Leonid SLUTSKY - 21 games - win ration 19.05% - Out of his depth, nervous and indecisive, the ex-Russia and CSKA coach was the wrong man at the wrong time. Plus points - he stopped the rot at Oakwell and he came across as a nice guy Rating 3/10 Marco SILVA - 22 games - 36.36% - The one that got away? Showing at Watford that 'if' we'd stayed up, he might have led us back to the dizzy heights. Made the KC a fortress but ultimately failed by losing at already relegated Sunderland despite providing hope during a hopeless situation for a while. Rating 7/10 Mike PHELAN - 24 games - 29.17% - Caretaker who was handed the ropes than hung himself with them. A false dawn of a start with 2 wins and virtually no players, the team played well but faded as a string of defeats sapped confidence. A dour man who failed to add any colour to the style and forunes of the team Rating 4/10 Steve BRUCE - 201 games - 41.29% - 2 promotions, an FA Cup final, a brief foray into Europe, Bruce also had a good relationship with Papa Allam. he did however have a tendency to sit on 1-0s and shut up shop. His subs were not always understandable and he dealt himelf a tough hand in bringing Alex with him. A very likebale man who was sacked at the wrong time and this damaged the club. Why did he not give the Europa Leage more of a shot though? A once in a lifetime opportunity missed maybe Rating 8/10 Nick BARMBY - 33 games - 39.39% - A young manager who was never truly backed by the regime. We were never to know how good he could have been as he was clearly used as a stop-gap. His team played nice football and it still leaves a bad taste that this great servant of the club was treated so badly. Rating 6/10 Nigel PEARSON - 64 games - 35.94% - Disliked by many for his personality on camera and unease with the media, Nigel actually guided the club brilliantly with virtually no cash to spend during a difficult period. He fortified the defence and '1-0 to the Nigel Pearson' became his lasting legacy. Rating 7.5/10 Ian DOWIE - 9 games - 11.11% - A last throw of the dice to keep us up fell on its head. Dowie failed miserably and only managed one win, a 2-0 home victory over Fulham. Uninspiring and limited in his tactics, he is one to forget Rating 2/10 Phil BROWN - 157 games - 33.12% - The 'Tan Man' has earned legendary status at Hull City. Firstly he saved the club from relegation to L1 by bringing in the likes of Deano and the rather forgotten but important Ray Parlour, then the run to Wembley, the best day in black & amber history, then he shoots a rocket up the arses of the PL beating Arsenal & Spurs away in consecutive weeks. Afterwards, the star waned, things went pear-shaped, the on-pitch team talk at Man City and the signng of glass-knee Bullard led to his exit. Rating 9/10 Phil PARKINSON - 24 games - 20.83% - You don't lose to your former club 5-1, the best thing to say about Parky is that he proved what he was capable of at Bradford! Rating 3/10 Peter TAYLOR - 184 games - 41.84% - Took over from the rotund Jan Molby; cue 2 promotions and this is the man who took us to a higher level at the same time as moving from BP to the KC. Taylor will forever be associated with a period of great success despite sometimes favouring pragmatism over beauty. You could hardly complain though with memories such as Hillsborough, Yeovil and Stu Elliot to look back on. Rating 8/10 Do you agree with my ratings? It's bloody hard to separate Taylor, Brown & Bruce due to different divisions, styles and times. Brown wins it for me as 'the Greatest'.
Outrageously high for dowie....maybe a tad low on silva, people will be able to put arguments for and against raising or lowering all those scores as it's a totally personal and subjective business. I'd put Bruce above brownie personally but that's just me
Easier to judge on at least a full season really. And harder to judge with the Allams around as well. Once managers are gone elsewhere I move on, same with players, I don't have an interest in them and what they do.
very strange about dowie. gathered points during his 9 games at the same rate brown had in his last 58 games, with almost the same win %, but without the benefit of several transfer windows, and gets 2/10 compared to brown's 9/10.
It's a tough one as you said due to the different circumstances. Even though I think it makes some sense to judge them based on achievements, I still think that shouldn't be the deciding factor. Technically, I would say Marco Silva is the best we've had, because he will prove me right based on his success elsewhere, then comes Bruce who's had success elsewhere, Phil Brown on the other hand not so much. If Phil Brown is the greatest based on achievements, then Nicky Butt was a better midfielder than Matt Le tissier... Phil Brown unlocked the door but I personally wouldn't say he's the best we've had... but as I said it's a matter of perspective. I actually think what Bruce achieved with us was harder than what PB did. But I don't think Bruce is as good a manager from a footballing perspective as MS. I'd go 9 for Bruce, 8.5 for Silva, 8 PB
Phelan got us to a League Cup semi final with a deficient squad - I do think he is often viewed quite harshly. Brown took us to glorious heights but his last 3-4 months were pretty dire and mojo-less. For Silva that was only the last 3 games. Bruce’s achievements surpassed all others but he tossed away Europe and had a very ordinary final season. Parkinson signed well then managed badly. Taylor transformed a directionless husk and never failed us throughout his spell. Slutsky 5 Silva 9 Phelan 6 Bruce 8 Barmby 6 Pearson 7 Dowie 3 Brown 8 Parkinson 5 Taylor 9
Slutsky 3-nice fella well out of his depth. Silva 8- ultimately failed when it looked like he had pulled off the unthinkable. Phelan 4- was/is never a number one. Great coaching achievements but on the evidence of his time with us he should stick to being a number two. Bruce 8 - for his early achievements. The showing in Europe was his low point. And relying on the playoffs with a team that was capeable of getting 100+ points last promotion season was pretty bad. He did have Ehab to deal with though I suppose! Barmby 7 - wasn’t given chance to show if he was capeable of anything better, but his team played nice stacking stuff Pearson 7-steadied a sinking ship very well and (his back room team) bought very astutely. Terrible terrible human being with more than one screw loose though. Dowie -1000- will never get a job in football again. Criminal that he was allowed anywhere near our club. Should have been drooling into a bedpan in a home somewhere. Brown 9.5- faded badly at the end and his ego got too much. But for what he achieved and the sheer joy he gave city fans for the first time in our lives he will always be number one for me. Parkinson 4- up and coming, job was too big for him. Crumbled Taylor 8- started the upward trend before thinking he had made it back to the big time by jumping ship to palace.
This exactly the sort of subjective, decisive and ultimately utterly pointless debate that makes football so interesting
Stopped reading at 'Slutsky -out of his depth'. Grossly insulting to a manager whose career includes managing his national team and in the CL,as well as winning domestic titles. We all know what stops managers being successful here, and what damage this managerial merry-go-round does to the stability of the club. A sad and pointless thread.
Difficult to judge in different circumstances. e.g You can't judge Taylor vs Brown because Taylor never managed City in the prem, and vice-versa. Slutsky..... in retrospect a very poor decision to hire him ie poor English skills both in football terms and language Silva..........Will go on to manage at the very top, though few will recall he was at Hull City Phelan......A number 2!!! Far too defensive minded....The display on TV at Mbro was one of the most embarrassing in City's recent history. Bruce........What can you say...the FA Cup final....The decision to sell Long will haunt him forever. Barmby.....Played some nice stuff. May have gone on to have been very successful at HCAFC or elsewhere. Pearson....Gruff and a not a nice guy, but you got what it said on the tin. Dowie.......Pass. Brown.......Leg end...Lost it at Man City. Not sure why he hasn't managed in the prem again. Maybe the ego trip got the better of him. Parkinson...The failure to bring Williams from Colchester was his epitaph. Taylor........Couldn't fail really ie the new stadium, Adam's vision. Made us into something. Two promos and a decent(ish) start in the Championship. What more is there to say?
the anti-dowie stuff never ceases, does it? at the time he arrived, his career management record was on a par with brown's. just because he looked like a natural to play igor in hammer movies doesn't mean he was stupid. maybe brown should have been the one to lead us on a glorious return to the championship. alrawdah's assertion that brown's last 3 or 4 months were pretty dire misses the mark enormously. under brown we were crap for his last 18 months.
