- Gary Megson
Football player infobox
playername= Gary Megson
fullname = Gary John Megson
height =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1955|12|17|df=y
cityofbirth =Manchester
countryofbirth =England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath
countryofdeath =
currentclub = Bolton Wanderers (manager)
position =Midfielder (retired)
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1977–1979
1979–1981
1981–1984
1984
1984–1985
1985–1989
1989–1992
1992–1995
1995
1995
clubs = Plymouth Argyle
Everton
Sheffield Wednesday
Nottingham Forest
Newcastle United
Sheffield Wednesday
Manchester City
Norwich City
Lincoln City
Shrewsbury Town
Career
caps(goals) = 078 (10)
022 0(2)
123 (13)
000 0(0)
024 0(1)
110 (12)
082 0(2)
046 0(1)
002 0(0)
002 0(0)
499 (41)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears = 1995–1996
1996–1997
1997–1999
1999
2000–2004
2005–2006
2007
2007–
managerclubs = Norwich City
Blackpool
Stockport County
Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion
Nottingham Forest
Leicester City
Bolton WanderersGary John Megson (born
17 December ,1955 inManchester ) is an English former football player and current manager.He is currently manager of Bolton Wanderers and is a former manager of Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City. 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.Playing career
As a player, Megson was a tough-tackling defensive midfielder, and something of a journeyman, playing for nine different clubs.
He began his career at Plymouth Argyle, where he impressed enough for Everton to sign him for a £250,000 transfer fee. Megson struggled to establish himself in the Everton lineup, and after two years at Goodison, he moved to his father's old stomping grounds, Sheffield Wednesday, 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. 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 did not need him. 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 lineup 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. 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.Managerial career
Norwich City
While still playing at Norwich City, Megson became assistant to manager
John Deehan . He briefly left the club following Deehan's sacking in 1995, but returned to Carrow Road later the same year when new managerMartin O'Neill left to take charge at Leicester City. 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.Blackpool
In 1996, Megson became manager at Blackpool where he recorded only 21 wins in 52 matches. At
Bloomfield Road , he was assisted by the former Manchester United midfielderMike Phelan , but the partnership failed to bring a Division Two playoff place to the Seasiders, and Megson left at the end of the season.tockport County
Megson moved to Stockport County in 1997 and they came just two places short of the Division One playoffs in his first season as manager. After two seasons with Stockport, he was dismissed after the board alleged that he had applied for a manager's post elsewhere without their permission.fact|date=May 2008
toke City
However, he was not unemployed for long, taking the manager's job at Stoke City. His tenure at the
Britannia Stadium was brought to an end when the club was sold to anIceland ic consortium which appointed its own man, former Iceland national-team coachGudjon Thordarson , to the manager's position.fact|date=May 2008West Bromwich Albion
Megson took over as manager of First Division West Bromwich Albion in
March 2000, just days before thetransfer 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 flight. 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, and Albion ensured safety by winning their final game of the season.The following season Megson took the club into the playoffs, winning the Manager of the Month award for
November 2000 along the way. [cite news
title=Megson bags award
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1047987.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2000-11-30
accessdate=2007-10-28] Albion lost to Bolton Wanderers at thesemi-final stage, but the following year the club won promotion to theFA 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, [cite news
date=2002-05-14
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1986615.stm
title=Megson scoops award
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-05-04] as well as the medieval title "Lord of the Manor of West Bromwich". [cite news
last = Alexander
first = David
title= West Brom lord it as Dichio ends barren run
url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2002/12/01/sfgwba01.xml
publisher=Telegraph.co.uk
date=2002-12-01
accessdate= 2008-05-15] 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 chairmanPaul 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 electedJeremy Peace as Thompson's successor, and in July 2002 Megson signed a new three-year contract with Albion. [cite news
date=2002-07-25
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/2150680.stm
title=Megson signs West Brom deal
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-05-04] However in 2002–03 the club were relegated after just a single season in the Premier League.Peace's financial prudence enabled Megson to mount a successful promotion campaign the following season, and return to the Premier League – but by the summer of 2004, the relationship between the two men 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 on26 October Megson was dismissed. [cite news
date=2004-10-26
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/3954309.stm
title=Megson sacked by West Brom
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-04-22] A settlement for the remainder of his contract was reached in November 2004. [cite news
date=2004-11-12
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/4007815.stm
title=West Brom agree Megson settlement
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-05-04]Nottingham Forest
Within a week of being sacked at West Bromwich Albion, Gary Megson was linked with the manager's job at Wolverhampton Wanderers, which became vacant after
Dave Jones was sacked – but that job went toGlenn Hoddle instead. On10 January 2005 Megson was appointed to succeedJoe Kinnear as manager of struggling Nottingham Forest, [cite news
date=2005-01-10
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/nottm_forest/4160373.stm
title=Forest appoint Megson as manager
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-05-04] but was unable to save them from slipping into the third tier of English football for the first time since 1951. 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 inFebruary 2006 after being put under a lot of pressure by the Forest fans. [cite news
date=2006-02-16
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/nottm_forest/4720840.stm
title=Megson departs as Forest manager
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-04-22] He claimed that his resignation had cost him £500,000. [cite news
date=2006-03-03
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/nottm_forest/4769654.stm
title=Forest exit costs Megson £500,000
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-05-04]In
June 2007 Megson was appointed as a coach at Stoke City by managerTony Pulis . He retained this role until his appointment at Leicester. [cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/10/25/sfnbol125.xml|title= Bolton close in on Gary Megson|work=The Daily Telegraph |author=John Percy|accessdate=2007-10-28|date=2007-10-25 ]Leicester City
On
13 September 2007 ,Leicester City chairmanMilan Mandarić announced Gary Megson as the new manager of the club, citing Megson's "wealth of experience" as a deciding factor in the appointment.The Leicester side achieved its first League win under Megson on6 October ,2007 with a 2-0 win overSheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough with goals fromGareth McAuley and an own goal byAkpo Sodje . [cite news
title=Megson excited by Leicester job
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/6987880.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2007-09-13
accessdate=2007-09-13]A month into Megson's tenure at Leicester, Mandarić rejected an approach from Bolton Wanderers for the manager's services.cite news
title=Foxes reject Bolton's Megson move
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7050538.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2007-10-19
accessdate=2007-10-19] OnOctober 23 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 theWalkers Stadium . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7058362.stm Bolton want Megson as new manager] , BBC Sport2007-10-23 . Retrieved on2007-10-23 .] This second approach was also rejected byMilan Mandarić , [ [http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11712_2819807,00.html Foxes reject second approach] , Sky Sports2007-10-23 . Retrieved on2007-10-23 .] but Megson was eventually given permission to speak to Bolton and he left Leicester on24 October 2007 , just 41 days and nine League games after his appointment. [cite news
title=Bolton target Megson leaves Foxes
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/7058362.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2007-10-24
accessdate=2007-10-24]Bolton Wanderers
Megson took over as manager of Bolton Wanderers on
25 October ,2007 in a two and a half year deal. [cite news
title=Megson Takes Control At The Reebok
url=http://www.bwfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1151668,00.html
publisher=Bolton Wanderers FC
date=2007-10-25
accessdate=2007-10-25] He accepted that he was not the number one choice for the job, [cite news
title=Megson accepts fans' frustration
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/7063955.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2007-10-26
accessdate=2007-10-28] after Bolton had already had approaches forSteve Bruce and Chris Coleman rejected, andGraeme Souness had also ruled himself out. [cite news
title=Bolton Wanderers target Gary Megson after Graeme Souness refuses a straight shoot-out
url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/bolton/article2726925.ece
publisher=TimesOnline
date=2007-10-24
accessdate=2007-10-28]Bolton had made a poor start to the 2007-08 season under
Sammy Lee , and when Megson took over they were bottom of thePremier League table with only 5 points from 10 games. Megson's first game in charge was against Aston Villa on28 October , and finished 1–1. He recorded his first win on24 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. InJanuary 2008 they soldNicolas Anelka to Chelsea for £15 million, and brought in no comparable replacement. In February 2008 however they beatAtletico Madrid (who at the time were lying fourth inLa Liga ) 1-0 onaggregate , winning 1-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away, to reach the last 16 of theUEFA Cup for the first time in the club's history.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.Managerial stats
:"As of
17 May ,2008 ."ee also
*
Blackpool F.C. season 1996-97 References
External links
* [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/managers/profile.php?id=33 Bolton Wanderers Profile] at [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/ Burnden Aces]
*soccerbase|id=5351|name=Gary Megson
*soccerbase (manager)|id=482|name=Gary Megson
* [http://www.leaguemanagers.com/manager/profile.html?managerid=328 Gary Megson profile] at the League Managers Association
* [http://www.ex-canaries.co.uk/players/megson.htm Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk]Persondata
NAME=Megson, Gary
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Footballer; Football manager
DATE OF BIRTH=December , 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH=Manchester ,England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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