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Nowadays, it’s all about the hotshots. ‘Progressive and modern’ young coaches are the rage.
The days of the savvy veteran are fading. Wily pragmatism has been usurped by idealism, with the new generation of coaches seemingly all cut from the same Pep Guardiola-inspired cloth.
Crystal Palace attempted to move in a new direction when they appointed Patrick Vieira as manager in 2021. The Frenchman showed promise at Selhurst Park throughout his first 18 months on the job, but Palace’s dire run of form in 2023 rendered his position untenable.
With just the final quarter of the season remaining, the club opted against appointing their long-term successor and instead went for vintage familiarity. That’s right, folks; Woy’s back!
Roy Hodgson just can’t stay away. This will be his seventh stint in the Premier League, and he will smash his own record and become the division’s oldest-ever manager once he takes charge after the March international break.
Here’s who joins Hodgson as the ten oldest managers in Premier League history.
Big Sam Allardyce had developed the reputation of being a masterful escape artist. The former England boss had the knack of steering clubs away from relegation, but the West Brom job in 2020/21 was one even beyond his capabilities.
Slaven Bilic departed the club on 16 December 2020 having overseen just one Premier League win in 13 games. Big Sam was drafted in, and although he oversaw a memorable 5-2 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, West Brom succumbed to the drop under his tutelage.
It was the first time Allardyce had ever been relegated from the Premier League.
Premier League stalwart Redknapp enjoyed success on the south coast at Portsmouth before securing Tottenham’s first-ever Champions League berth in 2010.
The majority of his 641 Premier League games in charge came at West Ham (269), but his last came at QPR.
Redknapp was 67 years, 335 days old when he led QPR out against Stoke in January 2015. He resigned in the wake of that defeat, with the west London club eventually dropping to the second tier.
Dutch manager Advocaat had been around the block before he rolled up at Sunderland in a bid to get the Black Cats out of trouble.
The journeyman boss led Sunderland to safety at the end of the 2014/15 season in impressive fashion, but he resigned early into the 2015/16 campaign following a run of eight games without a win.
Advocaat, now 75 and still coaching in the Eredivisie, was 68 years and six days old when he took charge of his final Premier League game in October 2015.
Wenger will forever be remembered as an Arsenal icon and, arguably, the greatest-ever manager in the club’s history. Although, perhaps some Herbert Chapman admirers will dispute that.
Nevertheless, the Frenchman’s reign had turned foul by its conclusion. A fanbase was divided while Wenger clung onto power before he eventually opted to depart at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Wenger, who helped Arsenal to three Premier League titles, was 68 when he led the Gunners out for the very last time away at Huddersfield.
Chelsea’s crisis boss Hiddink enjoyed two spells in west London. His second was in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho’s second exit from the club.
Mourinho was dismissed just before Christmas in 2015 with the champions languishing just above the relegation zone. Hiddink was brought in to provide stability, and while his interim reign was far from spectacular, stability is what he achieved as the Blues finished tenth in the table.
The Dutchman was 69 when he took charge of his final Premier League game against Leicester, as he made way for Antonio Conte in the summer.
After overseeing the most extraordinary title triumph at Leicester in 2015/16, Ranieri thought he’d dip his toe back into the pond of the Premier League when Fulham came calling in 2018.
His stint at Craven Cottage was forgettable, but his time in England wasn’t quite finished there.
Watford hired the Italian on a two-year deal in October 2021 but he’d last just a couple of months as he was sacked on 24 January 2022. Nevertheless, Ranieri oversaw thumping victories over Everton and Man Utd, while becoming the fifth-oldest manager in Premier League history.
Warnock has returned to management with Huddersfield Town in the Championship, but his last Premier League job arrived with Cardiff during the 2018/19 season.
Expectations were low for Warnock’s side, and it was no surprise they succumbed to the drop. The Englishman was 70 years, 162 days old when he took charge of Cardiff’s memorable 2-0 victory over Man Utd on the final day of the season.
That was Cardiff’s first win over the Red Devils since 1954, when Warnock was just five years old.
The all-conquering Fergie signed off in some style at the end of the 2012/13 season at the Hawthorns after Man Utd had wrapped up the Premier League title.
The Red Devils, led by the 71-year-old Scot, concluded their campaign away at West Brom and played out a remarkable 5-5 draw with a young Romelu Lukaku scoring a hat-trick for the Baggies.
Ferguson remains the oldest manager to lift the Premier League trophy – a record that should stand for a very long time.
The adored Sir Bobby returned to his hometown club Newcastle to round off his managerial career. It was his first and only stint in the Premier League, with his tenure on Tyneside best remembered for the club’s exploits in the Champions League.
Despite his tenure ending without silverware, Robson was loved by the Toon. He’d built quite the reputation across Europe following his work with England, PSV, and Barcelona, but his final job was most fitting.
Robson spent five years at Newcastle before chairman Freddy Shepherd made the curious decision to switch managers just two games into the 2004/05 season.
Here he is.
Many suspected Hodgson’s career to be over once he left Palace the first time around in 2021, but Watford’s desperation a year later thrust him back into the limelight.
The former England boss returned to management at the end of the 2021/22 season in a bid to keep the Hornets up, but his reign was statistically his worst in the Premier League. Watford notched just 0.5 points per game as they were relegated under Woy’s watch.
It was the first time Hodgson had ever suffered relegation from the English top flight as a manager.
Now he’s back and ready to do it all over again.
