Football may be a team game, but there are still plenty of individual awards to divide opinion.
One of those is the Premier League Manager of the Month award, handed out to, you guessed it, the best Premier League manager each month.
The award has been around for a little over 30 years, with plenty of serial winners over the past three decades, as well as some surprising and forgotten names.
This is everything you need to know about the Premier League Manager of the Month award.
The Premier League‘s inception may have been in 1992, but the Manager of the Month award wasn’t introduced until the beginning of the 1993/94 season. Somewhat strangely, Manger of the Month actually precedes the Player of the Month award, with the latter introduced in the 1994/95 season.
There have been 270 Manager of the Month awards handed out in the past, with 97 different recipients of the accolade. The first winner was Sir Alex Ferguson back in August 1993, with Ange Postecoglou the most recent victor in October 2023.
The general public get the chance to participate in the selection of Premier League Manager of the Month, representing 10% of the final vote. Those wanting to influence the final decision can vote online on the Premier League’s official website.
Combined with the public vote, the Manager of the Month is decided by a panel of experts, including former Premier League players and pundits such as Alan Shearer and Jamie Carragher.
|
Manager |
Nationality |
Clubs won with |
Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alex Ferguson |
Scotland |
Man Utd |
27 |
|
Arsene Wenger |
France |
Arsenal |
15 |
|
Pep Guardiola |
Spain |
Man City |
11 |
|
David Moyes |
Scotland |
Everton |
10 |
|
Jurgen Klopp |
Germany |
Liverpool |
9 |
|
Martin O’Neill |
Northern Ireland |
Leicester, Aston Villa, Sunderland |
8 |
|
Harry Redknapp |
England |
Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham |
8 |
|
Rafa Benitez |
Spain |
Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle |
7 |
|
Sam Allardyce |
England |
Bolton, West Ham |
6 |
|
Mikel Arteta |
Spain |
Arsenal |
6 |
|
Bobby Robson |
England |
Newcastle |
6 |
|
Carlo Ancelotti |
Italy |
Chelsea, Everton |
5 |
|
Eddie Howe |
England |
Bournemouth, Newcastle |
5 |
|
Kevin Keegan |
England |
Newcastle |
5 |
|
Claudio Ranieri |
Italy |
Chelsea, Leicester |
5 |
|
Nuno Espirito Santo |
Portugal |
Wolves, Tottenham |
4 |
|
Roy Hodgson |
England |
Blackburn, Fulham |
4 |
|
Joe Kinnear |
Ireland |
Wimbledon |
4 |
|
Jose Mourinho |
Portugal |
Chelsea, Tottenham |
4 |
|
Manuel Pellegrini |
Chile |
Man City |
4 |
|
Mauricio Pochettino |
Argentina |
Southampton, Tottenham |
4 |
|
Gordon Strachan |
Scotland |
Coventry, Southampton |
4 |
|
Antonio Conte |
Italy |
Chelsea |
3 |
|
Alan Curbishley |
England |
Charlton |
3 |
|
Gerard Houllier |
France |
Liverpool |
3 |
|
Ronald Koeman |
Netherlands |
Southampton |
3 |
|
David O’Leary |
Ireland |
Leeds |
3 |
|
Alan Pardew |
England |
West Ham, Newcastle |
3 |
|
Stuart Pearce |
England |
Nottingham Forest, Man City |
3 |
|
Ange Postecoglou |
Australia |
Tottenham |
3 |
|
Brendan Rodgers |
Northern Ireland |
Swansea, Liverpool |
3 |
|
Frank Clark |
England |
Nottingham Forest |
2 |
|
Steve Coppell |
England |
Reading |
2 |
|
Owen Coyle |
Ireland |
Bolton |
2 |
|
Kenny Dalglish |
Scotland |
Blackburn |
2 |
|
Sean Dyche |
England |
Burnley |
2 |
|
Roy Evans |
England |
Liverpool |
2 |
|
John Gregory |
England |
Aston Villa |
2 |
|
Glenn Hoddle |
England |
Tottenham |
2 |
|
Paul Jewell |
England |
Wigan |
2 |
|
Roberto Mancini |
Italy |
Man City |
2 |
|
Tony Pulis |
Wales |
Crystal Palace, West Brom |
2 |
|
Peter Reid |
England |
Sunderland |
2 |
|
Graeme Souness |
Scotland |
Southampton |
2 |
|
Erik ten Hag |
Netherlands |
Man Utd |
2 |
|
Thomas Tuchel |
Germany |
Chelsea |
2 |
|
Andre Villas-Boas |
Portugal |
Tottenham |
2 |
|
Ron Atkinson |
England |
Coventry |
1 |
|
Alan Ball |
England |
Man City |
1 |
|
Phil Brown |
England |
Hull City |
1 |
|
Steve Bruce |
England |
Newcastle |
1 |
|
George Burley |
Scotland |
Ipswich |
1 |
|
Steve Clarke |
Scotland |
West Brom |
1 |
|
Paul Clement |
England |
Swansea |
1 |
|
Roberto Di Matteo |
Italy |
West Brom |
1 |
|
Unai Emery |
Spain |
Aston Villa |
1 |
|
Sven-Goran Eriksson |
Sweden |
Man City |
1 |
|
Gerry Francis |
England |
Queens Park Rangers |
1 |
|
Trevor Francis |
England |
Sheffield Wednesday |
1 |
|
Javi Gracia |
Spain |
Watford |
1 |
|
George Graham |
Scotland |
Leeds |
1 |
|
Avram Grant |
Israel |
Chelsea |
1 |
|
Ralph Hassenhuttl |
Austria |
Southampton |
1 |
|
Mark Hughes |
Wales |
Blackburn |
1 |
|
Chris Hughton |
Ireland |
Brighton |
1 |
|
Mike Jackson |
England |
Burnley |
1 |
|
Martin Jol |
Netherlands |
Tottenham |
1 |
|
Howard Kendall |
England |
Everton |
1 |
|
Brian Kidd |
England |
Blackburn |
1 |
|
Bruno Lage |
Portugal |
Wolves |
1 |
|
Frank Lampard |
England |
Chelsea |
1 |
|
Brian Little |
England |
Aston Villa |
1 |
|
Roberto Martinez |
Spain |
Wigan |
1 |
|
Brian McDermott |
England |
Reading |
1 |
|
Alex McLeish |
Scotland |
Birmingham |
1 |
|
Gary Megson |
England |
Bolton |
1 |
|
David Merrington |
England |
Southampton |
1 |
|
Darren Moore |
Jamaica |
West Brom |
1 |
|
Garry Monk |
England |
Swansea |
1 |
|
Nigel Pearson |
England |
Leicester |
1 |
|
Mike Phelan |
England |
Hull City |
1 |
|
David Pleat |
England |
Sheffield Wednesday |
1 |
|
Bryan Robson |
England |
Middlesbrough |
1 |
|
Glenn Roeder |
England |
West Ham |
1 |
|
Joe Royle |
England |
Oldham |
1 |
|
Quique Sanchez Flores |
Spain |
Watford |
1 |
|
Dean Smith |
England |
Aston Villa |
1 |
|
Jim Smith |
England |
Derby County |
1 |
|
Walter Smith |
Scotland |
Everton |
1 |
|
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer |
Norway |
Man Utd |
1 |
|
Gareth Southgate |
England |
Middlesbrough |
1 |
|
Peter Taylor |
England |
Leicester |
1 |
|
Terry Veneables |
England |
Middlesbrough |
1 |
|
David Wagner |
United States |
Huddersfield |
1 |
|
Mike Walker |
Wales |
Norwich |
1 |
|
Howard Wilkinson |
England |
Leeds |
1 |
|
Danny Wilson |
Northern Ireland |
Sheffield Wednesday |
1 |
After spending 26 years at Manchester United, although not all in the Premier League, it’s unsurprising that Alex Ferguson is the coach that has been named Manager of the Month most often, picking up 27 wins.
Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is next up with 15 wins, while current managerial trio of Pep Guardiola (11), David Moyes (10) and Jurgen Klopp (9) make up the rest of the top five.
Jose Mourinho, or the ‘Special One’, has just four to his name despite his success in the Premier League, three of which came with Chelsea. The Portuguese sits behind the likes of Sam Allardyce (6), Mikel Arteta (6) and Eddie Howe (5) in the rankings.
|
Nationality |
No. of wins |
|---|---|
|
England |
87 |
|
Scotland |
50 |
|
Spain |
28 |
|
France |
18 |
|
Italy |
16 |
|
Northern Ireland |
12 |
|
Portugal |
11 |
|
Germany |
11 |
|
Ireland |
10 |
|
Netherlands |
6 |
|
Wales |
4 |
|
Argentina |
4 |
|
Chile |
4 |
|
Australia |
3 |
|
Austria |
1 |
|
Israel |
1 |
|
Jamaica |
1 |
|
Norway |
1 |
|
Sweden |
1 |
|
United States |
1 |
Let’s be honest, it would be pretty alarming if English managers hadn’t won the award most frequently. Homegrown coaches have 87 wins amongst them, 32.2% of all 270 awards handed out.
Scotland (50) are next up, although legendary United boss Ferguson makes up over half of these, with Moyes contributing 20% of the total number as well.
Guardiola and Wenger are largely responsible for Spain (28) and France (18) respectively having so many wins, while Italy (16), Portugal (11) and Germany (11) also rank highly.
Some surprising missing nationalities include Belgium, Denmark and Croatia, all of whom have significant standings on the international football stage. In total, just 20 different nations are represented by Manager of the Month winners.
|
Club |
No. of wins |
|---|---|
|
Manchester United |
30 |
|
Liverpool |
22 |
|
Manchester City |
21 |
|
Arsenal |
21 |
|
Chelsea |
17 |
|
Newcastle United |
17 |
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
16 |
|
Everton |
13 |
|
Southampton |
11 |
|
Aston Villa |
9 |
|
Leicester City |
8 |
|
Bolton Wanderers |
7 |
|
Blackburn Rovers |
6 |
|
West Ham, Leeds |
5 |
|
West Brom, Wimbledon, Wolves |
4 |
|
Bournemouth, Burnley, Charlton, Coventry, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Swansea, Wigan |
3 |
|
Fulham, Hull, Watford |
2 |
|
Birmingham, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Derby, Huddersfield, Ipswich, Norwich, Oldham, QPR |
1 |
Manchester United are the team that have the most award victories by coaches in charge of the club at the time of winning, but, again, Ferguson makes up 27 of their 30. Erik ten Hag (2) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (1) are the only other United coaches that have won the award at Old Trafford.
Liverpool (22) have the second most, although theirs are spread out among more coaches. Klopp is the biggest winner, but Rafa Benitez, Gerard Houllier, Roy Evans and Brendan Rodgers also add to the Reds’ tally.
Manchester City (21), Arsenal (21), Chelsea (17), Newcastle United (17) and Tottenham (16) are next up, with the Manager of the Month table roughly resembling the standings at the top of the actual Premier League table over the years. Of current Premier League teams, only Brentford, Sheffield United and Luton Town haven’t had a winner of the award.
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