Few English Managers Who Led the Teams to EPL’s Top Four 

Only a few English managers in the Premier League managed to guide their team to a top-four finish.

English managers have been a ‘rare breed’ in the past few seasons in the English top flight. Almost none are taking charge of the top teams. 

More and more EPL clubs are keen on picking foreign bosses to lead the team. After the failure of Graham Potter and the inconsistent form of Frank Lampard’s side at Chelsea, very few elites are interested in eyeing English managers as they need more warranty for positive campaigns.

The last English manager who managed to guide his team to a top-four finish was Eddie Howe in 2023. He helped Newcastle United seal a UCL spot last season. He remains the best English manager whose team finished the highest in the 2023–24 season, as the Magpies sat seventh. 

Before Howe, there were surely other names in the dugout who did it in the seasons prior. Unsurprisingly, some had been the Three Lions bosses too in the past. Here are those distinguished figures.

Harry Redknapp

The former Tottenham boss was the last English manager who could guide his teams to the top four before Howe and Lampard. He did it twice with the Spurs in the 2009/10 and 2011/12 seasons. His team finished fourth with 70 points in the former season, which was 16 points adrift from the league leader at that time, Chelsea, and collected 69 points in the latter season in the same position. Michael Dawson and Co. were even 20 points behind the EPL champions, Manchester City.

That was the first time for Spurs to compete in the UEFA Champions League after so many years of only tasting the UEFA Cups or Europa League. No wonder that Tottenham tickets were in huge demand in European fixtures too, as they got a chance to face off against big teams on the continent such as AC Milan and Real Madrid. Redknapp was even able to guide them to progress to the quarterfinals in 2011 after thumping Rossoneri in Milan with a single goal from Peter Crouch.

Due to his success, the former Bournemouth man was even awarded Premier League Manager of the Season in 2010. Such was no surprise, as he had done it before with West Ham in the past, although they did not exactly finish in the top four but sat fifth instead. In 1998/99, he led the Hammers with promising young talents who then became the key figures in Chelsea’s glory under Jose Mourinho, Joe Cole, and his nephew, Frank Lampard, to qualify for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup path.

Redknapp then parted ways with Spurs in 2012 after failing to agree with the terms of the new contract, and Spurs missed the UCL spot due to Chelsea’s unlikely victory in the UCL final in 2012. The Blues finished below them but had the right to qualify as a reigning champion.

He was tipped to be England’s national team manager as a successor to Fabio Capello before EURO 2012. Unfortunately, he did not get the offer because of his 15 million-pound buy-out clause in his contract with the Spurs. He then moved on to take charge of QPR until 2015, with Birmingham City in the second tier and the Jordan national team in between before his retirement.

Kevin Keegan

He was a former Liverpool and Hamburg star during his playing years. Yet he emerged as a Newcastle boss in his managerial career. After their promotion to the top flight, the Toon Army was led to finish third in the 1993–94 season and joined the title race in 1996 and 1997, only to lose dramatically to Manchester United in both seasons. 

In the 1995–1996 campaign, they were even leading the table for almost the entire season. Yet Manchester United proved their winning mentality and bounced back before toppling Peter Beardsley and Co. in the final weeks. 

Keegan’s team played attractive offensive football with the likes of Les Ferdinand, David Ginola, David Batty, and Warren Barton as new signings in that season, plus Faustino Asprilla in January 1996 to revamp the squad from the previous season as they sold their prolific goalscorer, Andy Cole, to the Red Devils. 

In 1996/97, The Magpies even snatched Alan Shearer, who was Sir Alex Ferguson’s main target in the summer of 1996, after his success in winning the 1996 EURO Golden Shoe. 

Unfortunately, Keegan’s abrupt decision to step down shocked the fans and the team. Newcastle’s positive campaign was eventually derailed. His disagreement with the owner, Sir John Hall, over the project and the long-term collaboration was touted as the reason behind his departure.

He was then appointed as England national team boss in 1999, following Glenn Hoddle’s dismissal. The manager, who was nicknamed ‘Mighty Mouse’ as a player, led Alan Shearer and Co. to the EURO 2000 final round unconvincingly through the playoff stage. Yet, he failed to guide the Three Lions to qualify for the knockout stage, despite a positive display against Germany in the second game of the group stage, leading to a narrow 1-0 win, their first-ever win against Die Mannschaft in major tournaments since the 1966 World Cup. Keegan eventually resigned from his post after England’s defeat to Germany in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. 

Keegan then took the reins of Manchester City in 2001, leading them back to the top flight instantly after their relegation in the 2000–01 season. He stayed in the City of Manchester stadium until March 2005, finishing ninth in 2003 as his team’s best campaign. He returned to Newcastle in 2008, before his retirement.

Sir Bobby Robson

Unlike Keegan, who had a chance to be the Three Lions manager after his success at the club, Sir Bobby Robson was at the helm of the Magpies after his successful stints in Europe and with the England national team. He was the last manager to guide the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-final in 1990 before Gareth Southgate did it again in the 2018 edition. 

The former Ipswich Town manager was named to take charge of Newcastle United in late 1999, and he stayed until 2004. Initially, Robson’s tenure was rather disappointing, as he only helped them finish 11th twice in 2000 and 2001. However, such a negative trend turned the other way around in the following three seasons. The Sacriston-born manager was able to bring them to sit fourth, third, and fifth on the table. His team even made it to the second group stage phase of UCL 2003, where Alan Shearer and co. had a chance to take on Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, and Inter Milan after previously beating Feyenoord and Juventus in the previous group stage.

Newcastle was Robson’s last club before he called his day. He was the boss who led Ipswich Town to clinch the UEFA Cup title in 1981, FC Porto and PSV Eindhoven to win two league titles each, and Barcelona with Ronaldo Luiz in the team to snatch the UEFA Winners Cup plus the Copa Del Rey in 2007.