Power Ranking Premier League Managers After Weekend 25-27 October
Welcome to the third edition of the Premier League Managers' Power Rankings, in which all 20 Premier League managers' performances over the previous fixture—and the 2014/15 Premier League season overall—will be scrutinised and subsequently ranked in descending order.
Unsure of the criteria? This is what I stated in last matchday's ranking:
"The ranking will be based on the manager's overall successes and failures: taking into account the resources available to them, their side's league position and points total, their tactical decisions and playing style, their comments in public... the list is endless.
Their job safety—in terms of board, fan and media satisfaction/pressure—will also be considered.
It is largely based on this season only, with the game week analysed given particular emphasis in terms of any fluctuations in the rankings.
However, past achievements—whether at the manager's current club or a previous one—are always a factor to consider in both of the above criteria. After all, just as with players, it can shape how we view them.
"
Clearly, there is much to consider.
Intrigued? Read on to see how the likes of Manuel Pellegrini, Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino will fare after high-profile setbacks, and if Alan Pardew can finally get away from that No. 19.
20: Gus Poyet (Sunderland)
1 of 20
Last Week: 20th
Differential: N/A
Dear oh dear, Gus.
His side weren't half as bad as in the 8-0 defeat to Southampton, but then Arsenal weren't half as good as the Saints, either.
More errors from Wes Brown and Vito Mannone cost his side dearly, and they, in particular, don't look up to this level.
In Costel Pantilimon, the Uruguayan has a goalkeeper in waiting who, if nothing else, always looked reasonably reliable for Manchester City in times of desperation.
19: Sean Dyche (Burnley)
2 of 20
Last Week: 17th
Differential: -2
Sean Dyche—AKA (by me alone, probably) The Man With The Best Voice In Football—falls into the bottom three for the first time with his side firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.
Burnley are now more than halfway towards QPR's embarrassing record—set two seasons ago—of 16 games without a league win at the start of the season, and while Dyche spoke to the BBC of his side lacking a "clinical edge" to win games, it goes far beyond that.
Danny Ings' first goal of the season was one of the few positives.
18: Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur)
3 of 20
Last Week: 13th
Differential: -5
It is now Tottenham’s worst start to a season since the 2008-09 season, when the north London outfit spent most of the first half of the season in the relegation zone.
Mauricio Pochettino drops into the relegation zone in this ranking, but it is hard to avoid the feeling there is a wider cultural issue at the club more at fault.
The Argentinian alluded to this himself, as per the BBC: "We need to improve a lot [to get in top four]. It's not tactical or physical, it's our mentality."
Even with an improved mentality, however, it is difficult to see how a side that looks increasingly mediocre on paper breaks into the top four.
Oh, and the boos are back.
17: Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool)
4 of 20
Last Week: 12th
Differential: -5
The Northern Irishman's decisions just aren't making much sense at the moment.
In bringing off Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho early in the dreadful 3-0 home defeat to Real Madrid in midweek, one assumed he was resting them with the Hull match in mind.
Yet, like Raheem Sterling against Aston Villa last month, there they were: on the bench, prior to a League Cup match.
Both midfielders provided far more zip and danger when coming on in the second half for Adam Lallana and the hapless Joe Allen, but one point could not be turned into three.
Ultimately, however, if Mario Balotelli makes contact in the final minute, then perhaps we're not talking about any of this half as much.
As the opposing manager Steve Bruce is a big believer in, you're only as good as your strikers.
16: Alan Pardew (Newcastle United)
5 of 20
Last Week: 19th
Differential: +3
Like his side, Pardew finally moves out of the relegation zone after back-to-back wins were secured in a crazy 2-1 win at White Hart Lane.
Newcastle looked utterly dreadful in the first half as, time and time again, Tottenham overloaded the back post.
However, credit to the players and their manager in particular, they looked refreshed in the second half following the introduction of Remy Cabella and Moussa Sissoko.
Sammy Ameobi's goal only seven seconds into the second half, meanwhile, was clearly straight from the training ground.
15: Harry Redknapp (Queens Park Rangers)
6 of 20
Last Week: 18th
Differential: +3
The 2-0 win over Aston Villa was massive for QPR, as it ensures they aren't left seemingly stranded with Burley afoot of the table.
Charlie Austin, unlike many strikers over the years to have scored hatfuls in the Championship, looks like he belongs at this level, while Bobby Zamora proved a handful once more.
All seven of QPR's points, however, have been earned at home, and with a visit to Stamford Bridge next week, that will likely remain the case for a while yet.
14: Paul Lambert (Aston Villa)
7 of 20
Last Week: 10th
Differential: -4
Aston Villa are now without a goal in more than eight hours of football since the 1-0 win at Anfield last month.
Still, at least they enjoyed more than 50 percent of possession in a match for the first time this season.
Crisis talk is imminent, but in Christian Benteke, Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann, Lambert has a front three that will deliver goals sooner rather than later.
The Scot told reporters after the game, as per The Telegraph, that Benteke may need "six or seven games to get up to full speed."
13: Mark Hughes (Stoke City)
8 of 20
Last Week: 14th
Differential: +1
The Welshman is the only manager to climb a place this week after losing.
He cleverly solidified his side after seeing Sunderland—a side Stoke were recently beaten by, after all—hammered by Southampton last week.
But, as Hughes recognised himself to the BBC, the solidity went too far: "We are disappointed because in the first half we were a little bit apprehensive in our play, maybe a consequence of Southampton's great result last time out. We showed them too much respect."
12: Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
9 of 20
Last Week: 16th
Differential: +4
Arsenal recorded their first win since beating Aston Villa 3-0 last month but in truth did little to earn it after errors from Wes Brown and former Gunners goalkeeper Vito Mannone gifted Alexis Sanchez two goals to add to his growing tally.
Wenger has an absolute gem in the Chilean, but the rest of his side remains unconvincing, especially with the current injuries in central defence and midfield.
But in a weakening league in terms of top sides, it wouldn't be surprising to see them establish themselves in the top four sooner rather than later.
11: Nigel Pearson (Leicester City)
10 of 20
Last Week: 7th
Differential: -4
Leicester now sit only a point outside the relegation zone, having earned only one point in four games.
For the first time this season, Nigel Pearson criticised his players in telling the BBC the "performance has not reflected what we are capable of."
They must arrest the slide with West Brom, Sunderland and QPR all relegation-threatened opponents awaiting in November.
10: Roberto Martinez (Everton)
11 of 20
Last Week: 15th
Differential: +5
The biggest climb of the week belongs to the Spaniard, whose side are finally in the top half of the table after a comfortable 3-1 win at Burnley.
Martinez’s decision to play two strikers against a Burnley side that concedes plenty of space in midfield was vindicated by Samuel Eto'o's impressive brace.
The 33-year-old almost had a hat-trick when hitting the post in the dying moments, but make no mistake, Everton are back on track.
9: Louis Van Gaal (Manchester United)
12 of 20
Last Week: 11th
Differential: +2
There have been multiple signs of improvement in Manchester Uuited's last two games, particularly offensively, with their well-drilled patterns of play involving Robin van Persie far more often.
Indeed, in possession they appeared the 3-4-3 Van Gaal had been so intent on bringing to the club.
Defensively, however, they remain vulnerable, with the admittedly brilliant Eden Hazard cutting through the centre-halves as if they weren't even there to win the corner that brought the opening goal.
And that is why, for all the improvements, both games have resulted in draws.
8: Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City)
13 of 20
Last Week: 3rd
Differential: -5
A sizable drop for the Chilean, whose continual decision to use 4-4-2 on a regular basis is damaging his side, certainly away from home.
Once again the switch to 4-2-3-1 sparked an immediate improvement from his side, with David Silva more involved as always in that system and subsequently scoring a fabulous goal.
But it proved too little, too late.
It's not often City celebrate United goals, but Robin van Persie's injury-time equaliser against Chelsea ensured the Blues are still two slip-ups away, rather than three.
7: Neil Warnock (Crystal Palace)
14 of 20
Last Week: 9th
Differential: +2
Another week, another moan at referees from Neil Warnock.
But I think we can all feel a bit more sympathy this time around given West Brom's opening goal should never have stood after Craig Dawson got away with a foul on goalkeeper Julian Speroni.
But, once again, it was ill-discipline that cost his side two precious points as Mile Jedinak clumsily gave away an injury-time penalty.
6: Alan Irvine (West Bromwich Albion)
15 of 20
Last Week: 5th
Differential: -1
The Scot drops a place, but it could have been far worse after a disastrous start saw his side go 2-0 down at home to Crystal Palace.
He revealed to the BBC the hairdryer treatment was required at half-time: "They did see another side to me, one which doesn't come out very often. I was bitterly disappointed with the first 32 minutes of the game. We were awful."
It is credit to Irvine and his players, then, that they looked a completely side in overturning the deficit in the second half.
5: Steve Bruce (Hull City)
16 of 20
Last Week: 8th
Differential: +3
Last week's biggest climber continues his rise up the table after he once again got the better of Liverpool.
His Hull side had only a third of possession, but in restricting the home side to four shots on target, it was job done.
Two points from the Emirates and Anfield is a fantastic return for an astute side that, in 10th place, is now performing at about par.
4: Garry Monk (Swansea City)
17 of 20
Last Week: 6th
Differential: +2
Swansea's first win since August sees Garry Monk move back into the top four after two fabulous goals from Wilfried Bony.
Former Swansea striker Ian Walsh reflected to the BBC after the game that Liverpool made a "big mistake" in signing Mario Balotelli over the Ivorian, and it may come back to bite them once more in the League Cup fourth round.
With Bony spearheading Swansea's attack, a top-half finish should be achieved, but a difficult run of games now awaits.
3: Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
18 of 20
Last Week: 2nd
Differential: -1
Jose Mourinho drops a place for the second week running after he allowed a 1-0 lead slip in Manchester for the second time this season.
Gary Neville, speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, stated his belief that Chelsea dropping deeper "was not the manager changing it, but a mentality shift of the current players on the pitch."
Surely it is a bit of both?
Mourinho remains a naturally cautious manager, and in bringing on Jon Obi Mikel and Kurt Zouma, how else were his players are supposed to respond?
Nonetheless, a point at Old Trafford is no disgrace and his side remain firmly in control of the title race.
Had his side maintained their leads in Manchester, however, Chelsea would be 12 points clear of City rather than six.
There would be no title race.
2: Sam Allardyce (West Ham United)
19 of 20
Last Week: 4th
Differential: +2
Three wins out of three in October for Sam Allardyce means Manager of the Month will surely be heading his way.
It was another big team scalp for the Hammers, who simply out-muscled Manchester City.
West Ham now have versatility throughout their side, which allowed Allardyce to exploit City out wide by switching to a 4-2-3-1 system.
They also boast strength in depth, with even the returning James Collins delivering an excellent performance.
The Welshman told BT Sport, as per the London Evening Standard: "The boys are on fire. Everyone's loving it, we are loving it. It has been the same for years but something has clicked this year. We are on the up."
That "something" more than anything is probably some strikers scoring some goals.
1: Ronald Koeman (Southampton)
20 of 20
Last Week: 1st
Differential: N/A
It was never going to be as convincing as last week's 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland, but Southampton got the job done.
Again.
The Dutchman's decision to hand Saido Mane his first start paid dividends as he scored the only goal of a game in which Graziano Pelle could have had at least another couple himself.
The Italian—much like his fellow summer signing Dusan Tadic and the side in general—continues to go from strength to strength, and he bullied a Stoke side unaccustomed to that treatment.
Southampton still have three more winnable games before facing Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City consecutively.
By then, they will have played 15 league matches and we will know an awful lot more about this side's prospects of sustaining top-four contending form throughout a season.
