The Returning Legends: How Ex-Players Fare When They Come Back to Manage Premier League Clubs

The Premier League's elite are in turmoil. Liverpool are fixated on Xabi Alonso. Chelsea have their eye on Cesc Fabregas and his impressive work at Como. Manchester City wonder about Vincent Kompany as questions swirl over Pep Guardiola's longevity. Michael Carrick is making a compelling case for Manchester United's top job through his interim spell. And Robbie Keane circles Tottenham's increasingly precarious situation.

All this points to one burning question: should clubs turn to their old heroes when crisis strikes?

To help navigate this dilemma, we've assessed every Premier League manager who's returned to their former club, ranked by their points-per-game average in the top flight.

26. Alan Shearer (Newcastle) PPG: 0.63

One win and four goals across eight matches tells its own story, even with the talent at Shearer's disposal—Mark Viduka, Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins, Shola Ameobi. The Magpies boss attributed early struggles to player tardiness, but the statistics suggest the coaching might have warranted scrutiny too.

25. Attilio Lombardo (Crystal Palace) PPG: 0.86

Palace's final seven games of 1997/98 fell to Lombardo as player-manager when Steve Coppell retreated to the director's office. An untested tactician, Lombardo oversaw five defeats in seven and Palace tumbled into the Championship.

24. Iain Dowie (Crystal Palace) PPG: 0.81

The architect of Palace's promotion couldn't keep them up. Even 21 goals from Andy Johnson proved insufficient against the drop.

23. Mark Hughes (Southampton) PPG: 0.77

The Welsh striker-turned-manager narrowly preserved Southampton's Premier League status in 2017/18, only to face the axe 14 games into his second campaign with the Saints marooned 18th and a single point clear of the abyss.

22. Danny Wilson (Sheffield Wednesday) PPG: 1.00

A mid-table finish in year one earned Wilson credit, but the sack came during season two—the beginning of the end for Wednesday's top-flight tenure.

21. Scott Parker (Fulham) PPG: 0.74

The football was respectable. Twenty-seven goals in 38 matches was not.

20. Owen Coyle (Bolton) PPG: 1.07

Coyle's tenure marked the end of Bolton's 12-year Premier League run, a decline from which they've yet to recover.

19. Gareth Southgate (Middlesbrough) PPG: 1.05

Twelfth place in his first season, then relegation. England's most successful manager since Sir Alf Ramsey has little to show for his Middlesbrough spell and continues to keep expectations pleasantly vague.

18. Tim Sherwood (Tottenham) PPG: 1.91

"Liverpool love homegrown players. Tottenham fans like signings," Sherwood proclaimed, despite Harry Kane languishing on the bench. Kane would respond with 31 goals the following season, but Sherwood's Spurs still claimed a sixth-place finish that modern Tottenham would desperately covet.

17. Glenn Hoddle (Chelsea and Tottenham) PPG: 1.27

An electrifying player who left the excitement on the pitch. His managerial career traded effectiveness for mysticism.

16. Peter Reid (Manchester City) PPG: 1.26

Reid inherited a ninth-place finish in the inaugural Premier League season, a step down from City's fifth-place standings in the two campaigns prior. One point from four games in his fourth season sealed his fate.

15. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) PPG: 1.52

His first spell yielded a respectable 1.76 PPG. His return to Stamford Bridge? Five points from nine games and a damaged legacy.

14. Stuart Pearce (Manchester City and Nottingham Forest) PPG: 1.48

Pearce served as player-coach at Forest late in 1996/97, powerless to prevent their relegation. At Manchester City, he arrived just as the money began flowing—not yet the torrent it would become. Ninth place and safety represented a holding operation.

13. Ryan Mason (Tottenham) PPG: 1.58

Two interim stints and a third that would yield 41 points. Serviceable doesn't win trophies, but it keeps the lights on.

12. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United) PPG: 2.00

A Chelsea draw and a Leicester victory—the latter decision proving calamitous for the Foxes, who hired him permanently only to descend into the Championship. Still, his United PPG eclipses every successor to Sir Alex Ferguson except Michael Carrick.

11. Ray Wilkins (QPR) PPG: 1.21

The late, great Wilkins steered Rangers to eighth as player-manager before relegation arrived in his first full season. A footballer of grace and a gentleman of substance, sorely missed.

10. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United) PPG: 1.81

Solskjaer performed decently as the returning prodigal, yet eventually revealed his ceiling. That ceiling now haunts INEOS as they contemplate Michael Carrick's long-term prospects.

9. Bryan Robson (Middlesbrough) PPG: 1.20

Two domestic cup finals graced Robson's Boro tenure. His masterclass came at West Brom, orchestrating the Great Escape and defying the Bottom At Christmas prophecy of doom.

8. Gordon Strachan (Coventry) PPG: 1.15

Strachan kept Coventry afloat through four successive seasons before finally presiding over the drop. The quintessential late-90s survivor.

7. Garry Monk (Swansea) PPG: 1.31

Monk traded his boots for the whistle. Swansea stabilised under his watch and climbed to eighth the following year, before one win in 11 cost him his job.

5. Michael Carrick (Manchester United) PPG: 2.25

How much stems from relief at Ruben Amorim's departure versus Carrick's acumen remains unclear. United's brass worry their side succeeds through individual brilliance rather than control, with opposition teams stretched thin by European commitments. Nevertheless, the numbers impress.

4. Ruud Gullit (Chelsea) PPG: 1.63

Player-manager Gullit captured the FA Cup in 1998 and steered Chelsea to fourth in the league—their finest Premier League finish to that point.

3. Slaven Bilic (West Ham) PPG: 1.33

Bilic's West Ham amassed a club-record 62 Premier League points in 2015/16, a mark later surpassed by David Moyes' 65-point haul in 2020/21.

2. Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea) PPG: 1.83

Sacked 12 games into 2012/13 with Chelsea occupying third place, merely six months after winning the Champions League and FA Cup. Only Chelsea could manage such madness.

1. Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) PPG: 2.00

Arteta has been genuinely excellent. Yet his dominance among returnees carries a cautionary message: rivals tempted to follow Arsenal's blueprint this summer should remember that yesterday's club is not today's club, and a playing legend's knowledge doesn't automatically translate to managerial success.