Is Arteta a candidate for manager of the season? by Jonbo
I want to explore Arteta’s chances of winning manager of the season, and who are the other realistic candidates. For the purposes of this article, I am only focusing on Premier League managers, but it should be noted that if Rooney keeps Derby up, he would be a very strong candidate, given the huge points deduction imposed on the club for entering administration.
History tells us that whoever wins the Premier League, is automatically a strong candidate irrespective of money spent, quality of squad, and level of competition. In fact, the vast majority of winners have been whoever won the league, with only a few exceptions over the last 20 years such as: Redknapp 09-10, Pardew 11-12, Pulis 13-14. All favourites of Arsenal fans I should add!
So who are the realistic candidates?
Pep Guardiola
Strong favourites to win the league, and if they do it, they’ve done it in style, and without a recognised striker. City have been so good, they rarely seem to even get out of third gear for most games, yet just keep on winning! Given the quality of their squad, and unlimited funds, they are always expected to win, but respect is still due for the manner of which they win, which is down to Pep.
Jurgen Klopp
I think Klopp is doing an amazing job at Liverpool, especially as Liverpool cannot compete with Man City in regards to spending power. Like City, they are such an entertaining team to watch. City pretty much had the league sewn up a couple of months ago, so Klopp has performed wonders to claw back the difference, and are currently pushing hard for the title. If Liverpool win the league, it will be a great comeback!
Mikel Arteta
The main reason I give Arteta a chance, is if we qualify for the CL. At the beginning of the season (especially after our first 3 games) you would have been hard pressed to find any pundit, journalist, fan or rival fan that genuinely believed Arsenal could finish in the top 4. The jury was still well and truly out on Arteta, we had the youngest squad and starting XI in the league, and hardly any experience. On top of that, we got rid of Aubameyang mid-season, amongst others, and brought in ZERO replacements. Yes, we spent the most in the summer, but we were still starting way back, and playing catch up in comparison to other clubs. When you consider how young our players are, and that lack of experience, Arteta is clearly getting the maximum out of his squad. Achieving something like CL qualification, that no one thought possible, should make Arteta a strong candidate.
David Moyes
Despite a recent dip in form, West Ham still have a chance of qualifying for the CL. Unlike Arteta, Moyes has also had to contend with European games, which means less chance of recovery for his paper thin squad, yet he is juggling the extra fixtures well. I think Moyes has his team massively overachieving this season, so he deserves huge credit for that, and they have had some great wins over big teams this season. If we don’t get a CL spot, I would love to see West Ham get it.
Thomas Frank
Brentford are a small club, with a tiny budget, and this is the club’s first top flight season for 74 years! Keeping them up based just on that would be an unbelievable achievement. It would be Frank’s first ever season as a Premier League manager, and really, his first season managing in a really competitive top flight league. He was previously manager of Brondby, but the top flight Danish league cannot be compared to the quality of the top leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, etc. What I also like about Frank, is that he has Brentford playing some very attractive football at times.
Dean Smith
He was sacked from Aston Villa in November 2021, and became Norwich manager only 8 days later. Despite that easy transition of his Premier League experience, taking over a club at almost the midpoint of a season is always an uphill task. Especially given the shocking form Norwich were in. Even by November, they looked completely finished. They were everyone’s favourites to go down, and to finish bottom. Despite the fact they still are bottom, and on a horrible run of form, they have improved under Smith, and are only 5 points from safety, albeit with less points available. If he keeps them up given what he inherited, that has to be one of greatest survival stories in Premier League history! Even if Klopp wins the league, and Arteta qualifies for the CL, I would still make Smith manager of the season if Norwich stayed up.
Other notable mentions would be:
Bruno Lage – Wolves
Eddie Howe – Newcastle
Who are your picks for manager of season?
Jonbo
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