Blackpool's top 10 best ever managers in order of win percentage (Ranked) | OneFootball

Highlights

Blackpool will be hoping that they can gain promotion in League One on their first attempt following their poor campaign last season in the Championship.

The club had a disjointed campaign last year as they desperately attempted to maintain their Championship status — so desperate in fact that they had three different managers throughout the season. Blackpool would have finished bottom had it not been for the points' deduction that Wigan Athletic had inflicted upon them for failing to pay staff and players on time.

By the start of 2023/24, the Tangerines have turned to former manager Neil Critchley to get them back to the Championship, a feat that he achieved for the club previously in 2021. Fans will be confident that Critchley can achieve the club's ambitions this season and bring more success to Bloomfield Road.

The decision to reappoint Critchley due to his first period being so successful got us thinking here at Football League World about who Blackpool’s top 10 best managers are in order of their win percentage, from lowest to highest.

10 Sam Ellis – 37.6%

Coming in as Blackpool’s tenth-best manager in terms of win percentage is Sam Ellis.

Blackpool was the first managerial position for Ellis, as the Englishman was appointed in 1982 and would have a seven-year tenure ending in 1989. His start as Blackpool manager couldn’t have been worse, as the club finished in the bottom four of the old Fourth Division, meaning the club had to reapply for their position in the Football League.

His time at the club would get better as he would promote the Seasiders to the old Third Division within the following two years and keep the club there until his resignation in 1989.

Ellis would be in charge of 311 matches, winning 117, giving him a win percentage of 37.6%.

9 Gary Megson – 39.1%

Gary Megson took over as Blackpool manager in July 1996. Megson would spend only one season at Blackpool in the old Second Division.

Megson had a good season as manager of the Seasiders, who finished seventh in the division. Megson only left the club to move to Stockport County, a team that finished second in the old Second Division and so gained promotion to the old First Division, the same season that he finished seventh with Blackpool.

During his time in charge, he managed 52 games, winning 21 of them, meaning he had a win percentage of 40.4%.

8 Ian Holloway – 37.8%

Coming in as Blackpool’s eighth-best manager in terms of win percentage is Ian Holloway, arguably the man most synonymous with Blackpool as manager.

Holloway is the only manager in the history of the club to manage Blackpool in the Premier League. Holloway joined the Seasiders in May 2009 after a year out of football management, signing a one-year contract at the club, and what a year it would be. Holloway won promotion through the Championship play-offs.

Blackpool were a fun watch in the 2010–11 Premier League and secured famous victories at Anfield and Bloomfield Road against Liverpool. These memories will live long in the memory of Blackpool fans, but in the end, the club was relegated on the final day of the season away to Manchester United.

Holloway remained in charge of the Tangerines upon their return to the Championship, and again the club would have a good season. However, they would not be able to secure promotion back to the Premier League as they lost to West Ham at Wembley in the play-off final.

Holloway's time at the club brought about great success. During his tenure, he took charge of 143 matches, winning 54, giving him a win percentage of 37.8%.

7 Major Frank Buckley – 41.3%

It’s almost certain that no Blackpool fans will have been alive to witness the tenure of seventh on our list. Major Frank Buckley was appointed manager in October 1923 and was in charge for four years.

Buckley had been a player in the Football League before the outbreak of World War One, but he would serve for the British Army at the Battle of the Somme. Once he returned, he would begin his managerial career with Norwich City before moving to Blackpool.

Buckley has been credited with implementing the club's first youth system and scouting scheme, yet his tenure was uneventful.

Buckley would win 66 of his 160 matches at the helm, earning him a win percentage of 41.3%.

6 Billy Ayre – 41.5%

Billy Ayre was initially brought in as an assistant manager in May 1990 before being appointed manager in November 1990 following the sacking of Graham Carr.

Ayre would almost get Blackpool promoted from the old Fourth Division in his first season, but he lost the play-off final to Torquay United. He would gain promotion the following season as they beat Scunthorpe United in the play-off final. He would then keep the league in the old Second Division by the skin of his teeth on the final day of the 1993-94 season, surviving by a point with a victory over Leyton Orient.

During his 164-game tenure, Ayre would win 68 games, giving him a win percentage of 41.5%.

5 Neil Critchley – 41.5%

Neil Critchley was reappointed manager of Blackpool for the 2023–24 season.

He had a successful first tenure as he guided the club back to the Championship in his first full season and kept the club in the division for the 2021/22 campaign prior to his exit.

Critchley has been at the helm for 94 matches, winning 39, meaning he has a win percentage of 41.5%.

4 Sandy MacFarlane – 42.9%

Sandy MacFarlane’s last managerial role in football was with Blackpool, having been appointed in 1933 and seeing out his two-year contract with the club.

The Scottish man dismantled the Blackpool squad upon his arrival, yet this would not lead to success for the club, as the team would narrowly miss out on promotion as they finished fourth in the old Second Division at the end of his second year.

MacFarlane would be in charge of 84 games, winning 36, giving him a win percentage of 42.9%.

3 Joe Smith – 42.9%

The longest-serving Blackpool manager and the man to deliver the club’s only FA Cup success in 1953. The club legend managed 672 games, winning 288, giving him a win percentage of 42.9%.

Smith was appointed in 1935 and would have the club promoted to the old First Division in 1937. The club would come close to winning the old First Division twice following the Second World War, as the side boasted talents like Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen, and Harry Johnston. The club would reach three FA Cup finals under his tenure, winning one. Smith would resign in 1958 as his health started to deteriorate.

2 Billy Norman – 44.1%

Billy Norman comes in as Blackpool’s second-best manager in terms of win percentage.

Norman was the first full-time manager that the club appointed, being appointed in 1918. During his four years at the club, he failed to gain promotion to the old First Division, yet came close on three occasions. He was renowned for his army-like training regiment and spent heavily in the transfer market, but this did not bear fruit.

Norman would be in charge of 168 matches, winning 74, giving him a win percentage of 44.1%.

1 Sam Allardyce – 44.6%

A man well known within English football, Sam Allardyce is the best manager Blackpool has ever had in terms of win percentage.

Blackpool was Allardyce’s first full-time managerial role in England following a successful period in Ireland with Limerick. Allardyce would be in charge for two seasons; his first would be a mediocre mid-table finish, but the second would be much better.

Allardyce would guide the club to the old Second Division play-off semi-final, losing to Bradford City. This followed the club missing out on automatic promotion by a point from their league performance that campaign. Yet following this season, Allardyce would be sacked by the club as his performance was not deemed good enough by chairman Owen Oyster.