Who is the best Tottenham manager ever?

The best Tottenham managers based on win percentages

Let’s take a look at the track record of each Tottenham manager.

1. Frank Brettell (58%)

Admittedly Brettell’s reign was in a very different football era, but his Tottenham team enjoyed the best win rate of all Spurs managers. This percentage becomes even more impressive when you consider Brettell was in charge for 11 seasons. He won 58% of his matches before resigning to take charge of Portsmouth FC. 

2. Ange Postecoglou (57.14%)

Tottenham’s current boss, Ange Postecoglou, has made a flying start to life at the Tottenham Stadium, winning 12 of his 21 Premier League games at the time of writing. Although this is a very small sample size, it’s clear the Australian has settled seamlessly into life in North London. The former Celtic boss has delivered the attacking, high-energy football most Spurs fans crave. 

3. Andre Villas-Boas (55%)

Portuguese coach Andre Villas-Boas was Harry Redknapp’s replacement in the summer of 2012. He would go on to manage Spurs for a 17-month spell. During the 2012/13 campaign, Tottenham amassed their highest points total in a Premier League season (72). However, he was sacked in December 2013 after slipping out of the Premier League’s top six. 

4. Mauricio Pochettino (54%)

Tottenham’s beloved Argentine coach, Mauricio Pochettino, remains one of the club’s most popular managers of all time. After a five-year spell in charge, Pochettino managed to average a hugely impressive 54.27% win rate, with 159 wins in 293 games. That’s comfortably the most impressive win rate out of this quartet due to the five-year sample size. Poch also steered Spurs to a UEFA Champions League final in 2018/19. 

The best Tottenham managers based on silverware

Which Tottenham manager has won the most trophies?

1. Bill Nicholson (11 trophies)

Nicholson is comfortably Tottenham’s most decorated manager, with 11 trophies to his name. He oversaw Spurs’ exceptional era in the 1960s and early 70s. Under Nicholson’s stewardship, Spurs won the top flight in 1960/61, as well as a trio of FA Cups and League Cups. They landed the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1962/63 and went one better by winning the UEFA Cup in 1972. 

2. Keith Burkinshaw (4 trophies)

Burkinshaw enjoyed huge success, relatively speaking, with his Tottenham side in the early 1980s. Spurs won back-to-back FA Cups in 1980/81 and 1981/82, followed by an FA Charity Shield and, his pièce de resistance, a second UEFA Cup triumph for the club in 1983/84. Few would have expected Burkinshaw to be quite as successful as he was when he was appointed in 1976 after Terry Neill controversially jumped ship for bitter rivals Arsenal. 

3. Arthur Rowe (3 trophies)

Arthur Rowe was born and bred in Tottenham, played his entire professional football career for the Lilywhites and then managed Spurs between 1949 and 1955. Rowe’s Tottenham landed a huge feat when winning the Second Division in 1949/50, followed by the First Division in their first season back in the top flight. They also landed the FA Charity Shield at the start of the 1951/52 campaign. 

4. Peter McWilliam (3 trophies)

Scottish boss Peter McWilliam managed Spurs for 19 years across two separate spells. During that time, McWilliam won three trophies, starting with the 1919/20 Second Division title. Spurs followed that up by winning the FA Cup as a newly promoted First Division outfit in 1921, as well as the Charity Shield in the same year. 

What does the future hold for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou?

It’s certainly been an encouraging start for Tottenham under Postecoglou. The Australian’s win rate tells you all you need to know. Despite that win rate, Spurs still find themselves in fifth place after 21 games of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign. 

This tells you a lot about the strength of the clubs at the top of the table this term, with five points separating Tottenham and first-placed Liverpool, although the Reds do have a game in hand. 

One of the biggest fears for Spurs fans last summer was life after Harry Kane. Their long-time talisman departed for pastures new to Bayern Munich. Despite Kane’s exit, Tottenham are currently the league’s second top scorer, although they also have the highest number of goals conceded out of the clubs in the top five. 

Injuries have been a real bugbear for Postecoglou in recent months, with several first team regulars suffering from hamstring problems. Big-money summer signing Brennan Johnson was one of the highest-profile injury casualties in September, missing over a month of action. If Spurs can get their big-game players back for the season run-in, there’s every chance of securing Champions League qualification for 2024/25. 

Bet on Tottenham’s 2023/24 Premier League season at Parimatch

We cover every kick of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, so you can bet on Tottenham’s bid for a top-four finish under new boss Ange Postecoglou right here at Parimatch. Check out our Premier League match odds, or take a longer-term view by betting on our outright odds, including our top-four finish and points handicap markets. 

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