List of Stoke City F.C. managers

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The following is a list of managers of Stoke City Football Club and their major honours from the beginning of the club's official managerial records in 1874 to the present day.[1]

The longest-serving and most successful person to manage Stoke City is

2011
.

History

Stoke's first secretary-manager was

Joseph Bradshaw took over from Lockett and has a successful first season winning the club's first league title, the Football Alliance and gained re-election to the Football League.[1] Stoke struggled again in the League and Bradshaw was replaced by Arthur Reeves midway through the season.[1] Reeves brought in a number of new players which had a good impact on the club but unfortunately Stoke's fortunes wavered and he was replaced by ex goalkeeper Bill Rowley.[1]

After two years in charge, Rowley shocked the Stoke board by transferring himself to Leicester Fosse; he was banned by the FA. Horace Austerberry then embarked on an eleven-year-long spell in which time he took Stoke to their first FA Cup Semi-final in 1899. Stoke were relegated to the Second Division in 1907 and a year later the club went bankrupt and left the Football League.[1] Austerberry left and Alfred Barker had the task of saving the club and he took the club into the Birmingham & District League and Southern Football League. After failing to re enter the Football League, he resigned in 1914.[1] Scotsman Peter Hodge came in from Raith and won the Southern League Division Two; he returned to Scotland following the outbreak of war.[1]

Former star player Joe Schofield took over for the War time leagues from 1914 till 1919. Following the return to League football, the board appointed Arthur Shallcross, who won promotion with the club in 1922; however Stoke were relegated the next season and he resigned in March 1923.[1] Jock Rutherford, former England winger, took over but lasted just eleven games before he quit after a heated row with the board. Tom Mather came in and triggered a run of stability as Stoke only had four managers for the next 54 years (1923–1977).[1] Mather spent twelve years; in that time he won two league titles, the Second Division in 1933 and Third Division North in 1927.

One of Mather's key signings Bob McGrory took over having already spent 14 years at the club making over 500 appearances. During his time in charge, McGrory almost won the First Division title on two occasions in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons.[1] After 31 years with the club, he stood down in 1952. Frank Taylor a fitness fanatic, impressed the board and was appointed in time for the 1952–53 season. However Stoke were relegated in his first season in charge and after seven seasons in the Second Division Taylor was sacked. Taylor was shocked by the chairman's decision and he quit football.[1]

In 1960 Tony Waddington came in and made an inspired decision to bring Stanley Matthews back to the club. Attendance levels increased and in 1963 Stoke won the Second Division. Waddington's success grew with the club as in 1964 they reached the Final of the League Cup, losing over two legs to Leicester City then in 1972 he won the club's first major silverware beating Chelsea 2–1 also in the League Cup. He was also successful in the FA Cup, reaching the Semi-final stage consecutively in 1971 and 1972 losing out to Arsenal on both occasions. However, in 1976 the roof fell off the Victoria Ground and many of Waddington's star players were sold to help pay the repair bill and with Stoke destined for relegation he parted company in March 1977.[1]

Waddington's assistant and fan favourite

2011

Another former player,

Alan Ball took over in what turned out to be a bad appointment as he failed to keep Stoke in the second tier, meaning Stoke were in the third tier for only the second time. Stoke were expected to easily win the Third Division; however results against much smaller clubs were poor and after a 4–0 defeat by Wigan Athletic Ball resigned. His assistant Graham Paddon took over for the rest of the season as Stoke finished in their lowest position.[1]

Joe Jordan replaced him. Jordan was unpopular with the fans due to his lack of passion and negative tactics and he resigned in September 1994. Asa Hartford took caretaker role before Macari made a dramatic return to the club. He inspired the club to the First Division play-offs in 1996 losing to Leicester City. He was in charge of the final season at the Victoria Ground before deciding to end his time at the club.[1]

Brian Little
had the task to gain instant promotion and started well and at one stage were top of the table by eight points; however Stoke's form took a huge slide and they ended up in 8th place and Little left.

Gary Megson became the next manager at the start of the 1999–2000 season however unfortunately for Megson, after just four months in charge the club was taken over by an Icelandic consortium and installed Gudjon Thordarson as manager. Thordarson spent three seasons at Stoke winning the Football League Trophy and taking the club into the play-offs three times. Having lost to Gillingham and Walsall Stoke beat Brentford in 2002 to gain promotion back to Division One. Just days after winning promotion however Thordarson was sacked by the board.[2] Steve Cotterill was named as the new manager soon after but after just thirteen matches he quit to join Sunderland as assistant manager.[3] Dave Kevan was caretaker until Tony Pulis became manager in November 2002. Stoke were involved in a relegation battle on the final match of the season. Stoke beat Reading and survived in the First Division. Pulis consolidated Stoke's position in the 2003–04 season however after a very dull 2004–05 season Pulis was sacked for not exploiting the foreign market.[4] Unknown Dutch manager Johan Boskamp was appointed by the board and he promised to play an attractive style of football. However results failed to show any significant improvement, and Boskamp left at the end of the season after falling out with several club officials and key players.[5]

Peter Coates returned as chairman and re-appointed Pulis as manager.[6] In his first season back Stoke narrowly missed out on a play-off spot finishing 7th. In the 2007–08 season Stoke finally ended their 23-year absence from the top light finishing second to gain promotion to the Premier League. With Stoke expected to be involved in a relegation battle they surprised most and finished in a safe position of 12th in 2008–09 and finished in 11th in 2009–10 season. In the 2010–11 season Pulis became the first manager to take Stoke into a FA Cup Final where they lost 1–0 to Manchester City. By reaching the final, Stoke qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, after Manchester City confirmed a place in the Champions League.[7] Despite the defeat chairman Peter Coates believes that Pulis is Stoke's greatest ever manager.[8] After a poor 2012–13 season which saw Stoke fail to make progress, Pulis left the club by mutual consent.[9] He was replaced by another Welsh manager, Mark Hughes.[10][11] Hughes guided the team to three consecutive ninth-place finishes in 2013–14 season, 2014–15 season and 2015–16 season. However, after several big money transfers failed to improve the squad Stoke regressed and Hughes was eventually sacked in January 2018 with the team in the relegation zone. Paul Lambert came in but failed to keep Stoke in the Premier League. Lambert was sacked and replaced by Derby County manager Gary Rowett.[12]

In January 2019, with Stoke struggling to make an impact in the Championship, Rowett was sacked replaced by Luton Town's Nathan Jones.[13] Jones turned out to be a poor choice, winning only six of his 38 games in charge and he was replaced by Michael O'Neill in November 2019.[14] O'Neill kept Stoke up in 2019–20 and guided Stoke through the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons finishing 14th twice before he was dismissed in August 2022.[15] On 28 August 2022 Alex Neil was appointed manager on a three-year contract.[16] Neil was sacked in December 2023 with the team in relegation trouble at the bottom of the Championship.[17] Stoke again went for a manager in a job with Steven Schumacher joining from Plymouth Argyle.[18] He guided Stoke to safety, finishing six points above the relegation zone in 2023–24.[19] After five games of the 2024–25 season Schumacher was surprisingly sacked and replaced by inexperienced Spanish coach Narcís Pèlach.[20] Pèlach only managed to win three matches out of 19 and was sacked on 27 December 2024.[21] Mark Robins was appointed on 1 January 2025 on a three-and-a-half year contract.[22]

Statistics

Information correct as of match played 5 April 2025. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name Nationality From To P W D L Win%[23] Honours Notes
Thomas Slaney  England 1874 1883 0 0 0 0 !— [1]
Walter Cox  England 1883 1884 1 0 0 1 000.00 [24]
Harry Lockett  England 1884 1890 55 13 9 33 023.64 [25]
Joseph Bradshaw
 		 England 1890 1892 33 9 5 19 027.27 1 Football Alliance champion [26]
Arthur Reeves  England 1892 1895 96 37 14 45 038.54 [27]
Bill Rowley  England 1895 1897 66 29 4 33 043.94 [28]
Horace Austerberry  England 1897 1908 421 149 89 183 035.39 [29]
Alfred Barker  England 1908 1914 256 130 35 91 050.78 1 Birmingham & District League champion
1 Southern League Division Two champion
1 Southern League Division Two runner-up 		[30]
Peter Hodge  Scotland 1914 1915 30 21 4 5 070.00 1 Southern League Division Two champion [31]
Joe Schofield  England 1915 1919 0 0 0 0 !— [1]
Arthur Shallcross  England 1919 1923 171 59 43 69 034.50 1 Second Division runner-up [32]
Jock Rutherford  England 1923 1923 11 2 3 6 018.18 [33]
Tom Mather  England 1923 1935 523 222 122 179 042.45 1 Second Division champion
1 Third Division North champion 		[34]
Bob McGrory  Scotland 1935 1952 460 170 114 176 036.96 [35]
Frank Taylor  England 1952 1960 362 146 79 137 040.33 [36]
Tony Waddington  England 1960 1977 764 265 216 283 034.69 1
League Cup runner-up
1 Watney Cup winner
1 Second Division
champion 		[37]
George Eastham  England 1977 1978 37 9 12 16 024.32 [38]
Alan A'Court (caretaker)  England 1978 1978 1 0 0 1 000.00 [39]
Alan Durban  Wales 1978 1981 143 53 48 42 037.06 1 Second Division promotion [40]
Richie Barker  England 1981 1983 102 31 23 48 030.39 [41]
Bill Asprey  England 1983 1985 64 14 15 35 021.88 [42]
Tony Lacey (caretaker)  England 1985 1985 8 0 0 8 000.00 [1]
Mick Mills  England 1985 1989 213 72 63 78 033.80 [43]
Alan Ball
 		 England 1989 1991 62 17 21 24 027.42 [44]
Graham Paddon (caretaker)  England 1991 1991 18 6 3 9 033.33 [1]
Lou Macari  Scotland 1991 1993 138 69 38 31 050.00 1
Football League Trophy winner
1 Second Division
champion 		[45]
Joe Jordan  Scotland 1993 1994 40 13 13 14 032.50 [46]
Asa Hartford (caretaker)  Scotland 1994 1994 4 3 0 1 075.00 [1]
Lou Macari  Scotland 1994 1997 151 55 47 49 036.42 [45]
Chic Bates  England 1997 1998 33 11 9 13 033.33 [47]
Chris Kamara  England 1998 1998 14 1 5 8 007.14 [48]
Alan Durban (caretaker)  Wales 1998 1998 5 2 0 3 040.00 [40]
Brian Little
 		 England 1998 1999 52 23 7 22 044.23 [49]
Gary Megson  England 1999 1999 22 9 7 6 040.91 [50]
Guðjón Þórðarson  Iceland 1999 2002 154 77 39 38 050.00 1
Second Division play-offs
winner 		[51]
Steve Cotterill  England 2002 2002 13 3 5 5 023.08 [52]
Dave Kevan (caretaker)  Scotland 2002 2002 4 0 0 4 000.00 [53]
Tony Pulis  Wales 2002 2005 131 47 32 52 035.88 [54]
Johan Boskamp  Netherlands 2005 2006 51 18 10 23 035.29 [55]
Tony Pulis  Wales 2006 2013 333 122 98 113 036.64 1
Championship runner-up
1 FA Cup
runner-up 		[54]
Mark Hughes  Wales 2013 2018 200 71 48 81 035.50 [56]
Eddie Niedzwiecki (caretaker)  Wales 2018 2018 1 0 0 1 000.00 [57]
Paul Lambert  Scotland 2018 2018 15 2 7 6 013.33 [58]
Gary Rowett  England 2018 2019 29 9 12 8 031.03 [59]
Nathan Jones  Wales 2019 2019 38 6 15 17 015.79 [60]
Rory Delap (caretaker)  Ireland 2019 2019 1 0 0 1 000.00 [61]
Michael O'Neill  Northern Ireland 2019 2022 143 55 35 53 038.46 [62]
Dean Holden (caretaker)  England 2022 2022 1 1 0 0 100.00 [63]
Alex Neil  Scotland 2022 2023 67 22 15 30 032.84 [64]
Paul Gallagher (caretaker)  Scotland 2023 2023 2 0 2 0 000.00 [65]
Steven Schumacher  England 2023 2024 32 13 6 13 040.63 [66]
Alex Morris & Ryan Shawcross (caretakers)  England 2024 2024 1 0 1 0 000.00 [67][68]
Narcís Pèlach  Spain 2024 2024 19 3 7 9 015.79 [69]
Ryan Shawcross (caretaker)  England 2024 2025 2 1 1 0 050.00 [68]
Mark Robins  England 2025 Present 17 5 6 6 029.41 [70]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-9524151-0-0
    .
  2. ^ "Stoke sack Thordarson". BBC Sport. 16 May 2002. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Cotterill quits Stoke". BBC Sport. 10 October 2002. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Manager Pulis is sacked by Stoke". BBC Sport. 28 June 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Boskamp confirms exit from Stoke". BBC Sport. 30 April 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Pulis confirmed as Stoke manager". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  7. ^ "City Boosted By Europa League Spot". stokecityfc.com. Stoke City FC. 11 May 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Chairman Peter Coates hails 'best Stoke manager' Pulis". BBC Sport. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  9. ^ "Tony Pulis leaves Stoke City after seven years in charge". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Mark Hughes: Stoke City appoint former QPR manager". BBC Sport. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Three-year deal for Mark Hughes as new Stoke City era begins". The Sentinel. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Gary Rowett: Stoke City name Derby County boss as their new manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Nathan Jones: Stoke City appoint Luton Town boss as manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Michael O'Neill: Stoke City appoint Northern Ireland boss as new manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Michael O'Neill: Stoke City sack manager after poor start to the season". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Alex Neil: Sunderland boss leaves to become Stoke City's new manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Alex Neil departs Potters". Stoke City. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Steven Schumacher: Stoke City name Plymouth Argyle boss as head coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Stoke City 4-0 Bristol City: Million Manhoef stars as Potters finish season with crushing win". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Narcís Pèlach appointed by Potters". Stoke City. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Pèlach departs Potters". Stoke City. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  22. ^ "Stoke appoint ex-Coventry boss Robins as manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  23. ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places
  24. ^ "Walter Cox". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  25. ^ "Harry Lockett". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  26. ^ "Joseph Bradshaw". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  27. ^ "Arthur Reeves". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  28. ^ "Bill Rowley". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  29. ^ "Horace Austerberry". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  30. ^ "Alfred Barker". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  31. ^ "Peter Hodge". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  32. ^ "Arthur Shallcross". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  33. ^ "Jock Rutherford". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  34. ^ "Tom Mather". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  35. ^ "Bob McGrory". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  36. ^ "Frank Taylor". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  37. ^ "Tony Waddington". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  38. ^ "George Eastham". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  39. ^ "Alan A'Cort". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  40. ^ a b "Alan Durban". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  41. ^ "Richie Barker". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  42. ^ "Bill Asprey". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  43. ^ "Mick Mills". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  44. ^ "Alan Ball". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  45. ^ a b English National Football Archive
  46. ^ "Joe Jordan". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  47. ^ "Chic Bates". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  48. ^ "Chris Kamara". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  49. ^ "Brain Little". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  50. ^ "Gary Megson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  51. ^ "Gudjon Thordarson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  52. ^ "Steve Cotterill". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  53. ^ "Dave Kevan". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  54. ^ a b "Tony Pulis". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  55. ^ "Johan Boskamp". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  56. ^ "Mark Hughes". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  57. ^ "Eddie Niedzwiecki". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  58. ^ "Paul Lambert". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  59. ^ "Gary Rowett". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  60. ^ "Nathan Jones". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  61. ^ "Rory Delap". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  62. ^ "Michael O'Neill". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  63. ^ "Dean Holden". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  64. ^ "Alex Neil". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  65. ^ "Alex Neil". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  66. ^ "Steven Schumacher". Soccerbase.
  67. ^ "Alex Morris". Soccerbase.
  68. ^ a b "Ryan Shawcross". Soccerbase.
  69. ^ "Narcís Pèlach". Soccerbase.
  70. ^ "Mark Robins". Soccerbase.
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