Time is running out for anybody to catch our early leader Unai Emery, who continues to do well with whichever team he is given:
We're going to do four seasons today, then three next time and then a full episode dedicated to our final season. This is probably the last chance for any manager outside the top 7 to get into contention, and a crucial time for those in the chasing pack to close the distance to Emery.
Season 14
Season 14
After four successive seasons with big clubs, Ralph Hasenhuttl has to take on West Ham, who can be lucrative but are often a banana skin. Emery will be happy to be assigned Fulham, who often can provide points due to their low predicted position, whilst Guardiola has a much tougher time trying to match expectations at Elland Road.
October saw three managers leave in the space of four days: all managers who have been axed several times this season: David Moyes (Leicester), Jesse Marsch (Wolvs) and Mikel Arteta (Newcastle). There was a similar spate of dismissals in February, as Patrick Vieira (Forest), Marco Silva (Everton) and Gareth Southgate (Brighton) all left. Forest and Wolves ended up relegated before the end of the season, whilst Everton had to overhaul Fulham on the final day. Despite Guardiola's men drawing with Leicester on the final day, Everton beat Brighton to save themselves.
At the other end of the table it was again Liverpool and Man City battling it out. A slow start from Gary O'Neil's Citizens was perfect for Steve Cooper's Reds, and despite City reducing the deficit it was Liverpool who triumphed. But by far the most impressive feat in the league came from Graham Potter, who lead Aston Villa to a stunning third place. Chelsea at one point were languishing in 7th, causing Eddie Howe to lose his job, and it was justified as they took 10 points from their final 4 games to take 5th.
It proved to be an incredible season for Cooper's men, as they ended up winning both domestic trophies, beating London clubs West Ham and Spurs in the finals of the FA Cup and League Cup respectively. In Europe they suffered a disappointing group stage exit in the Champions League, but atoned by reaching the final of the Europa League. There, they met Frank Lampard's Arsenal, who took the trophy when Gabriel Martinelli struck in the 90th minute.
There was English representation in the other two European finals too, as Man City and West Ham reached the finals of the Champions League and Conference League. Both sides took on Spanish opposition - Barcelona and Villarreal - both matches went all the way to penalties, and both matches ended in defeat for the English side.
In the international arena, Antonio Conte's England only avoided bottom spot in the Nations League on goal difference, and at the World Cup they needed a final-round win over Iran to get out of their group. They beat Ecuador but suffered an upset against Poland in the quarter finals. To be fair to Conte, it wasn't the only upset and we had World Cups containing Germany, USA, Poland and Croatia. USA and Croatia made the final with the latter going one step further than in 2018.
October saw three managers leave in the space of four days: all managers who have been axed several times this season: David Moyes (Leicester), Jesse Marsch (Wolvs) and Mikel Arteta (Newcastle). There was a similar spate of dismissals in February, as Patrick Vieira (Forest), Marco Silva (Everton) and Gareth Southgate (Brighton) all left. Forest and Wolves ended up relegated before the end of the season, whilst Everton had to overhaul Fulham on the final day. Despite Guardiola's men drawing with Leicester on the final day, Everton beat Brighton to save themselves.
At the other end of the table it was again Liverpool and Man City battling it out. A slow start from Gary O'Neil's Citizens was perfect for Steve Cooper's Reds, and despite City reducing the deficit it was Liverpool who triumphed. But by far the most impressive feat in the league came from Graham Potter, who lead Aston Villa to a stunning third place. Chelsea at one point were languishing in 7th, causing Eddie Howe to lose his job, and it was justified as they took 10 points from their final 4 games to take 5th.
It proved to be an incredible season for Cooper's men, as they ended up winning both domestic trophies, beating London clubs West Ham and Spurs in the finals of the FA Cup and League Cup respectively. In Europe they suffered a disappointing group stage exit in the Champions League, but atoned by reaching the final of the Europa League. There, they met Frank Lampard's Arsenal, who took the trophy when Gabriel Martinelli struck in the 90th minute.
There was English representation in the other two European finals too, as Man City and West Ham reached the finals of the Champions League and Conference League. Both sides took on Spanish opposition - Barcelona and Villarreal - both matches went all the way to penalties, and both matches ended in defeat for the English side.
In the international arena, Antonio Conte's England only avoided bottom spot in the Nations League on goal difference, and at the World Cup they needed a final-round win over Iran to get out of their group. They beat Ecuador but suffered an upset against Poland in the quarter finals. To be fair to Conte, it wasn't the only upset and we had World Cups containing Germany, USA, Poland and Croatia. USA and Croatia made the final with the latter going one step further than in 2018.
A second disaster for Guardiola in a row, although spare a thought for Mikel Arteta who becomes only the second manager to manage to lose at least 300 points. It's been a while since we've had a club high score set, but Potter's achievements here are unsurprisingly worthy.
Season 15
I must say, it feels very Wrong to see Jurgen Klopp in charge of Manchester United. Frank Lampard is one of two managers - along with Graham Potter - to manage two Premier League teams in real life last season, and he is in charge of the one that isn't "his" team in the Manager League: Chelsea. Can he do better than he did either time in real life?
The sack race was - as it often is - won by Brighton's manager, which this time is Marco Silva. There followed the World Cup, where David Moyes' Three Lions also met Poland in the quarter finals, and this time won. However, they lost 2-1 to Portugal thanks to a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo. When the domestic season resumed we had our traditional Boxing Day firing, with Erik ten Hag's Leicester reign ending early.
It was actually a very quiet year for managerial departures, with the only other ones being Steve Cooper and Gareth Southgate leaving Everton and Aston Villa respectively. The firings didn't help, as the four clubs to dispense of their bosses comprised the bottom four heading into the final game of the season, all with their fates in the balance. Meanwhile, at the top of the table Jesse Marsch had lead Arsenal into a 3-point lead over Thomas Frank's Man City.
The two storylines intersected, as Man City played 17th-placed Villa. Frank's side won 4-1, putting Villa at risk of relegation. With Brighton only drawing it came down to a showdown between Everton and Leicester, with the latter surviving with a 4-1 win of their own. City's victory proved to be in vain though, as Arsenal cruised past Liverpool 3-0 to secure their first Manager League title.
It wasn't all bad for Frank though, as he lead his side to both domestic cup finals. In the League Cup they faced Patrick Vieira's Newcastle. It was settled by a single goal, from an unlikely source: Newcastle's 19-year old forward Michael Ndiweni etching his name into Tyneside folklore as he ended his team's historical trophy drought. In the FA Cup City met Roberto De Zerbi's Nottingham Forest, and this time they triumphed, as Erling Haaland's brace lead them to a 3-1 win.
City did, however, suffer a last 16 Champions League exit to PSG, who also went to knock Lampard's Chelsea out at the semi final stage. Spurs lost to Sevilla in the last 16, but Liverpool also made it to the last 4. They met Porto and were on the wrong end of a penalty shootout. With Arsenal and Julen Lopetegui's West Ham eliminated early on the latest English interest in Europe came in Klopp's Man United, who reached the Europa League final and overcame Rennes on penalties.
The sack race was - as it often is - won by Brighton's manager, which this time is Marco Silva. There followed the World Cup, where David Moyes' Three Lions also met Poland in the quarter finals, and this time won. However, they lost 2-1 to Portugal thanks to a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo. When the domestic season resumed we had our traditional Boxing Day firing, with Erik ten Hag's Leicester reign ending early.
It was actually a very quiet year for managerial departures, with the only other ones being Steve Cooper and Gareth Southgate leaving Everton and Aston Villa respectively. The firings didn't help, as the four clubs to dispense of their bosses comprised the bottom four heading into the final game of the season, all with their fates in the balance. Meanwhile, at the top of the table Jesse Marsch had lead Arsenal into a 3-point lead over Thomas Frank's Man City.
The two storylines intersected, as Man City played 17th-placed Villa. Frank's side won 4-1, putting Villa at risk of relegation. With Brighton only drawing it came down to a showdown between Everton and Leicester, with the latter surviving with a 4-1 win of their own. City's victory proved to be in vain though, as Arsenal cruised past Liverpool 3-0 to secure their first Manager League title.
It wasn't all bad for Frank though, as he lead his side to both domestic cup finals. In the League Cup they faced Patrick Vieira's Newcastle. It was settled by a single goal, from an unlikely source: Newcastle's 19-year old forward Michael Ndiweni etching his name into Tyneside folklore as he ended his team's historical trophy drought. In the FA Cup City met Roberto De Zerbi's Nottingham Forest, and this time they triumphed, as Erling Haaland's brace lead them to a 3-1 win.
City did, however, suffer a last 16 Champions League exit to PSG, who also went to knock Lampard's Chelsea out at the semi final stage. Spurs lost to Sevilla in the last 16, but Liverpool also made it to the last 4. They met Porto and were on the wrong end of a penalty shootout. With Arsenal and Julen Lopetegui's West Ham eliminated early on the latest English interest in Europe came in Klopp's Man United, who reached the Europa League final and overcame Rennes on penalties.
A lack of cup success means that Marsch doesn't fully capitalise on a great season with Arsenal. Meanwhile, Graham Potter will be happy to see that Marco Silva usurps his record for the biggest negative score - both made with Brighton. Pep Guardiola's Southampton seemed unspectacular in 11th, but 705 points is actually the best anyone has managed with them, putting Guardiola in line for a 100pt bonus.
Season 16
Emery has another tricky assignment, as six managers have scored negatively with Leeds. De Zerbi is now in second, and he has Fulham who average the 7th-highest points haul in the Manager League.
It is not a surprise to see Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale star for England under Mikel Arteta. They miss out on winning their Nations League group by a point, but make up for it with a scintillating World Cup display. Kicking off with a 7-0 demolition of Wales, they also put four past USA in the group stage and Ecuador in the second round. 1-0 wins over both France and Portugal got them to the final, where their opponents were Netherlands. It was all over in the opening half hour, as Saka scored twice and Marcus Rashford once, and England lifted the trophy with a 3-0 victory!
By then we'd already lost two managers: Antonio Conte (West Ham) and Ralph Hasenhuttl (Leicester), whilst Patrick Vieira left Crystal Palace in December; three months earlier than in real life. There are only three clubs that have yet to sack a manager, but two of them do during the winter: Gareth Southgate and Frank Lampard fail to make the grade at Arsenal and Liverpool. The other dismissal during the season is the inevitable Brighton one, Steve Cooper this time.
Lionel Scaloni did just enough to get Brighton safe in 17th position with a game to go, meaning that Leicester, Palace and Jurgen Klopp's Bournemouth were relegated prematurely. It was even less competitive at the top of the table, as Jesse Marsch's Man City coasted to the title, 15 points clear of Gary O'Neil's Chelsea. The other team to stand out in the table were... you guess it, Unai Emery's Leeds United. They finished 7th in the end, but had they found a winner against Newcastle in their final game they would have taken 5th.
Brendan Rodgers' Man United only just took 6th place thanks to that aforementioned draw, so he was probably lucky to keep his job all season. But he had credit in the bank from winning the League Cup earlier in the season, beating surprise finalists Bournemouth in the final. Rodgers then added the Europa League trophy, with a 1-0 final win over PSV. They lost to Leeds in the quarter final of the FA Cup as Emery's men reaching the semis of both domestic cups. They themselves lost to Liverpool in the semis, and in turn the Reds lost to Graham Potter's Spurs (Pottenham) in the final.
Liverpool's replacement for Lampard was the most obvious narrative choice: Steven Gerrard, and the club hero actually had an incredible end to the season. He salvaged a Champions League place, had that FA Cup final and then overcame Chelsea in the semi of the Champions League to meet Barcelona in the final. The ultimate fairytale was not to be, though, as Gavi scored the only goal of the game.
It is not a surprise to see Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale star for England under Mikel Arteta. They miss out on winning their Nations League group by a point, but make up for it with a scintillating World Cup display. Kicking off with a 7-0 demolition of Wales, they also put four past USA in the group stage and Ecuador in the second round. 1-0 wins over both France and Portugal got them to the final, where their opponents were Netherlands. It was all over in the opening half hour, as Saka scored twice and Marcus Rashford once, and England lifted the trophy with a 3-0 victory!
By then we'd already lost two managers: Antonio Conte (West Ham) and Ralph Hasenhuttl (Leicester), whilst Patrick Vieira left Crystal Palace in December; three months earlier than in real life. There are only three clubs that have yet to sack a manager, but two of them do during the winter: Gareth Southgate and Frank Lampard fail to make the grade at Arsenal and Liverpool. The other dismissal during the season is the inevitable Brighton one, Steve Cooper this time.
Lionel Scaloni did just enough to get Brighton safe in 17th position with a game to go, meaning that Leicester, Palace and Jurgen Klopp's Bournemouth were relegated prematurely. It was even less competitive at the top of the table, as Jesse Marsch's Man City coasted to the title, 15 points clear of Gary O'Neil's Chelsea. The other team to stand out in the table were... you guess it, Unai Emery's Leeds United. They finished 7th in the end, but had they found a winner against Newcastle in their final game they would have taken 5th.
Brendan Rodgers' Man United only just took 6th place thanks to that aforementioned draw, so he was probably lucky to keep his job all season. But he had credit in the bank from winning the League Cup earlier in the season, beating surprise finalists Bournemouth in the final. Rodgers then added the Europa League trophy, with a 1-0 final win over PSV. They lost to Leeds in the quarter final of the FA Cup as Emery's men reaching the semis of both domestic cups. They themselves lost to Liverpool in the semis, and in turn the Reds lost to Graham Potter's Spurs (Pottenham) in the final.
Liverpool's replacement for Lampard was the most obvious narrative choice: Steven Gerrard, and the club hero actually had an incredible end to the season. He salvaged a Champions League place, had that FA Cup final and then overcame Chelsea in the semi of the Champions League to meet Barcelona in the final. The ultimate fairytale was not to be, though, as Gavi scored the only goal of the game.
Cooper's score now pushes the average score made with Brighton below 0 for the first time - ouch. Meanwhile Arteta's England score is 1 point better than Klopp's, putting him in line for the 100 point bonus. Which is handy, because his high score at Man United is overtaken by Rodgers' double winners. Similarly, Emery sets a new points high with Leeds but loses his bonus with Spurs to Potter. It's a big season for high scores, as Erik ten Hag immediately replaces Guardiola's Southampton high score.
Season 17
Having scored so many points with the notoriously difficult Leeds, surely this is just a jog to the finish line for Emery? He just has to avoid a series of disasters, starting with Everton in our final season today. De Zerbi can maybe put some pressure on by scoring big with Chelsea, whilst balance in the universe is restored as Klopp comes home to manage Liverpool.
Let's start with England. Marco Silva's Three Lions underwhelmed in the Nations League with a third-place finish, and started the World Cup with a draw against USA. However, they beat Iran and Wales with ease, before overcoming Netherlands and Argentina in tight knockout games. They met Germany - who had done the double over England in the Nations League - in the semi final. Jameses Maddison and Ward-Prowse fired England into an early lead and they eventually styled out a fine 4-1 victory. They met France in the final and got off to the perfect start with a goal from Declan Rice. France lost Ferland Mendy to a red card, and England held on for victory!
It was a less happy time for domestic managers, with a whopping nine dismissals before the end of the season. Brendan Rodgers (Wolves) and Thomas Frank (Brighton, inevitably) went before the World Cup break, with Jesse Marsch (West Ham) departing straight upon the resumption. In the new year we saw the back of Gary O'Neil (Leicester) and Antonio Conte. Fulham were the only team yet to sack a manager but joined in by axing the unfortunate David Moyes despite a perfectly fine league position and okay cup progression. Eddie Howe's promising Manager League suffered a setback as he left Southampton in March, and both Manchester clubs also saw a chance as Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira failed to make the grade.
The relegation race proved to be a thriller, with only Brighton already relegated going into the final game, and with five teams in contention to join them. And at the top of the table it was De Zerbi who lead the field, but with only a two-point gap between them and Liverpool and a difficult final-day assignment against Erik ten Hag's Spurs. In the end everything stayed as it was; Kai Havertz' goal earned Chelsea a 1-0 win over Spurs, which meant that Liverpool's 2-1 win over Wolves was meaningless for them but relegated their opponents. They will be joined in the Championship by Southampton, who lost to Everton to confirm their demotion.
Whilst De Zerbi will be delighted to win the title with Chelsea, he will be very annoyed to see Emery put in yet another gravity-defying performance, as Everton took 7th spot. And he had even more success in the League Cup as his side reached the final, although they were thrashed by Graham Potter's Arsenal in the final. The FA Cup final was contested by Spurs and Frank Lampard's Newcastle. Richarlison's 87th-min goal looked to have won it for Spurs, only for Newcastle to be given a penalty 3 minutes later, dispatched by Callum Wilson. And the turnaround was completed when Anthony Gordon scored the winner in extra time.
There was English representation in all three European finals. Arsenal made the final of the Europa League, losing to Real Madrid after extra time. Meanwhile, new managers Diego Simeone and Luis Enrique were able to take Man City and Man United to the finals of the Champions League and Conference League respectively. The Red Devils suffered a shock loss to Nice, whilst City had a horrendous start to their final with PSG, going 3-0 down in the first 25 minutes. They pulled two back, but ultimately it was a third loss out of three for English sides. Ten Hag deserves a nod as well for taking Spurs as far as they've ever been, the semi finals.
Let's start with England. Marco Silva's Three Lions underwhelmed in the Nations League with a third-place finish, and started the World Cup with a draw against USA. However, they beat Iran and Wales with ease, before overcoming Netherlands and Argentina in tight knockout games. They met Germany - who had done the double over England in the Nations League - in the semi final. Jameses Maddison and Ward-Prowse fired England into an early lead and they eventually styled out a fine 4-1 victory. They met France in the final and got off to the perfect start with a goal from Declan Rice. France lost Ferland Mendy to a red card, and England held on for victory!
It was a less happy time for domestic managers, with a whopping nine dismissals before the end of the season. Brendan Rodgers (Wolves) and Thomas Frank (Brighton, inevitably) went before the World Cup break, with Jesse Marsch (West Ham) departing straight upon the resumption. In the new year we saw the back of Gary O'Neil (Leicester) and Antonio Conte. Fulham were the only team yet to sack a manager but joined in by axing the unfortunate David Moyes despite a perfectly fine league position and okay cup progression. Eddie Howe's promising Manager League suffered a setback as he left Southampton in March, and both Manchester clubs also saw a chance as Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira failed to make the grade.
The relegation race proved to be a thriller, with only Brighton already relegated going into the final game, and with five teams in contention to join them. And at the top of the table it was De Zerbi who lead the field, but with only a two-point gap between them and Liverpool and a difficult final-day assignment against Erik ten Hag's Spurs. In the end everything stayed as it was; Kai Havertz' goal earned Chelsea a 1-0 win over Spurs, which meant that Liverpool's 2-1 win over Wolves was meaningless for them but relegated their opponents. They will be joined in the Championship by Southampton, who lost to Everton to confirm their demotion.
Whilst De Zerbi will be delighted to win the title with Chelsea, he will be very annoyed to see Emery put in yet another gravity-defying performance, as Everton took 7th spot. And he had even more success in the League Cup as his side reached the final, although they were thrashed by Graham Potter's Arsenal in the final. The FA Cup final was contested by Spurs and Frank Lampard's Newcastle. Richarlison's 87th-min goal looked to have won it for Spurs, only for Newcastle to be given a penalty 3 minutes later, dispatched by Callum Wilson. And the turnaround was completed when Anthony Gordon scored the winner in extra time.
There was English representation in all three European finals. Arsenal made the final of the Europa League, losing to Real Madrid after extra time. Meanwhile, new managers Diego Simeone and Luis Enrique were able to take Man City and Man United to the finals of the Champions League and Conference League respectively. The Red Devils suffered a shock loss to Nice, whilst City had a horrendous start to their final with PSG, going 3-0 down in the first 25 minutes. They pulled two back, but ultimately it was a third loss out of three for English sides. Ten Hag deserves a nod as well for taking Spurs as far as they've ever been, the semi finals.
Yeah... it's another high score for Emery. De Zerbi and Pep Guardiola score well to keep in pursuit, whilst Frank notches another huge negative score for Brighton, although Mikel Arteta's score is actually much worse when considering nobody had scored less than 1000 with City before:
It's borderline impossible to imagine Emery blowing it now, whilst Moyes' extremely harsh sacking helps him to be miles adrift at the bottom.
Next time we'll cover the next three seasons, leaving one to go after that.