Crushing the critics
Not every manager is met by glowing recommendations and sunny forecasts when they step through the door at a new club. This collection weren’t tipped for glory but succeeded in proving their doubters wrong with aplomb...
Claudio Ranieri, Leicester
"Claudio Ranieri? Really?" That was Gary Lineker's reaction to Leicester making the Italian their new manager in 2015 – and he was far from alone. A manager is only as good as his last job, they say, and that was the main reason for the resistance to Ranieri's appointment. A few months earlier he was in the dugout for Greece when they embarrassingly lost at home to the Faroe Islands.
The supporters were no less impressed. "Imagine bringing in Claudio Ranieri to manage your team when Sam Allardyce is without a club," said one. "How does Ranieri keep getting jobs? The Italian Dave Bassett," pondered another.
Delivering the Premier League title within a year was a pretty good riposte.
Chris Coleman, Wales
Coleman’s appointment as the new Wales boss following the tragic death of Gary Speed wasn’t met with widespread approval.
"He did a fantastic job at Fulham," said former Wales striker Iwan Roberts. "But since then it's sort of gone backwards for Chris. He's been managing in Greece and we all know that he's resigned from his post there. I'm not too sure if he would be the answer."
If Ranieri proved anything, though, it's that anyone who can’t make it work in Greece must in fact be exceptional. Coleman didn’t start brilliantly, losing 6-1 to Serbia to face real pressure during 2014 World Cup qualifying, but he soon justified his position by unleashing Bale & Co. on a charge to the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
Howard Kendall, Everton
Now regarded as one of Everton’s finest ever managers, Kendall’s time with the Toffees almost ended before it had started.
The former Blackburn Rovers boss took charge at Goodison in 1981, but two years later Everton were 16th in the table and fans were firmly unimpressed. Only 13,659 turned up to watch a home game against Coventry and leaflets were circulating calling for the removal of both manager and chairman. "Kendall and Carter must go, 26,000 stay-away fans can't be wrong," they said.
The same season, Everton reached the League Cup final and won the FA Cup. Two league titles and a European Cup Winners' Cup would follow. Kendall became so popular that he later had two more spells in charge.
Alex Ferguson, Manchester United
Kendall's path from the brink to FA Cup glory was one that Ferguson would follow six years later at Old Trafford.
A heavy derby defeat at Manchester City in 1989 was the nadir. So shocking was the 5-1 defeat that Fergie's wife Cathy exclaimed 'That's brilliant!' when informed of the scoreline – assuming United had won. Supporters chanted 'Fergie Out' and the manager later revealed that he stuck his head under a pillow that night and hoped he wouldn't wake up.
"He's not the man for United," his former Aberdeen striker Joe Harper said. "The club and the job are too big for him." Everything famously turned after Mark Robins’s goal at Nottingham Forest, and the run to an FA Cup triumph later that season.
Jurgen Klinsmann, Germany
After a group stage exit at Euro 2004, and with the national team at its lowest ebb, it was a surprise when Klinsmann was brought in with no managerial experience whatsoever.
A 4-1 friendly loss to Italy months before the 2006 World Cup forced a wave of pessimism through the country, with many fearing embarrassment for the host nation. They needn't have worried: a revitalised team reached the semi-finals thanks to some of the most exciting, attacking football the country had witnessed in a long time.
Klinsmann stepped down after the tournament, replaced by his assistant Joachim Low. But he had set Germany on the path to redemption; one that would ultimately lead them to World Cup glory in 2014.
Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton
When Southampton surprisingly sacked Nigel Adkins and appointed Pochettino as manager in 2013, there was no shortage of doubters about the new man’s credentials.
Former boss Lawrie McMenemy said: “With due respect to Pochettino, what does he know about our game? What does he know about the Premier League? What does he know about the dressing room? Does he speak English?"
It wasn’t until a year later at Spurs that Poch would conduct a full press conference without a translator, but despite that he enjoyed huge success at St Mary’s, which has continued in north London. Saints went against all traditional advice with this risky appointment, but in the long term it was a decision they got spectacularly right.
Bobby Robson, England
"Even the Arabs are saying it: Go, in the name of Allah, Go!" was the headline in the Mirror after England drew against Saudi Arabia in a 1988 friendly. That was later followed by an article entitled: '20 facts that say Robbo must go – there's 101, but we've run out of space'.
Robson came under fire after England's failure at Euro '88. He hadn't escaped pressure when the team failed to reach Euro '84 either, with The Sun handing out badges calling for his removal on that occasion.
But Bobby remained long enough to become a national hero and a knight of the realm following England's World Cup semi-final appearance in 1990.
Marco Silva, Hull
When Silva checked in at Hull in January 2017, it was with a Greek league title, Portuguese Cup and Champions League pedigree on his CV. But in the Sky Sports studio, the appointment was met with fury by seething pundits.
“He's not got a clue,” spat Phil Thompson. “It's manna from heaven to be given this job.” Paul Merson fumed: "I could win the league with Olympiakos. They’ve won it 107 times and it’s only been going 106 years. What’s he know about the Premier League?”
Silva then inspired a transformation, leading Hull to eight wins including victories over Manchester United and Liverpool. It wasn’t ultimately wasn’t enough to save them, but it did land him jobs at Watford and now Everton.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal
The Frenchman eventually divided opinion with Gunners before his long-awaited departure in 2018, but there's no doubt that he emphatically proved his doubters wrong after a surprise arrival in 1996.
The little-known Nagoya Grampus Eight manager was not an entirely popular choice, with Johan Cruyff the bookmakers' favourite and the Evening Standard asking 'Arsene who?'. "At first I thought, 'What does this Frenchman know about football?'" said Tony Adams. "He wears glasses and looks more like a schoolteacher."
It turned out he knew quite a lot about football and soon guided Arsenal to three league titles – two of them, doubles.
Mark Hughes, Stoke
Unimpressed by Stoke's plans for their new manager, one fan got his hands on a yellow van – presumably sourced from outside Nelson Mandela House – and drove to the Britannia with an enormous 'Hughes Out' sign attached to the rear.
Hughes wasn't even 'in' at the time, with the appointment not yet confirmed. "It's not just me, it's the thought of 90 per cent of Stoke fans," said the fan, who refused to be named but insisted that he was definitely not a Mr T Pulis.
Hughes’ previous spell at QPR had been disappointing, but he eventually guided Stoke to their highest league finishes since 1975 before his sacking in January 2018.
