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The appointment of Sol Campbell as manager of Southend United back in October 2019 brought the number of former England internationals from the mid 2000s currently in management roles to eight. In previous years the comfort of the television studio and after dinner speaking had seen many players lost to the game. However this generation seem to be different, with many showing a willingness to start at the bottom and work their way back up to the top from the touchline.
In this article we assess who is thriving, who is finding life a struggle and a couple more who gave it a go but came to the conclusion that football management wasn’t quite for them.
#1 Frank Lampard
A Chelsea and England legend in his time as a player, Lampard has taken to the rigours of football management like a duck to water, first at Derby County and now at Chelsea. Some astute business in the loan market, securing the services of Liverpool’s Harry Wilson and Chelsea’s Mason Mount, among others saw Lampard lead Derby to the Championship play off final in his first full season in management. They would lose 1-0 to Aston Villa in the final but his old employers Chelsea had seen enough and made the call to Lampard to replace the outgoing Maurizio Sarri. A two window transfer embargo and the sale of star player Eden Hazard to Real Madrid left the relatively untested Lampard with a difficult task in his first season in the Premier League, but his willingness to blood young players is proving to very successful, with Chelsea once again in top four contention, and successfully progressing out of the Champions League group stages where they will face a tough test against Bayern Munich. Lampard's young team are also in the 5th round of the FA Cup where they will face Liverpool.
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Note: All statistics as of February 13, 2020
#2 Steven Gerrard
After a brief spell at LA Galaxy, Gerrard returned to Liverpool in a coaching role under the watchful eye of current boss Jürgen Klopp, with responsibility for the club’s under 18 side. However in order to develop into a credible candidate to one day manage the club that he led to so much success as a player, Gerrard knew he would have to go out and test himself elsewhere and joined Glasgow Rangers in June 2018.
After a squad overhaul, his first season in charge was promising but lacking in silverware. They finished second to Celtic in the league by nine points, but perhaps most disappointingly were knocked out of both cup competitions by Aberdeen.
This season they are second in the league, though disappointingly for Gerrard they have now fallen 10 points behind Celtic following a very disappointing defeat to Kilmarnock. They also lost the Scottish League Cup final to Celtic, despite dominating the game and missing a penalty. They have though made excellent progress in the Europa League where they will play Braga in the last 32.
The success of the season, and probably crucial to Gerrard's reign maintaining progress and momentum will be Rangers winning the Scottish Cup. If Celtic were to secure a fourth quadruple in a row or another team pick up the silverware, questions may start to be asked about Gerrard's leadership and management.
#3 Lee Bowyer
Perhaps the most surprising name on this list, given that when Bowyer retired from playing, he bought a lake in France and resolved to spend the rest of his days fishing, after a successful but often tempestuous playing career. Unlike Lampard and Gerrard who both played over 100 times for their country, Bowyer was a one cap wonder for England.
Bowyer began his journey into coaching and management with a brief spell working with Watford under 21s alongside former teammate Harry Kewell. This whetted his appetite for the game once more and after a spell as assistant manager he was appointed manager of Charlton Athletic in March 2018. Despite a challenging situation with the club’s ownership, Bowyer has been an unqualified success, leading them to promotion to the Championship in his first full season in charge.
After a brilliant start to the 2019-20 season Charlton's form has tailed off considerably and they currently sit six points clear of the relegation zone in 19th place. They have though won two out of their last three league games to suggest that Bowyer has what it takes to lead his time away from their relegation worries.
#4 Jonathan Woodgate
Following in the footsteps of Bryan Robson, Steve McClaren and current England boss Gareth Southgate, Jonathan Woodgate was given his first managerial job under the watchful eye of Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough.
After an impressive but often injury interrupted career which saw him play for Leeds United, Newcastle United, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City and two spells at Middlesbrough, Woodgate took his first steps into coaching under Tony Pulis, who had replaced previous incumbent Garry Monk.
The football played by Pulis was unpopular and his contract was allowed to expire at the end of the 2018-19 season after his side missed out on the playoffs. Woodgate would replace Pulis, and after appointing Robbie Keane as his assistant, stated his ambition to bring more attractive football back to the club.
Despite much being expected of Woodgate, he experienced a very tough start to life in management with his side having only won two of his first 17 league games in charge, which saw his team firmly rooted in the relegation zone.
This run of form would have seen many chairman get nervous and replace their rookie manager but Gibson is renowned for giving his managers time and he chose to support Woodgate through this difficult period.
This faith appeared justified when Middlesbrough went on a four game winning streak over the Christmas and New Year period, which saw him awarded the Championship Manager of the month award. However a run of four draws and two defeats in the last six games has left them nervously looking over their shoulder, though they are currently seven points clear of trouble.
#5 Joey Barton
Controversy was a word that followed Joey Barton around as a player and has continued to do so since he stepped into the hotseat for the first time with Fleetwood Town. His usual dramatics aside though, what can’t be denied is that he is doing an excellent job.
After making some astute signings, including getting Ched Evans on loan, they finished 11th in his first season in charge. They have kicked on in 2019-20 and are currently in fourth place in the table, four points behind second placed Wycombe Wanderers but with two games in hand.
At time of writing Fleetwood are currently in ninth place in League One, on a run of three straight victories and just two points outside the play-off places.
Barton has undoubtedly enjoyed an impressive start to management but as ever, off-field issues continue to hang over him which could potentially have an adverse on his future career. He has pleaded not guilty to allegedly assaulting former Barnsley manager Daniel Stendel and is currently scheduled to appear in court on 1 June 2020.
#6 Sol Campbell
After years of seemingly being unable to secure a management position in any capacity, Campbell was finally granted his first opportunity with Macclesfield Town in November 2018.
Maccesfield were in a hopeless position, cut adrift at the bottom of the Football League and five points adrift from safety. Campbell oversaw a dramatic upturn in fortunes, winning seven and drawing 10 of the remaining 25 games, securing their position in the league on the last day of the season. He would leave at the start of this season by mutual consent.
It was very much a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire with Campbell taking on another monumental challenge after taking over a Southend side in October 2018. At the time he took over the job Southend were only being kept off the bottom of the League One table by Bolton Wanderers, who started the season on minus 12 points.
Campbell would endure a terrible start to his time at Southend and didn't claim his first victory until January 18, which was followed up with another victory against Lincoln City in early February.
Despite this slight upturn in form, Southend seem doomed for relegation, thought it would be unfair to point the finger of blame at Campbell, who has shown himself to be an astute manager with the guts to take on some of the most challenging jobs in football management.
It is surely only a matter of time before a Championship or Premier League club finally recognise the potential he has shown in his first two jobs in management.
#7 Phil Neville
In charge of the Lionesses since January 2018, Neville should be considered a success so far after celebrating the second anniversary of his time in the job.
He led England to a SheBelieves Cup win in 2019 beating off the strong challenge of USA, Japan and Brazil before leading them into his first World Cup as a player or a manager, the team reaching the semi-finals before being knocked out by eventual winners USA.
Having expressed his desire to stay on and lead the team into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and a home European championship, his team went five games without a win before their run of poor form was halted with a scrappy 1-0 victory away at Portugal.
Since then his side lost 2-1 to Germany at Wembley, but won their most recent game 3-2 against the Czech Republic in November.
Of his 32 games in charge, Neville has won 18 of them, drawn 5 and lost 9, and ultimately will be judged on his results in major competitions.
England will be back in action at the SheBelieves Cup, with three games in March 2020 where they will face a tough challenge against USA, Japan, and Spain. He will then take charge of the Great Britain squad for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before leading England in to the European Championships in 2021 on home soil.
#Scott Parker
After taking over from Claudio Ranieri, and despite an upturn in performances, Parker was unable to save a Fulham side from an inevitable relegation from the Premier League after just one chaotic season back in the top flight.
However the club’s owners had seen enough from Parker, who had been such a leader during his playing career, to convince them that he was the right man to entrust with the responsibility of bringing them straight back up again. Their possession based game has seen them blow some teams away this season, but despite holding onto the goal scoring talents of Aleksander Mitrovic, they were inconsistent at the beginning of this season and found themselves outside the playoff positions at the early stages of the season.
Four straight wins in November got Fulham climbing the table, but such was their inconsistency that they followed that run of form with three straight defeats.
However they have lost only one of their last 10 games, winning six of them and drawing three as they have closed the gap on the top two, and they are currently level on points with Leeds United, who are in second place.
And finally, two players who had a go and realised management wasn't for them...
Paul Scholes
Never the most likely candidate to step into the dugout, Scholes couldn’t resist the opportunity to leave the comfort of the television studio to manage his boyhood club, Oldham Athletic. Scholes won his first game in charge but didn’t win any of his next six and he resigned from the role citing interference from club owner Abdallah Lemsagam. Back working in the media it is highly unlikely that Scholes will be seen in a managerial dugout again.
Gary Neville
Long tipped for a career in football management following his outstanding career as a player, the senior Neville brother made the somewhat surprising decision to begin his career in Spain with Valencia. Appointed in December 2015 he endured a nightmare start, failing to win his first nine league games in charge until beating Espanyol in mid-February. He was sacked at the end of March with his side only six points clear of the relegation zone and perhaps most damningly, given his defensive qualities as a player, having failed to keep a clean sheet in his 16 league games as boss.
