Most over-promoted Premier League managers ranked: Frank, Potter, Moyes… | OneFootball

The likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have all taken punts on over-performing Premier League managers, only to find them not suitable for a higher stage.

Success at clubs with smaller budgets and narrower horizons is impressive, but doesn’t always translate effectively at some of the biggest hitters in world football.

We’ve picked out seven Premier League managers who were floored by greater expectation and scrutiny after moving to a bigger club.

7. Sam Allardyce (Newcastle, 2007-08)

Big Sam signed a three-year deal to take over at Newcastle in May 2007, at a time when his successes with Bolton Wanderers made him hot property.

That summer, which saw Mike Ashley take over, Allardyce brought in Mark Viduka, Alan Smith, Geremi Njitap, Joey Barton, and Jose Enrique at considerable expense.

But the new manager’s style of play was always going to be problematic for Geordie supporters, and after a good start to the season, several poor results ensured the critics were never silenced for long.

Ashley’s decision to dispense of Allardyce’s services in January and bring back Keegan as his replacement made him a very popular man, which sounds weird.

Allardyce carved out a niche as a relegation firefighter with Blackburn, West Ham, Sunderland and Crystal Palace.

Subsequent relegations with West Brom and Leeds in the 2020s finally confirmed that the Premier League had overtaken the gum-chewing, Prozone fanatic.

6. Nuno Espirito Santo (Tottenham, 2021)

Nuno was approximately fifth choice for the job in 2021, with Daniel Levy flirting with more glamorous candidates before appointing the bearded one.

His work at Wolves, getting them promoted and finishing seventh two years in a row, was impressive and Nuno won his first three league matches with Spurs.

But several heavy defeats followed, with tactics designed not to lose only accenuating the feeling Spurs were flinching against rivals they should be going toe-to-toe with.

Nuno was sacked at the start of November 2021 and replaced with Antonio Conte.

His subsequent success at Nottingham Forest underlined he’s more at home with mid-table clubs and their expectations.

5. Mike Walker (Everton, 1994)

Hard to picture now, but Everton were one of the ‘Big Five’ that pushed for the formation of the Premier League in the early 1990s until one rogue manager appointment consigned them to also-ran status.

“We’d pass the ball 50 times without it leaving our half, give the ball away and our opponents would score,” Neville Southall later recalled of Mike Walker’s tactics. Sounds about right.

Over thirty years later, Everton fans are still pondering how Walker managed to lead Norwich City to a famous victory over Bayern Munich.

It can’t have been the same bloke who didn’t last a full year on Merseyside.

He’ll always have the comeback victory over Wimbledon, at least. Heaven only knows where the club would’ve ended up without it.

4. Thomas Frank (Tottenham, 2025-)

There’s still time for Frank to turn things around at Tottenham, but the mood music is ominous for a manager in danger of becoming Alan Curbishley for the TikTok generation.

The methods that were so effective at Brentford are accused of lowering Tottenham’s ceiling, narrowing their horizons and squandering the optimism of the post-Levy era.

Spurs fans are used to their team chucking in dreadful performances. Frank’s current crime is making them both awful and boring, the worst of both worlds.

If Frank persists in making the same errors, the consensus that he’s perfect for a small Premier League upstart without the vision to succeed on a grander stage will only solidify.

3. David Moyes (Man Utd, 2013-14)

Whether Moyes really sat Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic down and showed them clips of Phil Jagielka is true or not, the narrative of a good manager out of his depth makes it an irresistible anecdote.

Eleven years of solid work at Everton was impressive, but it hardly qualified Moyes to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013.

Ferguson’s greatness as a manager was underlined by riding off into the sunset with a 13th Premier League title… emphatically won with Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and even Anders Lindegaard all clocking up considerable minutes.

But Robin van Persie’s goals and their 11-point lead over runners-up Manchester City masked the serious deficiencies of an ageing squad that needed attention.

Moyes still had considerable experience and nous to call upon, with no excuses for writhing around like a goldfish out of water as United plummeted to seventh.

Several teams recorded their first victories at Old Trafford in a generation and a comprehensive defeat back at Goodison Park saw United pull the plug on Moyes in April 2014.

He subsequently rebuilt his reputation at West Ham, while several more high-profile managers failed to restore United to their former glory.

But it shouldn’t be forgotten how shocking Moyes’ Old Trafford tenure felt at the time.

2. Roy Hodgson (Liverpool, 2010-11)

Taking over from Rafa Benitez at Liverpool, Hodgson had just guided Fulham to a Europa League final, where they lost in extra time to Atletico Madrid, and his stock was high.

Steven Gerrard said his appointment was “worth the wait”, while Jamie Carragher said it had “given us all a lift”.

But his time at Anfield was marked by embarrassing results and baffling team selections.

With the side hovering above the relegation zone, the future England manager was sacked after just six months in the role.

Hodgson’s steady successes with West Brom and Crystal Palace in the 2010s were his level, rather than Liverpool or the national team.

1. Graham Potter (Chelsea, 2022-23)

Potter transformed Brighton from relegation battlers who were about as easy on the eye as a wart under Chris Hughton into a stylish outfit packed with young talent.

But was this enough for Todd Boehly to spend £20million(!) bringing him to Chelsea in 2022, replacing Champions League-winning coach Thomas Tuchel?

Even at the time, it was questionable. And a miserable seven-month reign that saw Chelsea plummet into the bottom half despite spending £200million irresevisbly damanged Potter’s reputation.

It also scrambled his brain; after taking two years out to ‘choose the right job’, Potter chose to join West Ham and lasted only two months longer than at Stamford Bridge. Somebody needs to have a word.