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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Brewin

Back to the future: how managerial veterans have become all the rage

Roy Hodgson Neil Warnock Sam Allardyce EPL Alan Pardew Mark Hughes Nathan Jones Steve Bruce Football Manchester City
From left: Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson and Neil Warnock.
From left: Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson and Neil Warnock. Composite: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian; PPAUK/Shutterstock; Shutterstock

It was known as “the roundabout”. Passing troubled Premier League clubs would pluck from the same, revolving set of managers to try to avert relegation. A similar carousel was on offer to those seeking promotion from – or safety in – the Championship.

The names rolled off the tongue, leading to a state of affairs where Alan Pardew and Steve Bruce have each managed five Premier League clubs, and Mark Hughes six. But that trio, each around the age of 60 – Bruce and Pardew on career hiatuses, Hughes in the League Two playoffs with Bradford – are years short of qualifying for the management game’s newest ride, one that’s become all the rage.

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