List of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers

Stan Cullis was Wolverhampton Wanderers' most successful manager, winning three league titles and two FA Cups.

This article lists all managers, caretaker managers and/or head coaches of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since its foundation is 1877 until the present. Served by 32 different permanent managers throughout its history, three-quarters of them were born in the United Kingdom with the remaining quarter consisting of Norwegian Ståle Solbakken (2012–13), Italian Walter Zenga (2016), Portuguese duo Nuno Espírito Santo (2017–2021) and Bruno Lage (2021–2022) and Julen Lopetegui (2022–2023), who is Spanish, coming from overseas.

From 1877 to 1922, the team was selected by a committee whose secretary had the same powers and role as a manager/head coach has today. There were two secretaries during this period, George Worrall and Jack Addenbrooke, the latter being the longest serving manager in the club's history. In 1922, the club broke from this tradition and appointed George Jobey as the first full-time manager.

The club's most successful manager is Stan Cullis, who won three league championships, two FA Cups and one FA Charity/Community Shield and was the first to bring continental football to the club during his 16-year reign from 1948 to 1964. Previously also a notable player for the club, he narrowly missed out on becoming the first manager to win the league-and-cup double in English football history, when Burnley pipped his FA Cup winning team, to the league title by a single point in 1960.

Bill McGarry and John Barnwell are the only managers since Cullis to have won major silverware, both winning the League Cup (in 1974 and 1980, respectively). The former also took the club to the debut UEFA Cup final in 1972, its best performance in a continental campaign.

Graham Turner achieved three trophies in two seasons in the late 1980s, with back-to-back divisional titles (the Third and Fourth Divisions) and the Football League Trophy (now the EFL Trophy). Turner's success bucked a downward trend for the club in the mid-1980s that saw three different managers preside over three successive relegations.

Dave Jones, Mick McCarthy and Nuno Espírito Santo have all since had promotion successes that took Wolves into the Premier League. Jones won the 2003 First Division play-offs and McCarthy and Espírito Santo both won the EFL Championship (the former in 2008–09 and the latter in 2017–18). Kenny Jackett also recorded a promotion success, winning Football League One (now EFL League One) as champions with a record points total of 103 in 2013–14.

## Managers and head coaches

[edit]

Only competitive first-team matches in official competitions are counted
Name  | Nationality  | From  | To  | P | W | D | L | Win %1 | Honours

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

George Worrall |  England | August 1877 | May 1885 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25.0 |
Jack Addenbrooke |  England | August 1885 | June 1922 | 1,125 | 455 | 220 | 450 | 40.4 | 1889 FA Cup runners-up
1893 FA Cup winners
1896 FA Cup runners-up
1908 FA Cup winners
1921 FA Cup runners-up
George Jobey |  England | June 1922 | May 1924 | 91 | 36 | 26 | 29 | 39.6 | 1923–24 Third Division (N) champions
Albert Hoskins |  England | June 1924 | March 1926 | 78 | 34 | 13 | 31 | 43.6 |
Fred Scotchbrook |  England | March 1926 | June 1927 | 57 | 24 | 9 | 24 | 42.1 |
Major Frank Buckley |  England | July 1927 | March 1944 | 681 | 281 | 136 | 264 | 41.3 | 1931–32 Second Division champions
1937–38 First Division runners-up
1938–39 First Division runners-up
1939 FA Cup runners-up
1942 War Cup winners
Ted Vizard |  Wales | April 1944 | May 1948 | 178 | 87 | 40 | 51 | 48.9 |
Stan Cullis |  England | June 1948 | September 1964 | 748 | 350 | 171 | 227 | 46.8 | 1949 FA Cup winners
1949–50 First Division runners-up
1953–54 First Division champions
1954–55 First Division runners-up
1957–58 First Division champions
1958–59 First Division champions
1959–60 First Division runners-up
1959 FA Charity Shield winners
1960 FA Cup winners
Andy Beattie |  Scotland | November 1964 | September 1965 | 44 | 19 | 7 | 18 | 43.2 |
Ronnie Allen |  England | September 1965 | November 1968 | 150 | 66 | 35 | 49 | 44.0 | 1966–67 Second Division runners-up
Bill McGarry |  England | November 1968 | May 1976 | 398 | 153 | 110 | 135 | 38.4 | 1971 Texaco Cup winners
1972 UEFA Cup runners-up
1974 League Cup winners
Sammy Chung |  England | June 1976 | November 1978 | 108 | 41 | 27 | 40 | 38.0 | 1976–77 Second Division champions
John Barnwell |  England | November 1978 | January 1982 | 166 | 64 | 40 | 62 | 38.6 | 1980 League Cup winners
Ian Greaves |  England | February 1982 | August 1982 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 25.0 |
Graham Hawkins |  England | August 1982 | April 1984 | 90 | 26 | 28 | 36 | 28.9 | 1982–83 Second Division runners-up
Tommy Docherty |  Scotland | June 1984 | July 1985 | 48 | 9 | 12 | 27 | 18.8 |
Bill McGarry |  England | September 1985 | November 1985 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 16.7 |
Sammy Chapman |  Northern Ireland | November 1985 | August 1986 | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 24.2 |
Graham Turner |  England | October 1986 | March 1994 | 412 | 179 | 109 | 124 | 43.4 | 1987–88 Fourth Division champions
1988 Football League Trophy winners
1988–89 Third Division champions
Graham Taylor |  England | March 1994 | November 1995 | 91 | 36 | 29 | 26 | 39.6 |
Mark McGhee |  Scotland | December 1995 | November 1998 | 159 | 65 | 39 | 55 | 40.9 |
Colin Lee |  England | November 1998 | December 2000 | 111 | 44 | 33 | 34 | 39.6 |
Dave Jones |  England | January 2001 | November 2004 | 187 | 75 | 52 | 60 | 40.1 | 2003 First Division play-off winners
Glenn Hoddle |  England | December 2004 | July 2006 | 76 | 27 | 34 | 15 | 35.5 |
Mick McCarthy |  Ireland | July 2006 | February 2012 | 270 | 104 | 66 | 100 | 38.5 | 2008–09 Championship champions
Terry Connor |  England | February 2012 | June 2012 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0.0 |
Ståle Solbakken |  Norway | 1 July 2012 | 6 January 2013 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 33.3 |
Dean Saunders |  Wales | 7 January 2013 | 7 May 2013 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 25.0 |
Kenny Jackett |  Wales | 1 June 2013 | 29 July 2016 | 150 | 69 | 43 | 38 | 46.0 | 2013–14 League One champions
Walter Zenga |  Italy | 30 July 2016 | 25 October 2016 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 35.3 |
Paul Lambert |  Scotland | 5 November 2016 | 30 May 2017 | 33 | 14 | 5 | 14 | 42.4 |
Nuno Espírito Santo |  Portugal | 31 May 2017 | 1 June 2021 | 199 | 95 | 49 | 55 | 47.7 | 2017–18 Championship champions
Bruno Lage |  Portugal | 9 June 2021 | 2 October 2022 | 51 | 19 | 10 | 22 | 37.2 |
Julen Lopetegui |  Spain | 14 November 2022 | 8 August 2023 | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 37.0 |
Gary O'Neil |  England | 9 August 2023 | 15 December 2024 | 63 | 20 | 11 | 32 | 31.7 |
Vítor Pereira |  Portugal | 19 December 2024 | Present | 25 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 48.0 |

Note: Win percentage is rounded to one decimal place.

## References

[edit]

* Manager History for Wolverhampton Wanderers at Soccerbase.com
* Matthews, Tony (2008). Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-632-3.
* Matthews, Tony (2001). The Wolves Who's Who. West Midlands: Britespot. ISBN 1-904103-01-4.

* v
* t
* e

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. – managers

* Worrall (1877–85)
* Addenbrooke (1885–1922)
* Jobey (1922–24)
* Hoskins (1924–26)
* Scotchbrook (1926–27)
* Buckley (1927–44)
* Vizard (1944–48)
* Cullis (1948–64)
* Beattie (1964–65)
* Allen (1965–68)
* McGarry (1968–76)
* Chung (1976–78)
* Owenc (1978)
* Barnwell (1978–82)
* Rossc (1982)
* Greaves (1982)
* Hawkins (1982–84)
* Barronc (1984)
* Docherty (1984–85)
* Chapmanc (1986)
* McGarry (1985)
* Chapman (1985–86)
* Littlec (1986)
* Turner (1986–94)
* Taylor (1994–95)
* Downesc (1995)
* McGhee (1995–98)
* Lee (1998–2000)
* Wardc (2000–01)
* Jones (2001–04)
* Grayc (2004)
* Hoddle (2004–06)
* McCarthy (2006–12)
* Connor (2012)
* Solbakken (2012–13)
* Saunders (2013)
* Jackett (2013–16)
* Zenga (2016)
* Lambert (2016–17)
* Nuno (2017–21)
* Lage (2021–22)
* Davisc (2022)
* Lopetegui (2022–23)
* O'Neil (2023–24)
* Pereira (2024–)

(c) = caretaker manager

* v
* t
* e

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club

Topics|

* History
* Records
* Seasons
* Managers
* Europe
* All articles

Players|

* First team
* Notable players

Grounds|

* Dudley Road (1881–1889)
* Molineux (1889–present)

Rivalries|

* League record by opponent
* Black Country derby

Other teams|

* Development Squad and Academy
* Wolverhampton Wanderers W.F.C.
* Los Angeles Wolves

* v
* t
* e

Lists of English football managers by club

Premier League|

* AFC Bournemouth
* Arsenal
* Aston Villa
* Brentford
* Brighton & Hove Albion
* Burnley
* Chelsea
* Crystal Palace
* Everton
* Fulham
* Leeds United
* Liverpool
* Manchester City
* Manchester United
* Newcastle United
* Nottingham Forest
* Sunderland
* Tottenham Hotspur
* West Ham United
* Wolverhampton Wanderers

Championship|

* Birmingham City
* Blackburn Rovers
* Bristol City
* Charlton Athletic
* Coventry City
* Derby County
* Hull City
* Ipswich Town
* Leicester City
* Middlesbrough
* Millwall
* Norwich City
* Oxford United
* Portsmouth
* Preston North End
* Queens Park Rangers
* Sheffield United
* Sheffield Wednesday
* Southampton
* Stoke City
* Swansea City
* Watford
* West Bromwich Albion
* Wrexham

League One|

* AFC Wimbledon
* Barnsley
* Blackpool
* Bolton Wanderers
* Bradford City
* Burton Albion
* Cardiff City
* Doncaster Rovers
* Exeter City
* Huddersfield Town
* Leyton Orient
* Lincoln City
* Luton Town
* Mansfield Town
* Northampton Town
* Peterborough United
* Plymouth Argyle
* Port Vale
* Reading
* Rotherham United
* Stevenage
* Stockport County
* Wigan Athletic
* Wycombe Wanderers

League Two|

* Accrington Stanley
* Barnet
* Barrow
* Bristol Rovers
* Bromley
* Cambridge United
* Cheltenham Town
* Chesterfield
* Colchester United
* Crawley Town
* Crewe Alexandra
* Fleetwood Town
* Gillingham
* Grimsby Town
* Harrogate Town
* Milton Keynes Dons
* Newport County
* Notts County
* Oldham Athletic
* Salford City
* Shrewsbury Town
* Swindon Town
* Tranmere Rovers
* Walsall

Non-League|

* Bury
* Carlisle United
* Hartlepool United
* Maidstone United
* Margate
* Rochdale
* Tamworth
* Torquay United
* Yeovil Town
* York City

Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2025–26 season
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template