For the first time in four seasons, we have new Premier League champions. Liverpool romped to their record-equalling 20th top-flight title in Arne Slot’s first season at the helm, finishing well clear of Mikel Arteta’s second-placed Arsenal, as well as Manchester City, who surrendered their crown in shockingly weak fashion while Pep Guardiola experienced the first proper failure of his illustrious career.
Slot was by no means the only coach to impress, though. Nuno Espirito Santo has taken Nottingham Forest from relegation-threatened strugglers to European qualification while both Eddie Howe and Unai Emery have continued to impress in charge of Newcastle and Aston Villa, respectively, with both sides in contention for returns to the Champions League heading into the final day.
The question is, who deserves to be crowned the best Premier League manager of the 2024-25 campaign? GOAL ranks the top 10 contenders…
10Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth)
Bournemouth are still in with a chance of a top-10 finish after another impressive season under Andoni Iraola, who has transformed the Cherries into one of the most aggressive and entertaining sides in the division. For a while, Champions League qualification even looked like a possibility, as they sat just a point outside the top four at the end of January after an 11-game unbeaten run.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t sustain that kind of form due to a lack of squad depth, with a string of untimely injuries forcing Iraola to stretch his resources to the limit. The Cherries have only won three league games since beating Southampton 3-1 at St Mary’s on February 15, and there has been a dip in overall performance levels as fatigue has set in.
But that doesn’t mean their season has been a bust – far from it. Had it not been for bad luck, a place in Europe would have been theirs. Iraola has still made the Cherries a match for anyone on their day with his progressive style of play, while also turning defensive duo Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez into world-beaters and bringing a lot more out of previously unconvincing players like Justin Kluivert and Dango Ouattarra.
9Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)
Enzo Maresca has had to fight an uphill battle to win the faith of Chelsea supporters. Many felt that Mauricio Pochettino deserved more time after guiding the Blues to sixth in the league last term, and Maresca’s only previous experience as a head coach had come in the Championship at Leicester City.
But the Italian has largely been able to silence the doubters. Chelsea will return to the Champions League if they beat fellow top-five chasers Nottingham Forest on the final day of the season, and may even finish as high as third in the process, which would represent a huge step forward.
The Blues have looked disjointed at times, but Maresca has made them a more possession-oriented, hard-working team, and that bodes well for the future. He will, however, have to step up his game on the recruitment side of things for Chelsea to become title contenders again, with misfits such as Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all likely to be forced out after just one year at Stamford Bridge.
8Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
After coming so close to winning Arsenal’s first Premier League title since 2003-04 on two successive occasions, this was supposed to be the year that Mikel Arteta got the Gunners over the line. Alas, it was not to be as Liverpool pulled away early on and injuries decimated Arteta’s squad, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz among those forced onto the sidelines for lengthy periods.
Arteta has used that as an excuse for Arsenal falling short again, but it doesn’t hold weight. He should have invested in a new No.9 last summer, and has paid the ultimate price for trying to copy his old mentor Guardiola’s blueprint too closely, naively believing his tactical acumen would outweigh the absence of a natural goal-scorer. The door was open for Arsenal after City’s fall from grace, but they didn’t have enough firepower to step through it. That’s all on Arteta, whether he admits it or not.
All of that said, the Gunners have still been enthralling to watch at their best, and Arteta has helped several players reach new individual heights, most notably Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes. He’s a clever, meticulous coach with bags of self confidence, but we already knew that. Next season Arsenal have to become winners, or Arteta’s time will run out.
7Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton)
To say eyebrows were raised when Brighton chose to hire 31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler as Roberto de Zerbi’s replacement last summer would be an understatement. Not only would the new head coach be younger than number of his players, but he would also arrive at the Amex Stadium having only previously managed in the German second tier.
And yet, despite a decent turnover of players in his first transfer window on the south coast, Hurzerler has been able to get the Seagulls back on track after their disappointing second half of last season all while continuing the progressive style of play that fans became accustomed to during Graham Potter and De Zerbi’s respective tenures.
Brighton can cap off a fine debut season for Hurzerler on the final day of the season when, if they can avoid defeat at Tottenham, they will hope to secure an eighth-placed finish that could yet be enough to earn them a return to European competition. Given the doubts that surrounded his arrival, that would be quite the achievement by Hurzerler first time around.
6Vitor Pereira (Wolves)
When Wolves drafted in Vitor Pereira from Al-Shabab in December after sacking Gary O’Neil, they were languishing down in 19th in the table, five points from safety with only two wins recorded. The Wanderers appeared to be doomed, but Pereira changed the tide instantly by delivering back-to-back victories over Leicester City and Manchester United, introducing a 3-4-2-1 system that ensured more fluid build-up play and fewer holes at the back.
Andre and Joao Gomes have formed a brilliant partnership in the centre of the pitch, while Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen have delivered the goals at the top end to pull Wolves out of peril. They even managed to pull off six consecutive wins between March 15 and April 26 – the club’s best run since 1970 – guaranteeing survival with a few games still to spare.
That was an incredible feat considering where Wolves were before Pereira’s arrival, and the former Porto boss deserves all the praise that comes his way. The biggest test is yet to come given the likelihood of Cunha and several other key players leaving, but Pereira has already proven himself as a miracle-worker in his first six months at Molineux.
5Thomas Frank (Brentford)
Brentford’s 16th-place finish in the Premier League last season was a disappointment, but they have bounced back in stunning fashion – despite losing star striker Ivan Toney last summer. Thomas Frank’s side could still qualify for Europe for the first time ever if they win their final game against Wolves, which would be a deserved reward for the Danish manager.
Frank’s switch from a back-five to a four-man defence put Brentford on the right track at the start of the season, with Nathan Collins and Keane Lewis-Potter emerging as standout performers. The Bees have also been able to overpower most teams because of their fearsome frontline, with Yoane Wissa filling Toney’s boots seamlessly, backed up by the superb Bryan Mbuemo and Kevin Schade.
Brentford are no longer just surviving in the Premier League, they are thriving thanks to Frank’s adaptability and underrated man-management skills. He has overseen consistent progress at the Vitality Stadium over the last five years despite working with limited resources, and it’s only a matter of time until he steps up to an elite club.
4Unai Emery (Aston Villa)
Unai Emery had a huge task on his hands this season to top the remarkable achievement of bringing Aston Villa back into the Champions League after 41 years, but could scarcely have done more. The Villans have coped admirably with the extra fixtures and maintained their high standards in the league while also enjoying a foray into the last eight of Europe’s most prestigious competition.
Some shrewd transfer business from Emery aided that cause, with Amadou Onana serving as a decent replacement for Douglas Luiz, while January loan signings of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio adding more quality to Villa’s forward line. There have been some bumps along the way, but Emery’s side can potentially book a second year in the Champions League if they wrap up their campaign with a victory at struggling Manchester United.
Emery has made Villa fans believe again after so long in the wilderness, and continues to exceed expectations. He’s a top-class coach who prioritises control in the middle of the park and explosive transitions from defence to attack, which is a formula that could lead Villa to silverware in the coming years, with only a few squad tweaks needed to take that next step.
3Eddie Howe (Newcastle)
Eddie Howe has done a fine job since taking over as Newcastle manager in November 2021, bringing Champions League football back to St James’ Park for the first time since the Sir Bobby Robson era, but there were some doubts over his position heading into this campaign. That’s because the Magpies slumped to seventh in the Premier League in 2023-24, which sparked talk that Howe was not the right man to start delivering trophies with the riches of their Saudi-backed ownership group to draw from.
No one is questioning the Englishman’s credentials now, though. Howe helped Newcastle end their 70-year domestic trophy drought with success in the Carabao Cup, and a return to Europe’s top table is on the cards if they bring the curtain down on their Premier League season with a home win over Everton.
He owes a lot to prolific frontman Alexander Isak, midfield metronome Sandro Tonali and defensive giant Dan Burn, but Howe deserves most of the credit for Newcastle’s resurgence. The former Bournemouth manager’s tactical flexibility has given Newcastle the edge in a lot of the biggest matches, and the players have shown a willingness to run through brick walls for him.
Howe has earned the right to remain at the helm for Newcastle’s ambitious ‘Project 2030’, and a title challenge will be the goal for next season – provided the Magpies can keep Isak away from their rivals.
2Nuno Espirito Santo (Nottingham Forest)
What a job Nuno Espirito Santo has done at Nottingham Forest! He didn’t get enough plaudits for keeping the club in the Premier League after walking into a dire situation mid-way through the 2023-24 campaign, and most outsiders expected another relegation battle this time around.
But Nuno had a plan for rapid growth and has executed it flawlessly. After strengthening with the summer additions of Nikola Milenkovic, Eliot Anderson and Morato, Forest quickly rose into top-four contention playing an effective brand of counter-attacking football that allowed Chris Wood, Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White to flourish in the final third.
Forest’s Champions League bid has run out of steam down the finishing stretch, but they are already guaranteed a place in European competition for 2025-26. It doesn’t matter which they end up in; the City Ground faithful hasn’t seen any continental action in 30 years, and Nuno will enter the club’s Hall of Fame for bringing the team to this point so quickly – even if he ends up leaving amid reports of a breakdown in relations with controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis.
1Arne Slot (Liverpool)
It’s an understatement to say that Arne Slot had big shoes to fill after succeeding Jurgen Klopp in the Liverpool hot seat. Klopp was a beloved figure who put the Reds back on top in both the Premier League and Champions League, and brought ‘heavy metal’ football to Anfield that took supporters’ breath away on a weekly basis.
In many ways, Slot is the polar opposite of Klopp. The ex-Feyenoord boss is an understated manager who exudes a calm authority and places more of a focus on controlling the tempo of games than Klopp ever did. It might not be quite as eye-catching, but that approach has taken a Liverpool side that finished nine points behind City last season to far greater heights. The players adjusted to Slot’s 4-2-3-1 system seamlessly and stormed to the Premier League summit, where they have remained since beating Brighton 2-1 on November 2.
Liverpool won the title with four games to spare, they boast the best attacking record in the league and only Arsenal have conceded fewer goals. Slot has brought the very best out of Mohamed Salah while also unlocking the full potential of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, allowing the club to move on from Klopp far sooner than anyone could have predicted.
FSG needs to back Slot in the summer window to address a couple of weak spots, but the unflappable Dutchman has set Liverpool up for a new dynasty of success, and put himself on the map as one of the world’s finest coaches.
