Coach DNA
Playing style
direct
Style consistency
More consistent than 96% of multi-club coaches
Club record
League results at each club since 2016, next to the same club under other coaches.
Gillingham
Mar 2025 – Oct 2026 · 72 matches
1.30 points per game in League Two (64 matches).
Gillingham with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.24 (128 matches, 5 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −35 below the league average under him, −10 under the others.
Most used
- R. McKenzie4,752' · Elo 1,706
- M. Clark4,646' · Elo 1,577
- R. Hutton4,633' · Elo 1,698
- A. Smith4,459' · Elo 1,765
- S. Gale4,396' · Elo 1,716
- G. Morris3,335' · Elo 1,424
- A. Little3,222' · Elo 1,633
- B. Dack3,053' · Elo 1,527
- Ronan Hale2,486' · Elo 1,764
- E. Coleman2,459' · Elo 1,623
Shrewsbury
Nov 2024 – Mar 2025 · 22 matches
0.91 points per game in League One (22 matches).
Shrewsbury with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.08 (144 matches, 4 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −161 below the league average under him, −69 under the others.
Most used
- L. Hoole1,890' · Elo 1,725
- M. Benning1,865' · Elo 1,433
- J. Blackman1,620' · Elo 1,618
- Joshua Feeney1,620' · Elo 1,804
- M. Feeney1,568' · Elo 1,537
- A. Gilliead1,401' · Elo 1,469
- J. Marquis1,366' · Elo 1,434
- A. Pierre1,194' · Elo 1,477
- G. Lloyd1,187' · Elo 1,716
- F. Ojo900' · Elo 1,536
QPR
Feb 2023 – Oct 2023 · 28 matches
0.70 points per game in Championship (27 matches).
QPR with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.34 (271 matches, 6 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −99 below the league average under him, −31 under the others.
Most used
- S. Field2,399' · Elo 1,979
- K. Paal2,023' · Elo 1,747
- I. Chair1,897' · Elo 1,881
- L. Dykes1,738' · Elo 1,919
- O. Kakay1,631' · Elo 1,472
- A. Dozzell1,532' · Elo 1,935
- J. Dunne1,334' · Elo 2,019
- A. Begović1,260' · Elo 1,585
- S. Dieng1,170' · Elo 1,982
- R. Dickie1,097' · Elo 1,922
Wycombe
Aug 2016 – Feb 2023 · 291 matches
1.51 points per game in League One / League Two / Championship (255 matches).
Wycombe with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.48 (140 matches, 4 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −5 below the league average under him, +56 under the others.
Most used
- J. Jacobson20,975' · Elo 1,432
- A. Stewart13,660' · Elo 1,429
- D. Gape13,142' · Elo 1,433
- J. McCarthy12,381' · Elo 1,669
- Saheed Adebayo Akinfenwa11,106' · Elo 493
- C. Thompson10,442' · Elo 1,438
- J. Grimmer10,279' · Elo 1,843
- R. Allsop9,990' · Elo 1,900
- D. Wheeler8,619' · Elo 1,450
- Matthew James Bloomfield8,243' · Elo 967
Players under Gareth Ainsworth
Total Elo change of his own players in his matches.
Rose most
- J. Jacobson+778
in 240 matches · Wycombe
- N. Freeman+718
in 122 matches · Gillingham
- A. Stewart+643
in 156 matches · Wycombe
- C. Thompson+504
in 132 matches · Wycombe
- J. Grimmer+457
in 125 matches · Wycombe
Fell most
- L. Dykes−211
in 22 matches · QPR
- S. Johansen−117
in 9 matches · QPR
- J. Colback−102
in 9 matches · QPR
- L. Balogun−99
in 4 matches · QPR
- S. Kaikai−97
in 32 matches · Wycombe
Opponents
Their Elo change in matches against his teams (at least 3 meetings).
Favourite opponents
−79N. Smith1615
in 8 matches · Tranmere
−65E. Lee1773
in 7 matches · Wrexham
−60J. Rafferty1642
in 4 matches · Rotherham
−58L. Wing1795
in 3 matches · Reading
−58C. Grant1507
in 6 matches · Accrington ST
Nemeses
+232S. Swinkels1820
in 3 matches · Chesterfield
+139D. Hyam1954
in 7 matches · Blackburn
+134L. Kelly1302
in 6 matches · Coventry
+129J. Shipley1625
in 6 matches · Shrewsbury
+107C. Brittain2124
in 7 matches · Blackburn
Coaches
Their Elo change in matches against him (at least 3 meetings).
Favourite coaches
- −46
J. Barton1605
in 7 matches · Bristol Rovers
- −41
Danny Cowley1676
in 10 matches · Colchester
- −31
G. McCann1757
in 5 matches · Peterborough
- −29
N. Clough1802
in 4 matches · Mansfield Town
- −28
D. Clarke1664
in 5 matches · Tranmere
Nemesis coaches
- +132
M. Robins1999
in 9 matches · Coventry
- +62
Wally Downes1323
in 3 matches · AFC Wimbledon
- +57
N. Jones1900
in 7 matches · Charlton
- +55
Scott Lindsey1686
in 3 matches · York
- +51
Darren Ferguson1885
in 4 matches · Peterborough
Playing style
How Gareth Ainsworth'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 4 clubs (2016+).
The baseline — each polygon on the right shows how one club's style deviates from this.
+0.77style consistency across 4 clubs
More consistent than 96% 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.
Wycombe182 matches
Gillingham70 matches
QPR28 matches
Shrewsbury22 matches