West Ham United have had 14 permanent managers since the Premier League began in 1992, with David Moyes judged the most successful and Nuno ranked 11th.
The total rises to 16 when caretaker spells are included. Trevor Brooking went unbeaten in 2003 but could not prevent relegation, while Kevin Keen’s only match in charge came eight years later, after the club’s fate had already been sealed.
Here is how the permanent appointments rank, from worst to best.
14. Avram Grant
Grant’s appointment ended in relegation, with West Ham collecting only one point from their final eight games. A serious injury to Thomas Hitzlsperger did not help, but several other signings, including Pablo Barrera, Tal Ben-Haim, Wayne Bridge and Robbie Keane, failed to make the required impact. Grant’s final match also saw Conor Sammon score the only Premier League goal of his career.
13. Graham Potter
Potter lasted only eight months. West Ham won six of his 25 matches, with the team criticised for passive possession and a lack of effort without the ball. He left in September 2025.
12. Julen Lopetegui
Lopetegui had reportedly prepared dossiers on the squad and tactics six months before replacing David Moyes in 2024. His tenure was undermined by an expensive, vulnerable defence, an ineffective attack and reliance on Aaron Wan-Bissaka for creativity. Six wins in 20 Premier League matches was not enough after significant summer spending.
11. Nuno
Nuno nearly kept West Ham up in 2026, but only began producing a competent team after allowing half the season to slip away. Three defeats in the final four games let Tottenham escape danger, while an uncertain start to the Championship campaign followed. His football rarely connected with supporters and he was dismissed.
10. Glenn Roeder
Roeder’s first season was encouraging, despite heavy defeats by Everton and Blackburn. He introduced Jermain Defoe, gave Joe Cole the captaincy and handed Glen Johnson his debut. But he later relegated one of West Ham’s most talented squads. Roeder died in February 2021 aged 65. David Sullivan and David Gold said: “We are both deeply saddened by the passing of Glenn, who was hugely respected and liked by everyone in the game.”
9. Trevor Brooking
The club legend returned West Ham to the Premier League and kept them there in 1993-94, although there was little else to distinguish that largely uneventful campaign.
8. Gianfranco Zola
Zola led West Ham to a top-half finish in 2008-09 while Jack Collison, James Tomkins and Freddie Sears all featured regularly. The following season was far worse, with 35 points leaving the club fortunate not to be relegated. He still earned credit for bringing Alessandro Diamanti to the club and overseeing an outstanding Premier League team goal.
7. Manuel Pellegrini
Pellegrini was hired to add glamour, and substantial sums were spent on players including Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller. Despite a promising beginning, the defining image of his reign became Roberto’s mistakes.
6. Alan Curbishley
Curbishley improved as his time progressed, recovering from defeats by Charlton and Reading to collect more points in the final nine games of 2006-07 than in the first 29. His full season brought a respectable mid-table finish and Freddie Sears’ goalscoring debut.
5. Alan Pardew
Pardew reached an FA Cup final and secured a top-half finish, but West Ham struggled the next season and he was sacked after a 4-0 defeat by Bolton. He also narrowly avoided failing to reach the 2004-05 play-offs before West Ham beat Preston 1-0.
4. Sam Allardyce
Allardyce returned West Ham to the Premier League and kept them there. The 2014-15 collapse was grim: after sitting fourth at Christmas, they won only three more games, against sides finishing 16th, 18th and 19th.
3. Slaven Bilic
Bilic’s 2015-16 side was one of the most enjoyable in the club’s recent history, with Dimitri Payet central to its success. Later seasons faded, particularly after the move to London Stadium, but that campaign created lasting optimism.
2. Harry Redknapp
Redknapp gradually lifted West Ham after promotion, culminating in fifth place in 1998-99. He also signed Paolo Di Canio and gave first-team debuts to Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Jermain Defoe.
1. David Moyes
Moyes twice kept West Ham in the Premier League, first in November 2017 and again in December 2019. He went on to deliver two top-seven finishes, three European campaigns and the club’s first major trophy in 43 years, secured in Prague.
