League Managers Association Awards


The League Managers Association Awards is an annual award ceremony in English football, awarded by the League Managers Association. The most prestigious award is the LMA Manager of the Year award. It is presented to a manager from any division for his achievements in the prior season. The award is voted by fellow professional managers and as a result consideration is also given to managers who inherit poor sides or financial difficulties and not only those managers who do not have such financial constraints and have won trophies. On only five occasions has the Premier League winning manager won the award compared with the Premier League Manager of the Year award which has been won on all but four occasions by the league champion. Trophies for the event are hand-crafted by silversmith Thomas Lyte, which also makes trophies for the LG Performance of the Week Award throughout the league season.

LMA Manager of the Year

The LMA Manager of the Year Award is voted by fellow managers and the winner can come from any of the four professional leagues. To date only six have come from outside the Premier League: 1996 winner Peter Reid, who led Sunderland to the Division One title; 1997 winner Danny Wilson, who guided Barnsley into the Premier League; 2000 winner Alan Curbishley who led Charlton to the Division One title; 2006 winner Steve Coppell, who led Reading to win the Championship; 2015 winner Eddie Howe, who guided Bournemouth into the Premier League; and 2019 winner Chris Wilder, who took Sheffield United up from the Championship.
YearManagerNationalityClubRef
1993Manchester United
1994Wimbledon
1995Nottingham Forest
1996Sunderland
1997Barnsley
1998Southampton
1999Manchester United
2000Charlton Athletic
2001Ipswich Town
2002Arsenal
2003Everton
2004Arsenal
2005Everton
2006Reading
2007Reading
2008Manchester United
2009Everton
2010Fulham
2011Manchester United
2012Newcastle United
2013Manchester United
2014Liverpool
2015Bournemouth
2016Leicester City
2017Chelsea
2018Manchester City
2019Sheffield United
2020Liverpool

Breakdown of winners

Winners by individual

Winners by nationality

Divisional Award Winners

The divisional award winners are voted by a panel.

FA Cup Manager of the Year

YearManagerNationalityClubRef
2012Chelsea
2013Wigan Athletic
2014Sheffield United
2015Bradford City

Winners by individual

The following managers have won two or more awards.
Manager NameTotal WinsLMA Manager of the YearPremier League
/ Premiership		Championship
/ Division One		League One
/ Division Two		League Two
/ Division Three		FA Cup
15511
532
523
41111
321
312
33
33
211
211
211
211
211
211
211
211
211
211
22
211
211
22
211
211
211

Wins by country

Special Merit Award

Also referred to as Service to Football Award.
YearNationalityNameNotes
2002
2004Service to youth coaching.
2006Champions League win in first season at Liverpool.
2007Long service to Crewe Alexandra.
2009Champions League win, Club World Cup win and third league title in a row.
2010Winning the Eredivisie with FC Twente, their first championship in their 45-year history.
2011Surpassing 2,000 competitive games and becoming Manchester United's longest serving manager.
2012
2013
2013Taking Bradford to League Two play-off promotion and the League Cup Final.