Gary Megson
Encyclopedia
Gary John Megson is an English
former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday
.
He has previously managed Norwich City
, Blackpool
, Stockport County
, Stoke City
, West Bromwich Albion
, Nottingham Forest
, Leicester City
and Bolton Wanderers
. His biggest successes so far came at West Bromwich Albion, where he won promotion to the Premier League in 2002 and again in 2004.
He is the son of former player Don Megson
and the brother of Neil Megson
, another former footballer.
, where he impressed enough for Everton
to sign him for a £250,000 transfer fee. Megson struggled to establish himself in the Everton line-up, and after two years at Goodison, he moved to Sheffield Wednesday
, where his father had once played, for a fee of £130,000.
Megson immediately gained a place in Wednesday's starting lineup, and was a member of the team that gained promotion to the top flight in 1983–84, ending a 14-year exile from the elite. In his three years at Hillsborough
, he missed only three league games. In the summer of 1984, he was signed by Nottingham Forest
, only for Brian Clough
to decide "he couldn't trap a bag of cement". Megson spent five months at the City Ground, without making a single first-team appearance before being sold to Newcastle United
.
Megson played regularly for the Magpies for the remainder of the 1984–85 season, but lost his place in the line-up the following season, and moved back to Sheffield Wednesday. In his second spell with the Owls, Megson again established himself as an important member of the squad, and was rarely out of the starting eleven. In January 1989, he moved to Manchester City
, where he spent three and a half seasons, and helped City finish fifth in his final two seasons there.
He then moved to Norwich City
on a free transfer in the summer of 1992, and spent three seasons at Carrow Road. He was an important member of the Norwich side that finished third in the inaugural season the Premier League and played in the UEFA Cup for the first time as a result. In his final season at Norwich, he was also assistant manager to John Deehan
.
When Deehan resigned in the spring of 1995, Megson briefly took charge as caretaker manager, but failed to save City from the drop, losing four and drawing one of his five games in charge. In the summer, he also left Norwich and finished his playing career with short spells at lower division sides Lincoln City
and Shrewsbury Town
. Later the same year, he got a surprise return to Norwich when he was re-appointed manager following Martin O'Neill
's sudden departure to Leicester City
.
. He briefly managed the club following Deehan's resignation in 1995 but was unable to prevent the club's relegation from the Premier League and became assistant manager to Chris Kamara
at Bradford City. He returned to Carrow Road later the same year when new manager Martin O'Neill
left to take charge at Leicester City
. The move however was not without controversy with then chairman Geoffrey Richmond
accusing Norwich of illegally approaching Megson. Megson managed the Canaries for the remainder of the 1995–96 season, but was sacked at the end of the season and replaced by Mike Walker
, who had been manager of Norwich when Megson first joined them.
where he recorded 21 wins in 52 matches – enough to stay clear of relegation to Division Three
, but not quite enough for a playoff place and the chance of promotion to the Division One
.
At Bloomfield Road
, he was assisted by the former Manchester United
midfielder Mike Phelan
, but the partnership failed to bring a Division Two playoff place to the Seasiders, and Megson left at the end of the season.
in 1997 and they came just two places short of the Division One playoffs in his first season as manager. Soon after he left Stockport by mutual consent.
. His tenure at the Britannia Stadium
was brought to an end when the club was sold to an Iceland
ic consortium which appointed its own man, former Iceland national-team
coach Gudjon Thordarson
, to the manager's position.
West Bromwich Albion
in March 2000, just days before the transfer deadline at the end of the 1999–2000
season. It was 14 years since Albion had been in the top flight of English football
, and in that time they had spent their first ever spell (two seasons) in the third tier. Indeed, when Megson was appointed they were in real danger of a second relegation to that level. But he moved quickly to strengthen the team by bringing in several new players. In his first month in charge, Megson received a 28-day touchline ban following his comments to referee Graham Poll
after Albion's 2–0 defeat to Portsmouth
. Megson was unhappy about a penalty that Poll had awarded to Portsmouth; some years later, Poll conceded that it was "one of the worst penalties I've ever given". Albion nevertheless ensured their safety by winning their final game of the season.
The following season Megson took the club into the playoffs, winning the Division One Manager of the Month
award for November 2000 along the way. Albion lost to Bolton Wanderers at the semi-final stage, but the following year
the club won promotion to the Premier League for the first time, overcoming the eleven-point lead of their fierce local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers
in the closing weeks of the campaign. This achievement earned Megson the Nationwide Division One Manager of the Year award, as well as the medieval title Lord of the Manor of West Bromwich. However, the club was barely prepared for the financial challenges of life in the top flight and a bitter quarrel soon developed between Megson and the club's chairman Paul Thompson over what Megson perceived as the latter's interference in footballing matters. An undignified public showdown resulted in Thompson resigning from the board in order to forestall Megson's departure. The board elected Jeremy Peace
as Thompson's successor, and in July 2002 Megson signed a new three-year contract with Albion. However in 2002–03 the club were relegated after just a single season in the Premier League.
Megson mounted a successful promotion campaign the following season
, and return to the Premier League – but by the summer of 2004, the relationship between Megson and Peace had become strained. By September, after a poor start to the season, Megson's job appeared to be under threat. The following month Megson, whose contract was due to end in June 2005, announced that he would not sign a new deal if the club offered one. The board chose to interpret this as a resignation, and on 26 October Megson was dismissed. A settlement for the remainder of his contract was reached in November 2004.
, which became vacant after Dave Jones was sacked – but that job went to Glenn Hoddle
instead. On 10 January 2005, Megson was appointed to succeed Joe Kinnear
as manager of struggling Nottingham Forest
, but was unable to save them from slipping into the third tier of English football for the first time in more than half a century. Promotion back to the Championship
was to be his priority for 2005–06
, but Forest struggled, especially away from home, for most of the season. In terms of points they were nearer to the relegation zone than the playoff zone when he resigned in February 2006 after being put under a lot of pressure by the Forest fans. He claimed that his resignation had cost him £500,000.
In June 2007 Megson was appointed as a coach at Stoke City
by manager Tony Pulis
. He retained this role until his appointment as manager of Leicester City.
chairman Milan Mandarić
announced Gary Megson as the new manager of the club, citing Megson's "wealth of experience" as a deciding factor in the appointment. Leicester achieved their first League win under Megson on 6 October 2007 with a 2–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday
at Hillsborough
with goals from Gareth McAuley
and an own goal by Akpo Sodje
.
A month into Megson's tenure at Leicester, Mandarić rejected an approach from Bolton Wanderers
for the manager's services. On 23 October however, Bolton announced that Megson was their first choice to become their new manager, and made a second approach for him. The club said they were also willing to compensate Leicester should Megson leave the Walkers Stadium
. This second approach was also rejected by Milan Mandarić
, but Megson was eventually given permission to speak to Bolton and he left Leicester on 24 October 2007, just 41 days and nine Football League Championship
games after his appointment.
on 25 October 2007 in a two and a half year deal. He accepted that he was not the number one choice for the job, after Bolton had already had approaches for Steve Bruce
and Chris Coleman
rejected, and Graeme Souness
had also ruled himself out.
Bolton had made a poor start to the 2007–08
season under Sammy Lee
, and when Megson took over they were bottom of the Premier League table with only 5 points from 10 games. Megson's first game in charge was against Aston Villa
on 28 October, and finished 1–1. He recorded his first win on 24 November when Bolton beat Manchester United
, the champions and League leaders, 1–0; this was their first home victory over United for 30 years.
By the New Year
Bolton were lying 16th in the Premier League table, but only two points ahead of Fulham
who were 19th. In January 2008 they sold Nicolas Anelka
to Chelsea
for £15 million, and brought in no comparable replacement. In February 2008 however they beat Atletico Madrid (who at the time were lying fourth in La Liga
) 1–0 on aggregate, winning 1–0 at home and drawing 0–0 away, to reach the last 16 of the UEFA Cup
for the first time in the club's history before proceeding to play the reserve team in Lisbon in the Last 16 with the tie tied at 1–1, Bolton lost the away leg 0–1. Megson picked a reserve side so that the first team were rested for Sunday's relegation battle against Wigan Athletic
. They proceeded to lose 0–1 to a ten man Wigan side.
Their League form remained poor, and a 4–0 defeat at Aston Villa
on 5 April left them in 18th place, two points adrift of safety. But they proceeded to take 11 points from their last five games (including a 1–1 draw at Chelsea on the final day of the season) to secure survival in the Premier League – the first time Megson had achieved this as a manager.
Megson won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for November 2008.
Heading into the 2008/2009 season, he brought in players such as Johan Elmander
for a club record £8.2m, Fabrice Muamba
from Birmingham City for £5m, Mustapha Riga from Levante
, Danny Shittu
for £2m and Ebi Smolarek on a season-long loan from Racing Santander with a view to a permanent deal.
Bolton started the season unremarkably and by October Bolton were looking set for another relegation scrap. This caused increasing pressure on Megson but he was given time by Chairman Phil Gartside
and managed to improve results, leading Bolton to a high of eighth in the league. On 1 March 2009, it was announced that Megson had agreed a new rolling contract with Bolton. He celebrated his new contract with a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United. Bolton finished 13th in the 2008/2009 season.
During the summer of 2009 Megson added to the Trotters' squad with the additions of Portsmouth
midfielder Sean Davis on a free transfer, Hull City
's Welsh right-back Sam Ricketts
, Aston Villa's England international defender Zat Knight
for £4m, veteran left-back Paul Robinson on loan from West Brom
and the South Korean international Lee Chung-Yong
. Just before the transfer window closed he added the Croatian international Ivan Klasnić
from FC Nantes on a season long loan.
In the 2009 season, under Megson's tenure, he started the season in an inauspicious manner with defeats to Hull City and Sunderland before seeing excellent form in the next seven games. These games saw three wins, two draws and narrow defeats to Manchester United and Liverpool.
After October 25, Bolton lost five out of the next six games. The first three were losses by four goals and these were followed by a home defeat to Blackburn, a draw against Fulham and an away defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In a period which lasted almost fifty days without a win Bolton played Manchester City and were scheduled games against other relegation candidates including West Ham United, Wigan Athletic, Burnley and Hull City. In the four games that were played Bolton were leading them all but ended with only one win and three draws, leaving the club 18th out of 20 and with 18 points from 18 games.
On Wednesday 30 December 2009, Bolton announced that Megson had been relieved of his duties as manager with immediate effect. Bolton Wanderers official club statement said; "The decision has been taken in the light of the position the club finds itself in the Barclays Premier League at the halfway point of the season." It was later confirmed that as the club and their former manager could not agree a compensation deal Megson would be paid out the remainder of his rolling contract on a weekly basis, effectively putting him on a year's garden leave.
, replacing Alan Irvine who had been relieved of his post the previous day.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
.
He has previously managed Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
, Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
, Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
, Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
, West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
and Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
. His biggest successes so far came at West Bromwich Albion, where he won promotion to the Premier League in 2002 and again in 2004.
He is the son of former player Don Megson
Don Megson
Donald Harry Megson is an English former footballer and football manager.Don Megson is regarded as one of Sheffield Wednesday's greatest servants. He was signed from Mossley in the Cheshire League by Wednesday in 1952...
and the brother of Neil Megson
Neil Megson (soccer)
Neil Megson is a retired U.S. soccer midfielder who currently coaches youth soccer. He played two seasons in the North American Soccer League, nine in Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and six in the USL First Division and its predecessors...
, another former footballer.
Playing career
As a player, Megson was a tough-tackling defensive midfielder who played for nine different clubs. He began his career at Plymouth ArgylePlymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
, where he impressed enough for Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
to sign him for a £250,000 transfer fee. Megson struggled to establish himself in the Everton line-up, and after two years at Goodison, he moved to Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, where his father had once played, for a fee of £130,000.
Megson immediately gained a place in Wednesday's starting lineup, and was a member of the team that gained promotion to the top flight in 1983–84, ending a 14-year exile from the elite. In his three years at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
, he missed only three league games. In the summer of 1984, he was signed by Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, only for Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
to decide "he couldn't trap a bag of cement". Megson spent five months at the City Ground, without making a single first-team appearance before being sold to Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
.
Megson played regularly for the Magpies for the remainder of the 1984–85 season, but lost his place in the line-up the following season, and moved back to Sheffield Wednesday. In his second spell with the Owls, Megson again established himself as an important member of the squad, and was rarely out of the starting eleven. In January 1989, he moved to Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
, where he spent three and a half seasons, and helped City finish fifth in his final two seasons there.
He then moved to Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
on a free transfer in the summer of 1992, and spent three seasons at Carrow Road. He was an important member of the Norwich side that finished third in the inaugural season the Premier League and played in the UEFA Cup for the first time as a result. In his final season at Norwich, he was also assistant manager to John Deehan
John Deehan
John Matthew Deehan is an English former footballer who in recent years has had several spells in coaching and management. He is currently unemployed having previously held the position of Director of football at Grimsby Town....
.
When Deehan resigned in the spring of 1995, Megson briefly took charge as caretaker manager, but failed to save City from the drop, losing four and drawing one of his five games in charge. In the summer, he also left Norwich and finished his playing career with short spells at lower division sides Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
and Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...
. Later the same year, he got a surprise return to Norwich when he was re-appointed manager following Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
's sudden departure to Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
.
Norwich City
While still playing at Norwich City, Megson became assistant to manager John DeehanJohn Deehan
John Matthew Deehan is an English former footballer who in recent years has had several spells in coaching and management. He is currently unemployed having previously held the position of Director of football at Grimsby Town....
. He briefly managed the club following Deehan's resignation in 1995 but was unable to prevent the club's relegation from the Premier League and became assistant manager to Chris Kamara
Chris Kamara
Chris Kamara is a retired English footballer. He ended his playing career in 1995 and last managed a club in 1998. He is now a presenter and football analyst on Sky Sports.-Playing career:...
at Bradford City. He returned to Carrow Road later the same year when new manager Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
left to take charge at Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
. The move however was not without controversy with then chairman Geoffrey Richmond
Geoffrey Richmond
Geoffrey Richmond was a football chairman of Bradford City from 1994 to 2002, and previously chairman of Scarborough.-Biography:Richmond was born and raised in Leeds, where he attended Roundhay Grammar School...
accusing Norwich of illegally approaching Megson. Megson managed the Canaries for the remainder of the 1995–96 season, but was sacked at the end of the season and replaced by Mike Walker
Mike Walker (football manager)
Michael Stewart Gordon "Mike" Walker is a Welsh former footballer and manager. After starting his career at Reading, Walker played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for five clubs, most notably Watford and Colchester United. He later managed Colchester, Norwich City, Everton and APOEL...
, who had been manager of Norwich when Megson first joined them.
Blackpool
In 1996, Megson became manager at BlackpoolBlackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
where he recorded 21 wins in 52 matches – enough to stay clear of relegation to Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
, but not quite enough for a playoff place and the chance of promotion to the Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
.
At Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
, he was assisted by the former Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
midfielder Mike Phelan
Mike Phelan
Michael Christopher "Mike" Phelan , also known as Mick Phelan or Micky Phelan, is an English football coach, former player, and current assistant manager of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson....
, but the partnership failed to bring a Division Two playoff place to the Seasiders, and Megson left at the end of the season.
Stockport County
Megson moved to Stockport CountyStockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
in 1997 and they came just two places short of the Division One playoffs in his first season as manager. Soon after he left Stockport by mutual consent.
Stoke City
However, he was not unemployed for long, taking the manager's job at Stoke CityStoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
. His tenure at the Britannia Stadium
Britannia Stadium
The Britannia Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City Football Club. With space for 27,598 spectators . The name is taken from the sponsors of the Stadium the Britannia Co-operative Bank...
was brought to an end when the club was sold to an Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic consortium which appointed its own man, former Iceland national-team
Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team is the national football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition....
coach Gudjon Thordarson
Guðjón Þórðarson
Guðjón Þórðarson is an Icelandic former footballer and the current manager of Grindavík....
, to the manager's position.
West Bromwich Albion
Megson took over as manager of First DivisionFootball League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
in March 2000, just days before the transfer deadline at the end of the 1999–2000
1999-2000 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World...
season. It was 14 years since Albion had been in the top flight of English football
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...
, and in that time they had spent their first ever spell (two seasons) in the third tier. Indeed, when Megson was appointed they were in real danger of a second relegation to that level. But he moved quickly to strengthen the team by bringing in several new players. In his first month in charge, Megson received a 28-day touchline ban following his comments to referee Graham Poll
Graham Poll
Graham Poll is an English former football referee in the Premier League and is considered the best English referee of the last 25 years in a list maintained by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics...
after Albion's 2–0 defeat to Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
. Megson was unhappy about a penalty that Poll had awarded to Portsmouth; some years later, Poll conceded that it was "one of the worst penalties I've ever given". Albion nevertheless ensured their safety by winning their final game of the season.
The following season Megson took the club into the playoffs, winning the Division One Manager of the Month
Football League Championship Manager of the Month
The Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the manager adjudged best for each month of the season in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
award for November 2000 along the way. Albion lost to Bolton Wanderers at the semi-final stage, but the following year
2001-02 in English football
The 2001-02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England.-Arsenal cruise to title glory:In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by seven points. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the...
the club won promotion to the Premier League for the first time, overcoming the eleven-point lead of their fierce local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
in the closing weeks of the campaign. This achievement earned Megson the Nationwide Division One Manager of the Year award, as well as the medieval title Lord of the Manor of West Bromwich. However, the club was barely prepared for the financial challenges of life in the top flight and a bitter quarrel soon developed between Megson and the club's chairman Paul Thompson over what Megson perceived as the latter's interference in footballing matters. An undignified public showdown resulted in Thompson resigning from the board in order to forestall Megson's departure. The board elected Jeremy Peace
Jeremy Peace
Jeremy Roland Peace . Since June 2002 he has been the chairman of West Bromwich Albion F.C., a professional football club in the West Midlands, England.-Biography:...
as Thompson's successor, and in July 2002 Megson signed a new three-year contract with Albion. However in 2002–03 the club were relegated after just a single season in the Premier League.
Megson mounted a successful promotion campaign the following season
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
, and return to the Premier League – but by the summer of 2004, the relationship between Megson and Peace had become strained. By September, after a poor start to the season, Megson's job appeared to be under threat. The following month Megson, whose contract was due to end in June 2005, announced that he would not sign a new deal if the club offered one. The board chose to interpret this as a resignation, and on 26 October Megson was dismissed. A settlement for the remainder of his contract was reached in November 2004.
Nottingham Forest
Within a week of being sacked at West Bromwich Albion, Gary Megson was linked with the manager's job at Albion's local rivals Wolverhampton WanderersWolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
, which became vacant after Dave Jones was sacked – but that job went to Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
instead. On 10 January 2005, Megson was appointed to succeed Joe Kinnear
Joe Kinnear
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kinnear is an Irish football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Newcastle United....
as manager of struggling Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, but was unable to save them from slipping into the third tier of English football for the first time in more than half a century. Promotion back to the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
was to be his priority for 2005–06
2005-06 in English football
The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...
, but Forest struggled, especially away from home, for most of the season. In terms of points they were nearer to the relegation zone than the playoff zone when he resigned in February 2006 after being put under a lot of pressure by the Forest fans. He claimed that his resignation had cost him £500,000.
In June 2007 Megson was appointed as a coach at Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
by manager Tony Pulis
Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard "Tony" Pulis is a Welsh former football player and is currently the manager of Stoke City. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at the age of 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one of the youngest professional players ever to have obtained the qualification...
. He retained this role until his appointment as manager of Leicester City.
Leicester City
On 13 September 2007, Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
chairman Milan Mandarić
Milan Mandaric
Milan Mandarić is a Serbian-American business tycoon who has owned a string of successful businesses and football clubs including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. He currently is the chairman of Sheffield Wednesday...
announced Gary Megson as the new manager of the club, citing Megson's "wealth of experience" as a deciding factor in the appointment. Leicester achieved their first League win under Megson on 6 October 2007 with a 2–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
with goals from Gareth McAuley
Gareth McAuley
Gareth Gerald McAuley is a Northern Ireland footballer who plays for West Bromwich Albion as a defender.-Early career:...
and an own goal by Akpo Sodje
Akpo Sodje
Idoro Akpoeyere Ujoma "Akpo" Sodje is an English footballer of Nigerian heritage, currently playing for Scottish club Hibernian...
.
A month into Megson's tenure at Leicester, Mandarić rejected an approach from Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
for the manager's services. On 23 October however, Bolton announced that Megson was their first choice to become their new manager, and made a second approach for him. The club said they were also willing to compensate Leicester should Megson leave the Walkers Stadium
Walkers Stadium
The King Power Stadium is a football stadium which hosts home matches of English football club Leicester City. The all-seater stadium, inaugurated in July 2002, holds 32,500 and has the 19th largest stadium capacity in England. The stadium is named after King Power, a company owned by club owner...
. This second approach was also rejected by Milan Mandarić
Milan Mandaric
Milan Mandarić is a Serbian-American business tycoon who has owned a string of successful businesses and football clubs including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. He currently is the chairman of Sheffield Wednesday...
, but Megson was eventually given permission to speak to Bolton and he left Leicester on 24 October 2007, just 41 days and nine Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
games after his appointment.
Bolton Wanderers
Megson took over as manager of Bolton WanderersBolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
on 25 October 2007 in a two and a half year deal. He accepted that he was not the number one choice for the job, after Bolton had already had approaches for Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
and Chris Coleman
Chris Coleman (footballer)
Christopher "Chris" Coleman is a Welsh football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Greek Side Larissa....
rejected, and Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
had also ruled himself out.
Bolton had made a poor start to the 2007–08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
season under Sammy Lee
Sammy Lee (footballer)
Samuel "Sammy" Lee is an English football coach and former player. He played most of his career for hometown club Liverpool during the 1970s and 1980s as a midfielder, and also represented England fourteen times....
, and when Megson took over they were bottom of the Premier League table with only 5 points from 10 games. Megson's first game in charge was against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
on 28 October, and finished 1–1. He recorded his first win on 24 November when Bolton beat Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, the champions and League leaders, 1–0; this was their first home victory over United for 30 years.
By the New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
Bolton were lying 16th in the Premier League table, but only two points ahead of Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
who were 19th. In January 2008 they sold Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...
to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
for £15 million, and brought in no comparable replacement. In February 2008 however they beat Atletico Madrid (who at the time were lying fourth in La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
) 1–0 on aggregate, winning 1–0 at home and drawing 0–0 away, to reach the last 16 of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
for the first time in the club's history before proceeding to play the reserve team in Lisbon in the Last 16 with the tie tied at 1–1, Bolton lost the away leg 0–1. Megson picked a reserve side so that the first team were rested for Sunday's relegation battle against Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
. They proceeded to lose 0–1 to a ten man Wigan side.
Their League form remained poor, and a 4–0 defeat at Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
on 5 April left them in 18th place, two points adrift of safety. But they proceeded to take 11 points from their last five games (including a 1–1 draw at Chelsea on the final day of the season) to secure survival in the Premier League – the first time Megson had achieved this as a manager.
Megson won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for November 2008.
Heading into the 2008/2009 season, he brought in players such as Johan Elmander
Johan Elmander
Johan Erik Calvin Elmander is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Sweden national football team. He joined in a free transfer after his contract with English club Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League expired...
for a club record £8.2m, Fabrice Muamba
Fabrice Muamba
Fabrice Ndala Muamba is a footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers as a midfielder in the Premier League. He previously played for Arsenal and Birmingham City. At international level, he has represented England at under-21 level....
from Birmingham City for £5m, Mustapha Riga from Levante
Levante
This is a disambiguation page. Levante may refer to*Levant, the lands in the eastern Mediterranean, covering Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq.*Levante, Spain, the eastern Iberian coastal region of Spain...
, Danny Shittu
Danny Shittu
Daniel Olusola "Danny" Shittu is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers."Olusola" is a nickname for the Yoruba name "Oluwanisola" .-Early career:...
for £2m and Ebi Smolarek on a season-long loan from Racing Santander with a view to a permanent deal.
Bolton started the season unremarkably and by October Bolton were looking set for another relegation scrap. This caused increasing pressure on Megson but he was given time by Chairman Phil Gartside
Phil Gartside
Philip 'Phil' Gartside is a businessman and the current chairman of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.He joined the board of Bolton Wanderers Football Club in April 1989, having been a fan of the club since his days as a pupil at Leigh Grammar School.He became chairman of Bolton Wanderers in October...
and managed to improve results, leading Bolton to a high of eighth in the league. On 1 March 2009, it was announced that Megson had agreed a new rolling contract with Bolton. He celebrated his new contract with a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United. Bolton finished 13th in the 2008/2009 season.
During the summer of 2009 Megson added to the Trotters' squad with the additions of Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
midfielder Sean Davis on a free transfer, Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
's Welsh right-back Sam Ricketts
Sam Ricketts
Samuel Derek "Sam" Ricketts is a Welsh international footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. His favoured position is full-back...
, Aston Villa's England international defender Zat Knight
Zat Knight
Zatyiah "Zat" Knight is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League. Knight has two caps for England.-Club career:-Fulham:Fulham signed Knight from Rushall Olympic on a free transfer in 1999...
for £4m, veteran left-back Paul Robinson on loan from West Brom
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
and the South Korean international Lee Chung-Yong
Lee Chung-Yong
Lee Chung-Yong is a South Korean footballer who plays for Premier League club Bolton Wanderers and the South Korean national team. His nickname, Blue Dragon, is a transliteration of his given name "Chung-Yong" derived from Hanja, 청용...
. Just before the transfer window closed he added the Croatian international Ivan Klasnić
Ivan Klasnic
Ivan Klasnić is a Croatian footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League. He is a Croatian international. In 2007, Klasnić underwent a kidney transplant, and became the first player to participate in a major tournament after a transplant.-St. Pauli:Klasnić started his...
from FC Nantes on a season long loan.
In the 2009 season, under Megson's tenure, he started the season in an inauspicious manner with defeats to Hull City and Sunderland before seeing excellent form in the next seven games. These games saw three wins, two draws and narrow defeats to Manchester United and Liverpool.
After October 25, Bolton lost five out of the next six games. The first three were losses by four goals and these were followed by a home defeat to Blackburn, a draw against Fulham and an away defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In a period which lasted almost fifty days without a win Bolton played Manchester City and were scheduled games against other relegation candidates including West Ham United, Wigan Athletic, Burnley and Hull City. In the four games that were played Bolton were leading them all but ended with only one win and three draws, leaving the club 18th out of 20 and with 18 points from 18 games.
On Wednesday 30 December 2009, Bolton announced that Megson had been relieved of his duties as manager with immediate effect. Bolton Wanderers official club statement said; "The decision has been taken in the light of the position the club finds itself in the Barclays Premier League at the halfway point of the season." It was later confirmed that as the club and their former manager could not agree a compensation deal Megson would be paid out the remainder of his rolling contract on a weekly basis, effectively putting him on a year's garden leave.
Sheffield Wednesday
On Friday 4 February 2011, Megson was appointed manager of his former club, Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, replacing Alan Irvine who had been relieved of his post the previous day.
Promotions
- 2001–022001-02 in English footballThe 2001-02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England.-Arsenal cruise to title glory:In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by seven points. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the...
: Division One Runner Up (promotion to The Premier League) – West BromWest Bromwich Albion F.C.West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands... - 2003–042003-04 in English footballThe 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
: Division One Runner Up (promotion to The Premier League) – West BromWest Bromwich Albion F.C.West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
Individual
- FA Premier League Manager of the Month: November 2008 - Bolton WanderersBolton Wanderers F.C.Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
Manager
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The... |
 Kingdom of England |
21 December 1995 | 31 July 1996 |
|||||
| Blackpool Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the... |
Kingdom of England |
5 July 1996 | 1 July 1997 |
|||||
| Stockport County Stockport County F.C. Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport... |
Kingdom of England |
1 July 1997 | 25 June 1999 |
|||||
| Stoke City Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts... |
Kingdom of England |
14 July 1999 | 15 November 1999 |
|||||
| West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands... |
Kingdom of England |
9 March 2000 | 26 October 2004 |
|||||
| Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship... |
Kingdom of England |
10 January 2005 | 16 February 2006 |
|||||
| Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester... |
Kingdom of England |
13 September 2007 | 24 October 2007 |
|||||
| Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001.... |
Kingdom of England |
25 October 2007 | 30 December 2009 |
|||||
| Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the... |
Kingdom of England |
4 February 2011 | ||||||
| Total |
||||||||
External links
- Gary Megson profile at the League Managers Association
- Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk