Accrington Boss John Coleman Sets New Record As League Two's Eurovision Manager Of The Year

Accrington Boss John Coleman Sets New Record As League Two's Eurovision Manager Of The Year
15:05, 08 May 2018

Eurovision Introduction

Mike has enlisted an esteemed panel of journalists, bloggers, broadcasters, betting industry professionals and match-going fans from all 92 English clubs and we asked them all to vote for their top ten managers of the 2017/18 season in their respective divisions.

Each club had one representative and they weren’t allowed to vote for the man in charge of their own team. All 92 made their choices completely independently of everyone else.

The process is both thorough and extensive, making the end result difficult to dispute. But this is Eurovision remember, so don’t be too surprised if you spot the odd historical link between certain clubs and managers, not to mention a bit of geographical bias here and there!

The results of the competition will be published over the next few days with links through to our panelists and how they voted, while our master of ceremonies, Mike Holden, will offer his input on how he would have voted, explaining his choices along the way.

Each edition is formatted as follows:

  • League Findings
  • Results Table
  • Where the votes went
  • The Panel
  • Mike's Picks

League Two Picks

John Coleman predictably swept all before him in the League Two voting, setting a new record for the highest finishing total with 272 points. The 55-year-old Liverpudlian romped to the title with Accrington on one of the lowest budgets in the basement, bringing widespread acclaim as all but two of the other 23 clubs awarded him maximum points.

There’s not much else to say about Coleman that hasn’t already been said over the past few weeks and the numbers certainly do all the talking here. When a panel of 24 avid club followers - journalists, bloggers, season ticket holders - cast their votes independently of each other, it leaves no room for dispute when the outcome is such a landslide.

Gareth Ainsworth and Danny Cowley join Coleman on the podium and separating those two was a much more difficult task. Ainsworth was looking nailed-on for automatic promotion with Wycombe throughout the voting process, eventually sealing the deal on the penultimate weekend, and he was consistently towards the top of the voting, making the top three for 16 out of 23 other clubs.

Cowley’s case was a bit more understated but those who recognised a play-off charge alongside Checkatrade Trophy success in his first season as an EFL manager went big on those achievements. The Lincoln boss picked up two maximums, was next best to Coleman eight times and outscored Ainsworth as often as Ainsworth outscored him. Ultimately, though, he was eight points shy.

The race for fourth and fifth, between Paul Tisdale and Nathan Jones, was equally fascinating. One the one hand was Tisdale, grinding out results on limited resources with Exeter. On the other was Jones, spending big with Luton and serving up a style of swashbuckling football that the division had never witnessed before, albeit stuttering badly from Christmas onwards.

Tisdale came up short of automatic promotion but edged this particular battle by three points, although it’s probably reasonable to assert that Jones would have finished in the top two had the Hatters sustained their blistering standards for long enough to keep Accrington at arm’s length and hold out for the title.

John Coleman romped to a record-breaking total
John Coleman romped to a record-breaking total

WHERE THE VOTES WENT…

Each club representative ranked their top ten managers in order following the Eurovision scoring system (12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1) and here's where the managers got their points from...

John Coleman (272)

12 - Barnet, Cambridge, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Colchester, Coventry, Crawley, Crewe, Exeter, Forest Green, Grimsby, Lincoln, Luton, Mansfield, Morecambe, Newport, Notts County, Stevenage, Swindon, Wycombe

10 - Port Vale, Yeovil

Gareth Ainsworth (186)

12 - Accrington

10 - Cheltenham, Crewe, Forest Green, Luton, Morecambe, Swindon

8 - Cambridge, Carlisle, Chesterfield, Coventry, Exeter, Grimsby, Mansfield, Newport, Notts County

7 - Port Vale, Stevenage, Yeovil

6 - Colchester, Lincoln

5 - Barnet

4 - Crawley

Danny Cowley (178)

12 - Port Vale, Yeovil

10 - Barnet, Cambridge, Chesterfield, Colchester, Coventry, Exeter, Newport, Notts County

8 - Accrington, Cheltenham, Wycombe

7 - Crawley

6 - Carlisle, Mansfield, Morecambe, Stevenage

5 - Grimsby, Luton, Swindon

4 - Crewe

Paul Tisdale (158)

10 - Accrington, Grimsby, Wycombe

8 - Stevenage, Swindon

7 - Barnet, Carlisle, Chesterfield, Colchester, Coventry, Crewe, Lincoln, Luton, Mansfield, Morecambe

6 - Cheltenham, Crawley, Newport, Notts County

5 - Cambridge, Yeovil

4 - Forest Green, Port Vale

Nathan Jones (155)

10 - Carlisle, Crawley, Stevenage

8 - Colchester, Forest Green, Lincoln, Morecambe, Port Vale, Yeovil

7 - Accrington, Cambridge, Exeter, Grimsby, Newport, Notts County

6 - Chesterfield, Coventry, Crewe, Swindon

3 - Barnet, Cheltenham, Mansfield

2 - Wycombe

Kevin Nolan (106)

10 - Mansfield

8 - Crawley

7 - Forest Green, Swindon

6 - Exeter, Grimsby, Wycombe, Yeovil

5 - Carlisle, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Colchester, Newport, Stevenage

4 - Cambridge, Luton

3 - Crewe, Morecambe, Port Vale

2 - Accrington

1 - Lincoln

Michael Flynn (69)

8 - Barnet, Crewe

7 - Cheltenham

6 - Luton

5 - Coventry, Crawley, Lincoln, Mansfield, Morecambe

4 - Swindon

3 - Carlisle, Exeter

2 - Stevenage

1 - Colchester, Grimsby, Port Vale

Mark Robins (63)

6 - Cambridge

5 - Accrington, Crewe, Notts County, Port Vale, Wycombe

4 - Carlisle, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Newport, Stevenage

3 - Forest Green

2 - Grimsby, Mansfield, Morecambe, Swindon

1 - Luton

Harry Kewell (50)

6 - Accrington, Forest Green

4 - Barnet, Colchester, Exeter, Morecambe, Notts County, Wycombe

3 - Cambridge, Grimsby, Luton

2 - Lincoln, Newport

1 - Carlisle

Jim Bentley (36)

10 - Lincoln

8 - Luton

4 - Mansfield

3 - Crawley

2 - Carlisle, Crewe, Notts County

1 - Accrington, Chesterfield, Newport, Stevenage, Wycombe

Keith Curle (31)

7 - Wycombe

6 - Port Vale

3 - Accrington, Chesterfield, Coventry, Stevenage

2 - Cheltenham, Colchester, Crawley

Darren Way (17)

4 - Coventry, Grimsby

3 - Newport

2 - Cambridge, Exeter

1 - Crawley, Morecambe

Steve Evans (16)

6 - Barnet

5 - Exeter

3 - Swindon

2 - Luton

Martin Allen (13)

5 - Forest Green

4 - Accrington, Yeovil

John McGreal (11)

3 - Notts County

2 - Chesterfield

1 - Cheltenham, Coventry, Crewe, Forest Green, Mansfield, Yeovil

Mark Cooper (10)

4 - Lincoln

3 - Wycombe

2 - Coventry

1 - Exeter

Gary Johnson (10)

3 - Colchester, Yeovil

2 - Barnet

1 - Cambridge, Notts County

Neil Aspin (6)

3 - Lincoln

2 - Forest Green

1 - Barnet

Dave Artell (2)

2 - Port Vale

David Flitcroft (2)

2 - Yeovil

Michael Jolley (1)

1 - Swindon

THE VOTING PANEL

Accrington: Lee Carter (@leescarter)

Barnet: Daniele Accurso (@AccursoDaniele)

Cambridge: Dylan Tibbs (@dtotheytothel)

Carlisle: Jon Colman (@joncolman)

Colchester: Matty Hudson (@mattyhudson)

Cheltenham: Mark Halliwell (@MarkHalliwell1)

Chesterfield: Graham Smyth (@GrahamSmyth)

Coventry: Rob Jones (@RobJonesPUSB)

Crawley: Matt Howlett (@MattHowlett3)

Crewe: Matt Owen (@mowen23)

Exeter: Damien Mills (@goal_media)

Forest Green: Will Guyatt (@willguyatt)

Grimsby: Rich Lord (@RichMariner)

Lincoln: James Kempton (@ukbettingpro)

Luton: Oliver Walker (@olivermpw_)

Mansfield: Sam Binch (@SamBinch)

Morecambe: Mathew Seage (@Seagie85)

Newport: Andrew Penman (@AndrewPenman1)

Notts County: Leigh Curtis (@LeighCurtis_NP)

Port Vale: Unofficial Vale (@unofficialvale)

Stevenage: Greg Kett (@Greg_Kett)

Swindon: Sam Morshead (@SamMorshead_)

Wycombe: Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor)

Yeovil: Barry Crossan (@YeovilMad17)

OUR PICKS

12 points - John Coleman

Coleman has improved Accrington's league position in 12 out of 14 completed seasons and their shot data has been borderline title-winning standard for the best part of three years following his return to the club in September 2014, so you could argue promotion was overdue if anything. He will cope with the step up to League One, no problem.

10 points - Danny Cowley

Cowley came up with a big reputation on the back of his FA Cup giant-killing exploits last season but his first season as an EFL manager was nonetheless a resounding success. The league position is probably about par with expectations but alongside the Checkatrade Trophy success at Wembley, it adds another layer that only improves their chances in the play-offs.

8 points - Gareth Ainsworth

After nearly six years managing at this level, Ainsworth knows the division inside-out and went about his business this time around with the assurance of a man who knew he had cracked it. It's been a rollercoaster reign but he's undoubtedly ready to make the step up to League One, even if most of the Wycombe players aren't.

7 points - Kevin Nolan

Nolan feels like old news having impressed in short stints over the past two seasons, first with Leyton Orient and then Notts County. He set borderline play-off standards with those clubs and the big question was whether he could sustain that over a full season. The answer is emphatically yes. It’s been a solid season from the Magpies.

6 points - Paul Tisdale

Tisdale has been around the block so many times, we shouldn't be surprised that he gets so much out of so little. Exeter's shot data has been no better than mid-table standard for most of the campaign but they've been knocking on the door for automatic in the closing weeks, despite a raft of injuries that have weakened them defensively.

5 points - Nathan Jones

Jones has outstanding potential and will surely go on to bigger things but this season has developed into another learning curve. Luton were sensational before Christmas but when you spend big and establish clear daylight at the summit, you have to see it out. The Hatters have disappointed a lot of people who backed them for the title.

4 points - Mark Robins

History weighs heavy at Coventry with a fanbase that struggles to keep emotions on an even keel and conditioned to fear the worst at every wrong turn. But Robins has got to grips with the job fairly well without really excelling. He now has the opportunity to take his tenure to the next level by delivering promotion via the play-offs.

3 points - Michael Jolley

Many club voters didn’t have the luxury of seeing how the relegation picture would pan out but Jolley has delivered a masterclass in crisis management over the past two months at Grimsby, staying ultra-positive and sound of mind under extremely testing conditions. Three wins sounds like no big deal but Easter passed with the Mariners still winless in 20 matches.

2 points - Michael Flynn

A mid-table finish represents a confident step forward after last season's brush with relegation and a memorable FA Cup run should keep Newport in decent financial shape for another year or two. Had standards not slipped following the big date with Tottenham, Flynn would have been two or three spots higher. A play-off charge could be on the cards next year.

1 point - Harry Kewell

Many were predicting doom and gloom for the Australian and the doomsayers were saying 'I told you so' when Crawley were fourth from bottom after 18 matches. But things suddenly fell into place and Kewell came good with a mid-season surge of 11 wins in 16 matches when the finer points of his eye-catching philosophy fell into place.

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