End-of-term report: Our writers grade the Premier League's super-coaches
Antonio Conte: 90%
Man-management – 19/20
Diego Costa threatened to derail Chelsea’s title bid in January following interest from China. Conte handled the situation superbly by dropping him and making it clear he would not be sold. The Italian has also succeeded with ending the ‘untouchable’ culture at Stamford Bridge, which has helped the squad to remain focused.
Tactics – 19/20
The moment Chelsea’s season changed was when Conte reverted to a back three in the 55th minute of a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal. It has proved perfect for David Luiz and gave Victor Moses a chance to shine. Conte has used substitutes brilliantly, often bringing on Cesc Fabregas and Willian to close out games, and has been brave enough to drop John Terry, Costa and Eden Hazard.
Public relations – 19/20
One of the big fears around the appointment of Conte was his English. But it is testament to his language skills that Carlo Cudicini, who is stationed in press conferences in case the head coach needs translation, has spent hours of this season staring at his phone while Conte answers questions. Conte even took regular visitors to Chelsea’s training ground to a local pub at Christmas.
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Squad use and transfers – 19/20
Conte has got the best out of the players he inherited. Moses, loaned out for three successive seasons by Jose Mourinho, has been a revelation, Luiz has been transformed in the new formation and Pedro, who suffered a difficult first season at Chelsea, has been reborn. Only Michy Batshuayi has struggled to make an impact.
Boardroom relations – 14/20
So far, so good although negotiations over Conte’s new contract could uncover a few cracks. Conte has a history of following up big success with big demands and that will again be the case this summer. Abramovich will offer to make him the highest-paid manager in Chelsea’s history, but it remains to be seen if Conte is given greater control of transfers and his backroom staff.
Matt Law
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Mauricio Pochettino: 85%
Man-management – 18/20
Tottenham’s players love their manager. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has said that he signed a new contract because of Pochettino and there is no way the club would keep all their stars without him. He can be incredibly hard on his squad but is also willing to put an arm around the shoulder. His relationship with Kyle Walker has been thrown into question, however.
Tactics – 17/20
Of all the top six, Pochettino has shown the most versatility, often switching between a 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3 and a 4-3-3. The Spurs manager has, however, been handicapped by his options on the substitutes’ bench and got it wrong in the Champions League game in Monaco and the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, when he played Son Heung-min as a makeshift left wing-back.
Public relations – 17/20
Having spoken through a translator at Southampton, Pochettino has become one of the most engaging managers in the game since communicating in English at Tottenham. The 45-year-old loves to talk football, explain his philosophy and recall stories from his own playing days. Questions on team selection anger him, but he is not afraid to publicly criticise a player occasionally.
Squad use and transfers – 16/20
Pochettino’s development of young players is unrivalled, underlined by the way in which he integrated Harry Winks, before the midfielder suffered an injury. He also covered for injuries by changing the positions of Son and Eric Dier at different times. Victor Wanyama has proved to be one of the bargains of last summer, but Vincent Janssen and Moussa Sissoko have been disappointments.
Boardroom relations – 17/20
They may be an unlikely couple, but Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy get on famously. Pochettino and some of his key staff even go to Levy’s house in France for talks over transfer targets and contracts when they want to get away from the training ground. If the relationship was not so strong there would be a danger of Pochettino being poached this summer.
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Matt Law
Jurgen Klopp: 76%
Man-management – 16/20
One of Klopp’s finest attributes. You can measure his enthusiasm for a performance based on the number of hugs he distributes after the final whistle. Players want to play for him and he will defend them to the hilt when results are not so favourable. Only those who have tested his patience once, twice, or most likely a third time (i.e. Mamadou Sakho) can anticipate public criticism.
Tactics – 14/20
Klopp referenced not ‘having a plan B’ earlier in the season. Unfortunately, the fact that he was being ironic rather than serious was overlooked and it read like an admission of tactical limitations. The Liverpool coach does seek a high-pressing, ultra-energetic attacking game – but not necessarily for 90 minutes. Educating his side in shifting the gears is part of their development.
Public relations – 16/20
Klopp is considered one of the most charismatic managers with good reason, although he is as prone as anyone to being in an acidic mood after a defeat. He still needs to work harder to grasp the matchday culture of the Kop: his insistence that fans do not sing his name because it might smack of over-confidence misinterprets the relationship between the Anfield crowd and their manager.
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Squad use and transfers – 14/20
The issue is not whether Klopp bought well, but whether he bought enough. Sadio Mané departed for the Africa Cup of Nations with the team fighting for the title and in two cups. He returned with no trophies left to win so it was an error not to have an adequate deputy. The club argue it is better to wait and sign well than panic and waste cash. Better buy well in the summer, then.
Boardroom relations – 16/20
New chief executive Peter Moore starts work in June, but Liverpool managers no longer get involved with public spats with their own board (thankfully). Currently there is harmony in the Anfield ranks. The days of querying whether a Liverpool player is signed by a scout, a ‘committee’ member or the manager have long gone. This summer is the first test of the ‘new’ arrangement.
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Chris Bascombe
Jose Mourinho: 68%
Man-management – 12/20
Mourinho’s handling of scapegoat Marouane Fellaini was described by Ander Herrera as the best piece of man-management he has witnessed and the Portuguese has skilfully succeeded in making the Wayne Rooney conundrum a non-issue. But that has been offset by the frequent public criticism of players. In the case of Luke Shaw, whose professionalism, commitment and footballing intelligence have all been criticised, Mourinho has at times seemed at risk of crossing the line. Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have also suffered varying degrees of criticism. Some, like Rashford, have reacted well, others have seemed cowed.
Least impressive unbeaten runs in the Premier League
Tactics – 12/20
United’s 2-0 victory over champions Chelsea last month showcased Mourinho at his tactical best and he has delivered one major trophy with the hope of a second to come. But in the big games his approach was invariably too negative and the team scored just once in league games away to the top five. In recent months especially, United have become more defensive and cautious, inviting pressure and looking pedestrian in the process. Mourinho might blame fatigue, injuries and the fixture overload for that but United will need to show more ambition next season. They have been hard to beat, as evidenced by a 25-match unbeaten run in the league, but there were 12 draws in that sequence.
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Public relations – 13/20
Mourinho talked regularly earlier in the season about being more adventurous and less pragmatic but that rhetoric has since ceased as the quality of football has deteriorated, replaced by endless complaints about United’s schedule. Even fans are growing tired of hearing them. Mourinho has refuted suggestions that he is giving his players excuses for falling short but some clearly look like they have started to believe they are fatigued. Although engaging and candid with the media, Mourinho has cut a glum figure at times and faced questions about whether he is happy in Manchester. A year since his appointment, he is still living in a hotel.
Squad use and transfers – 13/20
Mourinho’s failure to rotate his squad more earlier in the season has come back to haunt him as injuries and fatigue have bitten, and he left himself short of options by selling Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay in January and Bastian Schweinsteiger two months later. Shaw and Mkhitaryan could have played more early on and Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked exhausted by the time he succumbed to a cruciate injury. Mourinho bought well in the transfer market but may rue the decision not to bring in one or two more. Ibrahimovic scored 28 goals and Paul Pogba has had a better campaign than many unable to look beyond his world record £89 million fee appreciate. Eric Bailly has been a quality addition, even if Mkhitaryan has work to do to convince he can be a game-changer. Herrera, Fellaini and Antonio Valencia have been revitalised but others have gone backwards, not least Anthony Martial, who has consistently disappointed.
Boardroom relations – 18/20
Mourinho has spoken consistently about the strong working relationship he has with Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, transfer and contract negotiator and the manager’s principal point of contact, as well as the board and owners, the Glazer family. There have been none of the run-ins and tensions with United’s commercial department that were a fixture under Louis van Gaal, Mourinho’s predecessor, and he feels he has had the support he wants.
James Ducker
Pep Guardiola: 64%
Man-management – 13/20
Guardiola wasted little time jettisoning Joe Hart and exiling Yaya Touré as he sought to impose his will and remove or sideline some of the dressing room’s biggest personalities. But the decision to offload Hart without an adequate replacement was hasty and the manager has since come to rely heavily on Touré, even if it could be argued he played that hand well. Relations with striker Sergio Agüero have appeared strained throughout the campaign and his indulgence of senior defenders who were guilty of consistently underperforming at the expense of some emerging youngsters, like Pablo Maffeo, was puzzling.
Tactics – 11/20
Guardiola’s struggles to impose his style of football in the Premier League have been less surprising than City’s shortcomings in the Champions League. Holding a 5-3 advantage from the first leg of their round-of-16 tie against Monaco, Guardiola set up in the second game as if it was City chasing the tie and promptly watched his side get overrun. Antonio Conte at Chelsea has had no European distractions but Guardiola’s troubles look all the starker in comparison to the Italian’s successes in his debut season in England. Guardiola belatedly seems to have realised that he will not get far without a goalkeeper with sound handling and a centre-half who offers the authority and leadership of a Vincent Kompany.
Public relations – 14/20
Guardiola is right when he says City do not have the stature of Europe’s traditional heavyweight clubs. But he has made the club seem smaller than they are with persistent references to their limited history in Europe and regular descriptions of the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus as “big clubs”. Nonetheless, there have been signs of fans warming to the Champions League after his call to arms for them to embrace the competition. Intense and permanently fidgeting, Guardiola’s dealings with the media have ranged from friendly and engaging to arrogant, tetchy and surly and there have been some excruciating television interviews.
Squad use and transfers – 9/20
Guardiola committed an alarming oversight by failing to sign two new full-backs last summer, just as his choice of Bravo to replace Joe Hart in goal has backfired badly. City spent in excess of £170 million but only Leroy Sané and Gabriel Jesus have offered value for money. Nolito been effectively been written off and John Stones has had a difficult debut season. Ilkay Gundogan, while gifted, came with a chequered injury record and succumbed to a cruciate injury in December. Guardiola has stopped making so many changes but his persistent meddling, especially in defence, during the first two-thirds of the season only bred confusion. David Silva and Raheem Sterling are among those who have been energised by Guardiola but Kevin De Bruyne has not kicked on in the way many hoped and the youngsters, such as Kelechi Iheanacho, have been peripheral.
Boardroom relations – 17/20
Guardiola has claimed he will not survive at City next season if he blows a “second chance” to deliver success after a disappointing debut campaign but chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain remain in thrall to him. Chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak’s post-season review will make for interesting reading given his blunt appraisal of Manuel Pellegrini’s final season in charge, when City won the League Cup and reached the Champions League semi-finals. Guardiola maintains strong relations with the board but he will be under no illusions that there needs to be a marked improvement next term.
James Ducker
Arsene Wenger: 62%
Man-management – 13/20
Usually one of Wenger’s greatest strengths – how many former players ever really speak out against him? – but there were serious issues this season. The most striking was Alexis Sánchez, whose body language and general demeanour tested both his relationship with Wenger and the other players. It came to a head before the defeat against Liverpool when, having walked off the training pitch, he was dropped by Wenger. It hardly worked. Arsenal lost the game and Wenger was forced to turn to Sánchez at half-time. The uncertainty over Wenger’s future has also made it hard for him to convince players to sign new contracts.
Tactics – 11/20
Began the season in the usual 4-2-3-1 formation and, with Santi Cazorla fit and available, the team flourished. They were at or near the top for of the table for just about the entire first half of the season but back-to-back defeats against Everton and Manchester City just before Christmas and then against Chelsea in February were fatal. It contributed to a sense that Wenger’s system was simply too open and frail at the key moments. Wenger was slow to change. There was a dalliance with 4-3-3 but, amid further chastening defeats against West Brom, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, he settled on 3-4-2-1 and the season improved again.
Public relations – 11/20
His relationship with fans has become a major issue and, short of seriously challenging to win the Premier League again or land a first Champions League, there is little that can be done. There have been protests and angry division over what should happen next and, while those fans who have made the most noise are hardly representative, deep frustration at so many similar seasons is pretty much universally shared. The situation has been even harder to deal with amid the season-long uncertainty over his own future but, as ever, Wenger is one of the most thoughtful and engaging media interviews in football.
Squad use and transfers – 10/20
When Wenger was asked recently about the summer, he suggested that the size of his squad was already something that has been difficult to manage. He has rarely had such strength in depth but keeping players happy and focused has not been easy and he has also struggled to find his best team. The goalkeepers are rotated according to the competition, the midfield has changed almost endlessly since Cazorla’s injury and he is still switching between Olivier Giroud, Sánchez or Danny Welbeck. The team has lacked rhythm but there are signs of improvement and a new identity now with the 3-4-2-1 structure.
Boardroom relations – 17/20
The strains have been more evident this season than before but it is a testament to the strength of their relationship that Wenger is still likely to go on as manager. Tension has been evident over the board’s desire to enact some structural change at the club, with Wenger initially acting strongly against the idea of diluting his power, but he appears now to be increasingly reassured. A dreadful run of results between January and April would have finished managers at some clubs but Arsenal do things differently and, above all, that is testament to a unique bond with their man in the dugout.
Jeremy Wilson
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