14 Dec 2013 01:58:28
There have been 30 permanent Wednesday managers in total (not counting caretakers). Because I was generally interested and because of the recent Megson Vs Jones debate I was just pondering who been the most successful and I was shocked at just how high Megson's win % was compared to the greats. Just thought I'd share my top 5 managers in Owls history based on a few factors (in terms of trophies I'm only counting major trophies, not runners up medals, promotions, lower league championships etc).

Major Trophies:

1. Arthur Dickinson - Two league championships (1902-03 and 1903-04) and two FA Cups (1896 and 1907).
2. Robert Brown - Two league championships (1928-29 and 1929-30).
3. Billy Walker - One FA Cup (1935).
4. Ron Atkinson - One League Cup (1991).
5. No other manager has won major trophies.

Gary Megson - No major trophies.

Win %:

1. Harry Catterick - 55. 80%
2. Vic Buckingham - 47. 01%
3. Gary Megson - 45. 16%*
4. Howard Wilkinson - 44. 71%
5. Robert Brown - 44. 33%

*Just in case you didn't know already Dave Jones' win % was 35. 80%.

Total games won:

1. Arthur Dickinson - 393 games.
2. Robert Brown - 266 games.
3. Eric Taylor - 196 games.
4. Howard Wilkinson - 114 games.
5. Jack Charlton - 105 games.

Gary Megson - 28 games.

Longevity:

1. Arthur Dickinson (August 1891 to May 1920) - 919 games.
2. Robert Brown (June 1920 to December 1933) - 600 games.
3. Eric Taylor (April 1942 to July 1958) - 539 games.
4. Jack Charlton (8 October 1977 to 27 May 1983) - 269 games.
5. Howard Wilkinson (24 June 1983 to 10 October 1988) - 255 games.

Gary Megson (4 February 2011 to 29 February 2012) - 62 games.

Considering that Gary Megson was only briefly in charge his win % is stunning compared to the greats, Dave Jones is not even close. Is Meggo a great? Should Milan bite the bullet and recognise his winning ways and invite him back?

So who would your top 5 Wednesday managers of all time be?

1.) 14 Dec 2013
Fascinating post ponty. As much as I liked megson I would argue his reecord was set entirely in the third tier where we surely were a big fish in a small pond. Although your post was well presented and nowhere does it suggest megson should be reinstated, in sure these facts will be hijacked by the gm fan club. N. B

2.) 14 Dec 2013
Great post Ponty!
Perhaps I should have gathered the stats?
I'm the one who's been defending Megson's record for the past 18mths or more, because he's been successful pretty much everywhere he's been.
Even at Bolton where he was booed every week! But that was a reaction to the fact that the fans didn't get the manager they wanted. He still managed to avoid relegation from what seemed an impossible position and take them in to Europe - still getting booed?
Some of our fans jump on the bandwagon and comment on - style of play - but we were in Lge1 with loan signings? Hard to play Barcelona football in those circumstances and be successful, which he was!
He made Hillsboro a difficult place for teams to come to again. DJ said it was difficult for our team to play here?
A good manager puts together a team from the players he has available to get results against the odds which is what he did in spades.
I remember when he was at West Brom he got loads of criticism for playing pretty, pretty football and losing games because of it?
The only thing Megson did wrong at S6 was battle with MM for more support in order to improve the squad.
He wanted the best for his club, which is what MM says he wants? - but he got sacked for it?
I find it ironic that Megson got sacked for being too passionate about our club - perhaps that's why DJ came in and showed NONE!

3.) 14 Dec 2013
Yep, Megson was in League 1 so that needs to be taken into account but we also must consider that some of the 'greats' brought the club up from the lower leagues into the top flight so there is some comparison. The interesting thing is that DJ and GM had very similar win % in League 1, DJ win % plummeted when we were promoted and he signed his players. Whether that is because the step up in class caught up with him or the squad is open to debate and we cannot compare how GM did at this level because he was never given the chance.

All in all the facts are that over their complete tenures with similar numbers of games in charge GM for whatever reason had a better winning mentality. That being said, I agree that GM should not be considered as a 'great' like some fans have put him on a pedestal but he was a good manager, whatever his faults.

It's over with now, it's history. GM and DJ have gone and it is time to move on. The stats to point to something though, the most successful managers in our history have on the whole been ones who have had a long time at the club, board room backing, the backing of the fans and who have had the chance to build a stable team over years. There is no getting away from that. The way we have chopped and changed managers over the recent decades has been very unsuccessful.

I just hope that MM realises this and picks the right person for the job and backs them (sensibly and within budget) with transfer funds to build a squad that becomes the long term backbone of the club and the fans are patient and hopefully we will see year in year improvement and a rise up the leagues. A shirt term fix and instant success is totally unrealistic.

4.) 14 Dec 2013
Never mind megson, bring back Arthur Dickinson ponty

5.) 14 Dec 2013
Haha he's probably got as much life in him as DJ.