With the Premier League season over, the ‘big six’ managers have had very contrasting seasons.
During the season, two new managers were brought in by those clubs with both North London sides sacking their previous managers for Jose Mourinho and Mikel Arteta.
As the season went on expectations changed for the majority of the ‘big six’ managers and results started to change for better and worse.
With that in mind, I have graded each manager in order and I will be grading solely on their Premier League performances. I will not be taking into account other competitions for example; Super Cup, World Club Cup, League Cup and FA Cup.
Jurgen Klopp – A* (Final Position 1st)
This is the easiest grade to be given in this list. The German is the first manager to deliver a title to Anfield in 30 years. It is not only the fact that he delivered the title for the fans but its how the delivered it.
The Reds ended the season with a club-record 99 points with only three defeats. After missing out on the title the previous season with 97 points Klopp’s man-management has been exceptional.
His ability to get every ounce of energy out of his players this season after the previous is nothing short of breathtaking. He also added a personal award after winning the LMA manager award this season.
Pep Guadiola – B+ (Final Position 2nd)
Manchester City came into the 2019/20 season looking to win a third Premier League title in a row. However, early-season injuries to Laporte and Sane hampered any chance of that.
On the bright side Pep’s men still managed to score an incredible 102 goals in the league this season. Despite finishing the season in second they still finished 15 points ahead of third-placed Manchester United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær – B (Final Position 3rd)
With the signing of Maguire and Wan-Bissaka, United fans felt optimistic coming into the new season. At the start of 2020, a 2-0 defeat away at Arsenal saw United four points behind fourth and 14 points behind Leicester City.
Fast forward to the end of the season and with the signing of Bruno Fernandes, United miraculously finished above Leicester City. A three-place improvement from his first season (6th) shows that Ole is taking United in the right direction.
Frank Lampard – B (Final Position 4th)
The job that Lampard has done at Stamford Bridge should not be overlooked. With a transfer ban in place when he arrived Lampard had to rely on youth to breathe fresh air into the side.
A top-four finish was a dream for the Blues before the start of the season. But after 10 games Chelsea saw themselves just five points behind Liverpool. This was an impressive season for a manager without Premier League experience and no transfer window.
Jose Mourinho – C (Final Position 6th)
Tottenham Hotspurs fans could hardly believe their eyes when Daniel Levy sacked Pochettino for Mourinho back in November.
Coming into a team with moral clearly at rock bottom, Mourinho’s side managed to finish in a Europa League spot. Although not the top four finish fans expected at the beginning of the season.
However, fans questioned if Spurs would even finish in the top half under Pochettino. There was however high profile wins against Manchester City and Arsenal to offer hope for next season.
Mikel Arteta – D (Final Position 8th)
The former Arsenal player was brought in bring life into a dysfunctional Arsenal side. There are signs that he is getting his method across to his players but an inconsistency in results saw the Gunners finish a 25-year low 8th place.
A positive for Arteta is he should have a good idea now of which players he wants to keep and with the right players a top-four finish next season could not be out of the question.
