List of Bristol Rovers F.C. managers

This is a list of Bristol Rovers F.C. managers since the club appointed its first full-time manager in 1899, along with the number of competitive games managed, winning percentage and titles won.

Although the club were founded in 1883, 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 31 full-time managers (excluding caretaker managers). The current manager is Paul Buckle.

Contents

Managers

Name Nationality Bristol Rovers career Games Won Drawn Lost % won[1] Honours Notes
Homer, AlfredAlfred Homer  England 1899Summer 1899 – July 1920 652 243 148 261 37.3 Southern League champions, 3 Gloucestershire Cups
Hall, BenBen Hall  England 1920July 1920 – May 1921 45 19 7 19 42.2 -
Wilson, AndrewAndrew Wilson  Scotland 1921June 1921 – April 1926 230 74 64 92 32.2 Gloucestershire Cup winner
Palmer, JoeJoe Palmer  England 1926May 1926 – April 1929 138 48 22 68 34.8 Gloucestershire Cup winner
McLean, DavidDavid McLean  Scotland 1929May 1929 – September 1930 58 16 12 30 27.6 -
Prince-Cox, AlbertAlbert Prince-Cox  England 1930October 1930 – October 1936 295 115 67 113 39.0 Division 3 South Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups
Smith, PercyPercy Smith  England 1936November 1936 – November 1937 52 17 9 26 32.7 -
Fletcher, BroughBrough Fletcher  England 1938January 1938 – January 1950 227 80 49 98 35.2 3 Gloucestershire Cups
Tann, BertBert Tann  England 1950January 1950 – April 1968 897 369 216 314 41.1 Division 3 South champions, Gloucestershire Cups: won 5, shared 5
Ford, FredFred Ford  England 1968April 1968 – July 1969 70 26 16 28 37.1 -
Dodgin, Sr., BillBill Dodgin, Sr.  England 1969August 1969 – July 1972 163 72 47 44 44.2 -
Megson, DonDon Megson  England 1972July 1972 – November 1977 269 91 85 93 33.8 Watney Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups, promotion to Division 2
Campbell, BobbyBobby Campbell  Scotland 1977November 1977 – December 1979 91 32 19 40 35.2 -
Jarman, HaroldHarold Jarman  England 1979December 1979 – April 1980 24 7 9 8 29.2 -
Cooper, TerryTerry Cooper  England 1980April 1980 – October 1981 68 13 19 36 19.1 -
Gingell, RonRon Gingell (caretaker)  England 1981 (1)October 1981 1 0 1 0 0.0 -
Gould, BobbyBobby Gould  England 1981 (2)October 1981 – May 1983 91 40 17 34 44.0 2 Gloucestershire Cups
Williams, DavidDavid Williams  Wales 1983May 1983 – May 1985 108 51 28 29 47.2 2 Gloucestershire Cups
Gould, BobbyBobby Gould  England 1985May 1985 – June 1987 105 31 25 49 29.5 -
Francis, GerryGerry Francis  England 1987July 1987 – May 1991 209 86 62 61 41.1 Division 3 champions, 2 Gloucestershire Cups
Dobson, MartinMartin Dobson  England 1991 (1)July 1991 – October 1991 12 1 2 9 8.3 -
Rofe, DennisDennis Rofe  England 1991 (2)October 1991 – November 1992 63 21 18 24 33.3 Gloucestershire Cup winner
Allison, MalcolmMalcolm Allison  England 1992November 1992 – February 1993 18 6 4 8 33.3 -
Cross, SteveSteve Cross (caretaker)  England 1993 (1)March 1993 3 0 1 2 0.0 -
Ward, JohnJohn Ward  England 1993 (2)March 1993 – May 1996 181 77 49 55 42.5 2 Gloucestershire Cups
Holloway, IanIan Holloway  England 1996June 1996 – January 2001 249 92 67 90 36.9 -
Thompson, GarryGarry Thompson (caretaker)  England 2001 (1)January 2001 – May 2001 24 7 5 12 29.2 - [2]
Francis, GerryGerry Francis  England 2001 (2)July 2001 – December 2001 31 9 10 12 29.0 - [3]
Thompson, GarryGarry Thompson  England 2001 (3)December 2001 – April 2002 23 7 5 11 30.4 - [2]
Bater, PhilPhil Bater (caretaker)  Wales 2002 (1)April 2002 3 0 1 2 0.0 - [4]
Graydon, RayRay Graydon  England 2002 (2)April 2002 – January 2004 81 22 22 37 27.2 - [5]
Bater, PhilPhil Bater (caretaker)  Wales 2004 (1)January 2004 – March 2004 11 1 5 5 9.1 - [4]
Osman, RussellRussell Osman
Broadhurst, KevanKevan Broadhurst (joint caretakers)		  England 2004 (2)March 2004 – April 2004 6 3 1 2 50.0 - [6][7][8]
Atkins, IanIan Atkins  England 2004 (3)April 2004 – September 2005 68 21 26 21 30.9 - [9]
Trollope, PaulPaul Trollope  Wales 2005September 2005 – December 2010 284 106 71 107 37.3 League 2 play-off winner [10]
Patterson, DarrenDarren Patterson (caretaker)  Northern Ireland 2010December 2010 – January 2011 2 0 0 2 0.0 [11]
Penney, DaveDave Penney  England 20111January 2011 – March 2011 13 2 2 9 15.4 [12]
Campbell, StuartStuart Campbell (caretaker)  Scotland 20112March 2011 – May 2011 12 4 3 5 33.3[13]
Paul Buckle  England 20113May 2011 – January 2012 27 8 6 13 29.6[14]

Notes

  1. ^ Rounded to one decimal place
  2. ^ a b "Garry Thompson's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1640. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  3. ^ "Gerry Francis's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=533. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  4. ^ a b "Phil Bater's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1797. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  5. ^ "Ray Graydon's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1348. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  6. ^ Russell Osman and Kevan Broadhurst were appointed joint caretaker managers at the end of the 2003–04 season
  7. ^ "Russell Osman's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1109. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  8. ^ "Kevan Broadhurst's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1586. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  9. ^ "Ian Atkins's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=622. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  10. ^ "Paul Trollope's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011. 
  11. ^ "Darren Patterson's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1925. Retrieved 7 January 2011. 
  12. ^ "Dave Penney's managerial career". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/managers2.sd?managerid=1903. Retrieved 10 January 2011. 
  13. ^ bbc sport
  14. ^ bbc sport 28.12.11

References

External links

Bristol Rovers Football Club