the League Cup semis. The other semi saw Antonio Conte's Newcastle edge out Ralph Hasenhuttl's Brentford. There weren't any huge upsets in the FA Cup, the most notable being Thomas Frank's Everton knocking out Julen Lopetegui's Man United.
As well as being the best side on the pitch, City had a very active transfer window, with Ferland Mendy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek coming in on loan, and Declan Rice arriving for £84m. This was almost three times the size of the second-highest fee paid, which was for Douglas Santos to trade St Petersburg for Newcastle.
February - April
So now we get to the meat of the season. We'll start with the League Cup final, which was effectively settled in the opening half-hour by a Phil Foden brace and one from Bernardo Silva, as City won the first silverware of the season.
Back in the league Klopp's luck ran out, as a loss to Blackpool in the FA Cup and another league defeat saw him go. The only other manager to be dismissed was Jesse Marsch. Previously doing okay at Forest, a sudden dramatic loss of form saw him go in mid-March with the team bottom. By the time we reached the end of April these two clubs were in the drop zone with Brentford, where Hasenhuttl was beginning to look precarious. At the other end of the table Man City were held to a series of draws, and it was Arsenal - of course, managed by Unai Emery - who took advantage to earn a narrow lead.
City's lost points may have come from their focus being diverted by their tremendous success in the cups. They reached the FA Cup semi final where they again beat Newcastle, although this time they needed penalties. The other half of the draw saw Chelsea get past Spurs and Liverpool before beating Fulham. In Europe City overcame PSG and Real Madrid to make the semi finals. Also present in the last four will be Spurs, who did for Serie A pair Juventus and Napoli. They will face Barcelona, who have already knocked out Liverpool and Chelsea.
Elsewhere in Europe Man United were felled by Benfica on penalties in the last 16 of the Europa League, but Arsenal reached the semis after a big win over Dinamo Zagreb and a tigher one against Real Sociedad. Southgate's West Ham replacement was Paulo Sousa, and he could only reach the Conference League quarter finals before losing to Antwerp.
So now we get to the meat of the season. We'll start with the League Cup final, which was effectively settled in the opening half-hour by a Phil Foden brace and one from Bernardo Silva, as City won the first silverware of the season.
Back in the league Klopp's luck ran out, as a loss to Blackpool in the FA Cup and another league defeat saw him go. The only other manager to be dismissed was Jesse Marsch. Previously doing okay at Forest, a sudden dramatic loss of form saw him go in mid-March with the team bottom. By the time we reached the end of April these two clubs were in the drop zone with Brentford, where Hasenhuttl was beginning to look precarious. At the other end of the table Man City were held to a series of draws, and it was Arsenal - of course, managed by Unai Emery - who took advantage to earn a narrow lead.
City's lost points may have come from their focus being diverted by their tremendous success in the cups. They reached the FA Cup semi final where they again beat Newcastle, although this time they needed penalties. The other half of the draw saw Chelsea get past Spurs and Liverpool before beating Fulham. In Europe City overcame PSG and Real Madrid to make the semi finals. Also present in the last four will be Spurs, who did for Serie A pair Juventus and Napoli. They will face Barcelona, who have already knocked out Liverpool and Chelsea.
Elsewhere in Europe Man United were felled by Benfica on penalties in the last 16 of the Europa League, but Arsenal reached the semis after a big win over Dinamo Zagreb and a tigher one against Real Sociedad. Southgate's West Ham replacement was Paulo Sousa, and he could only reach the Conference League quarter finals before losing to Antwerp.
May
So 21 seasons all comes down to this, although there's not much on the line in terms of overall ML standings.
So 21 seasons all comes down to this, although there's not much on the line in terms of overall ML standings.
In the league, Forest's new boss Vladimir Petkovic couldn't turn things around and they were relegated prematurely. But Hasenhuttl did recover Brentford's position to get them up to 16th heading into the final game of the season. It was a very tense affair, as every team up to West Ham in 14th could go down (see opposite).
Southampton had to beat Man City to have any chance of survival, and unsurprisingly they failed to do so. Similarly, Brighton had to get something against Liverpool. They fared better, as they valiantly got a draw at Anfield. However, they needed Leicester to lose to Leeds, and a 2-0 Foxes win consigned Brighton to relegation. But their draw did mean Liverpool were overtaken by Chelsea to finish 4th, resulting in a post-season dismissal for Arteta.
In the race for the title Man City suffered a hugely damaging 3-0 loss to Chelsea, and a scoreless draw with Man United meant Arsenal had the chance to wrap the title up early, against high-flying Fulham. Despite falling behind, the Gunners triumphed 2-1, meaning that Emery continues to set a ludicrous standard by being the first manager to win the title with Arsenal. As for Steve Cooper's Fulham, they won their final game to give themselves a real chance of a European place, but Spurs and Newcastle won their final games too to deny Fulham.
The Premier League's top two progressed in their European semi finals - City beating Atlético Madrid 6-3 on aggregate and Arsenal defeating RB Leipzig 4-1. But it was a bridge too far for Spurs, who lost tamely to Barcelona.
So to the cup finals. Firstly, in the FA Cup City were gunning for a second trophy. Chelsea stood in their way, and the two sides traded goals early in the second half. But City found the crucial next goal, from Julián Álvarez, leading to a 2-1 win. Their next assignment was the Champions League final, and Barcelona. Álvarez was again the hero, scoring the only goal of the game to complete a brilliant treble.
Arsenal also faced football royalty in their final, Bayern Munich. Sadio Mané had the Germans ahead early on, but Leandro Trossard levelled and it went all the way to penalties, where Bayern came out on top.
Southampton had to beat Man City to have any chance of survival, and unsurprisingly they failed to do so. Similarly, Brighton had to get something against Liverpool. They fared better, as they valiantly got a draw at Anfield. However, they needed Leicester to lose to Leeds, and a 2-0 Foxes win consigned Brighton to relegation. But their draw did mean Liverpool were overtaken by Chelsea to finish 4th, resulting in a post-season dismissal for Arteta.
In the race for the title Man City suffered a hugely damaging 3-0 loss to Chelsea, and a scoreless draw with Man United meant Arsenal had the chance to wrap the title up early, against high-flying Fulham. Despite falling behind, the Gunners triumphed 2-1, meaning that Emery continues to set a ludicrous standard by being the first manager to win the title with Arsenal. As for Steve Cooper's Fulham, they won their final game to give themselves a real chance of a European place, but Spurs and Newcastle won their final games too to deny Fulham.
The Premier League's top two progressed in their European semi finals - City beating Atlético Madrid 6-3 on aggregate and Arsenal defeating RB Leipzig 4-1. But it was a bridge too far for Spurs, who lost tamely to Barcelona.
So to the cup finals. Firstly, in the FA Cup City were gunning for a second trophy. Chelsea stood in their way, and the two sides traded goals early in the second half. But City found the crucial next goal, from Julián Álvarez, leading to a 2-1 win. Their next assignment was the Champions League final, and Barcelona. Álvarez was again the hero, scoring the only goal of the game to complete a brilliant treble.
Arsenal also faced football royalty in their final, Bayern Munich. Sadio Mané had the Germans ahead early on, but Leandro Trossard levelled and it went all the way to penalties, where Bayern came out on top.
And that's everything! The points for this season - there are two clear winners, Graham Potter and Unai Emery, whilst Marco Silva and Steve Cooper also score well.
So here is the final table for the 2023 Manager League:
It's a frankly ludicrous level of dominance from Unai Emery. The only manager to use a 4-4-2 formation, maybe that's an insight to his success and FM's inner workings. He set the high score for 8 of 21 teams, incredible.
Roberto De Zerbi emerged as his main challenger fairly early, and was able to hold second spot easily despite a bad final round. Erik ten Hag rounds off the top 3, winning a very tight tussle between him, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. The fact those three elite managers are present near the top tells you that this isn't a random exercise, although it was a surprise seeing Mikel Arteta near the bottom of the table given his real-life success.
Hopefully you've enjoyed this series, it's unveiled some interesting repeating patterns and provided an interesting way to compare managers. And a final reminder, if you've enjoyed this please have a look at our main series, the Draft World Cup.
Roberto De Zerbi emerged as his main challenger fairly early, and was able to hold second spot easily despite a bad final round. Erik ten Hag rounds off the top 3, winning a very tight tussle between him, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. The fact those three elite managers are present near the top tells you that this isn't a random exercise, although it was a surprise seeing Mikel Arteta near the bottom of the table given his real-life success.
Hopefully you've enjoyed this series, it's unveiled some interesting repeating patterns and provided an interesting way to compare managers. And a final reminder, if you've enjoyed this please have a look at our main series, the Draft World Cup.