Russell Slade

Russell Slade

Slade as manager of Cardiff City in 2014
Personal information
Full nameRussell Mark Slade[1]
Date of birth10 October 1960[2]
Place of birthWokingham, England
Club information
Current team
Cardiff City (manager)
Teams managed
YearsTeam
1994–1995Notts County (caretaker)
1995–1996Armitage
1996Leicester United
1998Sheffield United (caretaker)
1999Sheffield United (caretaker)
2001–2004Scarborough
2004–2006Grimsby Town
2006–2009Yeovil Town
2009Brighton & Hove Albion
2010–2014Leyton Orient
2014–Cardiff City

Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager who is currently the manager of Cardiff City.

Slade has developed a reputation for being an excellent man manager, where his "legendary team talks" are credited for inspiring and bringing the best out of his players.[3] Operating within a tight budget, Slade has always had an eye for talent and has been considered a very savvy operator within the transfer market. Slade never bought a player whilst at Leyton Orient FC, instead bringing in a number of players on free transfers, helping the side to punch beyond their weight.[4] Slade's eye for detail has seen him credited for spotting Phil Jagielka and for developing players like Moses Odubajo who have been developed at the O's Academy.[5] Slade also has the highest win percentage as a manager in Orient's club's history before resigning in September 2014.[6]

Career

Background

Slade started out as a PE teacher at Frank Wheldon School after studying Sport at University.[7] Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional sports coaching with Notts County in 1993. He briefly took charge of the club as caretaker manager during the 1994–95 season. Slade then had spells in charge of non-league sides Armitage and Leicester United before joining the coaching staff of Sheffield United in 1997. He had two spells as caretaker manager of The Blades in 1998 and 1999 before the appointment of Neil Warnock. In 2001 he took over the managerial post at Conference National side Scarborough before later moving to Grimsby Town in 2004 and Yeovil Town in 2006. He was appointed manager of Brighton & Hove Albion in 2009 but the stay was brief and he was dismissed in November 2009. At Leyton Orient he led the club to two 7th place finishes, an FA Cup fifth round replay against Arsenal and took the O's to the Play-Off Final in 2013-14 - a feat which saw win the LMA League 1 Manager of the Year award. In October 2014 Slade was appointed as the Cardiff City manager.

Notts County

Slade was assistant manager to Mick Walker at Notts County, and took over as caretaker manager when Walker was sacked in September 1994. When County appointed Howard Kendall as manager in January 1995, Slade stayed on as his assistant.

Sheffield United

Slade was then appointed manager of Midland Alliance side Armitage, then moving on to Southern Football League side Leicester United before having two separate spells as caretaker manager at Sheffield United.

Scarborough

Slade's first permanent managerial post was at Football Conference side Scarborough. When he arrived in November 2001 the club were adrift at the bottom of the Conference and looking doomed. His first match in charge resulted in a home win over Farnborough Town but the next three games yielded just one point. However a remarkable run of 39 points from the final 19 games of the season meant Scarborough finished 12th. He was hailed as a hero by the fans and his stock rose when taking the team to 4th position by Christmas in the 2002–03 season. In January 2003, two days after the club went into administration, Slade tendered his resignation. The fans presented a tearful Slade with a petition at the next game and on the Monday morning he changed his mind.

The following season saw mixed league performances, but a tremendous FA Cup run which saw victories over Hinckley United, Doncaster Rovers, Port Vale, and finally Southend United following a replay, meant a glamorous home tie in front of Premier League Chelsea. Despite losing 1–0 Slade's side had put up a tremendous battle.

Grimsby Town

At the end of the 2003–04 season, Grimsby Town decided not to renew the contract of manager Nicky Law following relegation into League Two. Slade was appointed as their new manager.[8] A midtable finish ensued in the 2004–05 season but despite some disgruntled fans calling for his head, Grimsby spent most of the 2005–06 season in an automatic promotion spot in League Two, also managing to topple both Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur in the Football League Cup. Town eventually finished the season in 4th place and had to settle for the playoffs, following a late Northampton Town equalizer meant that Leyton Orient would finish the season in the final automatic promotion places. Despite guiding his team to a semi-final victory over local rivals Lincoln City, Slade was unable to secure promotion, Grimsby losing 1–0 in the final against Cheltenham Town in the Millennium Stadium.

Yeovil Town

Slade's success with Grimsby had attracted League One side Yeovil Town, and Slade was appointed as the Somerset club's new manager.[9] Slade led Yeovil to a surprise 5th place finish play-off finish in the league, where they defeated favourites Nottingham Forest to reach the play-off final. However, Yeovil lost the final against Blackpool 2–0.[10] Slade's successful first season at Yeovil saw him win the League One manager of the year award, and he was targeted by League One rivals Carlisle United and Millwall for their managerial positions but this interest was rejected by Yeovil chairman John Fry.[11]

Slade left his post at Yeovil on 16 February 2009, despite having won four consecutive matches immediately prior to this.[12] Slade had become frustrated with the club's lack of ambition, although the club chairman John Fry had previously stated that changes would be needed due to the current economic climate.[13]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 6 March 2009, Slade was appointed manager of struggling Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the season,[14] and succeeded in ensuring they avoided relegation from League One. Following that remarkable achievement, on 4 May 2009, Slade signed a further two-year contract at Brighton.[15]

Leyton Orient

Slade was appointed manager of Leyton Orient on 5 April 2010, six matches before the end of the season. The club was in danger of being relegated from League One, but Slade revived the club's fortunes, helping Leyton Orient to take 10 points from their last six matches, resulting in them avoiding relegation by a single point. Slade was rewarded with a new two-year contract on 14 May[16] and the following season he guided Orient to seventh place, one point outside the play-off places, as well as a fifth round replay at Arsenal in the FA Cup. During the season, Orient chairman Barry Hearn rejected an approach from Barnsley for Slade. Leyton Orient were unable to match their previous year during the 2011–12 season and the club finished in 20th, but the next season Slade was able to guide them to another 7th-place finish.

On 7 June 2013, Leyton Orient announced that Slade, his assistant Kevin Nugent and chief scout Kevin Dearden had signed contract extensions to keep them at the club for a further three years, until the end of the 2015–16 season.[17]

Cardiff City

On 6 October 2014, Slade was appointed manager of Championship side Cardiff City on a two-year contract, replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.[18]

Managerial statistics

As of 25 April 2015
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Notts County (caretaker) 15 September 1994 12 January 1995 23651226.1
Sheffield United (caretaker) 2 March 1998 9 March 1998 201100.0
Sheffield United (caretaker) 23 November 1999 2 December 1999 201100.0
Scarborough 15 November 2001 28 May 2004 13350414237.6
Grimsby Town 28 May 2004 31 May 2006 10541303439.1
Yeovil Town 7 June 2006 16 February 2009 13749325635.8
Brighton & Hove Albion 6 March 2009 1 November 2009 32971628.12
Leyton Orient 5 April 2010 24 September 2014 242103617842.56
Cardiff City 6 October 2014 Present 36 13 10 13 36.11
Total 712 271 188 253 38.06

Honours

As a Manager

References

  1. ↑ "Support Management Ltd.". Dellam Corporate Information Limited. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Manager Profile". League Managers Association. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  3. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/leyton-orient/10324475/Leyton-Orient-inspired-to-nations-only-perfect-record-thanks-to-Russell-Slades-inspirational-team-talks.html
  4. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/11/russell-slade-leyton-orient-free-transfer
  5. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/11/russell-slade-leyton-orient-free-transfer
  6. ↑ http://www.clarets-mad.co.uk/results_fixtures/2013_2014/leyton_orient/index.shtml
  7. ↑ http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/russell-slade-never-complains-about-taking-work-home-every-night-6516965.html
  8. ↑ "Slade takes over at Grimsby". BBC Sport. 2004-05-28. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  9. ↑ "Slade appointed new Yeovil boss". BBC Sport. 2006-06-07. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  10. ↑ Hughes, Ian (2007-05-27). "Yeovil 0–2 Blackpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  11. ↑ "Yeovil reject Lions move for boss". BBC Sport. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  12. ↑ "Yeovil split with manager Slade". BBC Sport. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  13. ↑ "Glovers axe Slade". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  14. ↑ "Slade appointed new Brighton boss". BBC Sport. 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  15. ↑ "Slade Confirmed as Albion Boss". Seagulls World. 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  16. ↑ "Russell Slade signs new Leyton Orient contract". BBC Sport. 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  17. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22816983
  18. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29506295
  19. ↑ http://www.leytonorient.com/news/article/slade-manager-of-the-month-060913-1038213.aspx?
  20. ↑ http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11742/9153554/sky-bet-football-league-nigel-pearson-russell-slade-and-graham-alexander-win-awards

External links