Claudio Ranieri top and Sir Alex Ferguson fourth as Adrian Durham names top five Premier League managers ever

Adrian Durham believes that Claudio Ranieri is the greatest Premier League manager of all time.

Chief football anchor Durham was joined by former England defender Stuart Pearce on Breakfast on Friday morning.

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And the topic of the ‘Top Five 7:35’ this week is the greatest Premier League managers ahead of Pep Guardiola’s final game as Manchester City head coach.

Guardiola will leave City after Sunday’s welcome of Aston Villa, bringing an end to a 10-year stay at the Etihad Stadium.

“As my time comes to an end, be happy. Oasis are back again,” the Spaniard said in an emotional statement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for trusting me. Thank you for pushing me. Thank you for loving me.”

Former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is now expected to succeed Guardiola.

But just where does Guardiola rank among Durham and Pearce’s top five greatest Premier League managers?

Adrian Durham's top five

1. Claudio Ranieri
2. Pep Guardiola
3. Jose Mourinho
4. Sir Alex Ferguson
5. Unai Emery

Stuart Pearce's top five

1. Pep Guardiola
2. Sir Alex Ferguson
3. Jose Mourinho
4. Arsene Wenger
5. Jurgen Klopp

Number Five

You can read the full justifications below…

Durham kicked off the rundown on Friday morning, beginning: “My number five, there’s a bit of recency going on here, I accept that, and this was written very shortly after I’d seen Villa win the Europa League, but I’m actually going Unai Emery, and the reason is this.

“When he got into Villa, they were in deep trouble. People thought they might be going down. Even at the start of this season, he was being questioned. They’d scored one goal in the first five games, and they hadn’t won a game in six in all competitions.

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“Since then, it’s been non-stop, so I’m actually rating Unai Emery as my fifth best Premier League manager ever.

“The other little reason with that Stuart, is because they basically said to him: ‘Unai, we’re giving you the keys to Aston Villa. You do the job. You can run it how you want’.

“He has a big say in literally everything at the football club, and that’s working out quite well for them.”

Pearce poked fun at Durham for coming late to the Emery party, before making his pick.

“Well, to be fair, he’s done magnificently well. He’s driven the club, won them a European trophy. I think you’re a bit of a ‘Johnny-come-lately’ with Unai Emery,” he said.

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“My number five is Jurgen Klopp.” Durham then asked: “Why’s he so far down?”

To which Pearce replied: “Because I’ve got four others who I think have done better.”

Number Four

Pearce then kicked off with his manager for fourth, saying: “My number four is Arsene Wenger. Changed the culture of football in this country.

Durham quizzed whether Wenger did so, to which Pearce hit back: “Yes he did with players, professionalism, you name it. Unbeaten in a whole season, nobody has ever done that before.

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“The bottom line is, Arsene Wenger. He stands up alongside most for what he done, style of play, his influence on the Premier League, levels of professionalism with teammates of mine in the England camp.

“I saw a different Tony Adams playing football than the one I did before Arsene Wenger arrived and the likes of Ray Parlour.

“Defending Ray Parlour, I found, wasn’t too bad. As soon as Arsene Wenger came, and his movement changed drastically. He was a real handful after the Wenger period, and I saw that directly playing against him.”

“I can’t argue with that, can I?” Durham said before outlining a surprise choice for his number four.

“My number four is Sir Alex Ferguson, and you’re probably wondering why he’s so far down the list.”

Pearce asked why the Manchester United icon is so far down as Durham outlined: “Well, because there’s three more I rate more highly than Sir Alex Ferguson.

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“Very briefly, one of the reasons is, he should have done better.”

Pearce couldn’t believe what he’d heard, replying: “He should have done better! Get your finger out, Alex. You know all those 26 trophies you won, it could have been 27.”

“I can remember people are moaning about Pep Guardiola spending all loads of money, Sir Alex Ferguson spent a huge amount of money, but I can appreciate some people may not agree with him being that far down the list,” Durham continued

“Let’s get to the next one.”

Number Three

“Three is…”

“Jose Mourinho,” Pearce said. And Durham agreed with Pearce on Jose, adding: “Oh, OK. My number three – Jose Mourinho. How about that? We agree, let’s just leave it there.

Pearce then said they should expand on Mourinho, who is set to take over as Real Madrid boss, and Durham duly obliged.

“The impact he had. After he arrived, Wenger didn’t win another Premier League. I think he out-psyched Arsene Wenger,” the talkSPORT host said.

“His team when [Damien] Duff was one wing, [Arjen] Robben the other, was electric. That was a joy to watch.

“And then he got a bit more functional to win more titles. His instant impact when arriving in the Premier League can’t be ignored.

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“He was a character, he went to different clubs as well. He didn’t just do it with Chelsea and then disappear, I’ve got a lot of respect for that.”

Pearce agreed with everything Durham said of Mourinho, and went as far as saying he would have liked to have played under the Portuguese boss.

“All the same things you said, I’d echo that,” Pearce said.

“I’d add to that, if I was a player, would I like to play for him and did I look at other players like John Terry and Frank [Lampard] and whatever, and see the enjoyment they had of playing for him and the respect they had.

“I would have liked to have played for him.”

“We’ve both got Mourinho ahead of Wenger. There will be Gooners absolutely fuming with us, but there you go,” Durham rounded off.

Number Two

Heading into the top two, Durham began: “My number two is Pep Guardiola. I think it’s gone under the radar a little bit how much he’s had to reinvent this City side with players leaving.

“How much he gets out of players, how much he improves players as well.

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“You can flip that by looking at Phil Foden, but let’s not forget that Phil Foden, two years ago, was the undisputed player of the year, and was sensational.

“His form has dropped off, that’s absolutely true, but to reinvent the side over and over again, to win four titles in a row. I don’t think people respect that enough.

“My number two. Your number two?”

Pearce then crossed the Manchester divide for his number two, stating: “Alex Ferguson. Alex was magnificent, he reinvented that United side on, probably, three occasions to be honest with you.

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“When he first got there, there was a culture that he didn’t like at the club. He changed that culture.

“There will be a lot of people argue that he should be number one, I get that, and, to be fair, I wouldn’t put up a big argument why he shouldn’t be number one if truth be known.

“Incredible manager. His influence on the Premier League is there for all of us to see.

“All the names I’ve mentioned before, Alex was the role model for all of those.”

Number One

And as we reached the final manager, Durham allowed Pearce to go first. “Let’s reveal the number one. Your number one is?” he asked.

“I’ve gotta go for Pep. There’s not much to choose between him and Alex, and it depends what side of the divide you’re at,” Pearce said.

“I know I set the bar ludicrously low in management at Manchester City, which made life a lot easier for him to follow, I do understand that.

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“Manchester City versus Real Madrid a few years ago in the Champions League semi-final, I think it was, the level of football and the product in front of me that, in my 50 years of being involved in football, I’d never seen before.

“It was amazing, and I walked out of that stadium that night and I was wowed by it. Sometimes you think you’ve seen everything in the game. There was a team performance there that was beyond that. It was incredible.

“Four Premier Leagues in a row. Intensity in which the man works, the product of his team, inverted full-backs, getting to touchlines and pulling the ball back. The technical aspects as well. Brilliant.”

Durham then took a different approach to his number one, saying: “Your number one is Pep, mine is… Claudio Ranieri.

“And the reason is the greatest achievement in the Premier League era is Leicester winning the title.

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“However he managed it, whether people think it’s down to players, or by luck, or whatever, just right timing, fine, but his name was above the door.

“So that’s why I’m putting him there. He was responsible. He was at the helm for the greatest Premier League achievement, in my opinion, which was Leicester winning the title.

“People will disagree, and there’s no Wenger in my top five, and I think there will be Arsenal fans wanting [Mikel] Arteta in there, bizarrely.

“It’s all about opinions, and everyone can have theirs as well.

“Yours is Pep, mine is Ranieri.”

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