Guardiola 2nd), Arteta 4th): England’s longest-serving managers ranked on exit chances
Mark Robins’ almost eight-year spell at Coventry City ended this week and his exit signals that the concept of a manager having credit in the bank is diminishing.
This brutal sacking meant the top ten list of the longest-serving Football League managers needed an update; the new line-up features four from the Premier League, Wrexham’s supremo and a League Two boss who has been in charge for over 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) years.
Tipped for promotion by this once-great site in pre-season, Coventry have made a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign. Yet the harsh sacking of Robins leaves a bitter taste in the mouth as he’s previously massively overachieved for the 2023/24 FA Cup semi-finalists and contributed to the making of stars (like 2024 top scorer in Europe, Viktor Gyokeres).
The sacking of Robins further proves no manager in the Football League is safe and Arsenal – like Coventry – could rue what they once had if the exterior noise leads to Mikel Arteta’s demise. So including the Gunners boss and Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, here are the ten longest-serving Football League managers ranked – from least to most likely – on the chances of them being the next to leave…
10) Nigel Clough (Mansfield Town) – four years, three days
League One is stacked this season. Free-spending Birmingham City are champions in waiting, but the race for second place is already fascinating as surprise candidates Wycombe Wanderers look likely to be joined in the fight by Wrexham, Bolton, Huddersfield Town and others.
Mansfield are another unexpected team in the mix as their stunning start to the season – including an impressive draw against Birmingham – has them in the mix for another promotion after they finished third in League Two last term.
Given the financial might of certain League One clubs, seventh-placed Mansfield are punching well above their weight. It would be one of this season’s best stories if they finish in the play-offs or higher and barring interest from Championship clubs, 58-year-old Clough won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
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9) Andy Woodman (Bromley) – three years, 225 days
The former Newcastle United goalkeeper coach and, more significantly, bestie of Alan Pardew has enjoyed immense success in management. Last season, he guided Bromley to promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history.
Heading into this season with the sole aim of survival, 19th-placed Bromley are on track to stay up as they are four points clear of the relegation places.
Woodman is in the final year of his contract, but Bromley would be daft not to extend his deal at the next opportunity and he’ll likely stay on for at least another season if his side can survive in League Two.
8) Thomas Frank (Brentford) – six years, 24 days
The sale of Ivan Toney has not impacted Brentford as much as expected, with Liverpool’s reported ‘chosen’ replacement for Mohamed Salah stepping up at the start of this season.
Brentford were not without their struggles last season as they drifted into the relegation fight, but they have recovered and the lack of Big Six interest in Frank remains a mystery.
With Man Utd appointing Ruben Amorim, the Tottenham job is perhaps the likeliest to become available, but this is far from certain as their supporters continue to ride the inconsistency wave under Ange Postecoglou.
So barring a significant Spurs decline and sacking of an increasingly irritable Aussie, it’s hard to see a scenario where a deserving Frank is plucked away by a Big Six club soon. Their loss is Brentford’s gain, though.
7) Marco Silva (Fulham) – three years, 131 days
Silva was another manager reportedly on Man Utd’s radar during Erik ten Hag’s prolonged stay of execution, but he remains at sixth-placed Fulham, who have made a bright start to the 24/25 Premier League season.
The former Everton boss (out of contract in 2026) has one less year on his deal than Frank and there have been far more murmurs surrounding a potential exit with him in the future amid interest from Saudi Pro League and European sides. He could easily get his head turned.
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6) Simon Weaver (Harrogate Town) – 15 years, 172 days
Fair play, Weaver. Fifteen years at one club is a f*** of a long time, especially when it comes to football management.
Despite being with League Two outfit Harrogate for such a prolonged spell, the former Sheffield Wednesday and Lincoln City defender is only 46 and has plenty of miles left on the clock.
After guiding the Yorkshire outfit to the Football League for the first time in 2020, Weaver has helped to prevent them from slipping back into non-league. They remain on course to avoid relegation for a fifth consecutive season and their shock win over Wrexham in the FA Cup will do the manager no harm either.
5) Phil Parkinson (Wrexham) – three years, 131 days
Wrexham are not everyone’s cup of tea, but Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been incorrectly cast as ‘villains’ in this feel-good story about a team coming out of the shadows to have some overdue time in the sun.
The Red Dragons’ rapid rise needs the big screen to do it justice as the third-placed League One side could earn their third consecutive promotion to reach the dizzy heights of the Championship by the end of this season.
Parkinson has been a figure of calm amid all the frenzy and has done superbly. But Wrexham’s owners have Premier League ambitions and the manager’s pragmatic (and at times ugly) style of play has a limited shelf life.
Much like Eddie Howe at Newcastle United, Parkinson – who is on a risky rolling contract – will have played a vital role in Wrexham’s rise but the end is nigh in the next year or two as the club adapts to cope with the heightened demands of competing in the Championship/top of League One.
4) Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) – four years, 323 days
The knee-jerk verdict on Arteta reaching the end of his tether at Arsenal is massively over the top and we have picked out five unreasonable reasons to sack the Spaniard which *should* prove how stupid a decision it would be.
Yes, Arsenal have been far from convincing at the start of this campaign and certain results have been damaging. But their struggles have come at a good time as Manchester City are having their customary early-season sticky patch and Liverpool’s title credentials are not yet properly solidified.
Arsenal are better off struggling in November than peaking too soon and a Man City-esque prolonged unbeaten run post-Christmas would re-ignite their title pursuit.
This period of the season will still be a test for Arteta (especially with his right-hand man jumping ship) and this campaign feels like a defining one for the head coach as Arsenal really could do with winning a trophy.
If this blip turns into a severe slump, serious questions will be asked of Arteta and he could go. But a lot needs to go wrong for this to happen and drastic action remains far away.
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3) Ian Evatt (Bolton) – four years, 131 days
Evatt is more brash than his managerial achievements warrant and Bolton had a squad more than capable of promotion last season.
After narrowly missing out on second place to Derby County, Bolton suffered play-off heartache. So heading into this campaign there was pressure on Evatt to right that wrong.
Evatt could have easily lost his job last season and could just be one bad run away from the sack this term. A 5-0 defeat at Stockport will test that theory, with the gap to automatic promotion opening up to seven points.
2) Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) – eight years, 131 days
Man City are going through a ‘crisis’ at the moment as they are on their worst run under Guardiola, who could easily say goodbye in 2025.
The serial winner will inevitably find a way to get Man City back on track and even without Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, they remain the favourites to win the Premier League this season.
However, Guardiola’s contract expires next year and it remains to be seen whether he will extend his deal. There’s been speculation that he’ll stay for another year, but some board members at Man City are reportedly keen for him to leave.
The obsessive Guardiola will likely relish the prospect of getting Man City out of this rut to challenge Liverpool and/or Arsenal, so he’ll probably decide to stay for #OneMoreYear. Yet the ongoing uncertainty resulted in being ranked so highly.
1) Jon Brady (Northampton Town) – three years, 273 days
League One outfit Northampton are in a similar boat to the two aforementioned League Two sides in that they are battling for survival in the third tier after getting promoted in 2023.
The Cobblers achieved that with aplomb last term but are just four points above the relegation zone in the early stage of this season.
Under Brady, Northampton’s start to this season has been decent but not outstanding and the pressure will be on their manager on a rolling contract if they slip into the relegation spots in the coming weeks/months.
