Ray Mathias
Encyclopedia
Raymond "Ray" Mathias is an English
football coach and former player. He has spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football. He was appointed Interim Manager of Stockport County on the 9th March 2011 until the end of the season, when County were relegated from the Football League for the first time in 106 years. Owing in part to an impressive home record, Mathias was appointed full time County manager in May 2011, but departed just 2 weeks later following the takeover of the club by Tony Evans.
, Mathias spent his entire playing career with from 1964 to 1985 and earning two testimonials in the process; a true one-club man, making 567 Football League appearances. His most notable achievement being winning promotion from the Fourth Division
in the 1975–76
season.
quarter-finals in 1987. He later returned to Tranmere as a coach but then returned to Wigan as manager for the 1998–99
season; despite leading the club to victory in the Football League Trophy
final at Wembley and the Second Division
play-offs he lost his job shortly afterwards.
After once again becoming part of the managerial set-up at Tranmere and spells as caretaker manager, he was finally handed the reins on a permanent basis in 2002 but sacked a year later. Mathias then had an unsuccessful caretaker spell at Chester City
in 2004 and briefly worked as assistant manager at Bury
in 2005. In October 2006 he was appointed as assistant manager to Paul Ince
at League Two
strugglers . The pair were able to guide the Silkmen to an unlikely survival before moving to where they achieved more success, winning the League Two championship and the Football League Trophy. They subsequently moved on to top-flight team in June 2008.
On 18 December 2008 Matthias was relieved of his duties along with Archie Knox
following the sacking of Paul Ince
and the subsequent arrival of Sam Allardyce
as the new Rovers manager.
On 4 February 2011 Ray joined Stockport County as Technical Advisor to Peter Ward
and Alan Lord.
On 9 March 2011 Ray was appointed manager of Stockport County until the end of the season, with Peter Ward and Alan Lord stepping back to coaching roles. Mathias then became the first manager in Stockport County history to relegate the club from the Football League.
On 25 May 2011 Ray was given the Managers job at Stockport County on a full time basis after a "After a lengthy process during which we interviewed a number of high calibre applicants for the role" according to to Chief Exec Graham Shaw. However, he was dismissed from the position in favour of Dietmar Hamann
on 5 July 2011, and subsequently left the club.
Promotion: 1
: 2
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...
football coach and former player. He has spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football. He was appointed Interim Manager of Stockport County on the 9th March 2011 until the end of the season, when County were relegated from the Football League for the first time in 106 years. Owing in part to an impressive home record, Mathias was appointed full time County manager in May 2011, but departed just 2 weeks later following the takeover of the club by Tony Evans.
Playing
Born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Mathias spent his entire playing career with from 1964 to 1985 and earning two testimonials in the process; a true one-club man, making 567 Football League appearances. His most notable achievement being winning promotion from the Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
in the 1975–76
1975-76 in English football
The 1975–76 season was the 96th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool won their first major trophy under Bob Paisley by narrowly winning the league title after heated competition from Queens Park Rangers. They also lifted the UEFA Cup for the second time in their...
season.
Coaching
After retiring from playing, Mathias joined the coaching staff at and spent three years in charge of the Latics from 1986–89. The highlight of this spell was leading Wigan to the FA CupFA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
quarter-finals in 1987. He later returned to Tranmere as a coach but then returned to Wigan as manager for the 1998–99
1998-99 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
season; despite leading the club to victory in the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
final at Wembley and the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
play-offs he lost his job shortly afterwards.
After once again becoming part of the managerial set-up at Tranmere and spells as caretaker manager, he was finally handed the reins on a permanent basis in 2002 but sacked a year later. Mathias then had an unsuccessful caretaker spell at Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
in 2004 and briefly worked as assistant manager at Bury
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
in 2005. In October 2006 he was appointed as assistant manager to Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
at League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
strugglers . The pair were able to guide the Silkmen to an unlikely survival before moving to where they achieved more success, winning the League Two championship and the Football League Trophy. They subsequently moved on to top-flight team in June 2008.
On 18 December 2008 Matthias was relieved of his duties along with Archie Knox
Archie Knox
Archibald "Archie" Knox is a Scottish football manager and former player, and is currently the assistant manager of Aberdeen....
following the sacking of Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
and the subsequent arrival of Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
as the new Rovers manager.
On 4 February 2011 Ray joined Stockport County as Technical Advisor to Peter Ward
Peter Ward
Peter Ward may refer to:*Peter Ward , retired English footballer, played for Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest...
and Alan Lord.
On 9 March 2011 Ray was appointed manager of Stockport County until the end of the season, with Peter Ward and Alan Lord stepping back to coaching roles. Mathias then became the first manager in Stockport County history to relegate the club from the Football League.
On 25 May 2011 Ray was given the Managers job at Stockport County on a full time basis after a "After a lengthy process during which we interviewed a number of high calibre applicants for the role" according to to Chief Exec Graham Shaw. However, he was dismissed from the position in favour of Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a...
on 5 July 2011, and subsequently left the club.
Player
Football League Fourth DivisionFootball League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
Promotion: 1
-
- 1975–761975-76 in English footballThe 1975–76 season was the 96th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool won their first major trophy under Bob Paisley by narrowly winning the league title after heated competition from Queens Park Rangers. They also lifted the UEFA Cup for the second time in their...
- 1975–76
Coach
Football League TrophyFootball League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
: 2
-
- 1998–991998-99 in English football-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
, 2007–082007-08 in English footballThe 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...
Football League TwoFootball League TwoFootball League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
Winner: 1 - 2007–082007-08 in English footballThe 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...
- 1998–99
Managerial stats
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| 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... |
 |
1 June 1986 | 15 March 1989 |
|||||
| 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... |
|
4 August 1998 | 21 May 1999 |
|||||
| Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers F.C. Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system... |
|
18 March 2001 | 7 May 2001 |
|||||
| Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers F.C. Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system... |
|
1 August 2002 | 29 September 2003 |
|||||
| Chester City Chester City F.C. Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the... |
|
6 August 2004 | 30 August 2004 |
|||||
| 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... |
|
1 March 2011 | 5 July 2011 |
|||||
| Total |
||||||||