Premier League Clubs With the Most Managers: A Full History of Managerial Changes

Historical deep dive into which Premier League clubs have gone through the most permanent managers since 1992. Include a full ranking table with number of managers, average tenure and longest and shortest serving managers at each club. Complements the existing managers sacked tracker and manager salaries articles.

Since the Premier League began in 1992, over 300 people have taken charge of a top-flight club in England. And most of them didn't last long. The average tenure for a departing Premier League manager is now around 16 months, and that figure keeps falling. Here's the full picture.

The Premier League clubs that have changed manager the most

Southampton lead the all-time list, having gone through over 20 permanent managers since 1992 despite spending only around 25 seasons in the Premier League across that period. That is an extraordinary rate of turnover for a club of their size. They have had three different managers in a single season on more than one occasion.

Tottenham sit second, having made 19 permanent appointments across 34 Premier League seasons as ever-presents in the division. Chelsea are close behind and have been arguably the most volatile club in the division's history. The Roman Abramovich era, which began in 2003, effectively redefined expectations for how long a manager's job was safe. Jose Mourinho, one of the most successful managers in the club's history, was sacked twice. Between 2022 and 2024 under new ownership, Chelsea had six different managers in less than two years.

Newcastle and Everton have both had 15 permanent managers in the Premier League era, but West Brom's record is arguably the most remarkable of any club. 13 managers in just 13 seasons in the top flight, an average of one per season.

At the other end, Arsenal set the standard for managerial stability. Arsene Wenger arrived in 1996 and stayed until 2018, meaning the club made just three permanent appointments across 26 years of Premier League football. Wenger managed over 820 Premier League games at Arsenal. A record that will probably stand forever unchallenged. 

Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson occupies the same category. Ferguson managed over 800 Premier League games at Old Trafford before retiring in 2013 after 21 years and 13 titles. Since his departure, United have had six permanent managers in just over a decade.

Premier League clubs with the most managers

Average manager tenure across the Premier League

When you measure seasons per manager rather than raw numbers, the contrast between the most and least stable clubs is evident. Arsenal have averaged a new permanent manager roughly every 6.8 seasons across their 34 years in the division, with five appointments across 34 seasons. Liverpool sit at just under 4.3 seasons per manager across the same period. Both figures are well above the league average.

Across the Premier League as a whole, the average tenure for a departing manager has fallen steadily since 1992. Managers in the division's early years were routinely given two or three seasons to build something. The combination of increased television money, greater commercial exposure and the financial cost of relegation has shortened that window considerably. 

The shortest and longest managerial reigns in Premier League history

The shortest permanent managerial reign in Premier League history belongs to Sam Allardyce at Leeds United in 2023. He was appointed on 3 May with four games remaining, and his contract expired on 2 June, a period of just 30 days. Leeds were relegated. 

Allardyce had previously managed nine different Premier League clubs, more than any other manager in the competition's history, taking charge of Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton, West Brom and Leeds.

At the other end, Ferguson and Wenger stand on their own. Ferguson's 26-year tenure at Manchester United included 13 league titles. Wenger's 22 years at Arsenal produced three. No other manager in Premier League history comes close to those numbers. That kind of relationship between a manager and a club feels almost impossible to imagine now given the pace at which the industry moves.

All the managerial drama, all season long

The Premier League merry-go-round keeps spinning. Every sacking, every appointment, every new manager shapes the table at both ends. 

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