Premier League Managers Mid-Term Report Card - Part II

Following up on Part I of our Managerial Report Card, we take a look at how well the coaches from Manchester City to Wigan Athletic have performed thus far.

Manchester City – Sven-Goran Eriksson
Position: 7th, but equal on points with 4th placed Liverpool, and have been 3rd for much of the season.
Use of Resources: Sven has spent a lot on unknown foreigners, but it has paid off for him, and in style, with Elano and Petrov being particularly effective.
Strengths: As with most Eriksson teams, Man City are solid down the middle, and have a committed defence. The Swede also has a very keen eye for a good overseas player.
Suggested Improvements: Sometimes, City have lacked the ability to deliver a killer blow to turn a draw into a victory.
Predicted Position: They should crawl out of their current slump in form and finish a strong 5th.
Overall Grade: A

Manchester United – Alex Ferguson
Position: 1st.
Use of Resources: Top of the table and playing some truly liquid football, you have to say that Fergie has got the most out of his squad.
Strengths: Building truly great teams time and time again. Clubs like Newcastle should follow Man Utd’s example of sticking with a manager.
Suggested Improvements: Very hard to pick out any, one criticism could be that would he have done so well without the millions available to him?
Predicted Position: 1st. Barring any slip-ups or Arsenal continuing strongly.
Overall Grade: A

Middlesbrough – Gareth Southgate
Position: 14th, but only 1 point from safety such is the tightness of the bottom half.
Use of Resources: He doesn’t have one of the strongest sides in the Premier League, so 14th is about where they should be.
Strengths: Getting results against teams near or below them.
Suggested Improvements: Boro need some consistency. One day they’ll be defeating Arsenal, the next they’ll be losing 3-0 to Brimingham.
Predicted Position: I can’t see Boro’ improving by the end of the season. 15th.
Overall Grade: C

Newcastle United – Sam Allardyce
Position: 11th, and 6 points behind West Ham in 10th.
Use of Resources: Sam used the money available to him, but was unable to get the best out of quality players such as Owen, Viduka, Smith and Barton.
Strengths: Allardyce was known for building strong teams with a good work ethic, but unfortunately this was not on display at Newcastle.
Suggested Improvements: Try to get your team to play with some cohesion and passion, and maybe you won’t get sacked after 8 months.
Predicted Position: 12th. I see Spurs leapfrogging them in the new year.
Overall Grade: F

Portsmouth – Harry Redknapp
Position: 9th, but with better home form should be higher.
Use of Resources: Hazza has assembled a strong, physical side that’s hard to break down. They should be scoring more though.
Strengths: Defence and outmuscling more technical sides.
Suggested Improvements: Getting a goal at home once in a while wouldn’t hurt.
Predicted Position: They’ll snap out of poor home form to overtake Blackburn by the end of the season. 8th.
Overall Grade: B+

Reading – Steve Coppell
Position: 13th. Relatively successful considering other teams who have suffered bad 2nd season syndrome.
Use of Resources: Has a weak squad compared to the rest of the EPL, so Coppell has done well to keep them this high.
Strengths: Steve is an excellent tactician, and is able to form a tightly-knit team.
Suggested Improvements: A lack of ambition, perhaps? He told his players last year not to go for a European place to avoid distraction this term.
Predicted Position: There’s no sign of Reading moving too much up or down, so they should stay around 13th.
Overall Grade: B-

Sunderland – Roy Keane
Position: 18th. After a solid start, life in the Premier League appears to have caught up with Keano’s side.
Use of Resources: With what is essentially a championship squad, anything above the relegation zone would be an achievement.
Strengths: Keane appears to have instilled a never-say-die attitude into Sunderland, with them scoring a few goals deep into injury time.
Suggested Improvements: Then again, the reason they have to score last minute goals is due to them conceding silly ones in the 1st place. There’s no point in having an £8 million ‘keeper if you can’t defend in the first place.
Predicted Position: Unless they start cutting out the mistakes, I can’t see them staying up. 19th.
Overall Grade: C

Tottenham Hotspur – Juande Ramos
Position: 12th. After a horror start to the season, Ramos has begun to turn the London club around.
Use of Resources: Given that people were talking about Spurs possibly beating Arsenal into 4th this season, 12th is slightly off expectations. But Ramos must be given time.
Strengths: Have a frightful attack consisting of the free-scoring Berbatov and Keane.
Suggested Improvements: However, they also have a frightfully awful defence. You don’t get into Europe by shipping 19 goals in 12 games.
Predicted Position: 10th. A squad of their quality should break into the top half of the table. Spurs also tend to be solid come the final few games.
Overall Grade: B-

West Ham United – Alan Curbishley
Position: 10th. Good away form but poor results at home equals mid-table.
Use of Resources: West Ham’s side is weaker than the teams above them, but stronger than the ones below, so 10th is about right.
Strengths: Playing away from home, and managing to resurrect his side from the dire position they were in last season.
Suggested Improvements: Just, get some points at home Curbs.
Predicted Position: I see them slipping down a place with Tottenham taking their place. 11th.
Overall Grade: B

Wigan Athletic – Steve Bruce
Position: 17th. Precariously above the relegation zone, but Steve Bruce will be happy if they’re there come May.
Use of Resources: Bruce has actually done a decent job with the squad he’s got. Wins over Spurs, Newcastle and Sunderland, as well as draws with Man City and Liverpool have propelled the Latics into safety... for now.
Strengths: Bruce’s team has a habit of grinding out results, an essential trait when in a relegation dogfight.
Suggested Improvements: With the team that Bruce has, it would be unfair to criticise given their recent run of relatively good results.
Predicted Position: 17th. If they keep up this good run, they’ll stay up.
Overall Grade: B+

Liquid Football’s Predicted Final League Table

1. Manchester United A
2. Arsenal A+
3. Chelsea B+
4. Liverpool C-
5. Manchester City A
6. Aston Villa B+
7. Everton A-
8. Portsmouth B+
9. Blackburn Rovers B-
10. Tottenham Hotspur B-
11. West Ham United B
12. Newcastle United F
13. Reading B-
14. Birmingham City B-
15. Middlesbrough C
16. Fulham ?
17. Wigan Athletic B+
18. Bolton Wanderers C+
19. Sunderland C
20. Derby County C

What do you think of the grades I’ve given out? Too harsh, too lenient, or spot on? And what about the final league table? Leave your comments below.