Welcome to the CaughtOffside end of year awards part four, continuing with the top five Premier League managers…
We’re feeling in the festive spirit here at CaughtOffside, and have decided to hand out a host of end of season awards – how generous of us right! We’re continuing with the top five Premier League managers of 2014.
SEE MORE:
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This list consists of those manager who have the biggest impact on the Premier League during the entirety of 2014, so including the second-half of last season, as well as the current campaign.
With coaches from Liverpool and Chelsea both included, see if you agree with our rankings:
5) Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool)
A surprise inclusion? His struggled this season almost saw him slip out of the top five, but his exploits at the start of the year mustn’t be forgotten. Rodgers led Liverpool to second place in the Premier League and a long awaited return to Champions League football. The loss of Luis Suarez in the summer hit him hard, and he’s not been helped by a long-term injury to star forward Daniel Sturridge, but has show signs in recent weeks that he’s beginning to turn things around.
4) Sam Allardyce (West Ham United)
Speaking of turning things around, Allardyce started the season as one of the favourites for the sack, and is arguably the manager of the season for the current campaign. His struggles last season mean that we rank him in fourth place, but he deserves all the credit coming his way for inspiring the Hammers to fourth place in the Premier League this term – the highest placing the club has achieved at Christmas in their history.
3) Garry Monk (Swansea City)
A dark horse candidate perhaps, but Swansea’s transition under Garry Monk has gone someone unnoticed, and the former defender deserves more praise for the job he’s done in Wales. People rightly feared for the Swans when first Brendan Rodgers, and then Michael Laudrup departed, and City elected for a man with no managerial experience to lead them to safety. He did that with ease last season, as Swansea finished 12th, and they are set to do even better this time around.
2) Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City)
It’s astonishing to think that this man’s job was supposedly under pressure at the start of the season. After winning the League Cup and the Premier League in his first season, as well as helping City progress beyond the Champions League group stage for the first time, his side suffered a minor blip at the start of their current campaign. But come Christmas, they’re back in the second round of the Champions League, and are three points off the top in the Premier League.
1) Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
The season before the Special One returned to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were playing Europa League football. Now, they look like the unstoppable Blue machine of the mid-2000’s, with last season’s third place finish in the Premier League and progress to the Champions League semi-final just the start of Mourinho’s revolution. This season, they top the Premier League at Christmas and have lost just one game in all competitions. They could have their first trophy in the bag by February, and have ambitions of winning the lot.
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