WHO SHOULD REALLY BE THE PREMIERSHIP MANAGER OF THE YEAR?

Sir Alex Ferguson will almost certainly win the manager of the year award once again. And if the seasonal awards are based on trophies won then it is the right decision.

However, football management is so much more than winning, so everything should be analysed relatively.

I’ve followed football for over twenty years, and I have never known there to be so many contenders for manager of the year.

Along with Sir Alex, there is David Moyes at Everton, Roy Hodgson at Fulham, Gianfranco Zola at West Ham, Harry Redknapp at Spurs, Sam Allardyce at Blackburn, Tony Pullis at Stoke and even Gary Megson at Bolton. These names are all contenders in my opinion, and all deserve a mention.

At the end of most seasons, the manager of the Champions will win the award. And, as Manchester United are also in the European Cup Final, and won the League Cup, Ferguson does, of course, present a very good case.

However, every year we expect Manchester United to be challenging on all fronts.

Last year United won both the League and the European Cup, so in a perverse way it’s not really an improvement. Even their points total is going to be approximately the same as the last two seasons. Maybe the League Cup victory could be the difference.

For me, the major, decisive factor is who has improved his team so much, its almost incredible to believe?

Firstly, there is Roy Hodgson. With two games to go, his team is 14 points and ten places above last season’s final position. The Cottagers also have the fourth best defensive record, and are currently in the last EUROPA Cup position.

Hodgson has also conducted himself quietly and acted like a gentlemen.

An outside contender has to be Gianfranco Zola. He probably won’t win the award, but when you take into account the financial and internal problems at West Ham, and the players he’s had to sell, the Italian has done a terrific job. They are currently ninth, but could still finish seventh.

In recent months, the East Londoners have also been consistent and have never looked in trouble after Christmas. Zola has also moulded together a team of youngsters who play excellent possession football, and, as always he has conducted himself with dignity and humour. He is also very new to management, and has proved many doubters wrong after a difficult start to his reign at Upton Park.

The former Parma and Chelsea star demands respect from his players due to the player he was, while his gentle manner will probably mean he won’t fall out with players very often. He has a bright future…

Harry Redknapp also has to be a major contender for manager of the year. When he took over Tottenham, the team had two points from eight games. They now lie in eighth position, two points off a European place. His team have taken 46 points from 28 games since he became manager, and they also got to a cup final.

After such a poor start, Redknapp also had to build the players confidence, sand that would have taken some doing after the disastrous Ramos period. When the former West Ham and Portsmouth boss took over at White Hart Lane, he was just expected to keep his team up. He has exceeded expectations.

Some people will point at the money that Spurs have spent, but these are not really his players, and they are already up on last season’s position and total, despite such a dreadful start. He has also helped make Heurelho Gomes into a decent keeper. That, alone, deserves the award.

Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers has not been mentioned much in the media as a possible contender. However, after the difficult period of stewardship under Paul Ince, it would have taken a lot to lift those players. The Lancashire club were on a horrible losing streak and were five points adrift at the bottom when Alladyce took over in December.

Rovers have now reached the magical 40 points with two games left and are now looking at a mid table finish.

Once again, the former Bolton boss has proved himself to be a terrific boss under pressure and a motivator of players. In fact, the position that Newcastle are currently in reinforces his track record, as it showed they were in a terrible state long before he was in the North East.

It just illustrates how well Allardyce was actually doing when he was there. I bet the St James’ faithful wish they were in mid-table now.

I believe ‘Big Sam’ has not been mentioned much in the reckoning because people expected him to turn Blackburn around. But, he has achieved what he was appointed for and more. It’s just a shame he acted like such a child as Ferguson’s ally against Rafa Benitez in the recent spat. That was pathetic.

Much has been said about Tony Pullis and the football that Stoke City play, but I for one, think he deserves all the credit he gets.

You have to think back to the start of the season when there was nobody, even many of their own fans, who thought Stoke would stay up.

The Staffordshire club have been criticised for their style of football and their use of Rory Delap’s long throws. But, how many of their goals have actually come from his long throws? Pullis’ team get the ball forward quickly, but they also defend with bravery and guts and do use the full width of the pitch to full effect. It’s up to the other teams to combat this.

It must be noted that they have beaten Arsenal and drawn twice with Liverpool.

James Beattie and Matthew Ethrington have been inspired signings and the club have not only escaped relegation, they are 11 points clear of the bottom three and now lie in 12th place. They have comfortably avoided relegation and their home record and home support are fantastic.

Stoke have been an alternative and passionate addition to the Premiership, and have surprised us all. Pullis also still has many of the players who helped the team up last year. Everything he has done has gone against everyone’s predictions.

The Stoke manager would be my choice as boss of the year. He gets on with his job and doesn’t moan about decisions going against him. He has also spent the majority of his managerial career in the lower divisions, making this achievement even more impressive.

David Moyes, contrary to popular opinion, has had money to spend in recent years. Yakubu, Fellani and Lescott have all been big money signings.

However, the unfortunate thing is that Yakubu and Saha have been injured since the turn of the year, and that’s why he deserves so much credit.

Everton have stayed inside the top six without any strikers and have had to play midfielders or youth team players as centre forwards. Mikel Arteta, possibly the team’s most creative player, has been out since February, and the club have reached the FA Cup Final, despite all those injuries.

The Merseysiders have also set a club record for clean sheets, and three of their back four have been in the England squad.

Moyes has to be a major contender. He has consolidated the club’s league position, but is also in the mix for trophies.

Gary Megson is perhaps a controversial choice. He is not particularly popular, even with some Bolton fans. He is also perceived to have a lack of charisma.

However, when Megson came into the job last season, they were bottom of the Premiership. They unexpectedly escaped relegation, but he was rightly criticised for not taking Europe serious and fielding a weakened team.

This year Bolton have been a mid table team and beaten the teams in and around them regularly. They have never looked in trouble, and I personally think that they have some really dynamic players and play some decent football.

Megson deserves a mention, considering some of the stick he has received in the past.


Ferguson is bound to win it again, but as I said previously, it’s all relative.Tony Pullis did not have any sort of track record at the very highest level, but now, none of us can say that.

What is particularly interesting is that five of these managers are English. Maybe we are not such a bad bunch of managers after all and can actually manage at the highest level. If only they were given the chance more often.