Roberto De Zerbi, Unai Emery and Marco Silva are nominated for Premier League Manager of the Season alongside Guardiola, Arteta and Howe… but Erik ten Hag misses out – and fans ask: ‘Where is Gary O’Neil?’
- The nominations for Manager of the Season in the Premier League have been announced
- The Zerbi, Eddie Howe and Unai Emery are in the running for the honours
- But fans were surprised by omissions for Erik ten Hag and Gary O’Neil
The Premier League have announced their nominees for Manager of the Season, with Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta leading the way alongside Roberto de Zerbi and Eddie Howe – but Erik ten Hag is a notable omission.
Six managers have been nominated for the prestigious award following an entertaining domestic season in which a handful of clubs exceeded expectations and challenged some of the league’s elite clubs.
Newcastle boss Howe will be seen as a strong contender for the gong for much of the season with the Magpies in the top four and hoping to secure a famous Champions League spot in the next three games.
And with Brighton currently in sixth place and on course to secure a Europa League spot for Tottenham, manager Roberto De Zerbi is also being recognized for his incredible work at the AMEX.
Not far behind the Seagulls, Aston Villa are eighth under Unai Emery – who is also nominated after transforming the team at Villa Park. Before the Spaniard took over, laymen The Villans are in serious danger of being relegated and are now vying for a place in Europe.
The Premier League has announced the six coaches nominated for Manager of the Season
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta will be the obvious contenders after their title fight
There is also a spot for Marco Silva, whose Fulham side are on their way to a top half in their first season back in the Premier League.
With Guardiola’s City side on course for their third title in a row and widely recognized as one of the top teams in the Premier League, the Spaniard will be one of the favorites for the award.
As is Arteta – whose Arsenal team battled City for so long, topping the league table for 93 per cent of the campaign before falling away towards the end. He still earns credit for securing second place after finishing fifth last year.
But some fans will be scratching their heads after Ten Hag and Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neill were left out.
But Erik ten Hag is a huge omission despite an impressive first season at Manchester United – while fans also doubted the absence of Gary O’Neil (R)
Ten Hag got off to a rocky start to his first season at Old Trafford as he lost his first two games 2–1 at home to Brighton and 4–0 away to Brentford.
But he nurtured his players and steadily created a positive team culture where they played an exciting, attacking style.
He released maverick Cristiano Ronaldo and got appearances from Marcus Rashford before leading United into the top four – where they hope to stay if they can hold off a late challenge from Liverpool.
And fans also questioned O’Neil’s absence after he saved Bournemouth from relegation, despite looking doomed as he took over from Scott Parker after just four games in August.
That was the result of a 9-0 hammering from Liverpool and with few signings coming through the door in the summer it was hard to see where the Cherries would take points.
But O’Neill rallied his players, who have earned 39 points so far, and their survival was mathematically confirmed after Everton’s 3-0 defeat to City last weekend.