BENITEZ vs. Ferguson vs. Wenger vs. Mourinho: Who has the best UNBEATEN ratio?

Over the last 50 years, which Liverpool manager has the highest unbeaten game percentage, and how do managerial rivals – both past and present - compare?

Here are the figures for all Liverpool managers from 1959-present (all competitions):

		Years		Total Games	Wins	Draws	Total Unbeaten	% Unbeaten
1	Kenny Dalglish	6	307		187	78	265	86%
2	Joe Fagan	2	133		70	37	107	82%
3	Bob Paisley	9	535		307	132	439	82%
4	Rafa Benitez	5	315		178	69	247	78%
5	Bill Shankly	15	783		407	198	605	77%
6	Gerard Houllier	7	325		165	81	246	76%
7	Roy Evans	5	244		123	63	186	76%
8	Graeme Souness	3	157		65	47	112	71%

It’s no real surprise to see Graeme Souness propping up the table (!). Gerard Houllier and Roy Evans are neck and neck, and at the moment, Rafa Benitez is slightly ahead of Bill Shankly.

How do Liverpool’s managers compare with other successful managers of the last 50 years?

	Years	Total Games	Wins	Draws	Total Unbeaten	% Unbeaten
Alex Ferguson	23	1299	762	305	1067	82%
Arsene Wenger	13	755	435	187	622	82%
Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)	3	185	131	36	167	90%
Martin O’Neill (Aston Villa)	3	152	61	49	110	72%
Matt Busby	25	1141	576	266	842	74%
Brian Clough (Notts Forest)	18	907	411	246	657	72%
George Graham (Arsenal)	9	460	225	133	358	78%
Don Revie (Leeds)	13	699	365	190	555	79%
Bobby Robson (Newcastle)	5	255	119	64	183	72%
Kevin Keegan (Newcastle)	5	272	144	57	201	74%

With a 90% unbeaten ratio, Mourinho’s record at Chelsea is pretty amazing; and he is the only manager in the English league over the last 50 years with a better record than Dalglish.

The following table ranks all the above managers against each other:

		Years	Total Games	Wins	Draws	Total Unbeaten	% Unbeaten
1	Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)	3	185	131	36	167	90%
2	Kenny Dalglish	6	307	187	78	265	86%
3=	Joe Fagan	2	133	70	37	107	82%
3=	Bob Paisley	9	535	307	132	439	82%
3=	Alex Ferguson	23	1299	762	305	1067	82%
3=	Arsene Wenger	13	755	435	187	622	82%
7	Don Revie (Leeds)	13	699	365	190	555	79%
8=	Rafa Benitez	5	315	178	69	247	78%
8=	George Graham (Arsenal)	9	460	225	133	358	78%
10	Bill Shankly	15	783	407	198	605	77%
11=	Gerard Houllier	7	325	165	81	246	76%
11=	Roy Evans	5	244	123	63	186	76%
13=	Matt Busby	25	1141	576	266	842	74%
13=	Kevin Keegan (Newcastle)	5	272	144	57	201	74%
15=	Martin O’Neill (Aston Villa)	3	152	61	49	110	72%
15=	Brian Clough (Notts Forest)	18	907	411	246	657	72%
15=	Bobby Robson (Newcastle)	5	255	119	64	183	72%
18	Graeme Souness	3	157	65	47	112	71%

Souness lets the side down again (!). Rather surprisingly, Leeds’ Done Revie is very high up the table, only slightly behind Ferguson and Wenger.

I have to smile at the fact that Rafa Benitez has the same unbeaten percentage as George Graham, whose Arsenal team were renowned for their cautious, defensive approach (‘Boring, Boring Arsenal’, anyone?) ;-)

Overall, a fantastic set of results for Liverpool’s managers down the years.

Jaimie Kanwar