da dobrowin： Pep Guardiola may have picked up a sixth English league title, but that doesn't necessarily mean he did the best job in the top-flight
da apostaganha： Pep Guardiola's status as the best manager in world football was solidified after Manchester City's run to the treble last season, but it didn't quench his appetite for success. He was determined to secure a record fourth-successive Premier League crown, and the Catalan delivered, as he always does, despite City suffering a slight drop-off in quality as a collective.
Arsenal took the title race down to the final day after reaching the next stage of Mikel Arteta's ambitious project in north London, while Liverpool re-emerged as contenders in Jurgen Klopp's final season at the helm, but Manchester United and Newcastle dropped out of the top four after enduring nightmare campaigns. Unai Emery's Aston Villa capitalised to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 41 years, with Tottenham moving up to fifth under the stewardship of their fearless Australian boss Ange Postecoglou.
At the other end of the table, Chris Wilder, Vincent Kompany and Rob Edwards failed to prevent Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton, respectively, dropping straight back down to the Championship, but Sean Dyche and Nuno Espirito Santo had plenty to celebrate after guiding Everton and Nottingham Forest to safety despite being hit with respective points deductions.
GOAL has rated every head coach's performance from the 2023-24 campaign to decide the final rankings for the Manager of the Season award…
Getty20Erik ten Hag (1/10)
Manchester United were supposed to be title contenders this season, as Erik ten Hag followed up a third-placed finish in his debut campaign by signing Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat – while also bringing veteran defender Jonny Evans back to the club on a free transfer.
The new additions didn't take the Red Devils to the next level, though, and pre-existing stars such as Marcus Rashford and Casemiro allowed their standards to slip. United slumped to their worst-ever Premier League finish in 2023-24, posting a goal difference of minus-one, and lost a grand total of 14 games, with Bournemouth and Crystal Palace among the teams to absolutely blow Ten Hag's disjointed side off the park.
The Dutchman's poor recruitment choices and baffling tactics have dragged the club down to previously unthinkable depths, and he doesn't deserve to be part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's revolution as INEOS map out a revival plan following their purchase of a 25 percent stake at Old Trafford.
AdvertisementGetty19Chris Wilder (2/10)
Paul Heckingbottom worked wonders to guide Sheffield United to a second-placed finish in the Championship last season, and did his best to make the squad Premier League-ready by signing 10 new players in the summer transfer window.
Unfortunately, those additions didn't make an immediate impact, with the Blades losing 11 of their opening 14 games, including a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Burnley. That result proved to be the last straw for the board, who sacked Heckingbottom before re-appointing Wilder.
The popular Englishman made a strong start to his second spell at Bramall Lane, notably picking up a vital win over Brentford in December thanks to a superb individual goal from James McAtee. But the Blades only registered one more win after that – a surprise 3-1 triumph at Luton that was sandwiched by two more 5-0 hammerings against Aston Villa and Brighton.
The Blades were relegated by the end of April, and finished the season having conceded a record 104 goals, with Wilder's past Premier League experience ultimately counting for little as he spectacularly failed to organise a squad that lacked quality across the pitch.
Getty18Vincent Kompany (3/10)
Guardiola's disciple proved his coaching chops in an impressive debut season at Burnley, who stormed to the 2022-23 Championship title with a fluid, possession-based style – completely opposite to the approach used by Dyche during his reign at Turf Moor.
Kompany single-handedly changed the way Burnley are perceived by neutrals, but the step up to Premier League level proved to be too big for the Belgian, after his admirable decision to snub interest from Spurs. The Clarets only won five of their 38 top-flight games and finished eight points adrift of 17th, having never managed to build up any kind of rhythm.
A lack of experience in the squad proved costly, and although Kompany deserves credit for sticking to his core values, he also looked out of his depth as basic errors crept into Burnley's game. The Belgian learned some harsh lessons in 2023-24, but will be stronger for it, and should be allowed the chance to try and guide the Clarets to another promotion.
Getty17Nuno Espirito Santo (4/10)
Steve Cooper's three-year reign at the City Ground ended on December 19 as the Nottingham Forest board took the decision to part ways with the fan-favourite after a run of just one win from 13 Premier League games. Former Tottenham and Wolves boss Nuno was drafted in as Cooper's replacement, and picked up huge wins over Newcastle and Manchester United in his first two weeks at the helm to instantly lift the mood in the stands.
Forest's form dipped again at the turn of the year, though, as they won just four of their final 18 games. Nuno made Forest slightly harder to beat, but his ultra-conservative style hasn't gone down too well with supporters, with January loan signing Gio Reyna barely getting a look in, and it remains to be seen if he stays in the dugout for the long-term.
Still, the main thing is that he steered Forest clear of the relegation zone, even after the club was punished with a two-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability rules, and if he avoids more bad luck with injuries next season then the team should start rising back up the league quickly.