Coach DNA
Playing style
balanced profile
Style consistency
More consistent than 46% of multi-club coaches
Club record
League results at each club since 2016, next to the same club under other coaches.
Blackburn
Mar 2025 – Feb 2026 · 44 matches
1.09 points per game in Championship (43 matches).
Blackburn with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.34 (163 matches, 6 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −59 below the league average under him, −18 under the others.
Most used
- Y. Ohashi3,226' · Elo 1,874
- S. Tronstad3,072' · Elo 1,909
- S. McLoughlin2,591' · Elo 1,944
- T. Cantwell2,399' · Elo 1,942
- L. Miller2,249' · Elo 1,935
- B. Tóth2,189' · Elo 2,084
- R. Hedges2,135' · Elo 1,812
- R. Alebiosu1,959' · Elo 1,943
- Yuri Ribeiro1,859' · Elo 1,795
- A. Pears1,721' · Elo 1,841
Watford
Aug 2023 – Mar 2024 · 41 matches
1.22 points per game in Championship (37 matches).
Watford with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.44 (200 matches, 11 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −2 below the league average under him, +16 under the others.
Most used
- W. Hoedt3,697' · Elo 1,922
- R. Porteous2,497' · Elo 2,120
- I. Koné2,342' · Elo 2,119
- J. Lewis2,334' · Elo 1,856
- J. Livermore2,188' · Elo 1,556
- Y. Asprilla2,158' · Elo 1,973
- R. Andrews2,070' · Elo 1,809
- K. Sema2,060' · Elo 1,650
- T. Dele-Bashiru2,018' · Elo 1,831
- Matheus Martins1,982' · Elo 1,967
Beşiktaş
Apr 2022 – Oct 2022 · 19 matches
1.68 points per game in Süper Lig (19 matches).
Beşiktaş with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.82 (218 matches, 10 coaches).
Line-up Elo: +94 above the league average under him, +153 under the others.
Most used
- V. Rosier1,391' · Elo 1,985
- E. Destanoğlu1,350' · Elo 2,177
- W. Weghorst976' · Elo 1,982
- Souza964' · Elo 1,409
- A. Masuaku955' · Elo 1,990
- G. Nkoudou894' · Elo 1,816
- R. Ghezzal870' · Elo 1,699
- Javi Montero847' · Elo 1,847
- N. Uysal786' · Elo 1,711
- Gedson Fernandes757' · Elo 2,041
West Brom
Aug 2021 – Jan 2022 · 31 matches
1.55 points per game in Championship (29 matches).
West Brom with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.60 (232 matches, 8 coaches).
Line-up Elo: +100 above the league average under him, +69 under the others.
Most used
- C. Townsend2,640' · Elo 1,801
- K. Bartley2,491' · Elo 1,860
- D. Furlong2,434' · Elo 2,121
- K. Ahearne-Grant2,293' · Elo 1,888
- J. Livermore2,178' · Elo 1,556
- S. Johnstone2,160' · Elo 1,957
- A. Mowatt1,823' · Elo 1,824
- C. Robinson1,669' · Elo 1,779
- M. Clarke1,536' · Elo 2,004
- M. Phillips1,392' · Elo 1,555
Barnsley
Oct 2020 – May 2021 · 45 matches
1.81 points per game in Championship (42 matches).
Barnsley with other coaches, ±3 years: 0.84 (132 matches, 9 coaches).
Line-up Elo: +71 above the league average under him, −109 under the others.
Most used
- M. Andersen4,054' · Elo 1,927
- C. Brittain3,890' · Elo 2,124
- M. Helik3,848' · Elo 1,903
- A. Mowatt3,737' · Elo 1,824
- C. Styles3,551' · Elo 2,064
- C. Woodrow3,277' · Elo 1,767
- M. Sollbauer2,497' · Elo 1,548
- B. Collins2,344' · Elo 1,790
- D. Frieser2,030' · Elo 1,556
- C. Chaplin1,990' · Elo 1,865
Lask Linz
Jul 2019 – Aug 2020 · 46 matches
2.00 points per game in Bundesliga (32 matches).
Lask Linz with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.60 (165 matches, 4 coaches).
Line-up Elo: +217 above the league average under him, +106 under the others.
Most used
- A. Schlager4,155' · Elo 1,877
- P. Michorl3,870' · Elo 1,783
- R. Ranftl3,759' · Elo 1,689
- J. Holland3,698' · Elo 1,578
- G. Trauner3,611' · Elo 2,148
- P. Wiesinger3,482' · Elo 1,784
- D. Frieser2,972' · Elo 1,556
- R. Renner2,678' · Elo 1,615
- João Klauss2,306' · Elo 1,857
- P. Filipović2,194' · Elo 1,435
VfL Wolfsburg
Oct 2016 – Feb 2017 · 17 matches
1.07 points per game in Bundesliga (15 matches).
VfL Wolfsburg with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.30 (110 matches, 5 coaches).
Line-up Elo: 0 above the league average under him, −13 under the others.
Most used
- Y. Gerhardt1,449' · Elo 1,881
- R. Rodríguez1,440' · Elo 2,228
- Luiz Gustavo1,379' · Elo 1,732
- M. Gómez1,363' · Elo 1,337
- D. Benaglio1,350' · Elo 1,453
- M. Arnold1,225' · Elo 1,899
- P. Seguin1,201' · Elo 1,905
- J. Bruma1,103' · Elo 1,434
- D. Caligiuri833' · Elo 1,443
- J. Guilavogui685' · Elo 1,357
Players under Valérien Alexandre Ismaël
Total Elo change of his own players in his matches.
Rose most
- C. Brittain+442
in 51 matches · Blackburn
- R. Palmer+389
in 36 matches · Barnsley
- M. Helik+361
in 43 matches · Barnsley
- C. Styles+358
in 43 matches · Barnsley
- T. Sibbick+340
in 26 matches · Barnsley
Fell most
- M. Gómez−102
in 17 matches · VfL Wolfsburg
- L. Miller−88
in 29 matches · Blackburn
- I. Koné−84
in 37 matches · Watford
- S. Tronstad−81
in 38 matches · Blackburn
- K. Sema−73
in 29 matches · Watford
Opponents
Their Elo change in matches against his teams (at least 3 meetings).
Favourite opponents
−68L. Dykes1919
in 7 matches · Birmingham
−50J. Vestergaard1960
in 3 matches · Leicester
−45D. Batth1573
in 4 matches · Derby
−44Juan Domínguez1422
in 4 matches · Sturm Graz
−44T. Kane1525
in 3 matches · Coventry
Nemeses
+116B. Cabango2118
in 8 matches · Swansea
+113D. Ljubičić1951
in 4 matches · Rapid Vienna
+109Tobias Knoflach1569
in 3 matches · Rapid Vienna
+97S. Schwab1617
in 4 matches · Rapid Vienna
+95M. Grimes2136
in 8 matches · Coventry
Coaches
Their Elo change in matches against him (at least 3 meetings).
Favourite coaches
- −31
A. Neil2093
in 4 matches · Millwall
- −28
Gareth Ainsworth1765
in 3 matches · QPR
- −28
Mark Warburton1701
in 4 matches · QPR
- −16
Markus Schopp1802
in 4 matches · TSV Hartberg
- −15
N. El Maestro1664
in 4 matches · Sturm Graz
Nemesis coaches
- +66
Dietmar Kühbauer1931
in 4 matches · Rapid Vienna
- +59
Russell Martin1976
in 4 matches · Southampton
- +53
Liam Manning1841
in 3 matches · Norwich
- +50
W. Rooney1678
in 3 matches · Derby
- +49
Philippe Clement2048
in 3 matches · Norwich
Playing style
How Valérien Alexandre Ismaël's teams play vs league-season peers (2016+)
Descriptive — how a coach's teams play, not how good they are.
Career average
One shape blending all 5 clubs (2016+).
The baseline — each polygon on the right shows how one club's style deviates from this.
+0.13style consistency across 5 clubs
More consistent than 46% of multi-club coaches.
A high score means the same playing style travels from club to club — well above the random-coach baseline (-0.01), so it's a signature, not the squads.
Lask Linz46 matches
Barnsley45 matches
Blackburn44 matches
Watford39 matches
West Brom31 matches