The era of the celebrity coach has dawned on the Premier League. When you consider that the income generated by the Premier League exceeds all others by a significant margin and has done for some time, perhaps it is more surprising that it has taken so long.
When the Premier League launched in 1992 there were 16 English-born managers, 4 born in Scotland and one each from Wales in Ireland. In 1992 there were 22 clubs. Nearly a quarter of a century later the manager roster has changed beyond recognition. There is one Scot, two Welsh-born managers and only four native to England if you include Hull's caretaker manager Mike Phelan.
Of the remaining 13 there are 4 Italians, two from France and Spain, and one from each of Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, and Croatia.
Eight (if you include Mike Phelan) of the twenty Premier League managers in charge for round one are new to their clubs, and Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka faced his first match as a Premier League manager.
Four new managers went head-to-head. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City managed to beat David Moyes' Sunderland 2-1; Claude Puel's Southampton and Walter Mazzarri's Watford drew 1-1.
Ronald Koeman's Everton visibly wilted late in the match against Spurs but still held out for a credible 1-1 draw. Karanka's Middlesbrough also shared the spoils drawing 1-1 with Stoke City.
Mike Phelan was the big winner as Hull beat last season's champions Leicester City 2-1 while Jose Mourinho watched Manchester United cruise to a 3-1 away win over Bournemouth.
Antonio Conte and Chelsea has to wait until Monday to play West Ham.
By using a number of different sources this is how much each Premier League manager is paid annually excluding bonuses.
1. Not surprisingly the dynamic duo of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are both paid the same - $20M. Both have won trebles and multiple other trophies and both are now in the same city. Only one can win.
3. Next month it will be twenty years since Arsene Wenger was announced as the new manager of Arsenal. At the time few would have given the relatively unknown Frenchman - unknown to English soccer anyway - two years in the job let alone two decades. Wenger's contract currently pays him $11M annually and it expires at the end of this season.
Arsène Wenger faces reminder of time when he was Arsenal’s big spender | @amylawrence71 https://t.co/E26cPVU0Xe pic.twitter.com/oK3T51Vy6c
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) August 13, 2016
4. Jürgen Klopp just arrived last October at Liverpool but his impact has been such that he has already signed a contract extension that will take him to 2022 and pay him $9.25M per year. The
Jurgen Klopp: "We want to fight for everything. We're not looking for excuses. Everything is possible so we should try it." — Tony Barrett (@TonyBarretTimes) August 12, 2016
Mourinho, Guardiola, Wenger, and Klopp make more than all the other Premier League managers combined.
5. Former Juventus and Italy national team manager, Antonio Conti is paid $8.6M by Chelsea.
6. When Ronald Koeman moved to Everton this summer his new club had to pay compensation of $6.5M to Southampton. Koeman salary increased from around $4M to $8M.
Satisfied with a point today! Good first half and a great atmosphere in the stadium. Thanks to the fans! #EFC pic.twitter.com/vXgGph9Bqk
— Ronald Koeman (@RonaldKoeman) August 13, 2016
7. Tottenham Hostpur moved quickly to tie down Mauricio Pochettino to a contract extension through to 2021 when rumors of Manchester United interest in the young Argentine manager surfaced last summer.
Of course, Manchester United eventually signed Jose Mourinho but nevertheless, it is doubtful that it will be the last time Pochettino is linked with another position when there is a vacancy. Pochettino's new deal pays him $7.2M a year.
Mauricio Pochettino insists that he will not be quitting Tottenham to become Argentina boss https://t.co/fC2LaxWuc0 pic.twitter.com/2LSHjDPr4y — Manchester united (@SexyyCjerk) July 25, 2016
8. Claude Puel - Southampton $4.2M
9. Premier League winning boss Claudio Ranieri seems to be underpaid even at his new salary of $4M. He signed an extension last week that runs to 2020 but there again Ranieri received a well-deserved hefty bonus after last season's exploits.
More chance of aliens landing in London than Leicester winning title again, admits Ranieri: https://t.co/q4hS4X8aV5 pic.twitter.com/1p7mRsqsX4
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 12, 2016
10. David Moyes as just replaced the new England manager Sam Allardyce at Sunderland and his contract pays $4M a year.
11. Slaven Bilic had an excellent first season in charge at West Ham and is paid $4M.
Slaven Bilic talks a lot of sense. And a lot. Box Office manager: https://t.co/DaskqjksW4
— sportingintelligence (@sportingintel) August 12, 2016
12. Tony Pulis receives $2.6M for managing West Brom but he received big bonus payments when he kept Palace and West Brom up in successive seasons and it is likely that he still has a similar incentive.
13. Alan Pardew is on $2M a year for managing Crystal Palace.
14. Newcomer Walter Mazzarri has been tempted to Watford with an annual salary of $1.65M.
15. Another Italian manager, Francesco Guidolin, took over Swansea last season and a late run lifted the Swans out of relegation trouble to lower mid-table safety. Guidolin is paid $1.35M per year.
The day Leon Britton gave Francesco Guidolin a lift - and told him all about the Swansea City story https://t.co/Ui2LukC0Pn — South Wales EP (@SWEveningPost) August 13, 2016
16. A case could be made that Stoke's Mark Hughes is underpaid. Despite signing a new contract this year that will take him to 2019 his reputed $1.3M salary seems out of whack compared to his contemporaries.
17. The youngest manager in the Premier League is 38-year-old Eddie Howe of Bournemouth. Howe receives $1m a year.
18. Burnley pays Sean Dyche $560,000.
19. Middlesbrough's manager Aitor Karanka will surely receive a substantial increase if he can keep 'Boro in the Premier League. A year ago Karanka signed a four-year contract paying him $470,000.
Middlesbrough 1-1 Stoke: Aitor Karanka pleased with how Boro handled pressure: https://t.co/v66InxhtJa
— BBC Football News (@bbcfoot) August 13, 2016
20. Mike Phelan is the caretaker manager of Hull pending the naming of a replacement for Steve Bruce who resigned a few weeks ago. Bruce was reputed to make $1.35M a year.
Managers fascinate us but there are those that make a case that managers are largely irrelevant. Simon Kuper has proposed as much for a long time and he was at it again in this article.
Meanwhile, BBC.com outlined the challenges facing the group of new managers while Jonathan Lord writing in The Conversation looked at the different management approaches taken by some of the new high-profile appointments.
