Top 5 Highest Placed English Managers Of The 2000s

Hello and welcome back to Match Of The 2000s, your home for football nostalgia between 2000 and 2009. 

A Spaniard, a Chilean, a Portugese, three Italians, a Frenchman and two Scots walk into a bar all wearing Premier League winner's medals, 'Where's the Englishman?' they all ask. Of course it's no secret that an English manager has never won the Premier League title and when Liverpool's German manager joins the winners in the bar in May, it'll be 28 long years since Howard Wilkinson was the last Englishman to steer a team to a top division title in the country of his birth. 

How close has an English manager come to breaking the spell and lifting the league title? Read on as we take a look at the home grown gaffers who finished highest between 2000 and 2009. 

(The rules are as follows. No manager is allowed in the list twice, their highest finish will be taken into account. Only one position is allowed too, if two English managers finished in the same position then the number of points will be used as a tie-breaker. If that ends level, the number of defeats in their respective seasons will decide.) 

1. Sir Bobby Robson. (3rd with Newcastle United, 2002-03) 

Just as Kevin Keegan had breathed new life into Newcastle United when he took over as manager a decade earlier, Bobby Robson's arrival at St. James' Park heralded an upturn in fortunes for The Magpies as they emerged once again as a force capable of winning the Premier League title. At one point in the previous season, Newcastle were immersed in a four-way battle for the title, briefly topping the table and recording some impressive results along the way (notably a 3-1 win over Arsenal in a tempestuous encounter at Highbury).

A 4-3 away reverse at Bolton on Boxing Day 2002 would be their last defeat until a 1-0 Tyne-Tees derby loss at Middlesbrough in early March 2003 as Robson's side embarked on a run that would see them embroiled in a three-way dance for the title with Arsenal and Manchester United. A barren run of three defeats in a row during April (including a 6-2 home hammering at the hands of eventual champions United) put paid to any hopes of the title arriving on Tyneside for the first time since 1927 although they took solace in Champions League qualification for the second season running.

2. John Gregory. (6th with Aston Villa, 1999-2000) 

While history will remember the 1998-99 as arguably Manchester United's greatest in history, it's worth noting that as 1998 ticked over into the final year of the 20th century, it was John Gregory's Aston Villa who sat atop the Premier League as the New Year's Eve champagne corks were popping.

For a chunk of the early part of the following season, Villa were United's closest competitors although a dismal spell of nine games without a win saw them tumble down as low as 15th in the table by December. Gregory's side rallied and recovered by losing just two more games all season to finish in sixth position, qualifying for the Intertoto Cup and also reaching the last ever FA Cup Final at the old Wembley.

3. Peter Reid (7th with Sunderland, 2000-2001) 

'Cheer Up Peter Reid' became a popular taunt for Sunderland's local rivals Newcastle United during the former Everton and England midfielder's time on Wearside but he had plenty of reasons to be cheerful during the 2000-2001 campaign.

The season got off to the perfect start when former Arsenal striker Niall Quinn scored the winning goal against his former club on the opening day which helped The Stadium Of Light earn a reputation as a difficult place to go with just two of the season's top six finishers (Manchester United and Leeds United) taking maximum points from their visits there. A patchy run of form through March and April 2001 saw The Black Cats fall away and narrowly miss out on a UEFA Cup place after sitting in second place as late as February.

4. Harry Redknapp (8th with Portsmouth, 2007-08) 

It couldn't be a list about English managers without featuring 'Arry could it? Before he took Tottenham into the Champions League and became the supposed heir apparent to the England job, Redknapp worked wonders on the South Coast, winning what is now the Championship title in 2002 and piloting Pompey comfortably in the top half of the Premier League on a consistent basis (either side of a controversial switch to Portsmouth's arch-rivals Southampton).

With Harry at the helm and stellar names such as Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and David James in their ranks, Pompey enjoyed their most successful season since their First Division title win in 1950. The Fratton Park club finished in eighth place and also won the FA Cup for the first time since 1939, qualifying for their first ever European campaign too.

5. Alan Pardew (9th with West Ham United, 2005-06) 

The Hammers found themselves back in the Premier League after winning the 2004-05 Championship Play-Off final ending a two season spell in the second tier following their relegation in 2003. Their promotion being masterminded by former Reading gaffer Alan Pardew.

The following season, West Ham defied the odds and at the end of October 2005 they sat in fourth position in the Premier League. Despite a mediocre run, The Hammers recovered and a run of five straight league wins (including a 3-2 win over Arsenal that earned them the distinction of being the last away team to win at Highbury) propelled them up to sixth place, earning February's Manager of the Month award for Pardew. A win over fierce rivals Tottenham on the final day of the season helped the Upton Park club cement ninth place in the table (as well as denying Spurs a Champions League place) to add to their place in the FA Cup final where they ran Liverpool close before ultimately losing on penalties.

That brings to a close our look back at some of the highest placed English managers of the 2000s. I hope you have enjoyed our nostalgia trip and evoked some memories if you follow any of the clubs involved. 

I was aiming to record the Match Of The 2000s podcast this week but unfortunately my guest for the first episode is experiencing some technical difficulties which can't be helped. I am still aiming to get something recorded and uploaded this week so watch this space. 

If there is anything you would like to see covered on either the blog site or the podcast then please get in touch on Twitter @BarkerGray2. Feel free to get in touch with any 2000s football memorabilia you would like to share whether it's kits, programmes, games. 

Until next time, take care. 

Top 5 Golden Boot Winners Of The 2000s

Hello and welcome to Match Of The 2000s, your new home for football nostalgia from the noughties. As the year 2000 was twenty years ago, I suppose the decade can now be described as retro so this site (and the accompanying podcast, watch this space) is dedicated to all the footballing thrills and spills that occurred between 2000 and 2009. 

Goals are football's currency and the 2000s saw some tremendous goalscorers ply their trade in the Premier League. For our first article, let's take a look at the five highest scoring Golden Boot winners of the decade. 

(The rules are as follows. Players are only allowed to appear once in the list and if two players are on the same total, goals-to-game ratio will act as a tie-breaker)

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals for Manchester United, 2007-08 season.) 

What is there left to say about the mercurial Madeiran that hasn't already been said. Ronaldo blew all competition out of the water during the 07/08 campaign with his 31 Premier League strikes forming part of an astonishing overall tally of 42 as he helped Manchester United win a second consecutive league title in addition to a dramatic Champions League final win over Chelsea in Moscow. Ronaldo later went on to win his first Ballon D'or in 2008 and at the end of the 08/09 season became the world's most expensive footballer following an £80,000,000 switch to Real Madrid.

2. Kevin Phillips (30 goals for Sunderland, 1999-2000 season)

The Mackems striker edges into second place over Thierry Henry by virtue of a slightly higher goals-to-game ratio (Phillips netted at a rate of 0.83 goals per game as opposed to Henry's 0.81 ratio recorded in the 03-04 season.). Former non-league player Phillips formed a lethal strike partnership with veteran Irishman Niall Quinn to help Sunderland record an impressive seventh place finish in their first Premier League season since 1996-97. The former Watford man made his international debut during the same season in an away friendly against Hungary. 

3. Thierry Henry (27 goals for Arsenal, 2005-06 season)

Fear not fans of the French superstar, the third of three consecutive Golden Boot winning seasons makes it into our list. While the campaign failed to live up to the high standards of the 'Invincible' season of two years prior, Henry's goals proved vital as Arsenal managed to grab fourth place in the Premier League and deny arch-rivals Tottenham a place in the following season's Champions League. The last three goals of Henry's overall tally of 27 came in a hat-trick to help The Gunners to a 4-2 win over Wigan Athletic in the final ever professional match at Highbury. His third goal on the day having the distinction of being the last goal scored at the famous old ground. 

4. Ruud van Nistelrooy (25 goals for Manchester United, 2002-03 season)

Deadly Dutchman van Nistelrooy made an instant impact on the Premier League upon joining United in 2001, notching 23 league goals and being named PFA Player Of The Year for the 01/02 season. 'Van The Man' continued his prolific form the following season with 25 strikes to help Sir Alex Ferguson's men overhaul Arsenal's eight-point lead and win an eighth Premier League title. Ruud notched three hat-tricks during the season and won the Premier League's Player Of The Year award.

5. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (23 goals for Chelsea, 2000-01 season) 

Chelsea smashed their transfer record in the summer of 2000 to bring former Leeds striker Hasselbaink back to the Premier League from Atletico Madrid. Jimmy Floyd duly repaid his new club's faith with 23 goals from 35 appearances which saw him win his second Golden Boot award to add to his 18 goal haul with the Elland Road club during the 1998-99 season. Hasselbaink's goals helped The Blues to qualification for the UEFA Cup after the Stamford Bridge club finished sixth in the league.

Well that brings our look at some of the decade's most prolific marksmen to a close. I hope you have enjoyed our trip back in time today. For more list articles like this one and information on future blog posts and episodes of the accompanying podcasts please give our Editor/Producer Dan a follow on Twitter @BarkerGray2. 

Episode one of the podcast is hopefully getting recorded next week. The show will be taking a look at the 1999/2000 season and will be our first entry into a regular series taking a season-by-season look back through the decade. Keep your eyes peeled on the socials for more information. 

Until next time, take care.