Oldest Premier League managers. Does experience count?

The Premier League has been graced with some experienced managers over the years, with some of the most renowned managers in charge of clubs well into their 70s.

With Roy Hodgson coming back into management at the age of 75 and set to become the oldest manager in Premier League history once again, we take a look at the oldest managers to have graced the English top-flight and compare their career win ratios to that of their ratios after the age of 60.

In short, does experience count?

Roy Hodgson

Roy Hodgson is one of the most respected managers in the history of the Premier League and has a vast reputation in countries across Europe with experience in the Serie A and as the manager of Switzerland and England.

Managing over 1,230 matches in his career, Hodgson became known as the survival expert, having never been relegated from the Premier League before he took over as the Watford manager at the age of 74, and despite ultimately being relegated with the club after coming out of retirement to try and keep them up, he is still regarded as a legend of Premier League management.

In the case of Roy Hodgson, it appears his ability to keep his team’s winning waned with his age as his career win ratio of 42.5%, a very respectable number, declined after he hit 60 to 35.7%.

Bobby Robson

Another legendary manager in England, Bobby Robson, will always be remembered for the run he went on with the international team at the 1990 World Cup which saw England reach the semi-final. Unfortunately, they were knocked out by West Germany on penalties, but the tournament went down in history as one of the closest England had come to winning the World Cup since their only win in 1966.

Robson also had significant success managing clubs in England and Europe, achieving an impressive career win percentage of 49.7 %, the best spells coming at PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon.

His time in England saw him manage Fulham, Ipswich and Newcastle, and while his success abroad wasn’t repeated to such high levels in the Premier League, he was still regarded as one of the best around.

Interestingly Robson is one of the managers on this list that got better with age with his post 60 years, the best of his career. He achieved a win rate of 58.8% after turning 60, backing up the theory that managers get better with age.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Arguably the most legendary manager on this list is the man that has been knighted for his services to football and Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager of United from November 1986, and in the 26 years he was in charge, he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues.

Known for his strict no-nonsense style and consistency across decades, Ferguson rightfully belongs on the list of the greatest managers of all time, achieving a win percentage over his career of 58.1 – the best on this list and one of the best in history across all of football.

Though in his final season in charge of United, Sir Alex managed to win the league for the 13th time, it was widely felt that his success declined as he got older, his record after reaching the age of 60 tells a different story.

As his experience grew, so did his results. The legendary Scotsman reached an incredible win percentage of 67.6 after turning 60, showing that the best really do age like a fine wine.

Neil Warnock

Another manager that became known for his consistency over decades, Neil Warnock was renowned for his ability to get clubs promoted from the Football League and to survive relegation from the Premier League. Despite having the worst career win ratio on this list, he was always one of the first potential candidates for clubs looking for success in the lower half of the Premier League table.

Warnock managed more than 1,600 games in his managerial career, winning a record eight Football League promotions, including taking Sheffield United and QPR up to the Premier League. With a win ratio of 39.1%, which is still very respectable, Warnock kept his level consistently over his career and only dropped to a win percentage of 37.1 after reaching the age of 60.

Claudio Ranieri

The last on our list is another that can be involved in the conversation for the most legendary managers of all time. Not much introduction needs to be given for Claudio Ranieri as anyone that has followed football in England should already know what he has achieved in his career.

In just one season managing Leicester City in 2015/16, he defined his entire time in management winning the Premier League title with Leicester City at odds of 5000/1, the season after they miraculously escaped relegation.

While this was what he was remembered for, Ranieri’s record over his almost 40-year career has been impressive in its own right, with the Italian winning 46.4% of all of his matches.

It could be said that he peaked with the incredible time he spent in Leicester as since then he hasn’t quite lived up to those heights. However, he completed the feat long after hitting the age of 60, further highlighting that experience really can be the defining factor in football management. It does seem that that season with Leicester was an anomaly, though, as his ratio dropped significantly to 39.6% upon reaching entering his sixth decade.