What are the greatest managerial turnarounds you know of?

[Fortitude]

If you're an oppo fan, you'd have to be living in a cave to not know of the civil war being waged amongst United support. With all the will in the world, it's pretty clear our manager cannot turn this situation around, but let's say he did... it'd be a miraculous feat, one of the greatest in the history of the game.

Off the back of that notion, which managerial turnarounds from being effectively a dead man walking to some form of success can you recall, and further along that line of thought: which are the greatest turnarounds you know of or have witnessed?

I suppose Fergie himself will fit into the criteria, but can you name some others, and perhaps some who had a more dramtic escape from the chop to go on to great things with the same club?

 

[altodevil]

That time Wenger got sent to the stands, turned round and asked where to go

 

[roonster09]

Don't think they get much time, at least most of them

Moyes? He replaced Pellegrini mid season and won 20 points in 19 games. Next season West Ham finished with 65 points, fini4shing in 6th position. Now they are in 3rd position.

 

[Zehner]

Klopp in his last Dortmund season probably. Last in the table as of match day 19, 7th (and in international business) by the 32nd. 16 points after 19 games, then 30 points in the following 15 games.

 

[Sandikan]

Ole when he looked on the verge of the sack in autumn 2021, only to turn it around and see us bravely into 6th in spring 2022.

 

[led_scholes]

LVG with AZ. Finished 11, wanted to resign, players asked him to stay, started the new season (2008-2009) with two losses, then won the league.

 

[laughtersassassin]

There are very few cause when a manager is on the ropes it's already too late.

That said Ole will have a decent turnaround as we have an excellent team. My worry is that we continue to keep him again and again because if these false dawn's.

 

[Daysleeper]

Luis Enrique absolutely. One the verge of being fired in January 2015 unless Barca beat Atletico. Won 3-1 and then went on to treble

 

[GhastlyHun]

That Nico Kovac season we ended as treble winners... oh wait

 

[Fox_Chrys]

Martin O Neil started off poorly for us, the rest is now written in history.

 

[OleBoiii]

Klopp in his last Dortmund season probably. Last in the table as of match day 19, 7th (and in international business) by the 32nd. 16 points after 19 games, then 30 points in the following 15 games.

It was a crazy turnaround for sure, but I'd argue that the initial drop was even crazier. To take a team that finished 2nd the season before all the way down to last place at the halfway point of the season is an unprecedented drop. The fact that Klopp wasn't sacked is a testament to how much credit he had built up.

I'm still baffled by how the arguably greatest manager post Fergie managed to do so poorly for so long. I have never seen anything like it and I doubt that I'll see it again.

 

[hasanejaz88]

It was a crazy turnaround for sure, but I'd argue that the initial drop was even crazier. To take a team that finished 2nd the season before all the way down to last place at the halfway point of the season is an unprecedented drop. The fact that Klopp wasn't sacked is a testament to how much credit he had built up.

I'm still baffled by how the arguably greatest manager post Fergie managed to do so poorly for so long. I have never seen anything like it and I doubt that I'll see it again.

The matches were just as crazy. They played well in most of them but their finishing was poor and individual defensive errors cost them. They inevitably pulled back in the second half and got a EL place along with a cup final.

 

[OleBoiii]

The matches were just as crazy. They played well in most of them but their finishing was poor and individual defensive errors cost them. They inevitably pulled back in the second half and got a EL place along with a cup final.

Yeah, they'd always have like 70% possession and 5 times as many chances as the opponent. For a second I wondered if we had entered a dark timeline where Mourinho-ball had won

 

[nodlocnost2]

David Moyes, signs a 6 year contract gets sacked after a year at MUFC, then gets sacked at Real Sociedad, gets Sunderland relegated and resigns his post before going to West Ham and not having his 6 month contract extended before returning to West Ham and taking them to 3rd in the league.

 

[Spoony]

Howard Kendall. Almost sacked and somehow turned it around. His Everton were arguably the best side in Europe.

 

[Iker Quesadillas]

Luis Enrique at Barcelona.

 

[Ted Lasso]

Leicester City going from 14th to champions was a pretty incredible feat. That turnaround was all Ranieri, right?

 

[MasterCode]

If you're an oppo fan, you'd have to be living in a cave to not know of the civil war being waged amongst United support. With all the will in the world, it's pretty clear our manager cannot turn this situation around, but let's say he did... it'd be a miraculous feat, one of the greatest in the history of the game.

Off the back of that notion, which managerial turnarounds from being effectively a dead man walking to some form of success can you recall, and further along that line of thought: which are the greatest turnarounds you know of or have witnessed?

I suppose Fergie himself will fit into the criteria, but can you name some others, and perhaps some who had a more dramtic escape from the chop to go on to great things with the same club?

I'm going to think of one and come back I'm at work right now.

But just wanted to thank you, as someone who doesn't have the ability to create posts yet, this is the most refreshing one I've seen in weeks.

Whether your Ole in or Out, honestly it's much appreciated.

A little positivity from me to you opposed to the insults, accusations and jibes. We're growing accustomed to.

 

[giorno]

Luis Enrique was one more wrong word said to Messi/Pique-Iniesta-Xavi-Busquets convincing Messi not to sack him, to a treble within 5 months

 

[Botim]

Mourinho has made some pretty impressive turnarounds in the wrong direction

 

[bosnian_red]

The matches were just as crazy. They played well in most of them but their finishing was poor and individual defensive errors cost them. They inevitably pulled back in the second half and got a EL place along with a cup final.

Klopp is a perfect example of how you can just look at underlying stats like xG and not freak out. After 17 games they were underperformed their xPts by 11.5 according to understat. In 17th when they should've been a few points off 3rd. Same with Brighton last season, in a relegation fight for most of the season when their play probably should've had them top 7.

 

[hasanejaz88]

Klopp is a perfect example of how you can just look at underlying stats like xG and not freak out. After 17 games they were underperformed their xPts by 11.5 according to understat. In 17th when they should've been a few points off 3rd. Same with Brighton last season, in a relegation fight for most of the season when their play probably should've had them top 7.

Thanks for this. I was curious to know what the xG stats would've been like then, they weren't in common use at time so don't remember, but I do clearly remember that they were the better team in most of their matches.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

David Moyes, signs a 6 year contract gets sacked after a year at MUFC, then gets sacked at Real Sociedad, gets Sunderland relegated and resigns his post before going to West Ham and not having his 6 month contract extended before returning to West Ham and taking them to 3rd in the league.

A seven year turnaround that makes Harry Maguire look agile. Ok.

 

[HerrLeinad]

LvG in his first season with us. Until December 2009 we were bad in the league (struggled for a CL spot), were at risk of not getting past the CL group stage (two loses vs Bordeaux) and it just seemed like the team and LvG weren't compatible at all.
Then in early December the crucial last CL group match away vs Juventus came (it was between us and Juve for the 2nd place) and we even went 1:0 behind but suddenly everything clicked, we played our best match to date and in the end won 4:1 away(!) at Juve, thus qualified for the CL 1/8-final and it changed the whole trajectory of the season. It is very likely that LvG would have been fired at this point if we hadn't turned it around there and then. The team clearly gained a lot of new hope/confidence and it was also the first big game of Schweinsteiger as CM.
After that we started a good run of wins, won the BL as well as the DFB Pokal and also had a great CL run all the way into the CL finale which was the first CL finale for us since 2001 (plenty of ManUtd fans will obviously remember that CL run from our match against you, let's just say the way those games went were a good reflection of the chaos of that season and the positive momentum we had gained at that point).

Spoiler: These good vibes under LvG obviously didn't last beyond that time period, many early problems under LvG remerged so he faced his end in the 2nd season when CL qualification in the league was once again under serious threat but you can certainly argue that LvG left a foundation for the kind of football we would aim to play within the next decade to come and it established players like Schweinsteiger, Müller, Robben etc. in the team.

 

[Cloud7]

Klopp is a perfect example of how you can just look at underlying stats like xG and not freak out. After 17 games they were underperformed their xPts by 11.5 according to understat. In 17th when they should've been a few points off 3rd. Same with Brighton last season, in a relegation fight for most of the season when their play probably should've had them top 7.

This is very interesting, and shows that these stats should be taken more seriously than they are.

 

[Pink Moon]

I feel dirty even giving the guy any credit but Neil Lennon had a great turnaround in the 11/12 season. We were 3-0 down away to Kilmarnock inside half an hour. We came back to draw the match which left us 12 points behind Rangers. That comeback turned our season and we somehow went on to win the league.

Overall though, SAF is the clear answer here. One game away from the sack and turns it around to become the greatest manager of all time.

 

[Amir]

Frank Rijkaard had a terrible start at Barcelona. Then mid-season they got Edgar Davids and things massively changed. They lost the league, but closed a huge gap from from Real, and went on to win the league and the CL over the next few years.

 

[Dominos]

I remember Pardew had one at Newcastle just before he left, he was being hounded by the Newcastle fans and he went on an amazing winning run to get them in the European spots by January if I recall correctly, they gave him permission to leave for Palace but left them in a good position.

Newcastle's form since the turn of the year into the end of season 2013–14 was described by the regional press as "a total collapse",[71] with the club losing 15 of 21 competitive fixtures.[72] Fans' discontent boiled over in the final home match of the season on 3 May, when Pardew (and club owner Ashley) received vocal and sustained abuse from the stands despite a 3–0 victory over Cardiff City.[73] The Chronicle newspaper commented, "This was arguably the worst personal abuse a Newcastle manager has had to endure at any game. It was an excruciating afternoon for all concerned."[74] Despite this, he retained the trust of owner Mike Ashley, with the press, including the Chronicle, reporting that he would be given a chance to rebuild the side for the 2014–15 season.[75][76] In September 2014, with the club in bottom place in the Premier League, some fans created a website, Sackpardew.com, to instigate his dismissal.[citation needed] Protests were also planned before a game against Hull City, which included the printing of 30,000 A4 sheets calling for his dismissal.[77] In November 2014, Pardew guided Newcastle to six consecutive wins in all competitions, the second time he had done so during his time as manager at the club.[78] On 6 December 2014, Pardew's side ended Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season in all competitions, as Newcastle beat them 2–1 at St James' Park.[79] On 12 December 2014, Pardew was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month award for November 2014.[80]

 

[Redfrog]

Sir Alex. From the verge of being sacked to winning 13 league titles and 2 champions league with different teams, becoming the best manager of all time through the process.

 

[mark clatternburg]

Leicester City going from 14th to champions was a pretty incredible feat. That turnaround was all Ranieri, right?

No mate. That was a fluke. All the big clubs failed to turn up.

 

[GuybrushThreepwood]

Talking about Barcelona, didn’t Rijkaard make a pretty terrible start at Barcelona in 2003/2004, with most fans wanting him sacked around Christmas time, before they had a huge revival during 2nd half of the season. While they didn’t win anything that season, they finished 2nd, beat each of the other 3 teams that finished in the top 4 away from home, and looked like they were ‘back’.

Edgar Davids joining on loan in January that season, looked to be a major catalyst behind that revival, alongside Ronaldinho’s performances.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

For Ole to go from relegating Cardiff and starting terribly in the Championship, to a spell without silverware at Molde, to this point now, and then to the very top of the game would be the most batshit crazy thing that’s ever happened in football.

It all feels like trading places, where Fergie and Joel have had a one dollar bet that anyone can do this job if you just give them time and resources.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Molde to Manchester United

 

[rcoobc]

Sir Alex. From the verge of being sacked to winning 13 league titles and 2 champions league with different teams, becoming the best manager of all time through the process.

So many posts before the GOAT

 

[Patchbeard]

Leicester City going from 14th to champions was a pretty incredible feat. That turnaround was all Ranieri, right?

The turnaround had actually started the season before. It would be a rather large stretch to say they were title contenders, but their end of season form under Nigel Pearson to just stay up was title winning form... They were bottom at Christmas and Pearson was rumoured to be getting sacked in February but they turned it around from March onwards to finish 14th and he won manager of the month in April.

So don't think Ranieri would be a candidate for this thread for winning the league, just because he didn't do badly and then turn it around, he just came in and exceeded expectations straight away! And then turned it back around to expected mid table behaviour the following season...

 

[Patchbeard]

So many posts before the GOAT

To be fair he was mentioned in the OP, he is the most obvious one! But would have been sacked well before we had success in this day and age

 

[Frank Grimes]

Solskjaer after 25 games of the 19/20 season had won 9, drew 8 and lost 8 of his first 25 league games (46.66% of all points on offer). A combination of Bruno Fernandes and Covid 19 helped him to 9 wins and 4 draws from his last 13 games (79.48% of all points on offer) and qualification to the Champions League. The rest is history.

 

[Angelinho]

Matt Busby - from twice being read the last rites in 1958 to European Champion ten years later

 

[Nickelodeon]

Solskjaer after 25 games of the 19/20 season had won 9, drew 8 and lost 8 of his first 25 league games (46.66% of all points on offer). A combination of Bruno Fernandes and Covid 19 helped him to 9 wins and 4 draws from his last 13 games (79.48% of all points on offer) and qualification to the Champions League. The rest is history.

Could've saved so much heartache. That's what celebrating CL qualification gets you.

 

[BrilliantOrange]

Gasperini at Atalanta.

He started at Atalanta in 2016/2017 and he started off with 4 losses in his first 5 games in the Serie A after which he was almost fired following a 0-1 loss at home against Palermo.

Safe to say he turned things around massively...