Does it work when a manager returns to his old club?

David Moyes is returning to Everton 11 and a half years after leaving the club for Manchester United.

In his first season, he transformed a struggling Premier League team into regulars in Europe.

He won’t want to damage his legacy because Everton is only one point away from the relegation zone.

June 2004 – September 2007 Spell 1 Spell 2: June 2013 – December 2015

After winning the Champions League with Porto, Mourinho established himself as the self-declared “Special One” to succeed Claudio Ranieri, bolstering his claim by capturing Chelsea’s first title in 55 years in his first campaign and keeping it.

In addition, he won the FA Cup twice and the League Cup once, but he resigned because of “mutual consent” amid off-field tensions and disagreements with owner Roman Abramovich.

Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2014 after spells at Inter Milan, where he won a treble, including the Champions League in 2010, and at Real Madrid, where he won La Liga in 2012.

When Rafael Benitez took over from him, he was greeted with a hero’s welcome back to Stamford Bridge, repeating some of his earlier success with the 2015 Premier League and League Cup victories, but this time there was opposition from the inside.

After losing nine of their first 16 league games, Mourinho left by “mutual consent” in December 2015.

League statistics:

Spell 1: 120 games, Win rate: 70.8%, and game points: 2.33

Spell 2: Games 92, Win rate of 59%, and game points.

Spell 1: February 1992 to January 1997. Spell 2: January 2008 – September 2008

Keegan became a legendary player and manager on Tyneside. He brought a thrilling style of football and notable players to St James’ Park, including David Ginola and, in his first season, Alan Shearer, despite his failure to succeed in winning trophies.

The period was also memorable for Keegan’s anguish at squandering a 12-point lead in the league table and his “I will love it if we beat them” outburst aimed at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as the 1995-96 title slipped away.

Despite all of this, Keegan was praised for his work before abruptly leaving in January 1997.

11 years later, Keegan made a surprise return to Newcastle, receiving a warm welcome, but things quickly turned sour because he was unsatisfied with Ashley and Dennis Wise, the team’s football director.

He left after nine months, saying: “It was not like it said in the brochure”.

League statistics:

Spell 1: 143 games, 54.5% win rate, and 1.85 points per game

Spell 2: Games 19 Win ratio: 26.3%, Game Points: 1.11

Spell 1: May 2018 through November 2017 Spelling 2: May 2024 through December 2019

Moyes first arrived at West Ham United as successor to Slaven Bilic on a short-term deal, but his contract was not renewed and he was replaced by Manuel Pellegrini.

When Pellegrini was fired after 18 months, Moyes returned and effectively admitted their actions.

West Ham won their first major trophy in 43 years with a victory over Fiorentina in the 2023 Europa Conference League final, which Moyes won with a victory in his comeback, beating Fiorentina in the semi-final of the Europa League in 2022.

The Scot left at the end of last season amid supporter discontent about the style of football, but his achievement in bringing back success deserves huge credit.

League statistics:

Spell 1: Games 27, Win rate: 29.6%, and game points: 1.22.

Spell 2: Games 171, Win rate 38%, and game points per game 1.36

Spell 1: May 2021 through September 2017. Spell 2: March 2023 – February 2024

Hodgson made his first appearance in the sport after a humiliating spell as England manager, which he resigned after the humiliating defeat to minnows Iceland at Euro 2016 in France.

After Palace’s first four league games without scoring a goal, he took over from Frank de Boer, stabilizing the team as they remained in mid-table for four straight seasons before he left.

Hodgson returned after Patrick Vieira was sacked and a promising end to the 2022-23 season led him to sign a new deal, but he subsequently stepped down with Palace only five points above the relegation zone.

League statistics:

Spell 1: Games 148, Win rate 32.4%, and Points per game 1.22

Spell 2: 34 games, 32.4%, and 1.24 points per game.

November 2002 through June 2005, Spell 1. Spell 2: June 2006 – May 2013

Pulis’s career in the Potteries ended in secrecy because, according to then-chairman Gunnar Thor Gislason, “he has failed to exploit the strategy of exploiting foreign markets.”

After being lured out of Plymouth Argyle by new chairman Peter Coates, he returned a year later. This was to be a much more fulfilling spell, despite initial opposition from Stoke City fans.

Under his leadership, Pulis helped the Potters reclaim the top of the league two years later after a 23-year break, and Stoke never finished less than 14th overall in five Premier League games.

The highlight was beating Manchester City in their first FA Cup final in 2011 with Stoke as the winner.

Pulis left Stoke by mutual consent in May 2013, having finished 13th in the Premier League.

League statistics:

Spell 1: Games 122, Win rate 36.1%, and Points per game 1.33

Spell 2: Games 288, Win rate 34%, and Points per Game 1. 3

May 1985 to February 1991, according to Spell 1. Spell 2: January 2011 – May 2012

After the Brussels-based Heysel Stadium disaster, Dalglish succeeded in earning a lifetime reputation for his heroics as a player. In his first season as manager, he capitalized on it by scoring the goal that earned Chelsea the title in his first league and FA Cup double.

He added two more titles in 1987-88 and in 1989-90, also winning a second all-Merseyside FA Cup Final in 1989, coming weeks after the Hillsborough disaster at the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Dalglish, who contributed so much to the club and the fans in the wake of Hillsborough, resigned in February 1991 citing pressure, feeling a heavy burden.

His Blackburn Rovers team played on the final day of 1994-1995 at Anfield, earning them another Premier League title. He returned to Liverpool in January 2011, in an interim capacity at first, before being appointed permanently.

Although he won the League Cup and advanced to the FA Cup final in 2012, Dalglish was fired and replaced by Brendan Rodgers, who had a mixed second spell.

League statistics:

Spell 1: Games 224, Win rate of 60.7%, and game points of 2.07

Spell 2: Games 56, Win ratio 42.9%, Points per game 1.52

March 2022 to November 2004 is Spell 1. Spell 2: December 2005 – October 2008

Redknapp succeeded Graham Rix as manager in March 2002, helping them to win the Division One (now Championship) title at Fratton Park in 2002-03. In his first season there, Redknapp first served as director of football in 2001. In November 2004, he left.

He then joined fierce rivals Southampton but was unable to prevent their relegation to the Championship, returning to Portsmouth in December 2005 shortly after resigning at St Mary’s.

With a 1-0 win over Cardiff City in 2008, Redknapp led Pompey to their first FA Cup final in 69 years, helping them maintain their dominance in the Premier League thanks to significant investment under owner Sacha Gaydamak.

He was given the Freedom of the City of Portsmouth after two days of his resignation to take over at Tottenham Hotspur.

League statistics:

Spell 1: Games 51, Win ratio 31.4%, Points per game 1.18

Spell 2: Games 107, Win rate of 39.3%, and game points of 1.42

Crystal Palace spell 1: October 2007 – March 2010. Spelling 2: August 2014 – December 2014

Warnock claimed it would be his last managerial position when he first arrived at Palace in October 2007, but he maintained a steady influence until he left in March 2010, after receiving a 10 point penalty for entering administration.

He was back at Selhurst Park in August 2014, taking over from Tony Pulis, but he lasted only four months before being sacked with Palace in the relegation zone.

League statistics

Spell 1: Games 116, Win rate 36.2%, and Points per game 1.4

Spell 2: Games 16, Win ratio 18.8%, Points per game 0.94

Verdict: Failure

Huddersfield Town spell 1: June 1995 through July 1993. Spelling 2: February 2023-Sep 2023

Warnock took the Terriers into the second tier via the play-offs in 1995 with victory over Bristol Rovers at Wembley, then came out of retirement to return at the age of 74 in February 2023.

He immediately had an impact, ensuring Huddersfield’s championship safety. At the conclusion of the season, he agreed to a new one-year deal, but he abruptly left in September 2023 after receiving a hero’s farewell from the crowd.

League statistics

Spell 1: Games 92, Win ratio 42.4%, Points per game 1.58

Spell 2: Games 22, Win rate of 40.9%, and game points of 1.5%

Spell 1: June 2013 – May 2015. June 2021 to the present

Zinedine Zidane and Jose Mourinho were appointed Real Madrid’s coach in the summer of 2013 (more on him later).

With world-record signing Gareth Bale in the team, Ancelotti led Real to ‘ La Decima ‘ – their 10th European Cup or Champions League. Additionally, they won the Copa del Rey.

The team won only the Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup the following season, breaking club records with 22 games and scoring 118 goals in La Liga.

Ancelotti was sacked despite winning four trophies in two seasons, with points hauls of 87 and 92 not enough to win La Liga.

Real Madrid reinstated Zidane as manager in 2021, much to the surprise of almost everyone, including Everton, who had spent 18 months there.

In three and a half years, Ancelotti won two more Champions Leagues, two La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, and other bits and pieces. His second spell at Real was better than his first.

In November, Real president Florentino Perez was reportedly considering sacking him again. With his 15th trophy, he became the club’s most successful manager in the history of the organization in December. Real Madrid that is classic.

League statistics

Spell 1: Games 76, Win ratio 75%, Points per game 2.36

Spell 2: Games 133, Win rate 69.2%, and average points per game 2.27.

Spell 1: January 2016 – May 2018. March 2019 – May 2021: Spelling 2.

With two trophy-filled spells as Real Madrid boss his only senior positions to date, Zidane’s managerial career is still a mystery.

The Frenchman had been a Real player, adviser, sporting director, assistant manager and B team manager before he replaced Rafael Benitez as manager in January 2016.

In just two and a half seasons as leader, he won the Champions League three times. What followed was truly remarkable.

Additionally, he also won nine La Liga titles in total.

But after beating Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, he resigned – saying the club “needs a change, a different voice, another methodology”.

He returned ten months later. During that time, Santiago Solari and Julen Lopetegui, two managers, it was remarkable.

The second spell was not as spectacular, although he did win the 2019-20 La Liga title and one Spanish Super Cup in his two full seasons.

In May 2021, he resigned and was taken over by Ancelotti.

League statistics

Spell 1: Games 96, Win rate of 70.8%, and game points of 2.31

Spell 2: Games 87, Win ratio 64.4%, Points per game 2.16

Spell 1: September 2009 – February 2011. March 2019 to May 2019 spelling Spelling 3: 2024 to the day

Ranieri is Roma through and through – a boyhood fan who started his playing career at his home-city club.

Only Inter Milan, the club’s top manager, has since begun his first managerial position since September 2009, when his dream first campaign was denied.

They finished second in the Italian league, two points behind Inter, and lost to them in the Coppa Italia final with a score of 1-0.

In February of the following season, with the club eighth in Serie A and takeover uncertainty dominating, Ranieri resigned.

Eight days after being fired by Fulham, he made a short-term commitment to replace Eusebio di Francesco in March 2019.

His goal was to win the Champions League, but they finished fifth, and Paulo Fonseca took his place.

In November 2024, he came out of retirement to manage Roma for a third time, replacing Ivan Juric, and has a contract until the end of the season. They are currently in 10th place.

League statistics

Spell 1: Games 61, Win rate 57.4%, and Points per game 1. 95%.

Spell 2: Games 12, Win ratio 50%, Points per game 1.83

Spell 3: Games 7, Win rate: 42.9%, and average points per game: 1.43 (continuing).

Spell 1: June 2019 through July 2014 May 2021 to May 2024 is the second letter.

Allegri took over as Juventus manager from Antonio Conte in July 2014, joining a team who had won three consecutive Serie A titles.

What followed was a record-breaking run of success even though he had already become the dominant force in Italian football.

Allegri became the first to win four consecutive doubles during his five years in charge and won the Serie A title.

They lost the 2015 and 2017 Champions League finals and the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo failed to get them over the line in Europe.

In May 2019, Allegri lost his job. However, he returned two years later, taking over the team’s first season without a title since 2012 in the role of Andrea Pirlo.

The returning boss failed to get that magic back for the second spell – never finishing above fourth. His stint ended in both a trophy and disgrace.

He was sent off after being shown a late red card two days after their Coppa Italia victory over Atalanta.

Allegri had been expected to leave at the end of the season anyway but was sacked immediately after that show of ill-discipline.

League statistics

Spell 1: 190 games, win rate of 74.7%, and game points of 2.39

Spell 2: Games 112, Win rate of 53.6%, and game points per game of 1.87

Ferguson

Spell 1: January 2007 to November 2009. Spell 3: January 2019 – February 2022, and Spell 2: January 2011 – February 2015. Spell 4: January 2023 – present

Ferguson, who has won two promotions in a row to put them in the second tier for the first time in 17 years, is the epitome of flying in the face of the adage “never go back.”

Ferguson, the son of legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex, is still in charge of London Road, where he won two EFL Trophy victories, two more advancements from League One to League One, and one relegation.

Verdict: Mixed

Smith

March 1982 to June 1985 is Spell 1. March 2006 to November 2007 spelling Spell 3: November – December 2008

The late Jim Smith is regarded as Oxford United’s best manager.

He made his U’s debut in the top flight after a contract dispute, leading them to back promotions (winning the title both times) from the Third Division in 1984 to the First Division in 1985.

Over 20 years after leaving the club, Smith returned in March 2006, but took them out of the Football League that season.

Smith resigned from the board in November 2007, after serving for a short while as caretaker in 2008.

However, it did little to diminish his place as an Oxford legend and he is still regarded as one of the team’s greatest players today.