Rough Guide to All 20 Premier League Managers for the 2013-14 Season

The 2013-14 Premier League campaign draws ever closer, with the fixture lists now revealed and more clubs make signings for their first team squads each week.

As of right now, every club has also confirmed who their new—or continuing—managers will be at the start of the season too, with exactly half of the men in the dugout at each team set to be new faces compared to the start of last season.

With that in mind, here's your guide to each and every one of those 20 already-probably-under-pressure men.

Arsenal

Name: Arsene Wenger

Age: 63

Seasons with club: 17

Last season's finish: 4th

A guide to: Wenger. Le Prof, as he is known in England, is one of the most respected football coaches in the game. He has just one year remaining on his current contract, leading to some suggesting he could be on his way out of the Premier League sooner or later, but he has continually managed to help Arsenal to a top-four finish until now.

The Frenchman is certainly opinionated and regularly fails to see dodgy decisions given in favour of his team, but is also tactically astute, has a great reputation for developing young players and was certainly a pioneer in bringing a more technique-based approach to the league.

He needs trophies though; it's now eight seasons since Wenger last guided his team to silverware.

Aston Villa

Name: Paul Lambert

Age: 43

Seasons with club: One

Last season's finish: 15th

A guide to: Paul Lambert. He is a modern manager, known to both Aston Villa and Norwich City fans as a tactical tinkerer, changing his formation several times midgame to try and get the upper hand.

Working on a tight budget at Villa Park, he's favoured younger players who are hungry to learn, improve and win themselves a better contract. No washed up, last-chance saloons for him.

He's incredibly supportive of his own players, animated on the touchline and very, very passionate about the game.

Cardiff City

Name: Malky Mackay

Age: 41

Seasons with club: Two

Last season's finish: 1st in the Championship (promoted)

A guide to: Mackay. Another of several Scotsman operating in England's top flight this season, Mackay has guided Cardiff City into the Premier League and faces an even bigger task to keep them there.

Of course, Cardiff are a Welsh club and will aim to emulate rivals Swansea in becoming an established side in the top flight, where Mackay played briefly for Watford during his playing days. Mackay is a straight-talker, sets his teams up to attack in a direct manner and is certainly confident in his own abilities.

How well he manages the transfer market could dictate much of Cardiff's future at this level.

Chelsea

Name: Jose Mourinho

Age: 50

Seasons with club: Appointed this summer

Last season's finish: 2nd in La Liga with Real Madrid

A guide to: Mourinho. Formerly known as the Special One, the Portuguese master manager is back for a second spell at Stamford Bridge. Elsewhere he has managed Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and has had great success wherever he goes.

Known for his pragmatic rather than spectacular football, Mourinho does whatever necessary to achieve results, relying on a solid base and a few extra-special talents in the final third to win games.

He'll make Chelsea hard to beat first, and bring a great team spirit with him. Whether by reputation or by demands, he's won the right to spend big in the market.

Crystal Palace

Name: Ian Holloway

Age: 50

Seasons with club: Less than one full campaign

Last season's finish: 5th in the Championship (promoted via playoffs)

A guide to: Holloway. Once the joker of the press room with his clever quips, one-liners and bizarre analogies of football, Holloway has matured into a more assertive and focused boss, achieving promotion to the Premier League with two clubs now.

Fond of attack-minded football, often seemingly at the expense of any defence at all, Holloway will have to have learnt from his first spell in the Premier League if he is to keep Palace there this time.

Still game for a laugh and an approachable-seeming manager, he nonetheless stands for no nonsense and demands a great work ethic from his players.

Everton

Name: Roberto Martinez

Age: 39

Seasons with club: Appointed this summer

Last season's finish: 18th with Wigan Athletic, relegated

A guide to: Martinez. Lauded as a thinker of the game and a top-class boss trapped at a lower-class team at Wigan, the Spaniard will have much to prove now that he joins an established top-half team.

Fond of changing his formation to suit the players and emphasising technique and work-rate over all else, Martinez will have to gradually impose his preferences on a squad that has been more sturdy and defensive than all-out-attack in the past.

It's a big chance for Martinez this season, and one that many believe he has earned.

Fulham

Name: Martin Jol

Age: 57

Seasons with club: Two

Last season's finish: 12th

A guide to: Jol. In the spirit of the new season full of possibilities and optimism, a positive or cheery photo was used for each manager in this guide. No such photo of Martin Jol exists.

Despite his grim demeanour and verging-on-the-psychotic outlook, Jol is a manager with a dry sense of humour and a "that's life" approach to post-game interviews.

A very highly respected coach throughout Europe, Jol has amassed huge experience managing teams in England, Germany and Holland, and guided Fulham to an impressive ninth-place finish two seasons ago. He certainly has an eye for talent and has more recently shown an aptitude for picking up some real bargains in the transfer market, something which will be necessary once more this summer as he tries to rejuvenate an ageing squad.

Hull City

Name: Steve Bruce

Age: 52

Seasons with club: One

Last season's finish: 2nd in the Championship (promoted)

A guide to...Bruce. Steve Bruce has extensive experience in the Premier League both as a manager and a player, though he has yet to make a terribly significant impact as the former.

Having spent a hefty sum of money at Sunderland where he failed rather miserably to improve their fortunes, he will be rather hoping to fare better in charge of Hull City in the top flight.

A marked change from his previous time in the Premier League, Hull often played with a back three last season in the Championship and it will be interesting to see whether he perseveres with the system which got them promoted, or opts for an alternative tactic from the outset.

Liverpool

Name: Brendan Rodgers

Age: 40

Seasons with club: One

Last season's finish: 7th

A guide to: Rodgers. Having impressed sufficiently in charge of Swansea City the previous year, Liverpool appointed Rodgers with long-term aims of stability, improvement and better football in mind.

Though the league position didn't dramatically improve over the entire season, it was the second half of last year that gave Rodgers hope that his methods are working. A perpetually optimistic and positive character in front of the camera, Rodgers is self-confident and demanding of his players despite consistently backing them in public.

Tactically he is flexible, favouring a front three and a variable midfield, with a heavy emphasis on possession and pressing off the ball—though the latter was missing too often last season.

More will be expected of him this year after a second summer's work, which is already well underway.

Manchester City

Name: Manuel Pellegrini

Age: 59

Seasons with club: Appointed in summer

Last season's finish: 6th in La Liga with Malaga

A guide to: Pellegrini. The Chilean boss is venturing into the Premier League for the first time, having managed the likes of River Plate in Argentina and Villarreal and Real Madrid in Spain, before his most recent post at Malaga.

Pellegrini is a quiet-mannered head coach, tactically astute and comfortable working with big expectations and big players.

At Manchester City, he'll have two basic remits: bring back the Premier League title and, perhaps a little more importantly this season in particular, guide the club through the Champions League group stages.

The latter he has plenty of experience in, having led all three Spanish teams to the knockout stages previously.

Manchester United

Name: David Moyes

Age: 50

Seasons with club: Appointed in summer

Last season's finish: 6th with Everton

A guide to: Moyes. Having been at Everton for a decade previously, opinion of David Moyes is largely split into two camps.

The first believe him to have over-performed at Everton consistently, getting the best out of a small group of players with no significant money to spend, and well worthy of succeeding Alex Ferguson and claiming a huge job.

The others point to the signings of the likes of Yakubu for £15 millions, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov for £9 million, James Beattie for £8 million and Andy van der Meyde for £8 million—and more—to show that he had money to spend, just didn't always use it wisely.

That, they say, along with his decade of zero trophy wins and zero away league victories at Stamford Bridge, Anfield, the Emirates or indeed his new home, Old Trafford, point to something rather less than a top-class manager and believe he could well be stepping into a job far too big for him.

Either way, Moyes is extremely confident, single-minded in his ambitions and able to ruthlessly drill his team into a cohesive outfit to win matches with regularity.

He'll have to do all that, and more, in his new job.

Newcastle United

Name: Alan Pardew

Age: 51

Seasons with club: Two-and-a-half

Last season's finish: 16th

A guide to: Pardew. An initially unwanted appointment at St. James' Park, Pardew won over the doubters with a good finish in his first full campaign. However he and his team far underperformed last season as they struggled against relegation.

Pardew is a manager who on occasion can prefer to deflect attention away from himself, though is affable and keen to praise his players when things are going well.

Fairly rigid in terms of the tactics he employs, Pardew has spent significant sums of money in bringing in the best the French Ligue 1 has to offer. Many eyes will be on how he fares this season, especially with Joe Kinnear having recently been appointed in a directorial role involved with first team recruitment.

Norwich City

Name: Chris Hughton

Age: 54

Seasons with club: One

Last season's finish: 11th

A guide to: Hughton. Quietly spoken in interviews, Hughton is often the complete opposite on the sideline, an animated and vocal figure who cajoles and berates his players in equal measure to get the job done.

He's proven a results-first boss at both Newcastle and Norwich to date, while he also managed Birmingham City in the Championship.

Hughton is seemingly aiming big this summer with Ricky van Wolfswinkel captured and other big-name players potentially on the radar, so it will be interesting to see how he integrates them into his tactics and how he himself handles the personalities of those bigger names.

Southampton

Name: Mauricio Pochettino

Age: 41

Seasons with club: Less than one full campaign

Last season's finish: 14th

A guide to: Pochettino. Brought in to some surprise to replace Nigel Adkins midway through last season, Argentinian boss Mauricio Pochettino is a young and ambitious boss who many see as capable of pushing Southampton toward the top half this season.

Tactically, Pochettino is a forward-thinking boss who wants his players to control the game and the space, pressing high and maintaining possession in the final third.

He is well-spoken, intelligent and expectant of progression—and hopefully we'll hear some interviews in English this term.

Stoke City

Name: Mark Hughes

Age: 49

Seasons with club: Appointed during summer

Last season's finish: Unemployed

A guide to: Hughes. It's been a little up and down for Hughes as a manager; he earned good reviews in charge of Wales and Fulham, was hot and cold at Blackburn and outright awful at QPR.

Now at Stoke, he has a stable side to build on, and will be expected to progress the side gradually on a technical level as well as a results-oriented one. First and foremost, he has to get better performances out of his new side, who were decidedly lacking in inspiration last term.

Hughes is gruff, often humourless and to-the-point, and will demand nothing less than perfect professionalism from his players.

He is another manager who will be interesting to watch next term.

Sunderland

Name: Paolo Di Canio

Age: 44

Seasons with club: Less than one campaign

Last season's finish: 17th

A guide to: Di Canio. Where to start? One of the most enigmatic managers in the Premier League, Di Canio is arrogant, confident or delusional depending on your view point.

His arrival had the desired impact in keeping Sunderland above water at the back end of last season, but now he'll face an entire season at the top end of English football, where he believes he should be. His methods on the training ground are well-documented as controlling and disciplinarian, and players will be well aware of his demands from day one.

Watch him on the sidelines, and it's a great example of animated behaviour, but only the results obtained by his methods and tactics will dictate whether he's seen as a joker or something more substantial.

Swansea City

Name: Michael Laudrup

Age: 49

Seasons with club: One

Last season's finish: 9th

A guide to: Laudrup. Having arrived last summer to take over from Brendan Rodgers, Laudrup made several astute signings from La Liga and ended up having a record-breaking season for the Swans.

He won the League Cup and guided Swansea to a top half finish, and now will look for consistency and long-term stability alongside a European adventure this term.

Laudrup is extremely likeable and comes across as a calm, measured manager, while tactically he has helped Swansea get the ball forward much quicker and with no less accuracy than previously. A favourer of 4-2-3-1, Laudrup sets his teams out to win the ball fast and keep possession when necessary.

Tottenham Hotspur

Name: Andre Villas-Boas

Age: 35

Seasons with club: One

Last season's finish: 5th

A guide to: Villas-Boas. An innovative and meticulous manager, Villas-Boas is a man with a plan, and he is determined to carry it out.

The Portuguese boss has a mandate to get the side back into the top four of the Premier League and, in time, build a team capable of challenging for greater honours. He has confidence in himself that he can achieve that, and his antics at Porto suggest there's plenty to back that up.

He talks often in conservative tones with specialist language, making it clear to everybody that AVB is very much a football man first.

West Bromwich Albion

Name: Steve Clarke

Age: 49

Seasons with club: One

Last season's finish: 8th

A guide to: Clarke. The Scot enjoyed good progression and success in his first campaign in sole charge of a team, having previously been involved as first-team coaches or assistant managers at his other clubs.

He guided West Brom to a great start last year before they tailed off, but still did enough to finish in the top half. Can he sustain that over a longer period? This season will make interesting viewing, particularly in the transfer market where he was not overly active last year.

Clarke is understated, refusing to get carried away by good results or downhearted by poor ones. A mild manner and a clear view on how to set up his team are his trademarks.

West Ham United

Name: Sam Allardyce

Age: 58

Seasons with club: Two

Last season's finish: 10th

A guide to: Allardyce. An outspoken, at times even brash manager, Allardyce doesn't suffer fools or their opinions and has little truck with anyone willing to criticise his methods. An experienced boss at the top level, he's certainly a safe option for teams fearing relegation and will hope to continually improve his side to far better than that level from here on in.

Bluster and set pieces are as much of the Allardyce trademark as chewing gum and pointing to the watch were of Alex Ferguson, but the Hammers boss consistently achieves his results and objectives.

Percentage plays or not, few sides relish going up against the solid and well-organised team led by Allardyce. Teams know how he'll play it, but they are still not always capable of combating it.

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