The Highest Paid Managers in the English Premier League - Part 1
It’s usually the Premier League players who make the big money, but these days the top managers are not far behind. It’s common knowledge that the managers in the top flights earn great sums of money, maybe even more than some players. It is just motivation to keep them doing what they do; trophy winners, promising tacticians and new arrivals are all well taken care of. They are provided well off the pitch, so they perform on the pitch. Here is a look at the top earning managers in the Premier League:
Mark Hughes earns £2 million a year at Fulham until his contract expires in 2013. The former Manchester City manager was probably earning much more at his previous club, but after being fired towards the end of 2009, Hughes has had to settled for much less. Not that £2 million a year is less, but it’s a tad ‘disappointing’ compared to what the Welsh was used to. At Manchester City, after they were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United investment group, Sparky had seemingly unlimited amounts of transfer funds available. However, despite bringing in a lot of very expensive players, City barely managed to finish 10th in the League. He didn’t do too much better in his second season with City despite spending more money to bring in players the club could have done without. Expensive benchwarmers hardly equate to a winning formula. Hughes’ last victory with City was only two in eleven successive Premier League matches, and shortly after, Hughes was sacked and Roberto Mancini was brought in.
Next is Steve Bruce, who recently joined Sunderland from Wigan Athletic and was rewarded with a £3m deal until the end of the 2012 season. Steve Bruce started his managerial career with Sheffield United; after a short while, though, he went from Huddersfield Town to Wigan Athletic to Crystal Palace before he finally settled at Birmingham City. It was there that Bruce’s managerial talent began to show and he started receiving interest from other clubs, especially Newcastle United. However, Bruce remained loyal to Birmingham, telling reporters, “as far as I'm concerned, I've got a job to do [at Birmingham City] and I'm determined to get on with it.” 2006 was a disappointing season as Birmingham were relegated, but they made a comeback just the next season after which Bruce resigned. His next appointment was at Wigan Athletic which only lasted one season and ended in Wigan barely avoiding relegation. Towards the end of the season, Bruce was linked with Newcastle United once again, but he chose to join Sunderland, succeeding Ricky Sbragia.
New Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is next with his £3 million-a-season deal. The former English footballer has managed the Swiss national team and various clubs in England. He speaks five different languages and has an undisputed knowledge of the game; he is known for his consistency in performance and encouraging the development of players. That is the reason why the Reds chose Hodgson to replace former manager Rafa Benitez, who was becoming a liability to the club. Having won just the Champions League and the FA Cup once in 2005 and 2006, respectively, Liverpool were facing a trophy drought. Though Fulham, the team that he was managing at the time, was not doing too well as they had gotten to a poor start, they improved drastically in their second season with him. Hodgson guided them to a seventh place finish; the club’s highest ever finish, and earned them a place in the Europa League. In the 2009-2010 season, Hodgson guided the side to their first ever European Cup final as Fulham made it to the Europa League final against Atletico Madrid, but lost 2-1 to the Spanish side.
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