List of Bristol Rovers F.C. managers

Bristol Rovers first full-time manager, Alfred Homer.

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. That was until the appointment of Darrell Clarke who guided Bristol Rovers to back-to-back promotions, the first in the club's history making him the most successful Bristol Rovers manager ever.

In all the club has had 35 full-time managers (excluding caretaker managers).

Managers

  • All statistics are from Bristol Rovers Football Club – The Definitive History 1883–2003 unless otherwise stated.
  • Information correct as of match played 29 December 2024
Name Nationality Bristol Rovers career Games Won Drawn Lost % won[α] Honours Notes
Alfred Homer  England 1899Summer 1899 – July 1920 652 243 148 261 37.3 Southern League champions, 3 Gloucestershire Cups
Ben Hall  England 1920July 1920 – May 1921 45 19 7 19 42.2 -
Andrew Wilson  Scotland 1921June 1921 – April 1926 230 74 64 92 32.2 Gloucestershire Cup winner
Joe Palmer  England 1926May 1926 – April 1929 138 48 22 68 34.8 Gloucestershire Cup winner
David McLean  Scotland 1929May 1929 – September 1930 58 16 12 30 27.6 -
Albert Prince-Cox  England 1930October 1930 – October 1936 295 115 67 113 39.0 Division 3 South Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups
Percy Smith  England 1936November 1936 – November 1937 52 17 9 26 32.7 -
Brough Fletcher  England 1938January 1938 – January 1950 227 80 49 98 35.2 3 Gloucestershire Cups
Bert Tann  England 1950January 1950 – April 1968 897 369 216 314 41.1 Division 3 South champions, Gloucestershire Cups: won 5, shared 5
Fred Ford  England 1968April 1968 – July 1969 70 26 16 28 37.1 -
Bill Dodgin Sr.  England 1969August 1969 – July 1972 163 72 47 44 44.2 -
Don Megson  England 1972July 1972 – November 1977 269 91 85 93 33.8 Watney Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups, promotion to Division 2
Bobby Campbell  Scotland 1977November 1977 – December 1979 91 32 19 40 35.2 -
Harold Jarman  England 1979December 1979 – April 1980 24 7 9 8 29.2 -
Terry Cooper  England 1980April 1980 – October 1981 68 13 19 36 19.1 -
Ron Gingell (caretaker)  England 1981 (1)October 1981 1 0 1 0 0.0 -
Bobby Gould  England 1981 (2)October 1981 – May 1983
May 1985 – June 1987		 196 71 42 83 36.2 Gloucestershire Cup winner
David Williams  Wales 1983May 1983 – May 1985 108 51 28 29 47.2 2 Gloucestershire Cups
Gerry Francis  England 1987July 1987 – May 1991
July 2001 – December 2001		 240 95 72 73 39.6 Division 3 champions, 2 Gloucestershire Cups [1]
Martin Dobson  England 1991 (1)July 1991 – October 1991 12 1 2 9 8.3 -
Dennis Rofe  England 1991 (2)October 1991 – November 1992 63 21 18 24 33.3 Gloucestershire Cup winner
Malcolm Allison  England 1992November 1992 – February 1993 18 6 4 8 33.3 -
Steve Cross (caretaker)  England 1993 (1)March 1993 3 0 1 2 0.0 -
John Ward  England 1993 (2)March 1993 – May 1996
December 2012 – March 2014		 250 101 70 79 40.4 2 Gloucestershire Cups [2]
Ian Holloway  England 1996June 1996 – January 2001 249 92 67 90 36.9 -
Garry Thompson  England 2001 (1)January 2001 – May 2001[β]
December 2001 – April 2002		 47 14 10 23 29.8 - [3]
Phil Bater (caretaker)  Wales 2002 (1)April 2002
January 2004 – March 2004		 14 1 6 7 7.1 - [4]
Ray Graydon  England 2002 (2)April 2002 – January 2004 81 22 22 37 27.2 - [5]
Russell Osman
Kevan Broadhurst (joint caretakers)[γ]		  England 2004 (2)March 2004 – April 2004 6 3 2 1 50.0 - [6][7]
Ian Atkins  England 2004 (3)April 2004 – September 2005 68 21 26 21 30.9 - [8]
Paul Trollope  Wales 2005September 2005 – December 2010 284 106 71 107 37.3 League 2 play-off winner [9]
Darren Patterson (caretaker)  Northern Ireland 2010December 2010 – January 2011 2 0 0 2 0.0 [10]
Dave Penney  England 2011aJanuary 2011 – March 2011 13 2 2 9 15.4 [11]
Stuart Campbell (caretaker)  Scotland 2011bMarch 2011 – May 2011 12 4 3 5 33.3 [12]
Paul Buckle  England 2011cMay 2011 – January 2012 29 8 6 15 27.5 [13]
Mark McGhee  Scotland 2012January 2012 – December 2012 45 12 12 21 26.6 [14]
Darrell Clarke  England 2014March 2014 – December 2018 246 104 56 86 42.3 Conference Premier play-off winner, promotion to League One [15]
Graham Coughlan  Republic of Ireland 2018December 2018 – December 2019 56 25 18 13 44.6 [16]
Joe Dunne (caretaker)  Republic of Ireland 2019aDecember 2019 1 1 0 0 100 [17]
Kevin Maher (caretaker)  Republic of Ireland 2019bDecember 2019
January 2020[δ]		 1 0 1 0 0.0 [18]
Ben Garner  England 2019cDecember 2019 – November 2020[ε] 33 6 10 17 18.2 [20]
Tommy Widdrington (caretaker)  England 2020aNovember 2020
February 2021		 3 2 0 1 66.6
Paul Tisdale  England 2020bNovember 2020 – February 2021 19 5 3 11 26.3 [21]
Joey Barton  England 2020bFebruary 2021 – October 2023 143 53 30 60 37.1 Promotion to League One [22]
Andy Mangan (caretaker)  England 2023aOctober 2023 – November 2023 7 4 2 1 57.1
Matt Taylor  England 2023bNovember 2023 – December 2024 57 19 7 31 33.3
David Horseman (caretaker)  England 2024aDecember 2024 2 0 1 1 0.0
Iñigo Calderón  Spain 2024bDecember 2024 – Present 1 0 0 1 0.0

Notes

  1. ^ Win percentage is rounded to one decimal place
  2. ^ Garry Thompson was caretaker manager for his first spell in charge
  3. ^ Russell Osman and Kevan Broadhurst were appointed joint caretaker managers at the end of the 2003–04 season
  4. ^ Kevin Maher was caretaker manager for one game before the appointment of Ben Garner, then again when Garner was granted compassionate leave
  5. ^ Ben Garner was away on compassionate leave from 12 to 22 January 2020 due to a family illness.[19]

Records

Most games managed

As of 8 February 2024

Manager Games Years
1 EnglandBert Tann 897 1950-1968
2 EnglandAlfred Homer 652 1899-1920
3 EnglandAlbert Prince-Cox 295 1930-1936
4 WalesPaul Trollope 284 2005-2010
5 EnglandDon Megson 269 1972-1977
6 EnglandJohn Ward 250 1993-1996, 2012–2014
7 EnglandIan Holloway 249 1996-2001
8 EnglandDarrell Clarke 246 2014-2018
9 EnglandGerry Francis 240 1987-1991, 2001
10 ScotlandAndrew Wilson 230 1921-1926
11 EnglandBrough Fletcher 227 1938-1950
12 EnglandBobby Gould 196 1981-1983, 1985–1987
13 EnglandBill Dodgin Sr. 163 1969-1972
14 EnglandJoey Barton 143 2021-2023
15 EnglandJoe Palmer 138 1926-1929
16 WalesDavid Williams 108 1983-1985

Most Wins

As of Information correct as of 8 February 2024

Wins Games Years
1 EnglandBert Tann 369 897 1950-1968
2 EnglandAlfred Homer 243 652 1899-1920
3 EnglandAlbert Prince-Cox 115 295 1930-1936
4 WalesPaul Trollope 106 284 2005-2010
5 EnglandDarrell Clarke 104 246 2014-2018
6 EnglandJohn Ward 101 250 1993-1996, 2012–2014

Highest win percentages

Manager Win% Games Years
1 WalesDavid Williams 47.2 108 1983-1985
2 Republic of IrelandGraham Coughlan 44.6 56 2018-2019
3 EnglandBill Dodgin Sr. 44.2 163 1969-1972
4 EnglandDarrell Clarke 42.3 246 2014-2018
5 EnglandBen Hall 42.2 45 1920-1921

Promotions

Manager Promotions Years
1 EnglandDarrell Clarke 2 2015, 2016
2 EnglandBert Tann 1 1953
EnglandDon Megson 1974
EnglandGerry Francis 1990
WalesPaul Trollope 2007
EnglandJoey Barton 2022

Nationalities

As of 26 December 2024
Country Managers
1 EnglandEngland 29
2 ScotlandScotland 4
3 WalesWales 2
4 Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland 1
SpainSpain

References

  1. ^ "Gerry Francis's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  2. ^ "John Ward's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Garry Thompson's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  4. ^ "Phil Bater's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  5. ^ "Ray Graydon's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 20 January 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  6. ^ "Russell Osman's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  7. ^ "Kevan Broadhurst's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  8. ^ "Ian Atkins's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  9. ^ "Paul Trollope's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Darren Patterson's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 15 December 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Dave Penney's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  12. ^ bbc sport 07.05.11
  13. ^ bbc sport 05.01.12
  14. ^ "Mark McGhee's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Darrell Clarke's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 4 June 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Graham Coughlan". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  17. ^ "Joe Dunne". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Kevin Maher". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Bristol Rovers: Ben Garner granted extended leave as manager over family matter". BBC Sport. 12 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Ben Garner". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Paul Tisdale". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  22. ^ "Joey Barton". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.

Bibliography