Anthony Richard "Tony" Pulis (born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer currently managing Stoke City. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at the age of 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one of the youngest professional players ever to have obtained the qualification. His son, Anthony, is a professional footballer and played under Pulis at Stoke. Pulis had a seventeen year career as a defender where he played for Bristol Rovers, Newport County, Bournemouth and Gillingham. He did also have a short spell in Hong Kong with Happy Valley.

Pulis took his first steps into management at Bournemouth, where he was a player/coach and then Harry Redknapp's assistant. He then took control when Redknapp left the club. He then went on to Gillingham before leaving in 1999 after a dispute with chairman Paul Scally. Pulis then had unsuccessful spells at Bristol City and Portsmouth before being appointed manager of Stoke City in 2002. He guided Stoke through a tough 2002–03 season avoiding relegation to Division Two on the final day of the season. He spent two more seasons with Stoke before being sacked by Stoke's Icelandic board for 'failing to exploit the foreign market'. He spent the 2005–06 season at Plymouth Argyle before returning to Stoke along with Peter Coates. After narrowly missing out on a play-off spot in the 2006–07 season he guided Stoke City to the Premier League in the 2007–08 season by finishing runners-up in the Football League Championship.

Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English football manager and former player. He became the manager of Blackpool in May 2009, and has guided the club to The Championship play-offs in both of their seasons in the division during his tenure, the first resulting in promotion to the Premier League. Holloway is well-known amongst football fans for his off-the-wall interviews, with a wide selection of quotes and soundbites being printed. Holloway's playing career spanned 18 years from 1981 to 1999. A midfielder, he began his career at hometown club Bristol Rovers in 1981, going on to play for Wimbledon, Brentford, Torquay United (on loan), back to Bristol Rovers for a second spell, Queens Park Rangers and, finally, a third spell back at Bristol Rovers, where he became player-manager before ending his playing career in 1999. Before his current job as Blackpool manager, he had also previously managed QPR, Plymouth Argyle and Leicester City. He is known by the nickname "Ollie", which is also the title of his autobiography.

Peter Coates (born 13 January 1938) is a businessman and current owner of the Stoke City Football Club. He has been listed as the 25th richest person in British football. He founded Bet365 in 2000, as well as Signal Radio in 1983.

Peter Coates was born in Goldenhill, Stoke-on-Trent, the youngest of 14 children. His father was a miner and had a keen interest in football, where they regularly attended Stoke City's Victoria Ground. Coates signed for the club on amateur terms in the 1950s, but admitted he was "not quite good enough" to make it as a professional, instead he went on to play for local non-league sides Goldenhill Wanderers and Kidsgrove Athletic, he stopped playing football at the age of 23.

Coates left school at age fourteen to work in an office. He served in the Parachute Regiment for his National Service. Out of the service he rose to become a regional manager at Wimpy restaurants, before founding Stadia Catering - a catering firm specializing in servicing football grounds. His company merged with Lindley Catering, and he was the company's chair from 1968 to 2001. He also founded Signal 1 in 1983.

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish football manager and former player who has managed Manchester United since 1986. His tenure has seen the club go through an era of success and dominance both in England and in Europe, giving Ferguson a reputation as one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game.

Ferguson previously managed East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren, before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen. After a brief stint as manager of the Scotland national team following the death of Jock Stein, he was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986.

With 25 years as manager of Manchester United, he is the longest serving manager in their history after overtaking Sir Matt Busby's record on 19 December 2010. His tenure is also the longest of all the current League managers. During this time, Ferguson has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. In 2008, he became the third British manager to win the European Cup on more than one occasion.

Crystal Palace Football Club is an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where it has been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship. Crystal Palace was formed in 1905 by workers at The Crystal Palace. The club reached the top division of English Football in 1969–70, and its first major final was in 1990. It was relegated from the top division in 1973 and once again in the following season. That left the club playing in the third tier of English football for the 1974–75 season, before being promoted back to the top level by 1979–80.

Crystal Palace's most recent successful period began in 1988–89, when the club finished third in the Second Division and was promoted to the First Division. It reached the 1990 FA Cup Final only to lose the replay against Manchester United, and finished 3rd in the First Division in 1990–91. Palace was a founding member of the FA Premier League (1992–93) but was relegated that season. Since then Palace has been relegated from and promoted to the FA Premier League on 4 separate occasions. Its most recent relegation from the top flight was in the 2004–05 season.