Premier League’s nine new managers graded for 2026/27, from Andoni Iraola to Xabi Alonso

Nine Premier League clubs have changed head coach this summer, a record. We grade every appointment, from Andoni Iraola to Xabi Alonso.

yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk gives top marks to Liverpool’s Andoni Iraola A*, Manchester City’s Enzo Maresca A and Nottingham Forest’s Oliver Glasner A. Iraola’s pressing fits Liverpool if he gets a winger and centre-backs, Maresca’s Guardiola schooling points to a smooth handover, and Glasner’s excellence may be checked by back-three teething and boardroom friction.

Chelsea’s Xabi Alonso earns a B, his unbeaten Leverkusen title proving pedigree, his short Real Madrid stint exposing risks with elite egos. Crystal Palace’s Pierre Sage also gets a B, Lens pushed PSG and won the Coupe de France for the first time, though his CV beyond 2025/26 is thin.

Bournemouth’s Marco Rose is a C, a high-intensity coach with youth-development chops but a mixed German record, one year at Dortmund and a DFB-Pokal at RB Leipzig before a 2024/25 slide and inactivity since. Ipswich Town’s Gary O’Neil is another C, a pragmatic survivor who kept Bournemouth up and took Wolves to mid-table before a relegation fight cost him, while Newcastle United’s Matthias Jaissle, a trophy-winner in Austria and Saudi Arabia, is untested here and inherits a side stripped of its spine.

Fulham’s Álvaro Arbeloa is handed a D. Beyond a brief senior spell at Real Madrid after Alonso’s exit and several years with their youth and reserve sides, there is little to judge, so this feels a leap of faith with an unknown outcome.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

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