Graham Turner
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Graham Turner | ||
Date of birth | 5 October 1947 | ||
Place of birth | Ellesmere Port, England | ||
Position(s) | Centre back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1964–1968 | Wrexham | 77 | (0) |
1968–1973 | Chester | 218 | (5) |
1973–1983 | Shrewsbury Town | 355 | (22) |
Total | 650 | (27) | |
Managerial career | |||
1978–1984 | Shrewsbury Town | ||
1984–1986 | Aston Villa | ||
1986–1994 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
1995–2009 | Hereford United | ||
2010 | Hereford United | ||
2010–2014 | Shrewsbury Town | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former
After a 19-year career as a central defender in the lower divisions, he became manager of
He left in 1994 and had a year out of football before his arrival at Hereford United. A run to the Division Three play-offs was a false dawn, and a year later the Bulls were relegated to the Conference. Having initially resigned, Turner ended up buying the majority shareholding and becoming chairman in 1998. Five financially troubled seasons followed in non-league football, before he led the Bulls to three consecutive runners-up spots and promotion in 2006.
After a mid-table finish in the 2006–07 season, Turner delivered another promotion the following season with a third-place finish in League Two; notably making full use of the loan system. Turner was voted League Two Manager of the Year by the League Managers Association,[1] but was unable to lead the Bulls to survival in League One. He subsequently stepped down as manager of Hereford on 24 April 2009, after 13 years 8 months and 723 matches in charge, and resumed the role after the sacking of his successor 11 months later.[2]
Playing career
Turner was born in
Managerial career
Shrewsbury Town
He became player-manager for the Shrews in the 1978–79 season, the same year the club sealed the Third Division championship. Shrewsbury ultimately spent ten seasons in the Second Division and Turner twice led them to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. He ended his playing career in 1983, and left Shrewsbury after six seasons to take charge of Aston Villa in the summer of 1984.
Aston Villa
Unfortunately for Turner, his time at Villa Park was less successful and he was sacked on 14 September 1986, just over two years after his appointment, as Villa were heading for relegation from the First Division.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
He was then appointed manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, a club then in the Fourth Division and massively in financial trouble (barely out of debt), on 7 October 1986. In his first season Wolves reached the play-offs but failed to secure promotion. However the following two seasons brought successive landslide promotions with the help of goal-machine Steve Bull and striking partner Andy Mutch. Mid-table finishes in the Second Division, and subsequently (following the formation of the Premier League) Division One, followed before he left in March 1994. There had been speculation about his future as manager more than two years earlier after a dismal start to the 1991–92 season, but a turnaround in form preserved his job for a while.[4]
He also led Wolves to
Hereford United
He was appointed manager of Hereford United for the start of the
With the bank balance firmly in the red he had to endure several fruitless seasons in the
2002–03 proved the turning point with Turner taking the opportunity to build an entirely new squad, retaining only six players from the previous season. The team, built entirely of free transfers, evolved into arguably the best footballing side in the Conference, finishing second in a record-breaking 2003–04 season. But Hereford faltered in the play-off semi final against
Having finally gained the promotion he had come close to in 1995–96, Turner again used the loan system in League One, purchasing only one player for an undisclosed fee. However this strategy was not nearly as successful in 2008–09 as the Bulls struggled in League One and were relegated on 18 April 2009. Turner subsequently announced he was stepping down as manager, having apologised for the season's performance. On 24 April 2009, as chairman, he appointed John Trewick as his successor.
Turner remained chairman, director of football and majority shareholder of Hereford United until the end of the 2009–2010 season. His time in charge saw him stabilise the club's finances, turning a profit for the last six seasons,.
On 16 April 2010 Turner stated that he and co-chairperson Joan Fennessy would sell their shares in the club, stating that the club needs fresh impetus to take it forward. His subsequent decision to return to
Return to Shrewsbury Town
On 11 June 2010, Turner was announced as the new
After guiding them to a respectable 16th-place finish in the 2012/13 season, their first 3rd tier appearance in 15 years, Turner was unable to build on this success the following season. On 21 January 2014 Graham Turner resigned as manager of Shrewsbury Town, halfway through the 2013/14 campaign. Shrewsbury were subsequently relegated.[9]
Managerial statistics
Team | From | To | Record[10][11][12][13] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
Shrewsbury Town | 1 November 1978 | 1 July 1984 | 279 | 101 | 81 | 97 | 36.20 |
Aston Villa | 16 July 1984 | 14 September 1986 | 107 | 34 | 30 | 43 | 31.78 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 7 October 1986 | 16 March 1994 | 412 | 179 | 109 | 124 | 43.45 |
Hereford United | 1 August 1995 | 24 April 2009 | 723 | 288 | 194 | 241 | 39.83 |
Hereford United (caretaker) | 8 March 2010 | 11 June 2010 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 58.33 |
Shrewsbury Town | 11 June 2010 | 21 January 2014 | 185 | 73 | 49 | 63 | 39.46 |
Total | 1,718 | 682 | 463 | 573 | 39.70 |
Managerial honours
- Shrewsbury Town
- Football League Third Division: champions 1978–79
- Welsh Cup: winners 1978–79; 1983–84
- Football League Two: promotion 2011–2012
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Football League Fourth Division: champions 1987–88
- Associate Members Cup: winners 1987–88
- Football League Third Division: champions 1988–89
- Hereford United
- Conference National: play-off winners 2005–06
- Football League Two: promotion 2007–08
Individual
- Football Conference Manager of the Month: December 2002[14]
- League Two Manager of the Month: February 2011, April 2012[15]
Personal honours
In October 2010, Graham received an award from the City of Hereford giving him Freedom of the city.[16]
References
- ^ Graham Turner Manager of the Year Archived 3 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Hereford United Official Website, 13 May 2008. Retrieved on 4 August 2008.
- ^ "Hereford United dismiss manager John Trewick". BBC Sport. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ Former Managers Archived 14 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Aston Villa Official Website. Retrieved on 4 August 2008.
- ^ Thewolvessite.co.uk Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Conference: Hereford's young Bulls on a charge The Daily Telegraph, 15 September 2003. Retrieved on 17 August 2008.
- ^ Turner bullish about a Hereford comeback The Daily Telegraph, 8 May 2004. Retrieved on 17 August 2008.
- ^ Hereford United enjoying promotion The Daily Telegraph, 28 April 2008. Retrieved on 17 August 2008.
- ^ "Shrewsbury Town re-appoint former manager Graham Turner". BBC Sport. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "Graham Turner quits Shrewsbury job". 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Graham Turner". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Old Gold - Wolves' most successful bosses". Wolves.co.uk. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ Scott, Ged (21 November 2013). "Graham Turner: 35 years as a football manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Shrewsbury Town: Graham Turner steps down as manager". BBC Sport. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Conference end of season awards". ConfGuide.com. 14 June 2003. Archived from the original on 2 July 2003. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "Graham Turner". LMA. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Freedom of Hereford for Shrewsbury football boss Turner". BBC News. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2013.