The Evolution of Managerial Rivalries in the EFL
The English Football League has always been a battleground—not just for players, but for the managers who shape tactics, stir headlines, and fan the flames of competition from the touchline. While the Premier League attracts global attention, the EFL has been home to some of the fiercest and most personal managerial rivalries of the modern era. These aren’t corporate figures exchanging niceties—they’re driven personalities often scrapping for promotions, survival, and respect.
As the 21st century has unfolded, managerial spats in the EFL have evolved from handshake refusals and press conference digs into full-blown battles of philosophy, pride, and persona. Some are fuelled by geography, others by pure personality clashes, but each has added bite to the league’s story.
Historical Context and Influence on Modern Football
In the past, managerial rivalries were often defined by long-standing tenures—legends like Brian Clough and Alan Durban crossing paths in the old Second Division. Today, the stakes are no less intense, but the pressure-cooker nature of modern football adds a different edge. With shorter contracts and higher expectations, clashes can flare up quickly and explode in public.
What makes the EFL unique is that these rivalries aren’t waged under the Premier League spotlight—they’re grittier, more localised, and often steeped in long-standing footballing grudges. These managers often represent not just their clubs but entire communities, making every confrontation a matter of pride as much as points.
Unique Characteristics of EFL Rivalries
Unlike top-tier football, where media polish can often dull rivalries, the EFL still breeds managers who wear their emotions on their sleeves. Whether it’s a long-running feud between touchline hotheads or a clash of footballing ideologies, these rivalries are raw, relatable, and often deeply personal.
Some are marked by geographical needle, like a derby clash fought out through the managers’ contrasting personalities. Others are formed through repeat play-off battles, with one boss denying another glory. Then there are the ones forged in post-match interviews—quotes that spark years of resentment. These aren’t pantomimes—they’re real tensions, shaped by ambition, stubbornness, and the unique, unforgiving pressure cooker of the EFL.
Top Managerial Rivalries That Defined the EFL
Neil Warnock vs Gary Megson
What began as professional tension between two temperamental managers exploded into one of the fiercest rivalries of the 21st-century EFL—the infamous showdown during the “Battle of Bramall Lane” in March 2002. Neil Warnock’s Sheffield United were hosting Gary Megson’s West Bromwich Albion when a series of red cards, injuries, and aggressive confrontations ripped through the match, resulting in the first professional game ever abandoned for lack of players.
Daylight came in the aftermath. Megson accused Warnock of orchestrating player injuries to force abandonment, calling it “disgraceful” and hinting at gamesmanship across the dugout. Warnock, in turn, defended his integrity and swiped back with trademark barbs—flatly denying his ex-forest counterpart’s claims. The FA fined Sheffield United £10,000, Warnock was fined, and both men traded insults in the press, forever tarnishing football’s highest-stakes fixture.
This wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan clash—it was a full-on collision of personalities, tactics, and pressure. Every meeting afterward felt charged, as if both men believed absolute victory was the only ticket back to respect. That tunnel scuffle left a legacy: this rivalry burned with legendary intensity—and still smolders in EFL history.
Neil Warnock vs Stan Ternent
Warnock again, shockingly. He could have been on this list more times that two, but it’s only fair to give others a chance.
When it comes to combustible managerial rivalries, few compare to the infamous feud between Warnock and Stan Ternent. The tension reached boiling point during a fiery Championship encounter between Sheffield United and Burnley in 2001, where Ternent accused Warnock of sending a spy to eavesdrop on his team talk. What followed was chaos—an ugly confrontation in the tunnel involving Warnock’s assistant Kevin Blackwell and Ternent that turned physical.
Warnock, never one to mince words, recalled the event vividly in his autobiography: “I had always known Stan Ternent was a d***head… He launched himself at Blackie and butted him. Blackwell swung a right hook and smacked him on the nose.” Ternent, for his part, told a different version in his own book, claiming he got the better of the scuffle. The incident wasn’t just handbags—it was emblematic of two bullish personalities refusing to give an inch.
This was more than just a clash of managers—it was a war of egos, fuelled by pressure, pride, and personalities too large to co-exist. In the tribal world of the EFL, it remains one of the most explosive rivalries of the modern era.
Derek Adams vs Gareth Ainsworth
One of the most overlooked but deeply antagonistic rivalries in recent EFL history came between Derek Adams and Gareth Ainsworth. Their feud peaked during a fiery League Two clash in February 2016, when Ainsworth’s Wycombe Wanderers left Home Park with a 1–0 win over Adams’ Plymouth Argyle. But the real drama came after the final whistle.
Ainsworth refused to shake hands with Adams, igniting a war of words in the media. Adams slammed Wycombe’s tactics as time-wasting and cynical, accusing them of feigning injuries to disrupt the flow of the game. He told BBC Radio Devon, “That’s not what people come to pay their money for,” labelling the performance “disrespectful” and contrary to the values of English football. Tensions had been simmering all game and boiled over post-match with a scuffle between players, setting the tone for future fixtures between the clubs.
What makes this rivalry stand out is how much it revealed about both managers: Adams’ meticulous control and sense of decorum versus Ainsworth’s unapologetic, results-first pragmatism. Their contrasting styles made each encounter charged and unpredictable, creating one of the more combustible modern-day managerial grudges in League Two.
Steve Evans vs Danny Cowley
In the world of EFL managerial feuds, few rivalries have simmered with such visible contempt as the ongoing tension between Steve Evans and Danny Cowley. Their clashes—spanning Lincoln, Mansfield, Gillingham and Portsmouth—have rarely passed without incident, often ending in handshakes refused, words exchanged, and dugouts on edge.
It began during Cowley’s time at Lincoln, when Evans, then in charge at Mansfield, accused the Imps of “gamesmanship” and was later involved in a post-match spat that saw Cowley sent to the stands—after Evans claimed the Lincoln boss had flicked water at him during a heated exchange. Reports suggest Evans used industrial language and stormed towards the Lincoln technical area, prompting complaints and confusion that lingered long after full time.
The feud reignited in 2021 during a fiery League One encounter between Cowley’s Portsmouth and Evans’ Gillingham. Cowley was booked for over-celebrating a late winner, Evans refused to shake hands post-match, and labelled Pompey’s bench celebrations “World Cup stuff”. Cowley later said, “Steve is just quite an unreasonable man when he loses.”
This rivalry has everything the EFL specialises in—touchline drama, personality clashes, tactical needle, and two managers utterly unwilling to let things lie.
Marcelo Bielsa vs Frank Lampard
Few EFL rivalries have captured national attention quite like Marcelo Bielsa versus Frank Lampard during the 2018–19 Championship season. At first glance, it was a mismatch—Bielsa, the revered tactical mastermind of Leeds United, against Lampard, the high-profile managerial rookie at Derby County. But the feud that followed, fuelled by the now-infamous Spygate incident, made it one of the most dramatic managerial storylines in recent memory.
The controversy erupted when a Leeds staff member was caught observing a closed Derby training session from a public footpath. Lampard accused Bielsa of unsporting behaviour, and the incident dominated headlines for weeks. In response, Bielsa held an extraordinary press conference where he detailed his exhaustive pre-match preparation—and admitted to monitoring multiple opposition sessions in the past. The EFL fined Leeds £200,000, but the damage was already done.
On the pitch, Leeds beat Derby three times that season before the Rams stunned them in the play-off semi-finals with a memorable 4–2 win at Elland Road. Lampard celebrated wildly, pointing to his head in a gesture clearly aimed at Bielsa.
This was more than a tactical duel—it was a battle of ideology, ethics, and ego. And in true EFL fashion, it all ended in heartbreak and drama under the lights.
The Impact of Managerial Rivalries on EFL’s Popularity
How Rivalries Boost Viewership and Attendance
Managerial rivalries are more than touchline tension—they’re ticket-sellers, headline-makers, and drama-generators. In the EFL, where clubs fight for every inch of exposure against the Premier League’s global dominance, fiery rivalries between bosses often become key marketing tools. Fans don’t just turn up for the match—they turn up for the subplot.
When personalities like Neil Warnock, Steve Evans, or Marcelo Bielsa are involved, interest spikes. Fans want to see how the handshake (or lack of it) plays out, whether comments made midweek will carry over, and if long-running grudges will finally boil over. Matches with added managerial needle routinely draw higher crowds and media coverage, with supporters embracing the theatre of it all. These rivalries turn fixtures into events—raising stakes, raising tempers, and raising gates.
Rivalries’ Role in Shaping EFL’s Brand Identity
The EFL’s identity has always been shaped by authenticity, regional pride, and unfiltered emotion. Managerial rivalries play perfectly into that. While the Premier League may deliver elite football, the EFL delivers character—raw, uncut, and unapologetically passionate.
Managers in the EFL are often closer to their communities, more vocal in the press, and more involved in every detail of club life. Their conflicts often feel personal because they are. From post-match digs to tunnel bust-ups, these moments become part of the league’s folklore. Rivalries don’t just boost interest—they embody what makes the EFL unique: grit, edge, and a refusal to be sanitised.
Emerging Managerial Rivalries in the EFL
Potential Future Rivalries to Watch
Liam Manning is not a manager usually involved in touchline clashes, but his return to Bristol City could be tasty. Gerhard Struber is going to be under pressure there, and there is potential for some fireworks, but perhaps muted, 21st-century polite fireworks. We’re unlikely to see Warnock-style clashes on the touchline.
Richie Wellens and Gary Caldwell are two fiery characters who like to butt heads, and they could clash. Keep an eye on Exeter City and Lincoln City as well – in games between the two, Caldwell and David Perkins were shown red cards last season, and the Scot wasn’t happy at both. Michael Skubala isn’t one to clash with other managers, but you just never know.
Grant McCann is well known for swapping roles with Darren Ferguson – both have managed Peterborough multiple times, and both have managed Doncaster Rovers. McCann returns to London Road with Doncaster this season, and that promises to be hectic – that is, if both managers are still in post by then. Who knows, McCann might even be at Peterborough and Ferguson at the Keepmoat!
Young Managers Making Their Mark
The EFL is a breeding ground for future Premier League tacticians, and several young managers are already carving out reputations. Richie Wellens, Michael Skubala, and Steven Schumacher have all earned respect for their tactical approach and leadership.
With modern media coverage, even small flare-ups can snowball into headline feuds—especially when fuelled by repeated encounters in play-offs or local derbies. As these managers climb the ladder, rivalries will follow. And in the EFL, that tension isn’t just tolerated—it’s celebrated.
