Mikel Arteta: Aston La Vista To The Title?

[Farzad Stoned]

Arteta will hinder rather than enhance us he doesn’t have the chops for a job like Arsenal, i hope I am wrong but I have feeling I won’t be, sadly.

 

[Macho]

Spoiler: What do Premier League managers blame after a bad result? And who makes the most excuses?

What do Premier League managers blame after a bad result? And who makes the most excuses?​

Jacob Whitehead
Aug 4, 2022

Managers sometimes complain post-match interviews are slightly unfair.

Moments after resigning as England boss in 2016, Roy Hodgson famously told the media: “I don’t really know what I’m doing here.”

In 2013, former Nottingham Forest coach Billy Davies held a post-match interview before kick-off.

Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, is frequently monosyllabic.

They may have good reason for their distaste. Publicly analysing an outcome minutes after a bad result is a skill set demanded of very few professions. A politician voted out of office? Bumbling military general?

And then there is pressure too — lots of it.

Their comments are often still insightful, though not solely for their footballing analysis. Reaching for an excuse can signal their wider management style — not only their message to the fanbase, but in how they treat their players.

Do they deflect attention away from their team? Is responsibility carried on their own shoulders? Or, was it a factor they could not hope to control?

It can also be a chance to complain or release frustrated energy. Scheduling, injuries, refereeing decisions — all regular excuses trotted out.

They will be on full display this weekend as the 2022-23 campaign begins. Last season, the opening day saw limited pre-seasons, thin squads, and Euro 2020 hangovers all blamed.

But what do coaches tend to blame — and which of them make the most excuses?

Tuchel and Arteta embrace after Chelsea’s win at Arsenal last season (Photo: Getty Images)
To answer these questions, The Athletic listened to the comments made by every Premier League manager after a loss or a draw during every domestic game in the 2021-22 season — a total of 492 interviews.

The results of this tongue-in-cheek empirical study can be found below.

---

​

 

[Macho]

Spoiler: 2

Tuchel makes more excuses than any other manager — with Arteta not far behind​

Chelsea might have flirted with a title challenge in the opening months of last season, and reached the final of both domestic cups — but Thomas Tuchel had the highest excuse ratio of any Premier League manager.

In 19 post-match interviews after a draw or defeat, Tuchel raised mitigating factors 11 times, giving him a moan percentage of 57.9 per cent.

Breaking this down, his favourite cause for complaint was COVID-19, which affected the squad on several occasions in December. He used this excuse three times.

He also blamed refereeing decisions (twice), luck (twice), individual players (twice), fatigue (once), and even the Stamford Bridge pitch after a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in April.

Most complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Daniel Farke	Norwich City	54.5%
4	Dean Smith	Aston Villa/Norwich City	48.4%
5	Rafa Benitez	Everton	46.7%
6	Frank Lampard	Everton	46.2%
7	Eddie Howe	Newcastle United	42.9%
8	David Moyes	West Ham United	41.7%
9	Sean Dyche	Burnley	40.7%
10	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
11	Steven Gerrard	Aston Villa	37.5%
12	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
13	Claudio Ranieri	Watford	33.3%
14	Ralph Hasenhuttl	Southampton	32.3%
15	Bruno Lage	Wolves	29.2%

Mikel Arteta, Tuchel’s counterpart that day, was narrowly behind the German, finishing the season with a moan percentage of 55.5 per cent.

His favoured target was refereeing decisions, which he brought up after games against Manchester City, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham Hotspur.

But his best excuse was saved for after the defeat to Southampton, where he bemoaned football’s scoring system, saying that if it was basketball, his side would have “won the game very comfortably”.

At the other end of the league table, Daniel Farke narrowly pipped his Norwich successor Dean Smith to the bronze medal position, finishing with a 54.5 per cent moan ratio, compared to Smith’s 48.4 per cent.

The 2021-22 top 10 is rounded out by Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard, Eddie Howe, David Moyes, Sean Dyche, and Ralf Rangnick.

Leeds most accepting of their fate — with Conte laying least blame of the Big Six​

Leeds United — purveyors of fair play and sportsmanship.

Jesse Marsch and Marcelo Bielsa blamed external factors less than any other managers last season — on just four occasions from 31 opportunities. They also never used refereeing as an excuse, with Brentford’s Thomas Frank the only other coach to achieve that accolade.

Not content with taking his job in February, Marsch narrowly pips Bielsa to the top spot, though the American does have a far smaller sample size. Bielsa, famously, refuses to ever criticise officials, though he did bemoan Leeds’ injury situation on three occasions.

Least complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
29	Jesse Marsch	Leeds United	12.5%
28	Marcelo Bielsa	Leeds United	13.0%
27	Thomas Frank	Brentford	14.8%
26	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%
25	Xisco Munoz	Watford	16.7%
23	Mike Jackson	Burnley	20.0%
24	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
22	Patrick Vieira	Crystal Palace	21.4%
21	Steve Bruce	Newcastle United	22.2%
20	Brendan Rodgers	Leicester City	23.1%
19	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
18	Graham Potter	Brighton & Hove Albion	25.9%
17	Roy Hodgson	Watford	26.7%
16	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%

Also featuring highly is Sp**s manager Antonio Conte, who has a moan percentage of only 15.4 per cent, comfortably below all his top-six counterparts.

His north London rival Arteta makes excuses at four times the rate that the Italian coach does.

Klopp has an unearned reputation​

Jurgen Klopp has — fairly or unfairly — built a reputation for blaming external factors after a Liverpool loss. The list of mitigation is entertaining, including the wind, the dryness of the pitch, TV broadcaster conspiracies, and Alisson’s cold feet.

But judging by the statistical analysis of this season alone, it is not an accurate depiction.

Is Jurgen Klopp unfairly treated? (Photo: Getty Images)

The Liverpool manager sits comfortably mid-table among Premier League coaches, finding an excuse 33.3 per cent of the time, leaving him 12th of 29 eligible managers.

One caveat — Liverpool only drew or lost nine domestic games this season, so the sample size is small. However, when The Athletic accounted for the 2020-21 season as well, in which Liverpool drew or lost 20 games, Klopp’s moan percentage only rises to 34.4 per cent.

He did, however, complain slightly more than City manager Pep Guardiola in the battle of the top two.

The top six blame game

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
4	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
5	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%
6	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
7	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
8	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%

​

Managers blame refereeing more than any other factors​

So, it’s clear which managers make the most excuses — but what exactly is it they blame?

The leading recipient is referees, with their decisions queried 67 times across the Premier League last season. It reached a zenith in early December, when a quarter of the league — David Moyes, Bruno Lage, Dean Smith, Eddie Howe, and Steven Gerrard — blamed the referee for their result in the 16th gameweek.

Smith, who began the season at Aston Villa, before being sacked and quickly rehired by Norwich, was the least impressed with standards, complaining about a refereeing decision on 11 occasions. Who knows whether Norwich might have avoided relegation if Smith’s view of decisions was correct…

Sean Dyche (six) and Brendan Rodgers (five) were the other managers to be notably frustrated with officiating.

The next most common reason, after refereeing, was managers blaming their players.

Of course, a manager can state his side has performed poorly without it being an excuse. Therefore, this category only addresses an attempt by a manager to absolve themselves of responsibility, whether that is by 1) claiming their squad had failed to follow instructions, or 2) pointing to an individual mistake which cost their side the game.

Particularly fond of this reason is Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard, who blamed his players in approximately half of his excuses. United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, quickly tiring of a difficult squad, also grew particularly fond of this mitigation, using it three times in the closing weeks of the season.

Also featuring highly are availability issues, with injury complaints comprising 12.3 per cent of excuses, and COVID-19 disruption at 4.3 per cent.

Luck, when a manager is really scraping the blame-dodging barrel, was cited 12 times, for a total of 7.4 per cent.

Winter is the season of discontent​

Another interesting facet thrown up by this research is that it charts the frustrations of managers throughout the season. When are they most laid back, happy to ride the Premier League’s fickle ocean, and when do they bullishly admonish any suggestion their work was in any way inferior?

In 2021-22, December was the unhappiest month, with each gameweek averaging six excuses. Of course, last year’s Premier League saw particular disruption in that month, with COVID-19 ravaging several fixtures, and the condensed schedule naturally leading to more injury absences.

Numbers rose again towards the end of the season, with pressure growing ever higher as the title, European qualification, and relegation were all at stake. Speaking of…

Top six more likely to complain than relegation-threatened sides​

Working off the basic assumption that a higher level of pressure makes managers more likely to reach for an excuse, this data could help indicate whether chasing titles or dodging relegation is more stressful.

Comparing the Premier League’s top six to their bottom six equivalents paints an interesting picture.

Managers of the top six sides are more likely to complain, remonstrating 38.8 per cent of the time after a loss or draw, compared to 34.7 per cent for the relegation candidates.

It seems the pressure of the job, as well as the situation, is reflected in their post-match judgement.

The awards​

Across the 2021-22 season, of 163 excuses, only three can make the podium.

3 Mikel Arteta, Southampton 1-0 Arsenal: “We’d have won if it was basketball”

2 Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham: “Tottenham played too defensively”

1 Graham Potter, Brighton 0-0 Norwich: “Our fans telling us to shoot was distracting”

Will there be even better to come in 2022-23?

The Athletic have expected excuses data, I'm actually dead. As many of us expected, Mikel is high up the list anyways.

 

[samspade]

Spoiler: 2

Tuchel makes more excuses than any other manager — with Arteta not far behind​

Chelsea might have flirted with a title challenge in the opening months of last season, and reached the final of both domestic cups — but Thomas Tuchel had the highest excuse ratio of any Premier League manager.

In 19 post-match interviews after a draw or defeat, Tuchel raised mitigating factors 11 times, giving him a moan percentage of 57.9 per cent.

Breaking this down, his favourite cause for complaint was COVID-19, which affected the squad on several occasions in December. He used this excuse three times.

He also blamed refereeing decisions (twice), luck (twice), individual players (twice), fatigue (once), and even the Stamford Bridge pitch after a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in April.

Most complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Daniel Farke	Norwich City	54.5%
4	Dean Smith	Aston Villa/Norwich City	48.4%
5	Rafa Benitez	Everton	46.7%
6	Frank Lampard	Everton	46.2%
7	Eddie Howe	Newcastle United	42.9%
8	David Moyes	West Ham United	41.7%
9	Sean Dyche	Burnley	40.7%
10	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
11	Steven Gerrard	Aston Villa	37.5%
12	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
13	Claudio Ranieri	Watford	33.3%
14	Ralph Hasenhuttl	Southampton	32.3%
15	Bruno Lage	Wolves	29.2%

Mikel Arteta, Tuchel’s counterpart that day, was narrowly behind the German, finishing the season with a moan percentage of 55.5 per cent.

His favoured target was refereeing decisions, which he brought up after games against Manchester City, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham Hotspur.

But his best excuse was saved for after the defeat to Southampton, where he bemoaned football’s scoring system, saying that if it was basketball, his side would have “won the game very comfortably”.

At the other end of the league table, Daniel Farke narrowly pipped his Norwich successor Dean Smith to the bronze medal position, finishing with a 54.5 per cent moan ratio, compared to Smith’s 48.4 per cent.

The 2021-22 top 10 is rounded out by Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard, Eddie Howe, David Moyes, Sean Dyche, and Ralf Rangnick.

Leeds most accepting of their fate — with Conte laying least blame of the Big Six​

Leeds United — purveyors of fair play and sportsmanship.

Jesse Marsch and Marcelo Bielsa blamed external factors less than any other managers last season — on just four occasions from 31 opportunities. They also never used refereeing as an excuse, with Brentford’s Thomas Frank the only other coach to achieve that accolade.

Not content with taking his job in February, Marsch narrowly pips Bielsa to the top spot, though the American does have a far smaller sample size. Bielsa, famously, refuses to ever criticise officials, though he did bemoan Leeds’ injury situation on three occasions.

Least complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
29	Jesse Marsch	Leeds United	12.5%
28	Marcelo Bielsa	Leeds United	13.0%
27	Thomas Frank	Brentford	14.8%
26	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%
25	Xisco Munoz	Watford	16.7%
23	Mike Jackson	Burnley	20.0%
24	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
22	Patrick Vieira	Crystal Palace	21.4%
21	Steve Bruce	Newcastle United	22.2%
20	Brendan Rodgers	Leicester City	23.1%
19	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
18	Graham Potter	Brighton & Hove Albion	25.9%
17	Roy Hodgson	Watford	26.7%
16	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%

Also featuring highly is Sp**s manager Antonio Conte, who has a moan percentage of only 15.4 per cent, comfortably below all his top-six counterparts.

His north London rival Arteta makes excuses at four times the rate that the Italian coach does.

Klopp has an unearned reputation​

Jurgen Klopp has — fairly or unfairly — built a reputation for blaming external factors after a Liverpool loss. The list of mitigation is entertaining, including the wind, the dryness of the pitch, TV broadcaster conspiracies, and Alisson’s cold feet.

But judging by the statistical analysis of this season alone, it is not an accurate depiction.

Is Jurgen Klopp unfairly treated? (Photo: Getty Images)

The Liverpool manager sits comfortably mid-table among Premier League coaches, finding an excuse 33.3 per cent of the time, leaving him 12th of 29 eligible managers.

One caveat — Liverpool only drew or lost nine domestic games this season, so the sample size is small. However, when The Athletic accounted for the 2020-21 season as well, in which Liverpool drew or lost 20 games, Klopp’s moan percentage only rises to 34.4 per cent.

He did, however, complain slightly more than City manager Pep Guardiola in the battle of the top two.

The top six blame game

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
4	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
5	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%
6	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
7	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
8	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%

​

Managers blame refereeing more than any other factors​

So, it’s clear which managers make the most excuses — but what exactly is it they blame?

The leading recipient is referees, with their decisions queried 67 times across the Premier League last season. It reached a zenith in early December, when a quarter of the league — David Moyes, Bruno Lage, Dean Smith, Eddie Howe, and Steven Gerrard — blamed the referee for their result in the 16th gameweek.

Smith, who began the season at Aston Villa, before being sacked and quickly rehired by Norwich, was the least impressed with standards, complaining about a refereeing decision on 11 occasions. Who knows whether Norwich might have avoided relegation if Smith’s view of decisions was correct…

Sean Dyche (six) and Brendan Rodgers (five) were the other managers to be notably frustrated with officiating.

The next most common reason, after refereeing, was managers blaming their players.

Of course, a manager can state his side has performed poorly without it being an excuse. Therefore, this category only addresses an attempt by a manager to absolve themselves of responsibility, whether that is by 1) claiming their squad had failed to follow instructions, or 2) pointing to an individual mistake which cost their side the game.

Particularly fond of this reason is Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard, who blamed his players in approximately half of his excuses. United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, quickly tiring of a difficult squad, also grew particularly fond of this mitigation, using it three times in the closing weeks of the season.

Also featuring highly are availability issues, with injury complaints comprising 12.3 per cent of excuses, and COVID-19 disruption at 4.3 per cent.

Luck, when a manager is really scraping the blame-dodging barrel, was cited 12 times, for a total of 7.4 per cent.

Winter is the season of discontent​

Another interesting facet thrown up by this research is that it charts the frustrations of managers throughout the season. When are they most laid back, happy to ride the Premier League’s fickle ocean, and when do they bullishly admonish any suggestion their work was in any way inferior?

In 2021-22, December was the unhappiest month, with each gameweek averaging six excuses. Of course, last year’s Premier League saw particular disruption in that month, with COVID-19 ravaging several fixtures, and the condensed schedule naturally leading to more injury absences.

Numbers rose again towards the end of the season, with pressure growing ever higher as the title, European qualification, and relegation were all at stake. Speaking of…

Top six more likely to complain than relegation-threatened sides​

Working off the basic assumption that a higher level of pressure makes managers more likely to reach for an excuse, this data could help indicate whether chasing titles or dodging relegation is more stressful.

Comparing the Premier League’s top six to their bottom six equivalents paints an interesting picture.

Managers of the top six sides are more likely to complain, remonstrating 38.8 per cent of the time after a loss or draw, compared to 34.7 per cent for the relegation candidates.

It seems the pressure of the job, as well as the situation, is reflected in their post-match judgement.

The awards​

Across the 2021-22 season, of 163 excuses, only three can make the podium.

3 Mikel Arteta, Southampton 1-0 Arsenal: “We’d have won if it was basketball”

2 Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham: “Tottenham played too defensively”

1 Graham Potter, Brighton 0-0 Norwich: “Our fans telling us to shoot was distracting”

Will there be even better to come in 2022-23?

The Athletic have expected excuses data, I'm actually dead. As many of us expected, Mikel is high up the list anyways.

I feel like Klopp just won’t have his players criticised, so if you get anywhere near that subject he shoots up the list.

 

[Macho]

I feel like Klopp just won’t have his players criticised, so if you get anywhere near that subject he shoots up the list.

It's tongue in cheek, but one observation which is reaffirmed to me is that most of the guys who complained the least are either comfortably at the top of the table or eventually got sacked. Looking at Nuno, Ole and Bielsa here.

 

[Makingtrax]

So Mikel’s a whinger. Tbf that basket ball excuse was quite funny.

 

[Farzad Stoned]

All or Nothing: Arsenal review – Mikel Arteta is like a supply teacher out of his depth | Arsenal | The Guardian

This documentary shows the manager striving to inspire his team during a mediocre season. But now the Lionesses have shown us football’s true meaning, do we really care?

amp.theguardian.com

Arteta out of his depth? You don’t say this is mister charisma lol

 

[Entropics]

Mikel Arteta, Tuchel’s counterpart that day, was narrowly behind the German, finishing the season with a moan percentage of 55.5 per cent.

Mikel Arteta, Southampton 1-0 Arsenal: “We’d have won if it was basketball”

My moanager

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Spoiler: 2

Tuchel makes more excuses than any other manager — with Arteta not far behind​

Chelsea might have flirted with a title challenge in the opening months of last season, and reached the final of both domestic cups — but Thomas Tuchel had the highest excuse ratio of any Premier League manager.

In 19 post-match interviews after a draw or defeat, Tuchel raised mitigating factors 11 times, giving him a moan percentage of 57.9 per cent.

Breaking this down, his favourite cause for complaint was COVID-19, which affected the squad on several occasions in December. He used this excuse three times.

He also blamed refereeing decisions (twice), luck (twice), individual players (twice), fatigue (once), and even the Stamford Bridge pitch after a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in April.

Most complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Daniel Farke	Norwich City	54.5%
4	Dean Smith	Aston Villa/Norwich City	48.4%
5	Rafa Benitez	Everton	46.7%
6	Frank Lampard	Everton	46.2%
7	Eddie Howe	Newcastle United	42.9%
8	David Moyes	West Ham United	41.7%
9	Sean Dyche	Burnley	40.7%
10	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
11	Steven Gerrard	Aston Villa	37.5%
12	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
13	Claudio Ranieri	Watford	33.3%
14	Ralph Hasenhuttl	Southampton	32.3%
15	Bruno Lage	Wolves	29.2%

Mikel Arteta, Tuchel’s counterpart that day, was narrowly behind the German, finishing the season with a moan percentage of 55.5 per cent.

His favoured target was refereeing decisions, which he brought up after games against Manchester City, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham Hotspur.

But his best excuse was saved for after the defeat to Southampton, where he bemoaned football’s scoring system, saying that if it was basketball, his side would have “won the game very comfortably”.

At the other end of the league table, Daniel Farke narrowly pipped his Norwich successor Dean Smith to the bronze medal position, finishing with a 54.5 per cent moan ratio, compared to Smith’s 48.4 per cent.

The 2021-22 top 10 is rounded out by Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard, Eddie Howe, David Moyes, Sean Dyche, and Ralf Rangnick.

Leeds most accepting of their fate — with Conte laying least blame of the Big Six​

Leeds United — purveyors of fair play and sportsmanship.

Jesse Marsch and Marcelo Bielsa blamed external factors less than any other managers last season — on just four occasions from 31 opportunities. They also never used refereeing as an excuse, with Brentford’s Thomas Frank the only other coach to achieve that accolade.

Not content with taking his job in February, Marsch narrowly pips Bielsa to the top spot, though the American does have a far smaller sample size. Bielsa, famously, refuses to ever criticise officials, though he did bemoan Leeds’ injury situation on three occasions.

Least complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
29	Jesse Marsch	Leeds United	12.5%
28	Marcelo Bielsa	Leeds United	13.0%
27	Thomas Frank	Brentford	14.8%
26	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%
25	Xisco Munoz	Watford	16.7%
23	Mike Jackson	Burnley	20.0%
24	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
22	Patrick Vieira	Crystal Palace	21.4%
21	Steve Bruce	Newcastle United	22.2%
20	Brendan Rodgers	Leicester City	23.1%
19	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
18	Graham Potter	Brighton & Hove Albion	25.9%
17	Roy Hodgson	Watford	26.7%
16	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%

Also featuring highly is Sp**s manager Antonio Conte, who has a moan percentage of only 15.4 per cent, comfortably below all his top-six counterparts.

His north London rival Arteta makes excuses at four times the rate that the Italian coach does.

Klopp has an unearned reputation​

Jurgen Klopp has — fairly or unfairly — built a reputation for blaming external factors after a Liverpool loss. The list of mitigation is entertaining, including the wind, the dryness of the pitch, TV broadcaster conspiracies, and Alisson’s cold feet.

But judging by the statistical analysis of this season alone, it is not an accurate depiction.

Is Jurgen Klopp unfairly treated? (Photo: Getty Images)

The Liverpool manager sits comfortably mid-table among Premier League coaches, finding an excuse 33.3 per cent of the time, leaving him 12th of 29 eligible managers.

One caveat — Liverpool only drew or lost nine domestic games this season, so the sample size is small. However, when The Athletic accounted for the 2020-21 season as well, in which Liverpool drew or lost 20 games, Klopp’s moan percentage only rises to 34.4 per cent.

He did, however, complain slightly more than City manager Pep Guardiola in the battle of the top two.

The top six blame game

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
4	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
5	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%
6	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
7	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
8	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%

​

Managers blame refereeing more than any other factors​

So, it’s clear which managers make the most excuses — but what exactly is it they blame?

The leading recipient is referees, with their decisions queried 67 times across the Premier League last season. It reached a zenith in early December, when a quarter of the league — David Moyes, Bruno Lage, Dean Smith, Eddie Howe, and Steven Gerrard — blamed the referee for their result in the 16th gameweek.

Smith, who began the season at Aston Villa, before being sacked and quickly rehired by Norwich, was the least impressed with standards, complaining about a refereeing decision on 11 occasions. Who knows whether Norwich might have avoided relegation if Smith’s view of decisions was correct…

Sean Dyche (six) and Brendan Rodgers (five) were the other managers to be notably frustrated with officiating.

The next most common reason, after refereeing, was managers blaming their players.

Of course, a manager can state his side has performed poorly without it being an excuse. Therefore, this category only addresses an attempt by a manager to absolve themselves of responsibility, whether that is by 1) claiming their squad had failed to follow instructions, or 2) pointing to an individual mistake which cost their side the game.

Particularly fond of this reason is Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard, who blamed his players in approximately half of his excuses. United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, quickly tiring of a difficult squad, also grew particularly fond of this mitigation, using it three times in the closing weeks of the season.

Also featuring highly are availability issues, with injury complaints comprising 12.3 per cent of excuses, and COVID-19 disruption at 4.3 per cent.

Luck, when a manager is really scraping the blame-dodging barrel, was cited 12 times, for a total of 7.4 per cent.

Winter is the season of discontent​

Another interesting facet thrown up by this research is that it charts the frustrations of managers throughout the season. When are they most laid back, happy to ride the Premier League’s fickle ocean, and when do they bullishly admonish any suggestion their work was in any way inferior?

In 2021-22, December was the unhappiest month, with each gameweek averaging six excuses. Of course, last year’s Premier League saw particular disruption in that month, with COVID-19 ravaging several fixtures, and the condensed schedule naturally leading to more injury absences.

Numbers rose again towards the end of the season, with pressure growing ever higher as the title, European qualification, and relegation were all at stake. Speaking of…

Top six more likely to complain than relegation-threatened sides​

Working off the basic assumption that a higher level of pressure makes managers more likely to reach for an excuse, this data could help indicate whether chasing titles or dodging relegation is more stressful.

Comparing the Premier League’s top six to their bottom six equivalents paints an interesting picture.

Managers of the top six sides are more likely to complain, remonstrating 38.8 per cent of the time after a loss or draw, compared to 34.7 per cent for the relegation candidates.

It seems the pressure of the job, as well as the situation, is reflected in their post-match judgement.

The awards​

Across the 2021-22 season, of 163 excuses, only three can make the podium.

3 Mikel Arteta, Southampton 1-0 Arsenal: “We’d have won if it was basketball”

2 Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham: “Tottenham played too defensively”

1 Graham Potter, Brighton 0-0 Norwich: “Our fans telling us to shoot was distracting”

Will there be even better to come in 2022-23?

The Athletic have expected excuses data, I'm actually dead. As many of us expected, Mikel is high up the list anyways.

And it filters through to his sexuals too, not one defeat last season was Mik's fault, there was always something.

 

[Macho]

And it filters through to his sexuals too, not one defeat last season was Mik's fault, there was always something.

and I see guys defending the Leno deal when there was no need to defend it

It definitely does filter through to the fans, I remember a few on here really buying into the ref stuff when a lot of us knew deep down it's more than that.

 

[2Smokeyy]

What’s the conversion for this xE rate? Makes a changes from the usual xS that will return eventually.

Hopefully Tuchel tops the xSacking list too.

 

[vantoure]

My manager when he's shutting all the haters

after coming 5th and exiting the Europa in the 1/4s

 

[Macho]

 

[Trilly]

Spoiler: 2

Tuchel makes more excuses than any other manager — with Arteta not far behind​

Chelsea might have flirted with a title challenge in the opening months of last season, and reached the final of both domestic cups — but Thomas Tuchel had the highest excuse ratio of any Premier League manager.

In 19 post-match interviews after a draw or defeat, Tuchel raised mitigating factors 11 times, giving him a moan percentage of 57.9 per cent.

Breaking this down, his favourite cause for complaint was COVID-19, which affected the squad on several occasions in December. He used this excuse three times.

He also blamed refereeing decisions (twice), luck (twice), individual players (twice), fatigue (once), and even the Stamford Bridge pitch after a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in April.

Most complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Daniel Farke	Norwich City	54.5%
4	Dean Smith	Aston Villa/Norwich City	48.4%
5	Rafa Benitez	Everton	46.7%
6	Frank Lampard	Everton	46.2%
7	Eddie Howe	Newcastle United	42.9%
8	David Moyes	West Ham United	41.7%
9	Sean Dyche	Burnley	40.7%
10	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
11	Steven Gerrard	Aston Villa	37.5%
12	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
13	Claudio Ranieri	Watford	33.3%
14	Ralph Hasenhuttl	Southampton	32.3%
15	Bruno Lage	Wolves	29.2%

Mikel Arteta, Tuchel’s counterpart that day, was narrowly behind the German, finishing the season with a moan percentage of 55.5 per cent.

His favoured target was refereeing decisions, which he brought up after games against Manchester City, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham Hotspur.

But his best excuse was saved for after the defeat to Southampton, where he bemoaned football’s scoring system, saying that if it was basketball, his side would have “won the game very comfortably”.

At the other end of the league table, Daniel Farke narrowly pipped his Norwich successor Dean Smith to the bronze medal position, finishing with a 54.5 per cent moan ratio, compared to Smith’s 48.4 per cent.

The 2021-22 top 10 is rounded out by Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard, Eddie Howe, David Moyes, Sean Dyche, and Ralf Rangnick.

Leeds most accepting of their fate — with Conte laying least blame of the Big Six​

Leeds United — purveyors of fair play and sportsmanship.

Jesse Marsch and Marcelo Bielsa blamed external factors less than any other managers last season — on just four occasions from 31 opportunities. They also never used refereeing as an excuse, with Brentford’s Thomas Frank the only other coach to achieve that accolade.

Not content with taking his job in February, Marsch narrowly pips Bielsa to the top spot, though the American does have a far smaller sample size. Bielsa, famously, refuses to ever criticise officials, though he did bemoan Leeds’ injury situation on three occasions.

Least complaining managers

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
29	Jesse Marsch	Leeds United	12.5%
28	Marcelo Bielsa	Leeds United	13.0%
27	Thomas Frank	Brentford	14.8%
26	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%
25	Xisco Munoz	Watford	16.7%
23	Mike Jackson	Burnley	20.0%
24	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
22	Patrick Vieira	Crystal Palace	21.4%
21	Steve Bruce	Newcastle United	22.2%
20	Brendan Rodgers	Leicester City	23.1%
19	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
18	Graham Potter	Brighton & Hove Albion	25.9%
17	Roy Hodgson	Watford	26.7%
16	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%

Also featuring highly is Sp**s manager Antonio Conte, who has a moan percentage of only 15.4 per cent, comfortably below all his top-six counterparts.

His north London rival Arteta makes excuses at four times the rate that the Italian coach does.

Klopp has an unearned reputation​

Jurgen Klopp has — fairly or unfairly — built a reputation for blaming external factors after a Liverpool loss. The list of mitigation is entertaining, including the wind, the dryness of the pitch, TV broadcaster conspiracies, and Alisson’s cold feet.

But judging by the statistical analysis of this season alone, it is not an accurate depiction.

Is Jurgen Klopp unfairly treated? (Photo: Getty Images)

The Liverpool manager sits comfortably mid-table among Premier League coaches, finding an excuse 33.3 per cent of the time, leaving him 12th of 29 eligible managers.

One caveat — Liverpool only drew or lost nine domestic games this season, so the sample size is small. However, when The Athletic accounted for the 2020-21 season as well, in which Liverpool drew or lost 20 games, Klopp’s moan percentage only rises to 34.4 per cent.

He did, however, complain slightly more than City manager Pep Guardiola in the battle of the top two.

The top six blame game

RANK	MANAGER	CLUB	BLAME PERCENTAGE
1	Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	57.9%
2	Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	55.5%
3	Ralf Rangnick	Manchester United	40.0%
4	Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool	33.3%
5	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	27.3%
6	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	Manchester United	25.0%
7	Nuno Espirito Santo	Tottenham Hotspur	20.0%
8	Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	15.4%

​

Managers blame refereeing more than any other factors​

So, it’s clear which managers make the most excuses — but what exactly is it they blame?

The leading recipient is referees, with their decisions queried 67 times across the Premier League last season. It reached a zenith in early December, when a quarter of the league — David Moyes, Bruno Lage, Dean Smith, Eddie Howe, and Steven Gerrard — blamed the referee for their result in the 16th gameweek.

Smith, who began the season at Aston Villa, before being sacked and quickly rehired by Norwich, was the least impressed with standards, complaining about a refereeing decision on 11 occasions. Who knows whether Norwich might have avoided relegation if Smith’s view of decisions was correct…

Sean Dyche (six) and Brendan Rodgers (five) were the other managers to be notably frustrated with officiating.

The next most common reason, after refereeing, was managers blaming their players.

Of course, a manager can state his side has performed poorly without it being an excuse. Therefore, this category only addresses an attempt by a manager to absolve themselves of responsibility, whether that is by 1) claiming their squad had failed to follow instructions, or 2) pointing to an individual mistake which cost their side the game.

Particularly fond of this reason is Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard, who blamed his players in approximately half of his excuses. United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, quickly tiring of a difficult squad, also grew particularly fond of this mitigation, using it three times in the closing weeks of the season.

Also featuring highly are availability issues, with injury complaints comprising 12.3 per cent of excuses, and COVID-19 disruption at 4.3 per cent.

Luck, when a manager is really scraping the blame-dodging barrel, was cited 12 times, for a total of 7.4 per cent.

Winter is the season of discontent​

Another interesting facet thrown up by this research is that it charts the frustrations of managers throughout the season. When are they most laid back, happy to ride the Premier League’s fickle ocean, and when do they bullishly admonish any suggestion their work was in any way inferior?

In 2021-22, December was the unhappiest month, with each gameweek averaging six excuses. Of course, last year’s Premier League saw particular disruption in that month, with COVID-19 ravaging several fixtures, and the condensed schedule naturally leading to more injury absences.

Numbers rose again towards the end of the season, with pressure growing ever higher as the title, European qualification, and relegation were all at stake. Speaking of…

Top six more likely to complain than relegation-threatened sides​

Working off the basic assumption that a higher level of pressure makes managers more likely to reach for an excuse, this data could help indicate whether chasing titles or dodging relegation is more stressful.

Comparing the Premier League’s top six to their bottom six equivalents paints an interesting picture.

Managers of the top six sides are more likely to complain, remonstrating 38.8 per cent of the time after a loss or draw, compared to 34.7 per cent for the relegation candidates.

It seems the pressure of the job, as well as the situation, is reflected in their post-match judgement.

The awards​

Across the 2021-22 season, of 163 excuses, only three can make the podium.

3 Mikel Arteta, Southampton 1-0 Arsenal: “We’d have won if it was basketball”

2 Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham: “Tottenham played too defensively”

1 Graham Potter, Brighton 0-0 Norwich: “Our fans telling us to shoot was distracting”

Will there be even better to come in 2022-23?

The Athletic have expected excuses data, I'm actually dead. As many of us expected, Mikel is high up the list anyways.

The top 3 excuses have killed me. I can’t believe Mikel and Potter’s

 

[Macho]

In theory, Arsenal would need one more £150 mil summer in order to reach the £400 mil+ mark which is what Liverpool and City spent to win their titles.

Would have been reached sooner if the sales were better and if some of the players were utilised a bit better. Essentially a slightly better pair than Arteta and Edu would have the team challenging with this kind of expenditure (in my opinion).

This article is biased, but it made me think of the above. Liverpool's net spend at the time they won their Premiership title was £90mil, but they had in actually spent 400 mil.

The £400m truth about Liverpool title win and how City really compare

A recent stat puts something of a spin on transfer spending but Jurgen Klopp could still beat Guardiola record with Liverpool

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

[Trilly]

View attachment 8263

I used to believe when he started out that he would be like Pep and just needed his players but with each setback I thought that less and less.

He’s got his whole team now and I’m actually, genuinely, seriously going to give him a clean slate for this season because that’s better for my mental health than being convinced he’s sh*t.

Although pre-season means nothing it’s the best one we’ve had in years so I’m just gonna try ride the positivity. I’m such a sucker.

 

[OnlyOne]

In theory, Arsenal would need one more £150 mil summer in order to reach the £400 mil+ mark which is what Liverpool and City spent to win their titles.

Would have been reached sooner if the sales were better and if some of the players were utilised a bit better. Essentially a slightly better pair than Arteta and Edu would have the team challenging with this kind of expenditure (in my opinion).

This article is biased, but it made me think of the above. Liverpool's net spend at the time they won their Premiership title was £90mil, but they had in actually spent 400 mil.

The £400m truth about Liverpool title win and how City really compare

A recent stat puts something of a spin on transfer spending but Jurgen Klopp could still beat Guardiola record with Liverpool

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Absolutely no one should care about net spend, means f all. Thank you.

 

[Macho]

Absolutely no one should care about net spend, means f all. Thank you.

hmmmm... That was kinda my whole point, once you hit the 400 mil mark you should really be challenging in my opinion.

Fam there's guys on here where English is like their 2nd or 3rd language and they do this forum ting better than you, have you realised that?

 

[Oxeki]

View attachment 8263

You have Dokaka arguing we're not better than Leicester.

 

[OnlyOne]

hmmmm... That was kinda my whole point, once you hit the 400 mil mark you should really be challenging in my opinion.

Fam there's guys on here where English is like their 2nd or 3rd language and they do this forum ting better than you, have you realised that?

You have literally no idea what my 1st, 2nd and 3rd language are you dickhead.