The big boys occupy the top three spots in our list of the best Premier League managerial performances of the 2018 calendar year.
But you might be surprised at both their order and the men who rivaled each other for fourth and fifth.
And Nuno Espirito Santo, we still almost plugged you into the mix despite a half-year in the league.
5. (tie) Claude Puel, Leicester City (37 matches, 48 points) and Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace (37 matches, 44 points) -- Two men who did very different jobs in 2018.
Hodgson was just above the relegation zone, and led Palace well up the table through the power of Wilfried Zaha. The Eagles, however, have been less inspiring in the first half of this season.
Puel, on the other hand, didn’t do much at all with his Foxes after riding into 2018 in eighth place (They finished in ninth). But the oft-maligned manager has kept Leicester cool despite the departure of Riyad Mahrez and, more saliently, the horrible helicopter crash which claimed the life of Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others.
4. Eddie Howe, Bournemouth (37 matches, 50 points) -- Put aside the Cherries’ recent and mighty struggles against any decent opponent, Bournemouth entered 2018 in the drop zone and finished 12th. That was 11 points clear of the drop zone. They are 11 points clear of the drop entering 2019, and Howe remains one of the most talked-about, “Would he leave for (Bigger Team X)?” managers in the game.
3. Pep Guardiola, Manchester City (37 matches, 88 points) -- City’s second half of the season completed a record-smashing title campaign with all the accompanying pressure.
2. Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool (37 matches, 88 points) -- The tiebreaker? Klopp’s Reds went 3W-1D against Guardiola’s Citizens in 2018.
- Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham Hotspur (38 matches, 85 points) -- City spent about $160m from Jan. 2018 to date; Liverpool spent about $298m; Spurs spent just under $33 million, and their wage bill was sixth in the Premier League.