List of Bolton Wanderers F.C. managers

The following is a list of managers of Bolton Wanderers Football Club and their major honours from the beginning of the club's official managerial records in 1885 to the present day. As of the 2020–21 season, Bolton Wanderers have had 28 full-time managers with one, Nat Lofthouse, being in charge on two occasions.

The most successful person to manage Bolton Wanderers, to date, is Charles Foweraker, who won three FA Cups in his 25-year reign as manager. He is also the club's longest-serving manager. The current manager is Ian Evatt, appointed in July 2020.[1]

Statistics

Information correct as of matches played up to 18 January 2025. Only competitive matches are counted.[2]

Name Nationality From To P W D L Win%[a] Honours Minor Honours (First Team only) Notes
Tom Rawthorne  England 1 August 1874 31 May 1885 13 6 4 3 046.15 [b]
John Bentley  England 1 August 1885 31 May 1886 3 1 1 1 033.33 1 Lancashire Senior Cup: 1886 [b]
William Struthers  Scotland 1 August 1886 31 May 1887 3 2 0 1 066.67 [b]
Fitzroy Norris  England 1 August 1887 1 December 1887 3 0 2 1 000.00 [b]
John Bentley  England 1 December 1887 31 May 1895 200 89 25 86 044.50 1 Lancashire Senior Cup: 1891 [b]
Harry Downs  England 1 August 1895 31 May 1896 35 19 6 10 054.29 [b]
Frank Brettell  England 1 August 1896 31 May 1898 68 26 13 29 038.24 [b]
John Somerville  Scotland 1 August 1898 1 January 1910 438 192 77 169 043.84 Football League Second Division Champions 1908–09
Will Settle  England 1 January 1910 31 May 1915 224 97 46 81 043.30 1 Lancashire Senior Cup: 1912
Tom Mather  England 1 August 1915 31 May 1919 0 0 0 0 !—
Charles Foweraker  England 1 July 1919 1 August 1944 912 373 231 308 040.90 3 FA Cups: 1923, 1926, 1929 6 Lancashire Senior Cups: 1922, 1925, 1927, 1932, 1934, 1939 (shared with Preston North End)
Walter Rowley  England 1 August 1944 1 October 1950 197 64 44 89 032.49 1 Football League War Cup: 1945; 1 Lancashire Senior Cup: 1948
Bill Ridding  England 1 October 1950 1 August 1968 767 290 184 293 037.81 1 FA Cup: 1958, 1 FA Charity Shield: 1958
Nat Lofthouse  England 1 December 1968 1 November 1970 81 22 23 36 027.16
Jimmy McIlroy  Northern Ireland 1 November 1970 19 November 1970 2 0 0 2 000.00
Jimmy Meadows  England 13 January 1971 30 April 1971 16 1 4 11 006.25
Nat Lofthouse  England 1 May 1971 1 August 1971 0 0 0 0 !—
Jimmy Armfield  England 1 August 1971 4 October 1974 180 80 47 53 044.44 Football League Third Division Champions 1972–73
Ian Greaves  England 7 October 1974 28 January 1980 230 90 66 74 039.13 Football League Second Division Champions 1977–78
Stan Anderson  England 28 January 1980 31 May 1981 62 18 17 27 029.03
George Mulhall  Scotland 1 June 1981 1 June 1982 42 13 7 22 030.95
John McGovern  Scotland 1 June 1982 7 January 1985 118 37 26 55 031.36
Charlie Wright  Scotland 7 February 1985 6 December 1985 44 11 8 25 025.00
Phil Neal  England 18 December 1985 8 May 1992 351 132 103 116 037.61 1 Football League Trophy: 1989 2 Lancashire Senior Cups: 1989, 1991
Bruce Rioch  Scotland 29 May 1992 8 June 1995 172 83 42 47 048.26
Roy McFarland  England 20 June 1995 2 January 1996 28 5 7 16 017.86 [c]
Colin Todd  England 2 January 1996 22 September 1999 183 79 53 51 043.17 Football League First Division Champions 1996–97
Sam Allardyce  England 19 October 1999 29 April 2007 371 153 104 114 041.24 1 FA Premier League Asia Trophy: 2005
Sammy Lee  England 30 April 2007 7 October 2007 14 3 4 7 021.43
Gary Megson  England 25 October 2007 30 December 2009 99 27 27 45 027.27
Owen Coyle  Republic of Ireland 8 January 2010 9 October 2012 126 42 24 60 033.33
Dougie Freedman  Scotland 23 October 2012 3 October 2014 101 34 33 34 033.66
Neil Lennon  Northern Ireland 12 October 2014 15 March 2016 80 18 26 36 022.50
Phil Parkinson  England 10 June 2016 21 August 2019 157 49 34 74 031.21
Keith Hill  England 31 August 2019 30 June 2020 33 6 11 16 018.18
Ian Evatt  England 1 July 2020 260 130 58 72 050.00 1 EFL Trophy: 2023 [d]

Notes

  1. ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Secretary of the committee that chose the team
  3. ^ Colin Todd was appointed as a de facto co-manager with McFarland but McFarland was always treated as the senior partner by the press.
  4. ^ Head Coach until 16 December 2020, role then changed to Manager

References

  1. ^ "Ian Evatt appointed as Bolton Wanderers Head Coach". bwfc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Bolton Manager History | Past & Present | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.