Every Dutch manager in Premier League history – ranked
No Dutchman has ever led a side to the Premier League title, prompting Liverpool fans to view the appointment of Arne Slot as somewhat underwhelming.
But, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, or so they say, and Slot may just be the answer to all of Liverpool’s woes. The Feyenoord manager is set to become just the 10th Dutch manager in Premier League history and will hope to achieve more than his predecessors – much more.
Without further ado, let’s rank every Dutch manager in the league’s history, enjoy!
Frank de Boer’s reign at Crystal Palace remains one of the strangest and shortest appointments in the Premier League to date.
He arrived at Selhurst Park in 2017, but left quite promptly after leading the squad for just four games. He was unable to register a single win in these games, and in fact didn’t see one goal during his tenure either.
As a player, though, De Boer wasn’t half bad, featuring for the likes of Ajax and Barcelona before taking the step into management.
Jose Mourinho branded him ‚the worst manager in Premier League history‘ – maybe not the best reference to have on your CV.
Rene Meulensteen didn’t last long in his role at Fulham either, joining the club in November 2013 before bidding farewell to the squad in February 2014.
He did see slightly more success, however, leading the team through 17 games in all competitions and winning four of them.
His move into management made perfect sense at the time after spending a handful of years as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United. Meulensteen’s time at Fulham wasn’t quite as fruitful though, with the team sitting at the bottom of the league at the time of his sacking.
When Sunderland sought after an experienced manager to carry them to success, Dick Advocaat seemed like a good option – having managed 18 other teams previously.
Upon reflection, maybe there was another reason that number was so high.
He did manage to keep his side in the Premier League, albeit in dramatic fashion, and was paid well for his work. But, Advocaat refused to work with players that lacked ambition, naming this as one of the reasons why he quit.
He arrived under immense pressure, and left the club less than a year after joining. Advocaat has since said that he wanted to give enough time for Sunderland to find another leader, but at the time it seemed as if he wanted to up and leave them in utter turmoil.
Ruud Gullit was undoubtedly talented on the pitch, but in the dugout his skills didn’t quite transfer over as much as he would’ve liked.
During the latter stages of his career, the midfielder arrived at Chelsea to fulfil a player/manager role, but just two years later he was let go.
Just five months on from his sacking, Gullit joined Newcastle United and made an enemy of their star striker – Alan Shearer. Fans were not impressed with what they saw, and the Dutchman was sacked after 53 games in charge.
In fact, the best thing Gullit did during his time in the Premier League was bring Gianfranco Zola to Stamford Bridge – you’re welcome, Blues.
Martin Jol spent time with both Tottenham and Fulham, but his reign with Spurs is most memorable, having been in charge from 2004-2007.
He joined the club as an assistant, but took the top spot after putting in a stellar job. During his time in charge he led Spurs to two fifth-placed finishes, narrowly missing out on the Champions League in 2006.
Things changed in 2007 as a poor start to the season placed Jol in the firing line. In fact, he was sacked during Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Getafe in the UEFA Cup with the news spreading around the ground before Jol was even aware.
He later went on to manage Fulham, gifting them a strong finish of ninth.
We might need to check the word limit before diving into this one, as Erik ten Hag’s time at Manchester United has been so far hard to comprehend.
Let’s be honest, he is not the worst manager, and leading a side like United will always be an intense ask. But after his first season at Old Trafford, Ten Hag has continued to frustrate fans who crave exciting, successful football – naturally.
During his first campaign it looked like the Red Devils had finally landed a strong leader, reaching two cup finals and gaining Champions League qualification.
However, the 2023/24 season has been abysmal.
At the time of writing, the club sit in sixth place, but could drop significantly in their final few games.
Ronald Koeman did not have a bad run in the Premier League, but his time in England was definitely a rollercoaster.
His stint at Southampton was admirable and made even more so with the fact that he followed the successful Mauricio Pochettino. But, he managed to guide the Saints to their highest-ever league finish, sitting in sixth place and earning Europa League football.
Koeman chose to leave St Mary’s after two years to join Everton. This is where things started to go downhill.
He was offered a three-year contract with the Toffees, but saw just 16 months of it after being let go as Everton finished third from the bottom, recording two wins in 13 games.
As far as recent United managers go, Louis van Gaal was a solid offering at Old Trafford.
He still remains the last Red Devils manager to win the FA Cup, and directly followed the legend that is Sir Alex Ferguson – a tough task for anyone to accomplish.
Now his football was not attractive, but it was consistent and his tactics were very commendable. Van Gaal was shockingly sacked just days after beating Crystal Palace to lift the FA Cup, leading to a revolving door of managers thereafter.
United have seen four managers since then, and none have lived up to the high expectations set.
Guus Hiddink takes our top spot for Dutch managers, despite never actually being in a permanent role at Chelsea.
On two occasions he was named as interim manager for the Blues, with the least impressive being his second after replacing Jose Mourinho in 2015, arriving when the team looked in need of a rebuild.
However, his initial arrival was tremendous. Hiddink juggled managing the Russian national team as well as his appointment at Stamford Bridge, but excelled under the pressure, losing just one of his 22 games in the 2008/09 season.
Chelsea wanted to keep Hiddink around but his commitment to the Russian setup meant his stint in the Premier League was short, but oh so sweet.