Your top 5 British managers....ever.

[Colin C No.3]

Some just don't take that much thinking long & hard about. Here's mine:-

1. Jock Stein. (Won the European Cup in 1967 with a group of players all born within 25 miles of Celtic F.C.)
2. Matt Busby. (Survived 'Munich' & rebuilt a team to go on & win the European Cup in 1968)
3. Brian Clough. (Took over at Forest in 1975 when they were 13th in Lg2. Promoted & won Lg1 title 77/78. Won successive European Cups with Forest 1979 & 80).
4. Bill Shankly. (Took over Liverpool in 1959 when they were in Lg2. Laid the foundations for the club's future successes winning 3 Lg1 titles, 2 FA Cups & UEFA Cup)
5. Bobby Robson. (So nearly did with Ipswich what Clough managed with Forest IMO. Best manager England ever had.....Ramsey included IMO.)

So there we go. All subjective I know but hey, it's the close season!!
 

[Wellred]

Would be hard to disagree with any of those.

[River Don]

Bob Paisley probably ought to come in at number one.

[Copps is Magic]

Straight in there with a list that doesn't include Paisley or Ferguson. Controversial.

[IDM]

Straight in there with a list that doesn't include Paisley or Ferguson. Controversial.

I think that depends on what baseline you're starting from.  Paisley followed Shankley, so already had that success to build on - Ferguson had resources most managers would only dream of.

However, I am sure many would have Ferguson in their top 5, due to trophies alone.  Many would include Ramsey simply because of 1966.

[CrippyCooke]

Alex Ferguson absolutely must be in the top five. Thirteen Premier League titles, five FA Cup wins, two Champions League wins along with three SPL titles with Aberdeen is simply outstanding.

[River Don]

Straight in there with a list that doesn't include Paisley or Ferguson. Controversial.

I think that depends on what baseline you're starting from.  Paisley followed Shankley, so already had that success to build on - Ferguson had resources most managers would only dream of.

However, I am sure many would have Ferguson in their top 5, due to trophies alone.  Many would include Ramsey simply because of 1966.

Paisley remained the only manager to win three European cups until this year. No matter how well Shankley prepared the ground (and Paisley was involved in that as coach) you can't take that extraordinary achievement away from Paisley.

I think he is overlooked because he was the grandad in cardigan and slippers and wasn't regarded as much of a charismatic manager in the way Shankley, Clough and Ferguson were.

[graingrover]

Peter Doherty ,Billy Bremner , Dave Penney , Dean Saunders , Paul Dickov . That also covers England Ireland Scotland and Wales including Yorkshire. 

[pib]

Peter Doherty ,Billy Bremner , Dave Penney , Dean Saunders , Paul Dickov . That also covers England Ireland Scotland and Wales including Yorkshire.

 

[drfc-steve]

Peter Doherty ,Billy Bremner , Dave Penney , Dean Saunders , Paul Dickov . That also covers England Ireland Scotland and Wales including Yorkshire.

What about Shaun O'Driscoll?

[RedJ]

Oh God here we go...

[The Red Baron]

In the same way that there are difficulties in comparing players from different eras, I think the same can be said about the difficulty of comparing managers from the past with those working today.

The 1960s-80s, in which Busby, Stein, Shankly, Paisley, Ramsey, Clough, Revie all worked, were very much the golden age of the football manager. Before that, the power lay in the boardroom and the manager was subservient to the directors and often carried out mostly administrative duties (with a few notable exceptions, such as Herbert Chapman). Once we get into the 90s the star players become increasingly dominant and the manager loses some of his absolute authority. Ferguson and Robson bestrode those last two eras, and thrived, which demonstrates for me how good they were.

That's not to say that Busby et al were not great managers- they were- but I can't help wondering how they would have dealt with the power wielded by players and, of course, their agents.

[IDM]

Straight in there with a list that doesn't include Paisley or Ferguson. Controversial.

I think that depends on what baseline you're starting from.  Paisley followed Shankley, so already had that success to build on - Ferguson had resources most managers would only dream of.

However, I am sure many would have Ferguson in their top 5, due to trophies alone.  Many would include Ramsey simply because of 1966.

Paisley remained the only manager to win three European cups until this year. No matter how well Shankley prepared the ground (and Paisley was involved in that as coach) you can't take that extraordinary achievement away from Paisley.

I think he is overlooked because he was the grandad in cardigan and slippers and wasn't regarded as much of a charismatic manager in the way Shankley, Clough and Ferguson were.

I became aware of the football really in Paisley's era, after Shankley, so yes, I would personally pick him - was just understanding why others may not.

I also think that for whatever reason, England got rid of Terry Venables far too soon...

[Savvy]

Peter Doherty ,Billy Bremner , Dave Penney , Dean Saunders , Paul Dickov . That also covers England Ireland Scotland and Wales including Yorkshire. 

No Sean O'Driscoll?

[graingrover]

My five were of course tongue in cheek... but I did select the Rovers' Managers I prefered .I also respect Ian Snodin for what he did with very few resources .

[Dagenham Rover]

My five were of course tongue in cheek... but I did select the Rovers' Managers I prefered .I also respect Ian Snodin for what he did with very few  nil resources .

[BillyStubbsTears]

Clough is head and shoulders above the rest.
To take one provincial plodder of a club to a League title and to one dodgy ref from a European Cup Final was phenomenal. To go even further with a second is the stuff that legends are written about. Paisley, Ferguson, Stein all had massive resources/well established clubs to manage. Which is not to denigrate them. But none of them got remotely close to doing what Clough did.

[Capmeister]

Clough is head and shoulders above the rest.
To take one provincial plodder of a club to a League title and to one dodgy ref from a European Cup Final was phenomenal. To go even further with a second is the stuff that legends are written about. Paisley, Ferguson, Stein all had massive resources/well established clubs to manage. Which is not to denigrate them. But none of them got remotely close to doing what Clough did.

Ol' Big 'Ead for me too! Though it was a partnership in which Peter Taylor's contribution is much underplayed. I guess it's the way Taylor would have liked it. I doubt Clough and Taylor's achievements will ever be matched. They were the classic ying and yang. Clough the front and no mean coach. Taylor with an eye for a gem and his ear firmly connected to the jungle drums. It's marvellouslly dramatised in The Damned United. Can you imagine the abject downtroddeness we'd all feel if the pair had triumphed at Leeds!!!!

[LincsRover]

We all have our opinions, all good old human speculation, and all as valid and unprovable! For what it's worth mine are:

1. Fergie - sheer longevity & trophies won
2. Cloughie & Taylor - for all the reasons given previously
3. Bobby Robson - success home and abroad
4. Shankley - bit before my time but history paints him well
5. Busby - again, before my time but to recover from Munich & rebuild as he did makes him impossible to leave off the list

as I said, just an opinion but fun thinking about it! Better than thinking about the reports I'm meant to be writing at the moment anyway!! Back to work!

[glosterred]

Surprisingly Don Revie is not on the list for what he did at Leeds, but there again it was at Leeds and then he deserted England for Arab money, so not surprisingly not on the list.

COYR

[1879Rovers]

Don't forget what Clough did at Derby, another mediocre side struggling along when he took over.

[scotlandsbest]

in my era it has to be

1 jock stein       (what cant you say about a man like this)
2 alex ferguson (cream alaways rises to the top)
3 kenny dalglish (stylish football played easy)
4 matt busby      (if he was around today we would be bowing down)
5 bill shankly       ( arrogance style class and how footy should be played)

AND THERE ALL SCOTTISH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!