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Great teams are built by great managers—and English football has been shaped by some of the very best.
When it comes to silverware, no one comes close to Sir Alex Ferguson. The Manchester United icon has lifted an astonishing 22 major trophies in domestic competition alone.
But who else belongs in the conversation? These five managers have claimed more English silverware than anyone else across the league, FA Cup, and League Cup.
22 – Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
Winning the three major pieces of domestic silverware 22 times in just 24 years is off the scale – and very nearly wasn’t allowed to happen.
Fergie, a title winner in Scotland with Aberdeen, arrived at Manchester United in 1986 but by December 1990, with nothing to show for his efforts, he was fearing the sack.
Six months later he was proudly holding aloft the FA Cup at Wembley and the rest, as they say, is history.
And just to emphasise his supremacy over all his peers and rivals, he also won three Champions Leagues.
12 – George Ramsay (Aston Villa)
Next, we turn to another Scotsman, but from a very different footballing era. Enter George Ramsay, a pioneer of the game and the architect of Aston Villa’s early dominance.
Born the son of a Glasgow ironmonger, Ramsay moved to Birmingham as a teenager and found work as a brass foundry clerk.
Football soon took over, and by 1886 he was not only playing for Villa but had become their first professional manager and secretary.
Over the next four decades, Ramsay led the club through its Golden Age, winning six league titles and six FA Cups—a legacy that still echoes in Villa Park’s history.
12 – Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
Pep Guardiola equalled Ramsay’s domestic title haul by leading Manchester City to the 2023/24 Premier League title. Now, he has won six league titles, two FA Cups, and four EFL Cups with the Citizens since joining the club in 2015.
Guardiola came to the Etihad already steeped in success, fresh from conquering Europe with Barcelona and dominating Germany with Bayern. With the full backing of City’s deep pockets, he swiftly set about making history in the English top-flight.
It seems likely that Guardiola will move closer to Ferguson in coming years, but he still needs to win 11 more domestic titles to topple the Manchester United legend.
10 – Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
Arsenal fans were hugely underwhelmed when little-known Frenchman Arsene Wenger was appointed head coach in 1996.
Yet within two years he had masterminded a Football League and FA Cup double – the first foreign coach to pull off the feat – as he transformed the fortunes of one of London’s biggest clubs.
His greatest season was surely in 2003-04, a league campaign in which Arsenal failed to lose a single league match to earn the title, The Invincibles.
9 – Bob Paisley (Liverpool)
A Liverpool player for 14 years, assistant to Bill Shankly for another 15, the affable Bob Paisley finally got his chance to manage the team in 1974 – and he knew he had to hit the ground running.
The famously modest Paisley succeeded Shankly just days after the Scot had guided Liverpool to FA Cup glory at Wembley.
Shankly’s were big shoes to fill but undaunted, Paisley calmly built a side around stars like Dalglish, Hansen and Rush, winning the league six times and the League Cup three times, with three European Cups the icing on the cake.
