How Premier League managers fared in the fashion stakes: Designer suits and comfy casuals

The Premier League is back and so too are swathes of black leather-uppered, white-soled trainers pacing technical areas across the country.

After managers had suited up for the opening day of the season by slipping on their favourite footwear, casual viewers of late-night highlight shows were jerked awake on their sofas by an alarming sight — and it was not Erling Haaland getting off to a flying start with two goals on his league debut.

Instead, it was Bournemouth manager Scott Parker’s latest fashion statement, as he oversaw a 2-0 win against Aston Villa in an eye-catching, light grey suit jacket with four white stripes on the sleeve coupled with an… interesting tie featuring a kite.

Usually one for a well-put-together look, this was one of Parker’s most divisive efforts since his cardigan days at Fulham, especially with his Thom Browne-designed blazer retailing at an eye-watering £1,650.

Bournemouth manager Parker’s caught the eye with his luxury blazer (Photo: Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Maybe it was a cry for help after Parker warned his side were “lacking in a lot of areas” ahead of their top-flight return earlier in the week, but their impressive opening-day result would suggest otherwise. Whatever the reasoning, we hope he kept the receipt.

But what about the looks sported by the other 19 Premier League managers? Let’s review the fashion winners and losers from the opening day…

The suit squad

Good, classic fashion is not a guarantee of success if last weekend’s results are any measure for the cool suit-wearing group of Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers, Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard, Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhuttl and Crystal Palace’s Patrick Vieira.

Leicester were the best of this unfortunate bunch with a draw at home to Brentford as Rodgers sported a classic dark blue suit with matching tie.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers kept things simple with a dark blue suit – with a Burberry belt providing a touch of flair (Photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

A little unoriginal, maybe, but inoffensive and less of an earnest club captain feel than Gerrard’s suit which included a claret and blue club tie.

The club-colours tie and suit duo might now be the managerial equivalent of your club’s reliable stalwart wearing his shirt tucked into shorts with his socks pulled up just below the knee (but no higher or lower) over sensibly sized shin pads. Even Sir Alex Ferguson, once again casting an eye and the longest of shadows over a new manager at Old Trafford this weekend, had binned this look. Someone alert the LMA — this classic could be dying out.

Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard: a proud wearer of club colours (Photo: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

If club colours are the old guard then Vieira, with an all-navy affair and no tie, and Hasehuttl’s trademark trendy waistcoat appear to be the future. Southampton’s manager may well have the best-dressed award in the Premier League wrapped up early, in fact. If only his team looked half as good as he did. Sigh.

The casual contingent

A new era is here and there is nothing we can do to stop the casuals from overrunning the football heritage of managers falling into “suit” or “tracksuit” categories. This T-shirt-wearing, polo-top sporting gang are here to stay if their collective four wins and a draw tell us anything.

First up are the hybrid duo of Graham Potter and Erik ten Hag, both at Old Trafford at the weekend. The Brighton manager sported a casual polo top under a blazer while Ten Hag wore a T-shirt featuring some tasteful detail in red and black. A nice effort from both befitting their current standing as managers making waves in English football (or attempting to, in the case of Ten Hag) and far cooler than the efforts of Frank Lampard and Steve Cooper who, in an unbuttoned grey polo and a zip-up sweater respectively, gave off serious “dad trying to make an effort” vibes.

Everton manager Frank Lampard strode into ‘dadcore’ territory (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

At the other end of the spectrum were Marco Silva, Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte in fairly similar gear to Lampard and Cooper, but much, much more dashing. Maybe it is the European styling of Conte’s fitted blue polo or the fact that Arteta’s black long-sleeved number coupled with his pristine hair and pensive, chin-clutching gaze makes him look less world-weary than the two men from Romford and Pontypridd.

Even in balmy weather, Silva’s plain black T-shirt was the most casual of the lot but maybe it is safer at his fourth English club that he avoids branded gear for fear of picking out an old Hull City jacket without realising that he has to lead a team out at Craven Cottage.

Marco Silva: back in black (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Two men unmistakeably on-brand for their clubs complete the set in Leeds’ Jesse Marsch and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, both of whom fell into the “are they managers or could they be in the away end?” category. Marsch’s knitted grey jumper was Stone Island-esque while Guardiola actually wears the Italian brand’s clothes on a regular basis, much like most of the male contingent of any away crowd.

PEP 💬 Yeah it was an excellent performance. What we did not do against Liverpool in terms of being competitive, we did it today. #ManCity pic.twitter.com/6TwzWCht9A

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 7, 2022

The tracksuit brigade

Ah, back to the “proper football men”. Nothing screams head coach like a full club tracksuit these days and let’s face it, you can’t go wrong with a head-to-toe effort worth a total of £349.99 if you bought it all from the club shop.

The elite candidates for this, of course, are Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, with Wolves boss Bruno Lage highly commended but still possessing just too much hair to require a club-branded cap to finish the look.

Talking of hats, let us doff one to casual king David Moyes who, at 59, is now the oldest manager in the Premier League and was showing it in his ill-fitting West Ham training top that looked like it had been fished out of the ironing pile, and then thrown on with minimal thought. This is a man with no time or interest for anything other than a practical solution to his match-day needs — and good on him.

West Ham manager David Moyes – keeping it casual in club merchandise (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Rounding out this group were Brentford’s Thomas Frank, looking suave in a nicely cut blue Brentford polo, and Eddie Howe — all three buttons done up on his Newcastle polo as he stood with arms crossed on the touchline at St James’ Park. Some seven years on from first appearing in the Premier League as Bournemouth manager, the fact that Howe’s match day look still channels major “PE teacher who all the girls had a crush on” vibes is impressive.

Fashion winner of the weekend — Ian Wright

He may not be a manager but whether intentional or a sublime act of coincidence, Ian Wright continued his effortless run at answering back to Alan Sugar’s nonsense on Twitter this summer by wearing a glorious hot pink long-sleeved top for his stint on Match of the Day on Saturday.

Come on over, Valery 😂@alanshearer with the big lyrics 😆#MOTD pic.twitter.com/kkuia1p9ic

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 7, 2022

Last month, he answered Sugar’s eye-roll-inducing question on the balance of male and female pundits working on coverage of the Women’s European Championship with a sizzling video put-down.

This time, the 113–goal former Premier League striker’s shirt did the talking after the former Tottenham owner took to Twitter to ponder whether Wright would have worn Arsenal’s pink away strip.

Wrighty is a national treasure.

(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Sam Richardson)