He's not quite the ceremonial lamb to the slaughter that some Newcastle fans still paint him as (that final run of results before he was sacked was abject), but through the sheer lack of available great managers, Chris Hughton definitely deserves to make this list. By all assessments, Hughton was a terrible caretaker manager, and Newcastle suffered a lot of the most catastrophic defeats in the relegation season under his care, but when he was finally given the job full-time after Alan Shearer's brief flirtation with failure, he soared. He steadied the ship when far more choppy waters were expected, cleared up the squad by getting rid of expensive flops (not so much him as the club's control), and helped instil the confidence that allowed the team to sweep through the Championship with ease. When he returned to the Premier League, he oversaw incredible wins against Villa and Sunderland, but the wins dried up somewhat, and Newcastle's board decided more experience was necessary.
