Squad values drop while league positions rise
Two London Premiership managers seem to have pulled off a conjuring trick
A fun bit of research found its way into my email queue this week about the fluctuations in the value of Premiership football squads under their current managers. It is easy to “twist” statistics and survey results to suit your own conclusions and I’m probably going to be guilty of it here.
You see, bottom of this squad value league table is David Moyes’ West Ham. When he took charge the Irons’ squad was valued at £336,375,000; now it’s £255,920,000. Quite a dip. But, here’s the thing … when Moyes started his second spell in charge of West Ham they were in 17th place, one above the relegation zone. As I write this they are now 12th.
Second ‘worst’ in the aforementioned table is Jose Mourinho’s Spurs team. Value when he took over £807,750,000; now it’s £680,450,000. When he took over they were 14th in the league; now they are second.
My point? Squad values don’t mean a whole lot in terms of performance. Yes, it’s important if you are holding the purse strings. But, if your team is improving, the finances will look better in the long run. League position is the ‘currency’ fans understand.
To reinforce my point, the manager who has seen his squad’s value improve the most is Chris Wilder at Sheffield United. So, all credit to him for that. Pity is, his team is currently rock bottom of the league with a single point to their name.
Wilder has increased his squad’s value by a staggering 1,775.4% according to the European Football Index, a study by the BetVictor gaming company. That figure is the highest of any current Premier League manager by some distance, and the seventh biggest value increase in Europe’s top divisions over the past decade.
During his five years in charge, Wilder has taken Sheffield United’s squad value from £7.66m to £143.6m, ahead of Burley’s Sean Dyche who has the second best record on squad value improvement, with an increase of 535.2%.
Nuno Espirito Santos has the third best record, taking his team’s value from just over £80m to more than £300m, while Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Villa’s Dean Smith complete the top five.
At the other end of the spectrum, David Moyes’ West Ham have lost the most value, with squad worth dropping by 23.9% since he took charge, while Jose Mourinho has also seen Spurs’ value drop by 15.8%.
You can view the full set of data here.
How Premier League squad values have changed since the current manager took over:
| Rank | Manager | Club | Starting Squad Value | Current Squad Value | Percentage Increase |
| 1 | Chris Wilder | Sheffield United | £7,657,018 | £143,600,000 | 1,775.4% |
| 2 | Sean Dyche | Burnley | £21,937,743 | £139,340,000 | 535.2% |
| 3. | Nuno Espirito Santos | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £80,467,765 | £322,020,000 | 300.2% |
| 4 | Jurgen Klopp | Liverpool | £312,381,603 | £978,930,000 | 213.4% |
| 5 | Dean Smith | Aston Villa | £125,130,235 | £242,910,000 | 94.1% |
| 6 | Scott Parker | Fulham | £104,940,000 | £147,290,000 | 80.2% |
| 7 | Marcelo Bielsa | Leeds United | £85,755,000 | £147,290,000 | 71.8% |
| 8 | Pep Guardiola | Manchester City | £593,279,370 | £944,460,000 | 59.2% |
| 9 | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | Manchester United | £627,500,000 | £731,880,000 | 16.6% |
| 10 | Carlo Ancelotti | Everton | £428,130,000 | £457,470,000 | 6.9% |
| 11 | Brendan Rodgers | Leicester City | £384,210,000 | £410,040,000 | 6.7% |
| 12 | Roy Hodgson | Crystal Palace | £180,482,623 | £182,270,000 | 1.0% |
| 13 | Frank Lampard | Chelsea | £760,545,000 | £749,320,000 | -1.5% |
| 14 | Slaven Bilic | West Bromwich Albion | £81,833,000 | £78,530,000 | -4.0% |
| 15 | Ralph Hasenhuttl | Southampton | £219,690,000 | £195,570,000 | -11.0% |
| 16 | Mikel Arteta | Arsenal | £633,366,040 | £562,460,000 | -11.2% |
| 17 | Steve Bruce | Newcastle United | £280,193,000 | £239,990,000 | -14.3% |
| 18 | Graham Potter | Brighton & Hove Albion | £204,525,000 | £173,210,000 | -15.3% |
| 19 | Jose Mourinho | Tottenham Hotspur | £807,750,000 | £680,450,000 | -15.8% |
| 20 | David Moyes | West Ham United | £336,375,000 | £255,920,000 | -23.9% |
