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Wolves Managers From 1885 to Present Day

1885/1922 Jack Addenbroke

Jack Addenbroke was associated with Wolves FC for almost 40 years after joining the club as a reserve team player during the 1880s whilst working as a teacher in a local school. In August 1885 he was appointed the club's secretary-manager, though at the time he didn't have full powers of team selection nor complete control over which players the club were to sign. During Addenbroke's time in charge the club had an excellent FA Cup record, for after loosing to Preston NE 3-0 in the 1889 final at the Oval, they won the Cup in 1893 when they beat Everton 1-0 at Fallowfield. Two years later they reached the final again only to loose to Sheffield Wednesday but in 1908 were once again victorious when they beat Newcastle Utd 3-1. In 1921, Wolves reached the final for a 5th under Addenbroke but lost to Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. Addenbroke was also the Staffordshire FA vice-president, serving on the committee for 28 years from 1894. In 1909 he was awarded the Football League long service medal.

1922/1924 George Jobey 

As a player, George Jobey began his Football League career with Newcastle Utd where he won a League Championship medal in 1908/09 and an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1911. In May 1913 he joined Woolwich Arsenal for a fee of £500 and scored the Gunners first goal at their new Highbury ground. After just 1 season he joined Bradford and then appeared for Hamilton Academicals during the First World War. When the hostilities were over, he played for Leicester City and Northampton Town before retiring in September 1922 to become manager of Wolves FC. In his first season with the club, they only scored 42 goals. Jobey then worked miracles to turn Wolves fortunes around and they won the 3rd Division (North) Championship by 1 point from Rochdale. Jobey was renowned for his disciplinarian approach and often frightened his players so much that they became nervous wrecks if they displeased him. After his surprise departure from Molineux at the end of that championship winning season, he ran a hotel for a year until Derby County enticed him back into football as their manager in the summer of 1925. He really made a name for himself at the Baseball ground, leading them back into the 1st Division at the end of his first season with derby. He signed three of Derby's greatest ever players and in 1929/30 and 1935/36, he led the club to the runners-up spot in the 1st Division. In May 1941, Jobey was suspended for life when it was discovered that he had been paying illegal bonuses to his players since being appointed in 1925. The suspension was lifted in 1945 but he didn't return to the game until 1952 when he became manager of Mansfield Town.

1924/1926 Albert Hoskins

After failing to make the grade as a player at Molineux, Albert Hoskins worked his way up from office boy to become club secretary. For a good number of years he as assistant to Jack Addenbrooke, he took over as manager in May 1924. Hoskins efficiently combined his duties as the club secretary with those of organising the playing side. In 1924/25, his first season in charge, the club finished a very creditable 6th and then 4th the following season in the 2nd Division. Hoskins surprisingly left Wolves in March 1926 to join Gillingham as secretary-manager. After a spell at Torquay Utd, he worked as a trainer, coach and scout for a number of non-league clubs, but on the outbreak of war in 1939 he left football.

1926/1927 Fred Scotchbrook

Fred joined Bolton just before the start of the First World War but after only five appearances for them he decided he wasn't good enough for that standard of football and retired to concentrate on coaching. He remained at Burden Park as coach and then as assistant-secretary before joining Stockport County as manager in Novemebr 1924. In 1924/25 Stockport finished in a disappointing 19th place, only 3 points above the relegation place. Scotchbrook's 2nd season with them was even worse, as they lost 6 of their first 7 matches. He was sacked in Febuary 1926 and Stockport still finished bottom of the 2nd Division. His record at Stockport did not deter Wolves from appointing him manager, though he was never given full control at Molineux and became disheartened when directors would make decisions on a whim, which he could do nothing to prevent. Scotchbrook blamed the directors for the clubs lack of success and left soon after criticising club policy at the annual meeting in the summer of 1927

1927/1944 Major Frank Buckley

Although Major Frank Buckley is one of the most famous managers of all time, none of his sides won a major honour, although Wolves came close to the League and Cup double in 1939 but just missed out on both. Born in Urmston, Buckley served as a player with Aston Villa, Brighton, Man Utd, Man City, Birmingham, Derby County and Bradford City before the First World War, winning one England cap against Ireland in 1914. He fought in the Boer War and in World War One he joined the 17th Middlesex Regiment as an officer, reaching the rank of major in 1916. He commanded the 'Footballers Battalion', made up of soccer professionals, and on his return continued to be known as Major Buckley. After the hostilities he became manager of Norwich City but due to a crisis at the club, six directors resigned, many players left and Buckley also resigned. After a spell in charge at Blackpool, he was appointed manager of Wolves. By the time the Second World War came, Wolves had risen from a mediocre 2nd Division side to runners-up in the League and FA Cup. In his early years with the club Buckley signed some outstanding players, notably Walter Bottrill, Charlie Phillips, Dai Richards and Alf Tootill and in 1931/32 the club returned to the top flight after winning the 2nd Division Championship. In the 1930's, Buckley brought players of the calibre of Stan Cullis, Billy Wright, Jimmy Mullen and Dennis Westcott to Molineux and they were just about to reach their peak when the war came. After finishing runners-up in the 1st Divisionto Everton in 1938/39 they were surprisingly beaten 4-1 by 2nd Division Portsmouth in the FA Cup final. Though some of Buckley's methods were deemed controversial, like his monkey-gland injections, they were in reality just inoculations against colds. However, he did send a number of players to see a psychologist in his search for the elusive confidence that is so important to players.  Buckley resigned his post in March 1944 following the retirement of his greatest ally, chairman Ben Mathews. He later managed Notts County, Hull City, Leeds United and Walsall before bowing out of the game at the age of 72.

1944/1948 Ted Vizard

Ted Vizard played rugby for Penarth and football for Barry Town before being recommended to Bolton Wanderers by an old school friend. The Lancashire club signed him and in November 1910 he made his debut in a 3-0 win over Gainsborough Trinity. The first of his Welsh caps came in 1911, only 2 months after his first appearance in the league, and his last in October 1926 when he was 37. During the First World War, Vizard served in the RAF and 'guested' for Chelsea, alongside another Bolton player, Joe Smith. The pair formed an ideal partnership and helped the Stamford Bridge club win the 1918 London v Lancashire Cup Final. Ted Vizard was a member of Bolton's successful FA Cup winning teams of 1923 and 1926 and though not a prolific scorer, netted a hat-trick in a 3-0 defeat of Arsenal in October 1925. He made the last of his 512 appearances, in which he had scored 70 goals, in March 1931. At the age of 41, he was the oldest player to appear in a first team game for the club until Peter Shilton kept goal for the Trotters in 1995. After leaving Bolton he became manager of Swindon Town and later took charge of QPR before being appointed manager of Wolves in April 1944 as a replacement for Major Buckley. Vizard, who got the job from almost 100 applicants, laid the foundations for future success at Molineux. Unfortunatly, he was not the game's greatest motivator and in the summer of 1948 he was replaced by his assistant Stan Cullis, despite taking the club to 3rd place in the 1st Division in 1946/47.

1948/1964 Stan Cullis

1964/1965 Andy Beattie

A Scottish international, he has probably been involved with more clubs than any other person in the history of English football. He began his League career with Preston NE and appeared for them in the 1937 and 1938 FA Cup finals. He won seven Scottish caps between April 1937 and December 1938 plus another five in wartime internationals. On retirement from playing, Beattie's first managerial position was with Barrow but after producing a new found team spirit he had a disagreement with the club chairman. He resigned but was reinstated when the other diectors forced the chairman to leave instead. After moving to Stockport County in a similar capacity, he was enticed to Huddersfield Town in April 1952 and, although he was too late to stave off relegation, he guided them to promotion the following season. He served twice as team manager of Scotland, once in 1954 when he took them to the World Cup finals, and for a brief period in 1959/60. After resigning at Huddersfield in 1956 he had a short spell with Carlisle Utd before replacing Billy Walker at Nottingham Forest. Beattie spent three seasons at Forest before joining Plymouth Argyle as caretaker-manager and saved them from relegation by the smallest of margins. In November 1964, Beattie was appointed caretaker-manager of Wolves. During his first season he used 28 players and the campaign ended in relegation to the 2nd Division. After a 9-3 defeat at Southampton and his wife being ill, Beattie decided that he had had enough and resigned. In December 1965 he joined Notts County as general manager and later had coaching and scouting spells with Sheffield Utd, Brentford, Wolves, Walsall and Liverpool. Enjoying a long, successful career in the game, he left his mark on many clubs in the Football League.

1965/1968 Ronnie Allen

Ronnie Allen was soon finding the net for his local side Port Vale and in 1947/48, his first full season, he was the club's top scorer with 13 goals including hat-tricks in the wins over Aldershot and Watford. He had scored 38 goals in 135 League and Cup games when in March 1950 he was allowed to join West Brom for £20,000. He scored on his debut in a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves and over the net 11 seasons, scored 231 goals in 457 first team appearances. at the Hawthornes, Allen won five full caps for England and in 1954 won an FA Cup medal as West Brom beat Preston NE 3-2. In May 1961 he joined Crystal Palace and scored 37 goals in 109 games before retiring. He then became coach of Wolves taking over as manager on Andy Beattie's departure in January 1966. When Allen took over, Wolves were struggling near the bottom of the 2nd Division but he bought wisely, signing both Mike Bailey and Derek Dougan, and in 1966/67 they won promotion to the 1st Division. When things started to go wrong at Molineux, Allen was sacked and spent 4 years abroad managing Athletico Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon. After returning to England to take charge at Walsall, he returned to the Hawthorns, first as scouting adviser and then as manager. He later took charge of the Saudi Arabia national side and Panathinaikos of Athens before returning to manage West Brom for a second time.

1968/1976 Bill McGarry

Discovered by Port Vale in 1945, Bill McGarry moved to Huddersfield Town for a fee of £12,000 in March 1951. He soon established himself in the 2st Division and in 1954 he won the first of four England caps when he played in the World Cup finals in Switzerland. He was also capped for England B, played for the Football League and went on the FA's 1956 South African tour. He scored 26 goals in 381 League and Cup games for the Yorkshire club before becoming Bournemouth's first player-manager. From July 1963 he was the manager of Watford and in October 1964 he moved to Ipswich Town as manager. In 1967/68 he took the club to the 2nd Division Championship but in November 1968 he moved to take charge at Wolves. Renowned for his competitiveness as a player, he carried that approach into his managerial career at Molineux and led Wolves into Europe where they reached the final of the UEFA Cup. He also led them to success in the 1974 League Cup final before being sacked in the summer of 1976 after the club had been relegated. He later coached in Saudi Arabia and managed Newcastle Utd. There followed spells as Brighton scout, Power Dynamo (Zambia) coach, Zambian national team manager and a period as coach in South Africa before he spent 61 days in a second spell managing Wolves. Disillusioned, he quit the game before returning to South Africa to coach Bopnutbuswanana

1976/1978 Sammy Chung

Sammy Chung, whose father was Chinese and his mother English, was a utility player who began his career as a part-time center forward with Headington Utd. he later joined Reading but didn't sign proffesional forms until he had completed his national service. After a spell with Norwich City he joined Watford and played in 240 games for them, gaining his FA coaching badge whilst with that club. On leaving Watford and his role as player-coach, he joined Ipswich town as coach under Bill McGarry, who had also been his boss at Watford. When McGarry became Wolves manager, Chung followed him to Molineux as trainer-coach before succeeding him in June 1976. His time wasn't a happy one and with the fans calling for his head, he was sacked.

1978/1982 John Barnwell

An amateur with the famous Bishop Auckland team, he attracted the attention of a number of Football League clubs before signing for arsenal in November 1956. It was whislt doing his National Service in the RASC that he was chosen to represent the British Army. At Highbury he made 151 league and cup appearances and won one England Under-23 cap. He joined Nottingham Forest in March 1964 for £30,000 and as one of the games first true midfield players, settled into a deep-lying linking role. In 6 seasons at the City Ground he scored 25 goals in 201 league and Cup appearances. He was transferred to Sheffield Utd at the end of the 1969/70 season but soon left to become coach at Hereford Utd and later Peterborough Utd. In November 1979 he was named as Wolves new manager after a week of speculation. Wolves almost made it to Wembley that season but lost in the FA Cup semi-final to one of his former clubs Arsenal. Barnwell almost lost his life in a horrific car crash in which he suffered a fractured skull. He returned to take charge just after the start of the 1970/80 season and set the football world talking when he sold Steve Daley to Manchester City for £1.15 million and brought Andy Gray to Molineux from Aston Villa for £1.5 million. It was the Scottish international who scored Wolves goal when they beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 to win the League Cup in 1980. The following season, Wolves reached the FA Cup semi-finals but finished 18th in the 1st Division. With Wolves bottom of the league in January 1982 Barnwell was given an ultimatum to accept the terms of a new contract or resign. Not surprisingly he terminated his contract after seeking legal advice. After a spell coaching in Saudi Arabia he became manager of AEK Athens. He later returned to this Britain and managed both Notts County and Walsall.

1982 Ian Greaves

Ian Greaves joined Manchester United in the early 1950s but found his first team opportunities rare. He did win a League Championship medal in 1955/56 by appearing in the last 14 games of the season, but it was the Munich air crash which provided the unhappy opening for his breakthrough. He played in the 1958 FA Cup final but after 75 appearances for United he moved to Lincoln City before ending his playing career with Oldham Athletic. His first managerial post was with Huddersfield Town and in 1970 he took them to the 2nd Division title. After 2 seasons in the top flight, the Yorkshire club suffered successive relegations to the 3rd Division, and after a boardroom struggle he walked out to take charge at Bolton Wanderers. He took Bolton to the semi-finals of the League Cup in 1977 and the following season to the 2nd Division Championship. In January 1980, with Bolton firmly rooted to the foot of the 1st Division, he was dismissed. After a spell in charge at Oxford Utd, he became manager at Wolves. Although he was highly regarded by the clubs supporters, he failed to halt Wolves decline. After only 5 wins in 6 months at Molineux, he was sacked by the new regime led by Derek Dougan. In 1983 he became manager of Mansfield Town, leading them to promotion and victory at Wembley in the Freight Rover Trophy Final. 

1982/1984 Graham Hawkins

Central defender Hawkins began his playing career in the 1st Division with Wolves and made his debut against WBA in October 1964. He was never a regular at Molineux and after only 35 appearances in 4 seasons he moved to Preston NE. Seen as a successor to Tony Singleton, he did not make too many appearances in his early days owing to his misfortune of being injured in his debut. He was one of the clubs youngest ever captains at 22, and went on to make 245 league appearances for the Deepdale club before joining neighbours Blackburn Rovers in June 1974. There he played 109 league games before moving to Port Vale where he ended his playing career. After a spell as assistant-manager at Shrewsbury Town, he was employed by Derek Dougan when the Irish international became chief executive at Molineux and helped the club regain their top-flight status as runners-up to QPR in 1982/83. He made some shrewd signings but after Wolves  failed to win any of their first 16 games in the 1st Division and were relegated straight back, it came as no surprise that he was sacked.

1984/1985 Tommy Docherty

Glasgow born Tommy Docherty had worked his way up through Celtic's junior ranks and served with the Highland Light Infantry for 2 years in Palestine before joining Preston NE in November 1949 for £4,000. A fearless wing-half, he was capable of dispossessing the best of opponenets and instantly turning defence into attack with the drive of an aggressive ball player. A terror in the tackle, "The Doc" had the cure for most inside-forwards. He won the first of 25 Scottish caps against Wales in 1952 but after playing in 324 out of a possible 356 games, missing 21 through injury and 7 through international calls, he moved to Arsenal for £28,000 in August 1958. Tragically ironic for Docherty was his misfortune in breaking a leg when playing for the Gunners against Preston. He packed away his boots to become senior coach to Chelsea before being appointed caretaker-manager in September 1961. Four months later his appointment was confirmed on a permanent basis and in 1967 he took the young Chelsea side to the FA Cup final where they lost 2-1 to Spurs. One of the games most controversial characters, he was an outspoken and much travelled manager. He left Chelsea in 1967 and after a year in charge of Rotherham Utd he took on the challenge of QPR, but he left within a month. He then joined Aston Villa but, following one of the worst seasons in the clubs history he was sacked in January 1970. After a spell with Porto he was appointed Scotland's team manager, giving them an immediate boost before succeeding Frank O'Farrell at Man Utd. In four and a half seasons at Old Trafford he assembled an exciting side and led them to success in the FA Cup final of 1977. He later managed Derby County, QPR (2nd time!) and after a spell in Australia, Preston NE. In June 1984 he was appointed manager of Wolves but the club finished bottom of the 2nd Division in 1984/85, and though Docherty tried his best to save them, a run of 21 games without a win meant the situation couldn't be saved and in July 1985 he was sacked.

1985 Sammy Chapman

Sammy Chapman was an attacking wing-half and a great favourite at Mansfield Town where he scored 41 goals in 168 games. After a spell with Portsmouth he became coach at Crewe before joining Wolves as a chief scout. Following the departure of Tommy Docherty, Chapman became the caretaker manager until the arrival of Bill McGarry in September 1985. (continued below)

1985 Bill McGarry - see above

1985/1986 Sammy Chapman

Chapman was the surprise choice as manager of Wolves after Bill McGarry left after just 61 days, they had just been relegated to the 3rd Division for the first time since 1923. Sadly he was never cut out to be manager and Wolves were relegated again at the end of the 1985/86 season and in the summer he was relieved of his duties.

1986 Brian Little

Brian Little began his career with Aston Villa where he played an important part in the club's FA Youth Cup success. He went on to win League Cup Winners medals in 1975 and 1977, scoring two of Villa's goals in the 3-2 win over Everton in the third match of that final at Old Trafford. He was the 2nd Divisions leading scorer in 1974/75 with 20 goals including a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Oldham Athletic. At the end of that season, he won his only England cap when he came on as a substitute for the final 10 minutes of the match against Wales at Wembley. Sadly he was forced to give up playing football on medical grounds. He had a spell working in the club's promotion department before moving to Molineux as first team coach. He then replaced Sammy Chapman as manager. He was replaced by Graham Turner a few weeks later and has since managed a number of clubs.

1986/1994 Graham Turner

A former England Youth international, Graham Turner appeared in 634 league games for Wrexham, Chester and Shrewsbury between 1965 and 1984. He was appointed player-manager of Shrewsbury Ton in 1978 and in 1978/79 led them to the 3rd Division Championship. They also reached the 6th round of the FA Cup that season before losing at Highbury in a replay. In July 1984 he accepted a lucrative offer to take over at Aston Villa. But after two mediocre seasons and a poor start to the 1986/87 campaign he was sacked. A month later he was offered the managers job at Wolves, who were near the foot of the 4th Division and heavily in debt. After a disappointing start which saw Wolves knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Chorley, Turner made some important signings (including the future legend Steve Bull) and took Wolves to the 4th Division play-offs where they surprisingly lost to Aldershot. However, the following season they won the 4th Division Championship and the Sherpa Van Trophy. In 1988/89 they won the 3rd Division title in style but struggled in the 2nd Division. After a poor start to the 1991/92 season, there was talk that Turner would be sacked, but results improved and he stayed until March 1994 when he was replaced by Graham Taylor. Turner is currently director of football at Hereford Utd.

1994/1995 Graham Taylor

After a playing career with Grimsby Town and Lincoln City, Graham Taylor began his managerial career with the Sincil bank club and in 1976 took them to the 4th Division title until, in June 1977, he received a good offer to take over at Watford. He stayed at Vicarage road for over ten years, working alongside Elton John. He took Watford from the 4th Division to runners-up spot in the 1st Division in 1982/83 and in 1984 he led them to their first ever FA Cup final, where they lost to Everton. Deciding he needed a fresh challenge, he became manager of Aston Villa in July 1987. at that stage the club were in the 2nd Division and by the end of his first season in charge they were back in Division 1 after finishing runners-up to Millwall. after just avoiding relegation in 1988/89, they ended the following campaign as runners-up to Liverpool. Taylor left Villa Park in May 1990 to take over from Bobby Robson as England's team manager. However his career hit rock bottom with the European Championships of 1992 and within days of England failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals he had resigned. In April 1994 he was appointed manager of Wolves and in his first season led them to 4th place in the 1st Division and the play-offs. Despite beating Bolton 2-1 at home they lost 2-0 in the second leg. Expectations were high for the 1995/96 season, especially as money had been spent, but the performances on the pitch did not match up to the financial outlay and in December 1995 Graham Taylor was replaced by Mark McGhee. Taylor then returned to Vicarage Road as general manager and helped the Hornets win promotion to the Premier League.

1995/1998 Mark McGhee

1998/2000 Colin Lee

2001 to Present Dave Jones