This is a list of Bristol Rovers managers since the club appointed its first secretary-manager in 1899, along with the number of competitive games managed, winning percentage and titles won.
Although the club were founded in 1888, they did not appoint a full-time manager until 1899, when Alfred Homer, who was assistant secretary of Aston Villa, was appointed as manager-secretary of Bristol Rovers, a position he held for twenty-one years. On joining the Football League in 1920, the club appointed Ben Hall to the manager's post. Hall held the job for one year before handing over to Andrew Wilson, the club's first non-English manager.
The next significant manager of Bristol Rovers was Albert Prince-Cox, who introduced blue-and-white quarters as the team's kit because he believed it made the players look larger and more intimidating. He also became the first manager to win a major cup competition with the club when they won the Division 3 (South) Cup in 1935. More success followed in the 1952–53 season when Bristol Rovers' longest serving post-war manager, Bert Tann, won a league title for the first time since 1905 and won promotion for the first time ever when the club won Division 3 (South). Tann remained in charge for eighteen years from 1950 to 1968.
Don Megson was the next manager to win a major trophy, taking the Watney Cup in 1972 in only his third game in charge. Following this, only two more managers won any silverware at a national level. These were Gerry Francis, who won the Division 3 title in 1989–90, and most recently Paul Trollope, who won the League 2 play-off final in 2007.
In all the club has had 32 full-time managers (excluding caretaker managers).
Managers[]
- All statistics are from Bristol Rovers Football Club - The Definitive History 1883-2003 unless otherwise stated.
- Information correct as at 18 December 2012.
- Caretaker managers are highlighted in blue.
Name | Nationality | Bristol Rovers career | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | % won[1] | Honours | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfred Homer | England | July 1920 |
Summer 1899 –652 | 243 | 148 | 261 | 37.3 | Southern League champions 3 Gloucestershire Cups |
|
Ben Hall | England | May 1921 |
July 1920 –45 | 19 | 7 | 19 | 42.2 | ||
Andrew Wilson | Scotland | April 1926 |
June 1921 –230 | 74 | 64 | 92 | 32.2 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
Joe Palmer | England | April 1929 |
May 1926 –138 | 48 | 22 | 68 | 34.8 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
David McLean | Scotland | September 1930 |
May 1929 –58 | 16 | 12 | 30 | 27.6 | ||
Albert Prince-Cox | England | October 1936 |
October 1930 –295 | 115 | 67 | 113 | 39.0 | Division 3 (South) Cup winner 2 Gloucestershire Cups |
|
Percy Smith | England | November 1937 |
November 1936 –52 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 32.7 | ||
Brough Fletcher | England | January 1950 |
January 1938 –227 | 80 | 49 | 98 | 35.2 | 3 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Bert Tann | England | April 1968 |
January 1950 –897 | 369 | 216 | 314 | 41.1 | Division Three (South) champions Gloucestershire Cups: won 5, shared 5 |
|
Fred Ford | England | July 1969 |
April 1968 –70 | 26 | 16 | 28 | 37.1 | ||
Bill Dodgin, Sr. | England | July 1972 |
August 1969 –163 | 72 | 47 | 44 | 44.2 | ||
Don Megson | England | November 1977 |
July 1972 –269 | 91 | 85 | 93 | 33.8 | Watney Cup winner 2 Gloucestershire Cups |
|
Bobby Campbell | Scotland | December 1979 |
November 1977 –91 | 32 | 19 | 40 | 35.2 | ||
Harold Jarman | England | April 1980 |
December 1979 –24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 29.2 | ||
Terry Cooper | England | October 1981 |
April 1980 –68 | 13 | 19 | 36 | 19.1 | ||
Ron Gingell (caretaker) |
England | October 1981 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
Bobby Gould | England | May 1983 |
October 1981 –91 | 40 | 17 | 34 | 44.0 | 2 Gloucestershire Cups | |
David Williams | Wales | May 1985 |
May 1983 –108 | 51 | 28 | 29 | 47.2 | 2 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Bobby Gould | England | June 1987 |
May 1985 –105 | 31 | 25 | 49 | 29.5 | ||
Gerry Francis | England | May 1991 |
July 1987 –209 | 86 | 62 | 61 | 41.1 | Division Three champions 2 Gloucestershire Cups |
|
Martin Dobson | England | October 1991 |
July 1991 –12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8.3 | ||
Dennis Rofe | England | November 1992 |
October 1991 –63 | 21 | 18 | 24 | 33.3 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
Malcolm Allison | England | February 1993 |
November 1992 –18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33.3 | ||
Steve Cross (caretaker) |
England | March 1993 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | ||
John Ward | England | May 1996 |
March 1993 –181 | 77 | 49 | 55 | 42.5 | 2 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Ian Holloway | England | January 2001 |
June 1996 –249 | 92 | 67 | 90 | 36.9 | ||
Garry Thompson (caretaker) |
England | May 2001 |
January 2001 –24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 29.2 | [2] | |
Gerry Francis | England | December 2001 |
July 2001 –31 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 29.0 | [3] | |
Garry Thompson | England | April 2002 |
December 2001 –23 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 30.4 | [2] | |
Phil Bater (caretaker) |
Wales | April 2002 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | [4] | |
Ray Graydon | England | January 2004 |
April 2002 –81 | 22 | 22 | 37 | 27.2 | [5] | |
Phil Bater (caretaker) |
Wales | March 2004 |
January 2004 –12 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 8.3 | [4] | |
Russell Osman Kevan Broadhurst (joint caretakers) |
England England |
April 2004 |
March 2004 –6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | [6][7][8] | |
Ian Atkins | England | September 2005 |
April 2004 –68 | 21 | 26 | 21 | 30.9 | [9] | |
Paul Trollope | Wales | December 2010 |
September 2005 –284 | 106 | 71 | 107 | 37.3 | League 2 play-off winner | [10] |
Darren Patterson (caretaker) |
Northern Ireland | January 2011 |
December 2010 –2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | [11] | |
Dave Penney | England | March 2011 |
January 2011 –13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 15.4 | [12] | |
Stuart Campbell (caretaker) |
Scotland | May 2011 |
March 2011 –12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 33.3 | [13] | |
Paul Buckle | England | January 2012 |
June 2011 –29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 27.6 | [14] | |
Shaun North (caretaker) |
England | January 2011 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.3 | [15] | |
Mark McGhee | Scotland | December 2012 |
January 2012 –44 | 12 | 12 | 20 | 27.3 | [16] | |
John Ward | England | December 2012 – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | [17] |
Notes[]
- ↑ Rounded to one decimal place
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Garry Thompson's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ↑ Gerry Francis's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Phil Bater's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ↑ Ray Graydon's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ↑ Russell Osman and Kevan Broadhurst were appointed joint caretaker managers at the end of the 2003–04 season
- ↑ Russell Osman's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ↑ Kevan Broadhurst's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ↑ Ian Atkins's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ↑ Paul Trollope's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
- ↑ Darren Patterson's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 7 January 2011.
- ↑ Dave Penney's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.
- ↑ Stuart Campbell's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.
- ↑ Paul Buckle's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.
- ↑ Shaun North's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.
- ↑ Mark McGhee's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.
- ↑ John Ward's managerial career. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.
References[]
- Byrne, Stephen & Jay, Mike: Bristol Rovers Football Club: The Definitive History 1883-2003 (2003) Tempus Publishing isbn:0-7524-2717-2
- Bristol Rovers manager history from Soccerbase. Accessed 31 May 2007