If the fundamental job in football management is literally managing the resources available, there's no bigger achievement than those who've won big despite having little to work with. It is a kind of sporting alchemy: The ability to transform base materials into silverware.
Managers can momentarily lift sides, but the key is to look at those who have actually won something. Who has done it best? Who has provided the greatest leaps, the most unimaginable transformations? We have crunched the numbers to find out.
1. Brian Clough and Nottingham Forest, 1977-80
The achievement: Going from the English second division in 1977, to the English title in 1978, and then the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.