Best Leicester Manager

[Kitchandro]

You know what, I completely forgot Sousa even managed us!

He wasn't here long enough to be our worst manager but I wonder (dread) what would have happened had we kept him on, he really was a total disaster. Even Taylor took a few months to completely destroy what O'Neill had left, we barely lost any key players when Pearson left and within about 3 games of the new season, it was clear it wasn't going to work out.

It was no surprise we started climbing up the table pretty quickly as soon as he left.

[LCFC FOX]

Best in my lifetime MoN or Pearson.

Worst probably Holloway or Levein

[Trav Le Bleu]

Best manager Matt Gillies easily.

Worst David Pleat. Holloway was unlucky in inheriting a team that had been messed about by 2 other crap managers already and Peter Taylor was doing fine and then the bubble burst and never came back.

[Webbo]

It has to be O'Neil, simply for trophies won.

[Trav Le Bleu]

It has to be O'Neil, simply for trophies won.

2?

Edit: Just checked and that actually IS the best by any LCFC manager

[Webbo]

2?

Edit: Just checked and that actually IS the best by any LCFC manager

Glad you found that out. I was just checking in case I'd slipped up

[Fox in exile]

Best- Martin O'Neill- and I think his enthusiasm was transferred to the fans as this was the best atmosphere for so long .......although great atmosphere under Brian Little as well.

Jimmy Bloomfield a great era but MON the man......would love to see NP overtake him.

Worst ever: Frank McClintock closely followed ny Peter Taylor and 'Judas' Fatty McGhee

[body102]

O'neill for me but I also rated Jock Wallace

Worst got to be Taylor

Special mention to Bryan Hamilton just for the fact he bought the legend Steve Walsh

[dpjfox]

Best - Bloomfield Worse- McLintock

[Matt]

Best - MON

2nd Best - Nigel Pearson.

3rd Best - Micky Adams.

Worst - Peter Taylor.

Levein and Sousa following up close behind.

I don't see why people claim Holloway was the worst - On paper yes you'd have thought he was the worst, but when you look at it in depth and understand what happened throughout that season he isn't. Yes he took us to the lowest position in our history and that is why people label him as the worst manager in our history, but the damage was done before he came in. The person to blame for taking us to the lowest position in our history? The chairman of the club we a playing today - Milan Mandaric.

[Rich Fox]

Jock Wallace was best I can remember.

[Kitchandro]

Best - MON

2nd Best - Nigel Pearson.

3rd Best - Micky Adams.

Worst - Peter Taylor.

Levein and Sousa following up close behind.

I don't see why people claim Holloway was the worst - On paper yes you'd have thought he was the worst, but when you look at it in depth and understand what happened throughout that season he isn't. Yes he took us to the lowest position in our history and that is why people label him as the worst manager in our history, but the damage was done before he came in. The person to blame for taking us to the lowest position in our history? The chairman of the club we a playing today - Milan Mandaric.

Some of it was, not all of it. Some of his signings were atrocious even for a tight budget and we were quite a few places above the relegation zone before he came.

I'm not denying it was a difficult job, but the amount of people who defend him for taking us down to our lowest point is astounding. Of course he's one of the worst, maybe not quite THE worst but the guy did a shocking job.

[dmayne7]

The thing about Taylor was that if he has done what he did 15 years before it wouldn't have had nearly as disastrous effect as it did because football wasn't all about money.

Holloway wins easily, He took us down. We were outside the relegation zone when he took over and he sent us into freefall.

The best was MON for me.

[Burmesefox]

From personal experience

1. MON

2. Jock Wallace

3. Brian Little

(If NP gets us up then he would move into position 3).

Gillies and Bloomfield would have to be challenging for 1st and 2nd place but I wasnt around then.

[TrentFox]

In my time, Jimmy B probably had the most talented set of players at his disposal (relative to others in the land) - I seem to recall watching Eng vs W. Germ at Wembley and there being 4 players in the squad for crying out loud ..... but they were always a bit hit and miss .... never sure if they could quite be bothered. For that reason, MON gets it from me as he just helped those players play at the very best of their ability for more of the time. Isn't that what great managers / leaders do - maximise potential ? As somebody has started a thread elsewhere about this, it could be what NP is doing right now. As always, the end of a 'chapter' is the best time to assess that.

[demon_dog]

No doubt in my mind, Matt Gillies was the best followed by O'Neill.

The worst has to be Peter Taylor.

[inckley fox]

As far as Gillies is concerned, he was a tactical innovator and crafted a title-challenging outfit in Leicester, but it was in an era when this was much easier to do than, say, the 1990s.

The League Cup he won was a fledgling competition performed over two legs and about the equivalent of the Zenith Data Systems Cup back then. Unlike O'Neill he also had big money at his disposal; breaking the British transfer record in his time, and it should be noted that when he left City they were in the process of slumping to relegation. He was an important manager in our history but many City fans at the time - I gather - credited his coach (Bert Johnson, was it?) for the organisational work done with the side. I find it hard to put his achievements up there with O'Neill's, who won a promotion and two trophies.

The mentions of Jock Wallace surprised me. He brought in a younger generation of players after the McLintock disaster, but they finished 17th in the second tier in his first season, were instantly relegated after promotion and didn't especially look like bouncing back when he walked out. His ability as a tactician was criticised and it was Milne who got us back up.

I'm also surprised that none of the earlier managers have had a mention. Hodge was the first City boss and won promotion with us, then established us in the top flight and set up the team which Willie Orr led to our highest ever placing. He also returned to the club, Pearson-esque, but died while in office.

As for the worst manager; it's almost too easy to mention McLintock, but it should be added that his failure was in the top flight and after inheriting a skilful but aging Bloomfield team. Levein had poor results but he cut the squad's average age from 30 to 25 and reduced our wage bill massively. Bassett didn't do well but he took over a thoroughly demoralised squad, signed Dickov and Deane and was later Director of Football under the relatively successful Adams tenure.

The obvious choice is Taylor. He spent 27 million, dismantled a side which had finished 8th a year before, suffered a record-breaking losing run, a record-breaking home defeat and we were relegated on the back of our most successful era in the season when he was fired. He signed Junior Lewis, Benjamin, Akinbiyi and Lee Marshall. Our relegation, financial collapse and near closure was largely down to him.

Holloway made some shocking decisions (saying we were probably safe with three games still to go and pretty much all of his signings) but Mandaric had to take a sizeable portion of the blame for getting through five managers in his first year in charge.

[Sir Shep]

Best for me is easily Martin God O'Neill with Adams and Little close behind, certainly Pearson the first time round (and so far the second time round!).

Worst for me is Taylor, yes it was a hard act to follow but he was given money, lots of money!

Holloway I felt sorry for as we were doomed that season regardless in my humblr opinion.

I first started watching city under Pleat, we were awful but we had Newell, Ramsey, McAllister, Mauchlin and Sir Walsh and they kept me coming back, that and the fact it only cost me £2 to watch them!

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Best - Nigel Pearson. Call it premature, but I can only remember the tail end of the O'Neill days, and I always found O'Neill to be far too defensive and pragmatic and inflexible as a manager to ever truly love him, despite what he did for the club. The same accusations can be levelled at NP, but I feel he truly loves the club and he has certainly shown himself to be capable of getting his teams to play flowing attacking football. O'Neill would obviously be second I respect him for the success we had under him.

Worst - Holloway. I just felt he was always laughing and dicking about while he took us further and further down the league, obviously didn't care about the club at all. Although he arguably wasn't the worst manager ever, the way he never took the job seriously makes me hate him and want to fail to this day. The absolute clown Peter Taylor comes second, who signed some of the worst players this club has ever seen: Junior Lewis the basketball player, Akinbiyi who was just never suited to our style of play, Dennis effin Wise who was a disruptive **** and past it as a player to boot, overpriced flops like Matt Jones, over 1m on Tricky Trev Benjamin. 3rd - Gary Megson, as the most dour and negative manager we can ever remember, too scared to attack at home to the likes of Gillingham and Rotherham, one of the reasons the Walkers became such an easy places for away teams to come in the mid 200s

[accessory]

As far as Gillies is concerned, he was a tactical innovator and crafted a title-challenging outfit in Leicester, but it was in an era when this was much easier to do than, say, the 1990s.

Indeed. The financial climate was much kinder to many clubs then, who could (and often did) compete with better-supported rivals for the services of star players.

Eleven different clubs won the FA Cup between 1962 and 1973. Leicester City could and perhaps should have been one of them.

The League Cup he won was a fledgling competition performed over two legs and about the equivalent of the Zenith Data Systems Cup back then. Unlike O'Neill he also had big money at his disposal; breaking the British transfer record in his time, and it should be noted that when he left City they were in the process of slumping to relegation. He was an important manager in our history but many City fans at the time - I gather - credited his coach (Bert Johnson, was it?) for the organisational work done with the side. I find it hard to put his achievements up there with O'Neill's, who won a promotion and two trophies.

The 1964 League Cup loses a little of its lustre upon discovering that nearly half of the clubs in the top flight that season chose not to take part.

Gillies, like several of his more recent successors, wasn't always a great judge in the transfer market. Allan Clarke may have had the potential to be a great striker (which he duly became at Leeds) but his attitude problems disrupted the side and contributed significantly to the 1969 relegation.

The mentions of Jock Wallace surprised me. He brought in a younger generation of players after the McLintock disaster, but they finished 17th in the second tier in his first season, were instantly relegated after promotion and didn't especially look like bouncing back when he walked out. His ability as a tactician was criticised and it was Milne who got us back up.

You're being a tad harsh on JW. The club was skint after the McLintock horror season and so bringing in youngsters (including Gary Lineker) was the only option available to him. Rebuilding took time, but brought the reward of the Second Division title. If the board of the time hadn't decided to blow much of the summer transfer budget on a luxury banqueting suite (which lasted all of 13 years!). the side might have had a fighting chance of survival.

In May 1982 City were within two points of a promotion spot, with games in hand on teams around them, but the combination of a long winter, an FA cup run (never matched since) and injuries to key players eventually caught up with them and they eventually finished 8th. Nevertheless Wallace had built a side capable of winning promotion, as was proved the following season, when Alan Smith (Wallace's last Foxes signing) playing a prominent role in place of the departed Alan Young.

I'm also surprised that none of the earlier managers have had a mention. Hodge was the first City boss and won promotion with us, then established us in the top flight and set up the team which Willie Orr led to our highest ever placing. He also returned to the club, Pearson-esque, but died while in office.

There are few posters on here who can claim to have seen the side before World War 2. But ultimately managers, like clubs, are judged on honours, and none from that era brought any.

As for the worst manager; it's almost too easy to mention McLintock, but it should be added that his failure was in the top flight and after inheriting a skilful but aging Bloomfield team. Levein had poor results but he cut the squad's average age from 30 to 25 and reduced our wage bill massively. Bassett didn't do well but he took over a thoroughly demoralised squad, signed Dickov and Deane and was later Director of Football under the relatively successful Adams tenure.

McLintock, with no managerial experience whatsoever (at least not in football), took over a side in rapid decline and the consequences were predictable - another example of a monumental misjudgement in the boardroom. Levein was unsuited to the demands of English football and his transfer dealings are not remembered fondly. Bassett took charge of a ship which had already been torpedoed by Taylor, but did play a crucial in supporting Adams during the administration/promotion season.

The obvious choice is Taylor. He spent 27 million, dismantled a side which had finished 8th a year before, suffered a record-breaking losing run, a record-breaking home defeat and we were relegated on the back of our most successful era in the season when he was fired. He signed Junior Lewis, Benjamin, Akinbiyi and Lee Marshall. Our relegation, financial collapse and near closure was largely down to him.

You missed out Dennis Wise and Matt Jones - neither of whom exactly distinguished themselves during their spells at Filbo. At least we got half a decent season out of Akinbiyi.

Holloway made some shocking decisions (saying we were probably safe with three games still to go and pretty much all of his signings) but Mandaric had to take a sizeable portion of the blame for getting through five managers in his first year in charge.

It's some achievement, especially in the modern era, for a club to be relegated from a division in which it has the biggest transfer budget. Milan should take a bow, though all his managers from that season played a supporting role, both to him and to the nightmare that ensued in May 2008.

[accessory]

Best - Nigel Pearson. Call it premature, but I can only remember the tail end of the O'Neill days, and I always found O'Neill to be far too defensive and pragmatic and inflexible as a manager to ever truly love him, despite what he did for the club.

MON was what he was because of the influence of Brian Clough (who won European trophies with precisely those attributes you denounce) and because people in the boardroom put their egos and bank balance before the well-being of the club they were obliged to oversee. If the Way had been built a couple of years earlier (as it could and should have been) and Celtic hadn't come calling, Leicester could have made the top six under MON, maybe even the Champions League.

The same accusations can be levelled at NP, but I feel he truly loves the club and he has certainly shown himself to be capable of getting his teams to play flowing attacking football. O'Neill would obviously be second I respect him for the success we had under him.

No-one who "truly loves the club" would ever dream of walking out to join Hull - however much he may have been undermined or provoked. Also bear in mind that Pearson is on his third attempt to take us to the top flight - MON only needed one.

Worst - Holloway. I just felt he was always laughing and dicking about while he took us further and further down the league, obviously didn't care about the club at all. Although he arguably wasn't the worst manager ever, the way he never took the job seriously makes me hate him and want to fail to this day.

Holloway has given an explanation of his actions during his time with us. I suggest you check it out. Suffice to say Dave Jones is probably going through exactly the same process now..

The absolute clown Peter Taylor comes second, who signed some of the worst players this club has ever seen: Junior Lewis the basketball player, Akinbiyi who was just never suited to our style of play, Dennis effin Wise who was a disruptive **** and past it as a player to boot, overpriced flops like Matt Jones, over 1m on Tricky Trev Benjamin

That was only half the story. Axing half the MON squad (including Walsh, Cottee, Marshall and Collymore) would have been hard enough to forgive.

3rd - Gary Megson, as the most dour and negative manager we can ever remember, too scared to attack at home to the likes of Gillingham and Rotherham, one of the reasons the Walkers became such an easy places for away teams to come in the mid 2000s

Think you'll find that was Levein. We never played those teams while Megson was with us.

[dedlock]

We played some lovely football under Bloomfield,

had a strong team ethic and success under O'Neill

but Matt Gillies was the most innovative manager and,to my mind,the best.

[Danny the Fox 95]

Best- MON

Worst- Taylor

[foxaholic]

My Brother-in-Law thinks Jimmy Bloomfield was Leicesters all time greatest manager, but I'm going for O'Neill, so I just wanted to know what the rest of you thought. Best and while your at it Worst Leicester City Manager.

For me it's Best- O'Neill, Worst- Bassett.

Although no one around who saw his team it has to be the mannager who got us second in 1926 followed by Matt Gillies when we played Man U they were underdogs and apart from the cup finals we almost done the double in 1963. Worst a toss up between Taylor and McLintock.

[deanolegend1989]

Best Manager has to be Oneil, I remember a few moments vaguly but unfortunatly just turning 23 I only really been supporting City passionatly(I.E going to games when I can, always keeping up to date with every score etc)since the end of the 02-03 season, I have not witnessed anything but SH*TE until recently.

Micky Adams relegation, Leviens total rubbish week in week out, Kelly faffing about, Worthington's/Burrows silly caretaker roles, Allen's joke of an appointment, Megsons brilliant loyalty and Holloway completing what was Inevitable for years, you can understand how this current side is dreamland for me

What Pearson has done is nothing short of brilliant.

We were in a rut and he is got us out of the wilderness and giving us a team and club to be proud of over the last few years(since 08-09). If he completes the job and fires us to promotion(If he doesnt this season we should still keep him) then he will be up there with the very best and who know could become our greatest ever manager(established premiership club?) ... YOU NEVER KNOW! I can dream

Oh and on the subject of Milan Mandaric the main problem the club has had..remember he got the Thai's into the club which has clearly given us a helping hand in maintaining the recent surge in the last couple of years!

For me the worse manager has to be Levein..plainly because in that 18 months it was a very dark place, absolutely utter SH*TE football, week in week out..the cup win vs Spurs was probably the only gave we even looked like a team..just total crap!