The longest serving managers in English football: Arsenal boss Arteta in fourth, Amorim moves up list…

While a lot of football managers in England are often left fearing for their jobs, some are in a far more comfortable position.

There are always a lot of managerial changes during every football season as owners hope that a new manager will transform the team’s fortunes.

But some managers have plenty of credit in the bank after spending years at one particular club and they don’t have to worry about the sack race.

We’ve taken a look at every Premier League and English Football League manager and ranked them by how long they’ve been in charge of their club.

Note: Wycombe Wanderers are currently without a manager after Matt Bloomfield left to join Luton Town.

91. Matt Bloomfield, Luton Town – Appointed: January 14th 2024

– David Moyes, Everton – Appointed: January 11th 2025

– Miron Muslic, Plymouth Argyle – Appointed: January 10th 2024

– Graham Potter, West Ham – Appointed: January 9th 2025

– John Coleman, Gillingham – Appointed: January 5th 2025

– Mark Robins, Stoke City – Appointed: January 1st 2025

Robins was third on this list earlier this season, but he was sacked by Coventry City in November after almost eight years in charge.

The 55-year-old had Christmas off before returning to the Championship and signing a three-and-a-half-year contract at Stoke City on New Year’s Day.

“I was told the other day it was an impossible job, I just said ‘we’ll see!'” 💪

Mark Robins on “enjoying every second” of being at Stoke City since his appointment 💬 pic.twitter.com/NCdPdrHptL

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 4, 2025

– Alex Neil, Millwall – Appointed: December 30th 2024

– Inigo Calderon, Bristol Rovers – Appointed: December 26th 2024

– Chris Brunt, West Brom – Appointed: December 24th 2024

– Pete Wild, Fleetwood Town – Appointed: December 24th 2024

– Kevin Nolan, Northampton Town – Appointed: December 23rd 2024

– Ivan Juric, Southampton – Appointed: December 21st 2024

80. Gary Rowett, Oxford United – Appointed: December 20th 2024

– Vitor Pereira, Wolves – Appointed: December 19th 2024

– Gary Bowyer, Burton Albion – Appointed: December 17th 2024

– Noel Hunt, Reading – Appointed: December 6th 2024

– Ruben Selles, Hull City – Appointed: December 6th 2024

– Ruud van Nistelrooy, Leicester City – Appointed: November 29th 2024

– Frank Lampard, Coventry City – Appointed: November 28th 2024

– Gareth Ainsworth, Shrewsbury Town – Appointed: November 13th 2024

– Ruben Amorim, Manchester United – Appointed: November 11th 2024

After sacking Erik ten Hag, United forked out £9.24million to hire Amorim from Sporting CP and gave him a two-and-a-half-year contract. 

The 39-year-old has become the club’s seventh permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season.

“Call me naive, but I truly feel that I am the right man in the right moment,” he said. “I could be wrong but the earth will turn and the sun will rise again, it doesn’t matter, and I am not worried about that.

“I truly believe that I am the right guy for this job.”

– Ian Holloway, Swindon Town – Appointed: October 25th 2024

70. Rob Elliot, Crawley Town – Appointed: October 1st 2024

– Scott Lindsey, MK Dons – Appointed: September 25th 2024

– Omer Riza, Cardiff City – Appointed: September 23rd 2024

– Mike Williamson, Carlisle United – Appointed: September 19th 2024

– Steve Bruce, Blackpool – Appointed: September 3rd 2024

– Paul Heckingbottom, Preston North End – Appointed: August 20th 2024

Ryan Lowe became the first managerial casualty of the 2024/25 season after leaving Preston North End by mutual consent after a single game.

Mike Marsh took temporary charge for two games before the Championship side appointed former Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom as their manager.

Welcome to PNE, Paul Heckingbottom. 🤝#pnefc pic.twitter.com/MwP8JgkRlN

— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) August 20, 2024

– Nelson Jardim, Newport County – Appointed: July 16th 2024

– Scott Parker, Burnley – Appointed: July 5th 2024

– Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton & Hove Albion – Appointed: July 2nd 2024

– Regis Le Bris, Sunderland – Appointed: July 1st 2024

60. Enzo Maresca, Chelsea – Appointed: July 1st 2024

– Chris Davies, Birmingham City – Appointed: June 6th 2024

– Derek Adams, Morecambe – Appointed: June 3rd 2024

– Arne Slot, Liverpool – Appointed: June 1st 2024

After Jurgen Klopp’s eight-and-a-half-year managerial reign at Anfield came to an end in the summer, Liverpool appointed Slot as his successor.

The 46-year-old has made a record-breaking start to his Liverpool career and will be looking to lift the Premier League title at the end of his debut season.

Arne Slot loved @LFC’s second goal at Old Trafford 💪 pic.twitter.com/j5SPEUuqUI

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 4, 2024

– Michael Flynn, Cheltenham Town – Appointed: May 31st 2024

– Stephen Clemence, Barrow – Appointed: May 31st 2024

– Johannes Hoff Thorup, Norwich City – Appointed: May 30th 2024

– Darrell Clarke, Barnsley – Appointed: May 23rd 2024

– Michael Duff, Huddersfield Town – Appointed: May 13th 2024

– Alex Revell, Stevenage – Appointed: April 17th 2024

50. Steve Evans, Rotherham United – Appointed: April 17th 2024

– Tom Cleverley, Watford – Appointed: March 9th 2024

Cleverley made 181 appearances for Watford during his playing career before hanging up his boots at the end of the 2022/23 season

The 35-year-old initially coached their Under-18s and then took over the first team in March 2024 for his first-ever senior managerial role.

Tom Cleverley is now Watford’s 12th manager since September 2019.

🇪🇸 Quique Sanchez Flores
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Hayden Mullins
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Nigel Pearson
🇷🇸 Vladimir Ivic
🇪🇸 Xisco Munoz
🇮🇹 Claudio Ranieri
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Roy Hodgson
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Rob Edwards
🇭🇷 Slaven Bilic
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chris Wilder
🇫🇷 Valerien Ismael
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Tom Cleverley pic.twitter.com/n9mU6oXEoo

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 9, 2024

– John Doolan, Accrington Stanley – Appointed: March 4th 2024

– Garry Monk, Cambridge United – Appointed: March 4th 2024

– Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace – Appointed: February 19th 2024

– Darren Moore, Port Vale – Appointed: February 13th 2024

– John Eustace, Blackburn Rovers – Appointed: February 9th 2024

– Nathan Jones, Charlton Athletic – Appointed: February 4th 2024

– Stuart Maynard, Notts County – Appointed: January 18th 2024

– Luke Williams, Swansea City – Appointed: January 5th 2024

40. Karl Robinson, Salford City – Appointed: January 5th 2024

– Danny Cowley, Colchester United – Appointed: January 4th 2024

– Nuno Espirito Santo, Nottingham Forest – Appointed: December 20th 2023

After a brief stint at Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad, Nuno Espirito Santo returned to English football in December 2023 and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Nottingham Forest.

The 50-year-old exceeded all expectations during his first year at the City Ground and has turned the club into top-four contenders.

– Chris Wilder, Sheffield United – Appointed: December 5th 2023

– David Artell, Grimsby Town – Appointed: November 27th 2023

– Michael Skubala, Lincoln City – Appointed: November 13th 2023

– Liam Manning, Bristol City – Appointed: November 7th 2023

– Graham Alexander, Bradford City – Appointed: November 6th 2023

– Marti Cifuentes, Queens Park Rangers – Appointed: October 30th 2023

– Danny Rohl, Sheffield Wednesday – Appointed: October 13th 2023

30. Nigel Adkins, Tranmere Rovers – Appointed: September 10th 2023

– Daniel Farke, Leeds United – Appointed: July 4th 2023

– Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth – Appointed: June 19th 2023

– Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham – Appointed: June 6th 2023

Tottenham reportedly considered Luis Enrique, Arne Slot and Julian Nagelsmann before appointing Postecoglou in the summer of 2023.

The 59-year-old finished fifth in the Premier League in his debut season and is now looking to end Tottenham’s trophy drought.

“Usually in my second season I win things,” he said. “That’s the whole idea. First year is about establishing principles and creating a foundation. Hopefully the second year is going onto win things.

“Of course it’s easier said than done, particularly in the Premier League and the competition we’re in. That’s always the way I’ve looked at it, is that the second year you should be in a position where you can push on, depending on how the first year has gone.”

I really rate this from Ange Postecoglou.

He’s had success over 25 years, playing with a style that he believes in at his core. That success is what took him to Celtic and then to Tottenham, if he gave up on it, what was the point in the first place?

pic.twitter.com/bYX8f2G0Q1

— HLTCO (@HLTCO) October 18, 2024

– Grant McCann, Doncaster Rovers – Appointed: May 12th 2023

– Mat Sadler, Walsall – Appointed: April 19th 2023

– Matt Bloomfield, Wycombe Wanderers – Appointed: February 21st 2023

– Shaun Maloney, Wigan Atheltic – Appointed: January 28th 2023

– John Mousinho, Portsmouth – Appointed: January 20th 2023

– Darren Ferguson, Peterborough – Appointed: January 4th 2023

20. Lee Bell, Crewe Alexandra – Appointed: November 4th 2022

– Unai Emery, Aston Villa – Appointed: November 1st 2022

– Michael Carrick, Middlesbrough – Appointed: October 24th 2022

– Gary Caldwell, Exeter City – Appointed: October 24th 2022

– Paul Warne, Derby County – Appointed: September 22nd 2022

– Johnnie Jackson, AFC Wimbledon – Appointed: May 16th 2022

– Richie Wellens, Leyton Orient – Appointed: March 9th 2022

– Paul Cook, Chesterfield – Appointed: February 10th 2022

– Kieran McKenna, Ipswich Town – Appointed: December 16th 2021

– Eddie Howe, Newcastle United – Appointed: November 8th 2021

When Howe replaced Steve Bruce in the Newcastle dugout in November 2021, they were sat 19th in the Premier League table.

The 47-year-old guided the club to safety in his debut season and then helped them qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the 2002/03 campaign.

He was heavily linked with the England role following Gareth Southgate’s resignation but the FA ultimately appointed Thomas Tuchel.

10. Dave Challinor, Stockport County – Appointed: November 2nd 2021

– Phil Parkinson, Wrexham – Appointed: July 1st 2021

– Marco Silva, Fulham – Appointed: July 1st 2021

– Andy Woodman, Bromley – Appointed: March 29th 2021

– Nigel Clough, Mansfield Town – Appointed: November 6th 2020

– Ian Evatt, Bolton – Appointed: July 1st 2020

– Mikel Arteta, Arsenal – Appointed: December 22nd 2019

After Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign at Arsenal came to an end in 2018, Unai Emery had a brief spell in charge before Arteta replaced him in December 2019.

He’s now regarded as one of the best managers in the Premier League and recently signed a new long-term contract, which will keep him at the Emirates until the end of the 2026/27 season.

“I feel extremely proud, very excited and am looking forward to what is coming next,” the 42-year-old said. “I feel extremely lucky to work every single day with good people and the ambition we have here.

“I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we’ve already done together.”

It’s not about the journey. It’s not about the destination.

It’s all about the company for Mikel Arteta at @Arsenal ❤️#AONArsenal pic.twitter.com/GL6FuvNRyV

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) January 26, 2023

– Thomas Frank, Brentford – Appointed: October 16th 2018

– Pep Guardiola, Manchester City – Appointed: July 1st 2016

1. Simon Weaver, Harrogate Town – Appointed: May 21st 2009

READ MORE: Every Premier League manager’s contract expiry date after Moyes appointment on multi-year Everton deal