DECEMBER was a remarkable month for managers, with world-record breaking manager Craig Harrison leading Welsh club The New Saints to a 27-match winning run.
Yes, Chelsea’s Antonio Conte and Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers masterminded stunning winning runs of their own, which the Blues could improve on tonight against Tottenham Hotspur – but nothing compared to a small Welsh club who broke Ajax’s 44-year old record.
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A 2-0 win at Cefn Druids on 30 December saw the club, made famous by Jeff Stelling’s when they played under their previous name Total Network Solutions.
Afterwards, Harrison said: ““We want to win every game we can. The players have obviously got a fantastic attitude and mentality of winning.
“We’ll come back and start again, almost, and go on a fresh run again of five or six games of wins again and it’ll push us into the thirties.
“We’re not comparing ourselves to Ajax in any way, but in its own right the achievement shouldn’t be frowned upon.”
Former Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace defender Harrison tops the list last month – and here is the rest of the contenders:
- Craig Harrison (The New Saints, Wales) – Ajax’s 44-year old record for most consecutive top-flight victories has been eclipsed. 27 so far, and it’s not finished yet.
- Brendan Rodgers (Celtic, Scotland) – 19 wins and a draw in the Scottish Premiership is a phenomenal run for the former Liverpool boss.
- Antonio Conte (Chelsea, England) – Following a below-par start to the season, Conte has led Chelsea to a record-equalling 13-match winning streak.
- Paulo Fonseca (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine) – champions of Ukraine with four games to spare, and approaching the finale with an ‘Invincibles’ tag firmly in sight.
- Stale Solbakken (Copenhagen, Denmark) – Still unbeaten after 21 league games this season.
Longest current league winning runs
- Craig Harrison (The New Saints, Wales) – 21 wins
- Brendan Rodgers (Celtic, Scotland) – 15 wins
- Antonio Conte (Chelsea, England) – 13 wins
- Stale Solbakken (Copenhagen, Denmark) – 9 wins
- Paulo Fonseca (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine) – 7 wins
- Julio Cesar Ribas (Lincoln FC, Gibraltar) – 7 wins
Longest current unbeaten league runs
- Craig Harrison (The New Saints, Wales) – 21 matches
- Stale Solbakken (FC Copenhagen, Denmark) – 21 matches
- Brendan Rodgers (Celtic, Scotland) – 20 matches
- Matjaz Kek (Rijeka, Croatia) – 20 matches
- Paulo Fonseca (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine) – 18 matches
- Ernest Gjoka (FK Kukesi, Albania) – 18 matches
Here are some other stories from December's managers around the world:
Youngest ever Bundesliga manager navigating older players with aplomb
Imagine a youngster in his 20s standing in front of a squad of players for the first time, some of whom are older than him, knowing they are consciously thinking how young he is, maybe even how young he looks.
This was the unnerving situation facing one such manager when German club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim appointed 28-year-old Julian Nagelsmann.
Hoffenheim were deeply entrenched in the relegation mire, a pressure more intense than any championship-chasing giant could imagine, when Nagelsmann was called upon to avert the drop.
But he guided his troops to seven wins from their next 12 matches to ensure safety with one point to spare! His name became commonplace and celebrated in Germany.
Now his name is becoming commonplace and celebrated further afield as Hoffenheim remain the only unbeaten team in the Bundesliga this season - and fans are understandably excited at the astounding top-5 position they currently occupy in the championship race.
Massimiliano Allegri has guided Juventus to 100 points in 2016
Since the former Cagliari and Milan boss - also the 3rd youngest Serie A winning manager in history - arrived at Juventus in 2014, he has wowed Italian football.
A league and cup double in his first season followed by the 2015 Champions League final against all odds.
And despite losing his triumvirate of Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo, it invigorated him towards a spectacular 15-match winning run last season that led to the club’s 5th Scudetto in succession.
No Italian club has won six league titles on the bounce, and with Allegri’s men currently four points clear with a game in hand, Allegri is on course for yet another record.
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