Rafa Benitez
When a manager of Rafa Benitez’s calibre only makes the opening spot on our list, you know we’re only dealing with head coaches of the highest quality.
While Benitez enjoyed his best years at Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup and the Champions League, he had a brilliant spell at Newcastle. Without the Spaniard, Newcastle may have been mired in the Championship for an untold amount of time.
Toon fans were devastated when Benitez left the club in 2019 – his departure was just another black mark on the unpopular ownership of Mike Ashley. Benitez went on to have a disastrous spell at Everton before being fired midway though his first season.