Power Ranking Premier League Managers After Weekend 8-9 November
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Premier League Managers' Power Rankings, in which all 20 Premier League managers' performances over the latest fixtures—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 the first matchday 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 gameweek 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 which manager hits rock-bottom this week ahead of a third international break...
20. Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur)
1 of 20
Last Week: 14th
Differential: -6
Having featured in the bottom three two weekends ago, Mauricio Pochettino finds himself bottom after another desperate home defeat, this time at the hands of Stoke City.
It is already Tottenham Hotspur’s fourth home defeat of the campaign and it is doing little to lift a consistently flat atmosphere at White Hart Lane.
Harry Kane was finally handed the start the fans had craved but only Nacer Chadli looks like scoring for the north London outfit at the moment, while the defence looks incapable of shutting the opposition out, with Federico Fazio suffering an old-fashioned "mare" this time around.
19. Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool)
2 of 20
Last Week: 18th
Differential: -1
Brendan Rodgers took a pounding in last week’s column and the only reason he doesn’t slide into bottom place this time around is the almost weekly embarrassment that is Tottenham.
Liverpool looked a little closer to the team of last season with a strong start at home to Chelsea, but heads dropped once more following the away side’s calamitous equaliser from yet another set-piece.
Simon Mignolet could surely have done better for both goals, but he is not helped by a porous defence in front of him; nor by his manager, whose instructions for Glen Johnson to follow Eden Hazard centrally arguably cost his side the second goal.
Rodgers now has some big decisions to make, particularly with the underperforming Dejan Lovren and Mario Balotelli, but will be boosted by the return of Daniel Sturridge.
18. Paul Lambert (Aston Villa)
3 of 20
Last Week: 20th
Differential: +2
A first point in two months for Aston Villa sees Paul Lambert climb two places, but he remains in the "relegation zone" of our power ranking.
He was full of praise for his players, as per BBC: "I thought we were excellent, resolute, everything you need to get anything from here.”
It is tempting to consider such sentences a tad overboard for a 0-0 draw at West Ham United, but given the run of six defeats, and the Hammers' recent goalscoring exploits, his players undoubtedly deserve credit for digging deep.
17. Nigel Pearson (Leicester City)
4 of 20
Last Week: 15th
Differential: -2
Nigel Pearson drops to within a whisker of our bottom three, but his team remain in that area of the Premier League table for a second consecutive week.
If it is getting a bit tiresome as a neutral to hear the Englishman say the same thing every week, God knows how fans of the club must feel.
“We can’t find a way to win,” he told BBC this week. Isn’t that his job?
Never mind a win, anyway; Leicester City have now fired blanks in five of their last six games, and that must be corrected sooner rather than later.
16. Neil Warnock (Crystal Palace)
5 of 20
Last Week: 13th
Differential: -3
Five games, one point. It’s all going a bit wrong for Neil Warnock and Crystal Palace at the moment.
So wrong, in fact, that he couldn’t even criticise the referee in defeat after the 1-0 loss at Manchester United's Old Trafford.
“I can't criticise the lads today,” he told BBC, before commenting: “The passing was poor at times, though, we made some bad decisions with the ball.”
Perhaps he should have criticised former United man Fraizer Campbell for his dreadful first-half miss; such chances have to be taken at this level, and the 27-year-old fails to convince.
Only goal difference now separates the Eagles from the relegation zone, and they look as likely as any of last season’s Premier League teams to drop down.
15. Sean Dyche (Burnley)
6 of 20
Last Week: 19th
Differential: +4
I spoke last week of Burnley’s easier run of fixtures prior to Christmas and they have started it in the best manner possible with a 1-0 win over Hull City.
Sean Dyche, more than ever, was positively gleaming in his post-match interviews and told Sky Sports: “It feels great, it’s great for myself, the staff, the players and the town.”
The win leaves them six points behind West Bromwich Albion, who are 13th, and they may now start to believe they have half a chance after all.
14. Gus Poyet (Sunderland)
7 of 20
Last Week: 17th
Differential: +3
Another solid climb of three places for Gus Poyet as Sunderland earned a creditable home draw to Everton.
In truth, the away side probably had enough chances to leave the Stadium of Light with all three points, but the Black Cats have shown enough resilience in the last two games to suggest the error-strewn performances versus Southampton and Arsenal were a blip.
Having a goalkeeper who does not play as if he has been bribed always helps.
The Uruguayan's post-match interview with Sky Sports was refreshingly honest, as he admitted Connor Wickham should have been sent off for his last-ditch foul on Seamus Coleman.
“I need to be honest, if I was on the pitch and I was the referee, I would give it," he said.
13. Steve Bruce (Hull City)
8 of 20
Last Week: 7th
Differential: -6
The joint-biggest fall of the week belongs to Steve Bruce after his Hull side looked toothless against previously winless Burnley.
In truth, his position has been generous in recent weeks thanks to mediocrity around him and two excellent draws at the Emirates and Anfield.
Hull are yet to get going.
But Bruce is painfully aware, telling journalists, as per the Guardian, after the game: “We were so lacklustre and lifeless it was scary … names on paper mean absolutely jack s--t when you play like that.”
It will be interesting to see the reactions of these "names" after a sobering international break.
12. Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
9 of 20
Last Week: 10th
Differential: -2
Arsene Wenger drops back into 12th place after his Arsenal side rather characteristically threw away a lead to lose at the Liberty Stadium.
The Gunners never really got going but looked to have the game in control after a superb breakaway saw Alexis Sanchez add to his growing tally to take the game to 1-0.
On the face of it, there was little that could have been done about Gylfi Sigurdsson’s superb equalising free-kick, but the counter attack which led to it originated from Arsenal having seven players ahead of the ball at the time it was lost.
Furthermore, the same old defensive frailties remained for Swansea City’s winner.
Why, oh why, was a centre-back not signed?
11. Roberto Martinez (Everton)
10 of 20
Last Week: 11th
Differential: 0
Another disappointing draw for Everton, but having trailed with 15 minutes to go, it could have been worse.
The Merseyside outfit are playing decent football, which is more than can be said for top-four rivals Tottenham and Liverpool, but they still sit level on points with those two sides.
Most worryingly for the Toffees is Romelu Lukaku's loss of form and confidence, but Roberto Martinez must take his share of the blame for that, having used the Belgian in a variety of roles this season.
10. Harry Redknapp (Queens Park Rangers)
11 of 20
Last Week: 16th
Differential: +6
Harry Redknapp, tenth?! But Queens Park Rangers are 19th?
Believe me, I'm almost as surprised as you are. But who else deserves a top-half place? Wenger? Martinez?
QPR are the most improved team in the league in recent weeks and were once again unlucky not to earn three points against a top side in the 2-2 draw to Manchester City.
It was a similar game to the madness against Liverpool, with QPR carrying the greater all-round threat only for mediocre defending to be punished by world-class opposing talent, this time in Sergio Aguero.
Charlie Austin bagged another and could have had a hat-trick; on this form, QPR have more than most of the sides around them to survive, and credit must go to the manager for their revival.
9. Alan Irvine (West Bromwich Albion)
12 of 20
Last Week: 5th
Differential: -4
A sizable drop for Alan Irvine after a dismal home defeat to in-form Newcastle United.
Starting Chris Brunt and Graham Dorrans in wide areas against a side happy to drop deep seemed the wrong decision, with Stephane Sessegnon a more attacking, multi-dimensional option left on the bench.
The Baggies remain top of an eight-team pack at the bottom, but with Chelsea and Arsenal next, that could soon change—as could Irvine's position.
8. Louis Van Gaal (Manchester United)
13 of 20
Last Week: 8th
Differential: 0
Louis van Gaal climbed three places over the last couple of weeks despite drawing both matches, but now remains in eighth place despite his side picking up a much-needed win at home to Crystal Palace.
Why?
United were a bit poor, really, against a Palace side typically happy to concede possession of the ball.
Indeed, despite enjoying 71 percent possession, it is difficult to think of a clear-cut chance the home side created, with the second-half winner arriving via Juan Mata from distance.
Angel Di Maria’s dip in form continues, meanwhile, with Van Gaal criticising the winger, as per the Mirror, for “[losing] the ball a lot … [which] was not good for the balance of the team.”
7. Alan Pardew (Newcastle United)
14 of 20
Last Week: 12th
Differential: +5
Alan Pardew Rises: coming to a cinema near you.
That is now four straight wins for the Toon Army, a run which only Southampton can match.
As such, they are now only two points behind fourth-placed West Ham, while in Ayoze Perez they look to have found a gem of a forward.
His opening flick from Daryl Janmaat’s excellent cross was breathtaking, while Pardew captured what has changed in recent weeks in one sentence to BBC: “We have good width and our system is proving difficult for the opposition."
Once again, the opposition enjoyed greater possession to minimal effect.
6. Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City)
15 of 20
Last Week: 6th
Differential: 0
Two points dropped at QPR for City, or a point gained?
It may well be looked back on as the latter given the increasing difficulty of playing at Loftus Road and that Sergio Aguero’s brilliance twice brought City back from the dead.
The Argentinian now has 12 goals in 11 games—only Les Ferdinand has made a more prolific start to the season in the same amount of games in the Premier League era, per the BBC—and he alone will be enough to ensure City do not drop in the table.
But he needs more support if Chelsea are to be chased—a prospect which appears slimmer with each passing week.
5. Mark Hughes (Stoke City)
16 of 20
Last Week: 9th
Differential: +4
Welshman Mark Hughes continues to climb the table after a superb 2-1 win at Tottenham.
Stoke are now a completely different proposition away from home with their attacking options: Victor Moses, Mame Biram Diouf and Bojan Krkic caused all sorts of problems on the break.
They now find themselves in the ninth position they finished in last season, which is what they should be aiming for again this campaign.
4. Garry Monk (Swansea City)
17 of 20
Last Week: 4th
Differential: 0
Garry Monk, the 35-year-old Damien Lewis doppelganger is arguably the most impressive—and improved—manager of this campaign.
His Swansea side largely outfought and outplayed Arsenal in the first-half, as they will many sides given the technical qualities that existed at the club which Garry Monk has added a steely side to.
He deliberately targeted Calum Chambers at right-back through the incredibly gifted Jefferson Montero—an Ecuadorian winger who gave England multiple headaches in the friendly prior to the World Cup—as well as Nacho Monreal's lack of height at centre-back through Wilfried Bony and, latterly, match-winner Bafetimbi Gomis.
Job done.
3. Sam Allardyce (West Ham United)
18 of 20
Last Week: 2nd
Differential: -1
Sam Allardyce drops a place after a second successive draw, but there is no shame in that given the manager who leapfrogs him.
It says everything about the strides West Ham have made in recent weeks that a home draw to Aston Villa now seems a disappointing result.
Allardyce saw it slightly differently, though, praising an inspired Brad Guzan and telling the BBC “we have got to respect the point and it's our second clean sheet, which is good.”
The return of Andy Carroll, albeit in the dying stages, will boost the Hammers further.
2. Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
19 of 20
Last Week: 3rd
Differential: +1
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho climbs back into the top two after a convincing win at Anfield.
Question marks remain over Cesc Fabregas’ suitability to a deep-lying central midfield role in such games—Ramires’ inclusion in a defensive wide role did not stop Liverpool from frequently running through the centre almost unchallenged—but otherwise this Chelsea side look the strongest the league has seen for several years.
It is doubtful they are quite strong enough to remain unbeaten, but at this rate they could be unofficial champions—not just "autumn champions," as their manager described them, as per BBC—by the end of the calendar year.
1. Ronald Koeman (Southampton)
20 of 20
Last Week: 1st
Differential: 0
Dutchman Ronald Koeman remains in first position for the fourth consecutive week.
His side are having to work harder each week for their wins, but it’s now four successive clean sheets and victories for Saints after a 2-0 home win over lacklustre Leicester.
As Koeman told BBC, “Shane [Long] made the difference today,” with the Irishman scoring his first two goals for the club twelve minutes within being brought on.
Merely having a £12 million proven Premier League forward as an option from the bench is a healthy sign; much more so when they can deliver a decisive impact.
