A new study has claimed to reveal the best Premier League managers of all time – and Sir Alex Ferguson came in first place, with Pep Guardiola in second and Jürgen Klopp in third.
The company KiwiGambler ranked all the coaches who had been in charge for two seasons or more, based on a variety of factors, such as win percentage, total points gained, points per game, total games in charge and goal difference.
An index was created by normalising the stats and multiplying them by the weight for each variable, creating a score out of 100.
The top five are relatively obvious. The order? Less so.
Coming in as the greatest Premier League manager of all time, according to the KiwiGambler metric at least, is Sir Alex Ferguson.
The development of his Manchester United squads through numerous generations of football, at times moving on big personalities in the dressing room at the right time, is testament to his skill as a manager.
The Scotsman also valued youth in his squads, particularly with the Class of ’92, a group of six academy players who had great success with the club.
Ferguson’s longevity and success meant that he topped the table for both total points (1,752) and goal difference (+924).
The 81-year-old’s influence on the Premier League led to him scoring an unparalleled 88.34 out of 100 in the index.
Having won the competition 13 times in his 26-year career at the biggest club in English football, Ferguson is truly the ultimate Premier League manager.
In second place is Pep Guardiola. Manchester City’s manager beat out every other Premier League manager in terms of both average points-per-game and win percentage, coming in at 2.35 and 75% respectively.
The five-time Premier League winner has had a huge influence on English football, particularly when you look at the newer crop of managers, such as Mikel Arteta and Vincent Kompany.
His meticulous style and possession-based football have been crucial in the development of the Premier League and the success of it has led to Guardiola placing second in the index, with a score of 82.9 out of 100.
Following Guardiola is German manager Jürgen Klopp.
Despite having won just a single Premier League title in 2019/20, Klopp has been an integral part of English football in recent seasons, proving the main competition to the dominant Manchester City.
The 56-year-old’s embodiment of gegenpressing and fast-paced attacking football has led to his success in the Premier League.
Scoring 67.79 out of 100 in the index, football fans may be surprised he makes the top three.
However, his impressive record of 2.1 points per game, coupled with a win percentage of 62%, may be the reason for this.
In fourth place comes Arsène Wenger. The Frenchman managed a mammoth 828 Premier League games for Arsenal over 22 years, winning three league titles.
Among his achievements include the Invincibles, the 2003/04 squad which went a 38-game season unbeaten – the only club to ever achieve this feat.
Nicknamed “Le Professeur” to reflect his diligence as a manager, Wenger is credited with developing English football through scouting, training, diet regimes and fitness.
The 73-year-old scored 67.03 out of 100.
In fifth place, José Mourinho. His time spent at Chelsea in both his spells were successful, delivering league titles in 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2014/15.
The Special One also managed Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, racking up a total of 735 points across the 363 games he managed in the Premier League.
His overall record earned him a score of 65.03 out of 100, enough to be included in the top five.
| Rank | Manager | Index score/100 |
| 1 | Sir Alex Ferguson | 88.34 |
| 2 | Pep Guardiola | 82.90 |
| 3 | Jürgen Klopp | 67.79 |
| 4 | Arsène Wenger | 67.03 |
| 5 | José Mourinho | 65.03 |
| 6 | Antonio Conte | 64.57 |
| 7 | Roberto Mancini | 64.36 |
| 8 | Mikel Arteta | 54.74 |
| 9 | Carlo Ancelotti | 52.98 |
| 10 | Manuel Pellegrini | 50.86 |
More information about the index can be found at https://kiwigambler.co.nz
