sport news The EFL managers who deserve a shot at the big time trends now

A new crop of young British coaches are pushing for their chance to manage in the Premier League and at the top end of the Championship.

The ranks of homegrown talent have been boosted by the success of the Elite Player Performance Plan, which has seen £1.6 billion pumped into clubs throughout the EFL and Premier League since 2012.

While the primary objective has been to produce better players, it has also swelled the ranks of coaches working at English professional clubs from 250 to 800 and produced some exceptional individuals, who are heading for the country's big clubs.

Sportsmail has worked with Analytics FC, a group of analysts who have developed a statistical model to measure the impact of coaches, to identify the best young talent coming through.

And the results are surprising. The list of nine coaches includes a man who started out charging £2 per session for children on public pitches, a lad who once ran football sessions for the local council, ex-players who have seen tea cups fly and devotees of Pep Guardiola.

One, David Artell, has even been sacked, despite Crewe fans insisting he produced one of their best-ever teams.

All of the coaches have a clear philosophy and unbelievable ambition to deliver it, all they need now is a chance at the top level.

'Investment into academy football in terms of coach development, is off the scale,' said Jeremy Steele, chief executive of Analytics FC.

'The pathway is much clearer and the talent is there. These coaches have taken teams and made them better. They deserve a chance in a higher league. They have earned a shot.'

The Analytics FC model assesses every action during a game and calculates the impact it has on the probability of scoring or conceding a goal at any moment, thereby allowing the analysts to determine percentage improvement, or decline in a team's attack and defence since a coach took over.

Nathan Jones

Age: 49

Club: Luton Town

Finished: 6th Championship; lost in play-off semi-final

Tenure: May 2020 - present

Attack improvement: 90%

Defence improvement: 90%

Nathan Jones has transformed Luton Town's fortunes – twice – despite operating with a playing budget that is dwarfed by rivals at the top end of the table.

He has used every tool at his disposal to deliver success, however unconventional, including setting fire to the ping-pong table when he felt a competitive table-tennis culture among his players was detracting from the day job.

Jones' managerial career has been eventful and largely very successful. In December 2015, he took over from Luton legend John Still with the team 17th in League Two and in danger of slipping back into the mire that is the super-competitive National League.

Jones reinvigorated the Hatters in his first managerial appointment, comfortably securing the club's league status in his first season and then using smart recruitment to help deliver promotion and subsequently a strong campaign in League One.

But Jones was tempted away in January 2019 to manage underperforming Stoke City. He could not lift the malaise that had settled on the Bet356 Stadium since relegation from the Premier League and the Welshman was sacked within 11 months after a miserable spell in charge.

The Stoke episode shows that not every coach, however talented, is suited to every situation.

Meanwhile, Jones' old side, who had won the League One title after he abandoned them, were struggling too, and he returned with Luton in 23rd place in the Championship, six points from safety.

Jones guided Luton to safety on the final day of the season, losing just one of the last nine games.

This season, Jones has kicked on with Luton, producing an exceptionally well-drilled team built on variations of a defensively solid 3-5-2 system. Out of possession, Luton employ a high press and in possession, play forward quickly and pick up second balls.

He has produced an energetic, hard-working team who look a good bet for another promotion push next season, despite the financial disparities of the Championship.

Luton were knocked out of the play-offs by Huddersfield Town, who reported a wage bill of £24M in their latest accounts, double the Hatters' £12M. However, Bournemouth, who finished second, reported a wage bill of around £50M in the same period.

Matt Gray

Age: 40

Club: Sutton United

Finished: 8th, League Two

Tenure: May 2019 - present

Attack improvement: 90%

Defence improvement: 50%

Matt Gray has already done something no one else has achieved – guide Sutton United into the Football League after 123-years.

That was in 2020-21. And this season the famous giant-killers have raised their game again, and established themselves in League Two, missing out on the play-offs by one point to Mansfield Town.

Gray took over at the Gander Green Lane for the 2019-20 season and finished a respectable 15th in the Covid-affected season.

He then led Sutton to the National League title, seeing off professional outfits like Wrexham and Stockport County, with a part-time squad that trained three mornings a week, brought their own food, washed their own training kit and never stayed overnight at away games, even when they were at Torquay or Hartlepool.

This time around, Sutton have turned professional, but by his own admission, Gray has kept it simple sticking with a solid 4-4-2 formation, while developing a flexible squad who can drop into and out of different positions. He has used 25 players throughout the campaign.

A sign of Sutton's fluidity is that three midfield players have top scored with eight goals apiece.

'I've done nothing differently this year in terms of my information to the players. It's very clear, very simple,' Gray told Football London in January. 

'Basic, if you like. At the start of the season we wanted to still be an EFL club at the end of the season. That would be a huge achievement for everyone connected to the club.'

Gray picks his players on character and they have proved to be a dependable bunch, who share the boss's ambition to climb higher up the pyramid.

Liam Manning

Age : 36

Club: MK Dons

Finished : 3rd League One, lost in play-off semi-final

Tenure: August 2021 - present

Attack improvement: -20%

Defence improvement: 50%

Liam Manning started his coaching career in the grassroots game, charging youngsters £2 per session.

Now, he is a hot property in English football.

A self-confessed workaholic, Manning graduated from public pitches in his early twenties to run the Ipswich Town academy, then coach West Ham United U23s, before heading Stateside, to become the director of coaching at New York Red Bulls.

From there, he was recruited by Belgian second tier side Lommel SK, where he masterminded a rapid ascent up the table in his first season, before he was tempted to Stadium MK to replace Russell Martin.

Some journey - and he is still only 36.

At MK Dons, the Norwich-born coach had the challenge of following Martin, who had forged a big reputation for his fluid, passing game that saw the Dons record a staggering 65 per cent possession in all matches in 2020-21 season.

While easy on the eye the approach did not always deliver results and MK Dons finished 13th with 65 points, having scored 64 and conceded 62.

Manning has come in, retained an attractive possession game, but significantly tightened up the defence, while making the Dons' attacks more productive.

He has done an exceptional job. This season, MK Dons won 89 points, scored 79 goals and only let in 44 on their way to a play-off semi-final defeat to Wycombe Wanderers.

Manning has cleverly adapted his approach using 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 variations, which allows him to adopt a front five in advanced positions, with two holding midfielders screening the defenders.

With a fit young team, (the average age of the starting 11 is the second youngest in the league) the Dons look for overlaps to create crossing opportunities.

They operate a fierce counter-press in advanced areas, defending from the front. In addition, Manning has taken a more pragmatic approach to the build up, too.

Analytics FC identify a style where they play short, inviting pressure and are happy to look for longer balls forward to gain good position in the opposition half.

Even so, MK Dons enjoyed 59 per cent throughout the season, the second highest figure in the league, behind Ipswich.

'My biggest thing is players making good decisions,' Manning explained to the i this season. 'We have to teach them to make the right decision in the right moment rather than having a set way of doing anything.'

James Rowberry

Age: 37

Club: Newport County

Finished: 11th

Tenure: October 2021 - present

Attack improvement: 65%

Defence improvement: 75%

James Rowberry is living the dream, managing his home-town club, Newport County, for whom his dad, Stephen, was a player and where he was a mascot as a child.

But he may not be at Rodney Parade for too long.

Rowberry is a well-known and highly respected coach in Wales, where he has held various positions within the Welsh FA and done eight years working his way up the ranks at Cardiff City.

He started out coaching football on a part-time contract with Newport Council, and went on to become the youngest coach to ever earn his UEFA Pro Licence - at 29.

From there he became a coach educator at the Welsh FA, counting Marcel Desailly, David Ginola, Patrick Vieira, Jens Lehmann and Sol Campbell, among his students.

In a fascinating interview with Wales Online two years ago, Rowberry revealed Vieira arranged for him to have his stag do in a Madrid nightclub owned by another World Cup winner, Christian Karambeu. 

At Cardiff, he rose from the academy to first team coach under the caretaker management duo of Danny Gabbidon and Scott Young, before going on to work with Russell Slade, Paul Trollope, Neil Warnock and Mick McCarthy.

And despite only being seven months into his first management job, his reputation is growing. He was linked with the vacancy at QPR after Mick Warburton's departure was confirmed last month.

Rowberry took over at Newport in October, when Michael Flynn, another local lad and former Exiles player, resigned. Flynn had done a good job, reaching two League Two

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