This is a list of Bristol Rovers F.C. managers since the club appointed its first full-time manager in 1899, along with the number of competitive games managed, winning percentage and titles won.
Although the club were founded in 1883, they did not appoint a full-time manager until 1899, when Alfred Homer, who was assistant secretary of Aston Villa, was appointed as manager-secretary of Bristol Rovers, a position he held for twenty-one years. On joining the Football League in 1920, the club appointed Ben Hall to the manager's post. Hall held the job for one year before handing over to Andrew Wilson, the club's first non-English manager.
The next significant manager of Bristol Rovers was Albert Prince-Cox, who introduced blue-and-white quarters as the team's kit because he believed it made the players look larger and more intimidating. He also became the first manager to win a major cup competition with the club when they won the Division 3 (South) Cup in 1935. More success followed in the 1952–53 season when Bristol Rovers' longest serving post-war manager, Bert Tann, won a league title for the first time since 1905 and won promotion for the first time ever when the club won Division 3 (South). Tann remained in charge for eighteen years from 1950 to 1968.
Don Megson was the next manager to win a major trophy, taking the Watney Cup in 1972 in only his third game in charge. Following this, only two more managers won any silverware at a national level. These were Gerry Francis, who won the Division 3 title in 1989–90, and most recently Paul Trollope, who won the League 2 play-off final in 2007. That was until the appointment of Darrell Clarke who guided Bristol Rovers to back-to-back promotions, the first in the club's history making him the most successful Bristol Rovers manager ever.
In all the club has had 35 full-time managers (excluding caretaker managers).
Name | Nationality | Bristol Rovers career | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | % won [α] | Honours | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfred Homer | England | Summer 1899 – July 1920 | 652 | 243 | 148 | 261 | 37.3 | Southern League champions, 3 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Ben Hall | England | July 1920 – May 1921 | 45 | 19 | 7 | 19 | 42.2 | - | |
Andrew Wilson | Scotland | June 1921 – April 1926 | 230 | 74 | 64 | 92 | 32.2 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
Joe Palmer | England | May 1926 – April 1929 | 138 | 48 | 22 | 68 | 34.8 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
David McLean | Scotland | May 1929 – September 1930 | 58 | 16 | 12 | 30 | 27.6 | - | |
Albert Prince-Cox | England | October 1930 – October 1936 | 295 | 115 | 67 | 113 | 39.0 | Division 3 South Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Percy Smith | England | November 1936 – November 1937 | 52 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 32.7 | - | |
Brough Fletcher | England | January 1938 – January 1950 | 227 | 80 | 49 | 98 | 35.2 | 3 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Bert Tann | England | January 1950 – April 1968 | 897 | 369 | 216 | 314 | 41.1 | Division 3 South champions, Gloucestershire Cups: won 5, shared 5 | |
Fred Ford | England | April 1968 – July 1969 | 70 | 26 | 16 | 28 | 37.1 | - | |
Bill Dodgin Sr. | England | August 1969 – July 1972 | 163 | 72 | 47 | 44 | 44.2 | - | |
Don Megson | England | July 1972 – November 1977 | 269 | 91 | 85 | 93 | 33.8 | Watney Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups, promotion to Division 2 | |
Bobby Campbell | Scotland | November 1977 – December 1979 | 91 | 32 | 19 | 40 | 35.2 | - | |
Harold Jarman | England | December 1979 – April 1980 | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 29.2 | - | |
Terry Cooper | England | April 1980 – October 1981 | 68 | 13 | 19 | 36 | 19.1 | - | |
Ron Gingell (caretaker) | England | October 1981 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | - | |
Bobby Gould | England | May 1985 – June 1987 |
October 1981 – May 1983196 | 71 | 42 | 83 | 36.2 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
David Williams | Wales | May 1983 – May 1985 | 108 | 51 | 28 | 29 | 47.2 | 2 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Gerry Francis | England | July 2001 – December 2001 |
July 1987 – May 1991240 | 95 | 72 | 73 | 39.6 | Division 3 champions, 2 Gloucestershire Cups | [1] |
Martin Dobson | England | July 1991 – October 1991 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8.3 | - | |
Dennis Rofe | England | October 1991 – November 1992 | 63 | 21 | 18 | 24 | 33.3 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
Malcolm Allison | England | November 1992 – February 1993 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33.3 | - | |
Steve Cross (caretaker) | England | March 1993 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | - | |
John Ward | England | December 2012 – March 2014 |
March 1993 – May 1996250 | 101 | 70 | 79 | 40.4 | 2 Gloucestershire Cups | [2] |
Ian Holloway | England | June 1996 – January 2001 | 249 | 92 | 67 | 90 | 36.9 | - | |
Garry Thompson | England | [β] December 2001 – April 2002 |
January 2001 – May 2001
47 | 14 | 10 | 23 | 29.8 | - | [3] |
Phil Bater (caretaker) | Wales | January 2004 – March 2004 |
April 200214 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7.1 | - | [4] |
Ray Graydon | England | April 2002 – January 2004 | 81 | 22 | 22 | 37 | 27.2 | - | [5] |
Russell Osman Kevan Broadhurst (joint caretakers) [γ] |
England | March 2004 – April 2004 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | - | [6] [7] |
Ian Atkins | England | April 2004 – September 2005 | 68 | 21 | 26 | 21 | 30.9 | - | [8] |
Paul Trollope | Wales | September 2005 – December 2010 | 284 | 106 | 71 | 107 | 37.3 | League 2 play-off winner | [9] |
Darren Patterson (caretaker) | Northern Ireland | December 2010 – January 2011 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | [10] | |
Dave Penney | England | January 2011 – March 2011 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 15.4 | [11] | |
Stuart Campbell (caretaker) | Scotland | March 2011 – May 2011 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 33.3 | [12] | |
Paul Buckle | England | May 2011 – January 2012 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 27.5 | [13] | |
Mark McGhee | Scotland | January 2012 – December 2012 | 45 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 26.6 | [14] | |
Darrell Clarke | England | March 2014 – December 2018 | 246 | 104 | 56 | 86 | 42.3 | Conference Premier play-off winner, promotion to League One | [15] |
Graham Coughlan | Republic of Ireland | December 2018 – December 2019 | 56 | 25 | 18 | 13 | 44.6 | [16] | |
Joe Dunne (caretaker) | Republic of Ireland | December 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | [17] | |
Kevin Maher (caretaker) | Republic of Ireland | January 2020 [δ] |
December 20191 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | [18] | |
Ben Garner | England | [ε] | December 2019 – November 202033 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 18.2 | [20] | |
Tommy Widdrington (caretaker) | England | February 2021 |
November 20203 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.6 | ||
Paul Tisdale | England | November 2020 – February 2021 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 26.3 | [21] | |
Joey Barton | England | February 2021 – October 2023 | 143 | 53 | 30 | 60 | 37.1 | Promotion to League One | [22] |
Andy Mangan (caretaker) | England | October 2023 – November 2023 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 57.1 | ||
Matt Taylor | England | November 2023 – Present | 30 | 11 | 4 | 14 | 36.6 |
As of 8 February 2024 [update]
Manager | Games | Years | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Bert Tann | 897 | 1950-1968 |
2 | Alfred Homer | 652 | 1899-1920 |
3 | Albert Prince-Cox | 295 | 1930-1936 |
4 | Paul Trollope | 284 | 2005-2010 |
5 | Don Megson | 269 | 1972-1977 |
6 | John Ward | 250 | 1993-1996, 2012-2014 |
7 | Ian Holloway | 249 | 1996-2001 |
8 | Darrell Clarke | 246 | 2014-2018 |
9 | Gerry Francis | 240 | 1987-1991, 2001 |
10 | Andrew Wilson | 230 | 1921-1926 |
11 | Brough Fletcher | 227 | 1938-1950 |
12 | Bobby Gould | 196 | 1981-1983, 1985-1987 |
13 | Bill Dodgin Sr. | 163 | 1969-1972 |
14 | Joey Barton | 143 | 2021-2023 |
15 | Joe Palmer | 138 | 1926-1929 |
16 | David Williams | 108 | 1983-1985 |
As of Information correct as of 8 February 2024 [update]
Wins | Games | Years | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bert Tann | 369 | 897 | 1950-1968 |
2 | Alfred Homer | 243 | 652 | 1899-1920 |
3 | Albert Prince-Cox | 115 | 295 | 1930-1936 |
4 | Paul Trollope | 106 | 284 | 2005-2010 |
5 | Darrell Clarke | 104 | 246 | 2014-2018 |
6 | John Ward | 101 | 250 | 1993-1996, 2012-2014 |
Manager | Win% | Games | Years | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | David Williams | 47.2 | 108 | 1983-1985 |
2 | Graham Coughlan | 44.6 | 56 | 2018-2019 |
3 | Bill Dodgin Sr. | 44.2 | 163 | 1969-1972 |
4 | Darrell Clarke | 42.3 | 246 | 2014-2018 |
5 | Ben Hall | 42.2 | 45 | 1920-1921 |
Manager | Promotions | Years | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Darrell Clarke | 2 | 2015, 2016 |
2 | Bert Tann | 1 | 1953 |
Don Megson | 1974 | ||
Gerry Francis | 1990 | ||
Paul Trollope | 2007 | ||
Joey Barton | 2022 |
Country | Managers | |
---|---|---|
1 | England | 29 |
2 | Scotland | 4 |
3 | Wales | 2 |
4 | Republic of Ireland | 1 |
This is a list of Bristol Rovers F.C. managers since the club appointed its first full-time manager in 1899, along with the number of competitive games managed, winning percentage and titles won.
Although the club were founded in 1883, they did not appoint a full-time manager until 1899, when Alfred Homer, who was assistant secretary of Aston Villa, was appointed as manager-secretary of Bristol Rovers, a position he held for twenty-one years. On joining the Football League in 1920, the club appointed Ben Hall to the manager's post. Hall held the job for one year before handing over to Andrew Wilson, the club's first non-English manager.
The next significant manager of Bristol Rovers was Albert Prince-Cox, who introduced blue-and-white quarters as the team's kit because he believed it made the players look larger and more intimidating. He also became the first manager to win a major cup competition with the club when they won the Division 3 (South) Cup in 1935. More success followed in the 1952–53 season when Bristol Rovers' longest serving post-war manager, Bert Tann, won a league title for the first time since 1905 and won promotion for the first time ever when the club won Division 3 (South). Tann remained in charge for eighteen years from 1950 to 1968.
Don Megson was the next manager to win a major trophy, taking the Watney Cup in 1972 in only his third game in charge. Following this, only two more managers won any silverware at a national level. These were Gerry Francis, who won the Division 3 title in 1989–90, and most recently Paul Trollope, who won the League 2 play-off final in 2007. That was until the appointment of Darrell Clarke who guided Bristol Rovers to back-to-back promotions, the first in the club's history making him the most successful Bristol Rovers manager ever.
In all the club has had 35 full-time managers (excluding caretaker managers).
Name | Nationality | Bristol Rovers career | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | % won [α] | Honours | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfred Homer | England | Summer 1899 – July 1920 | 652 | 243 | 148 | 261 | 37.3 | Southern League champions, 3 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Ben Hall | England | July 1920 – May 1921 | 45 | 19 | 7 | 19 | 42.2 | - | |
Andrew Wilson | Scotland | June 1921 – April 1926 | 230 | 74 | 64 | 92 | 32.2 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
Joe Palmer | England | May 1926 – April 1929 | 138 | 48 | 22 | 68 | 34.8 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
David McLean | Scotland | May 1929 – September 1930 | 58 | 16 | 12 | 30 | 27.6 | - | |
Albert Prince-Cox | England | October 1930 – October 1936 | 295 | 115 | 67 | 113 | 39.0 | Division 3 South Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Percy Smith | England | November 1936 – November 1937 | 52 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 32.7 | - | |
Brough Fletcher | England | January 1938 – January 1950 | 227 | 80 | 49 | 98 | 35.2 | 3 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Bert Tann | England | January 1950 – April 1968 | 897 | 369 | 216 | 314 | 41.1 | Division 3 South champions, Gloucestershire Cups: won 5, shared 5 | |
Fred Ford | England | April 1968 – July 1969 | 70 | 26 | 16 | 28 | 37.1 | - | |
Bill Dodgin Sr. | England | August 1969 – July 1972 | 163 | 72 | 47 | 44 | 44.2 | - | |
Don Megson | England | July 1972 – November 1977 | 269 | 91 | 85 | 93 | 33.8 | Watney Cup winner, 2 Gloucestershire Cups, promotion to Division 2 | |
Bobby Campbell | Scotland | November 1977 – December 1979 | 91 | 32 | 19 | 40 | 35.2 | - | |
Harold Jarman | England | December 1979 – April 1980 | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 29.2 | - | |
Terry Cooper | England | April 1980 – October 1981 | 68 | 13 | 19 | 36 | 19.1 | - | |
Ron Gingell (caretaker) | England | October 1981 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | - | |
Bobby Gould | England | May 1985 – June 1987 |
October 1981 – May 1983196 | 71 | 42 | 83 | 36.2 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
David Williams | Wales | May 1983 – May 1985 | 108 | 51 | 28 | 29 | 47.2 | 2 Gloucestershire Cups | |
Gerry Francis | England | July 2001 – December 2001 |
July 1987 – May 1991240 | 95 | 72 | 73 | 39.6 | Division 3 champions, 2 Gloucestershire Cups | [1] |
Martin Dobson | England | July 1991 – October 1991 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8.3 | - | |
Dennis Rofe | England | October 1991 – November 1992 | 63 | 21 | 18 | 24 | 33.3 | Gloucestershire Cup winner | |
Malcolm Allison | England | November 1992 – February 1993 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 33.3 | - | |
Steve Cross (caretaker) | England | March 1993 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | - | |
John Ward | England | December 2012 – March 2014 |
March 1993 – May 1996250 | 101 | 70 | 79 | 40.4 | 2 Gloucestershire Cups | [2] |
Ian Holloway | England | June 1996 – January 2001 | 249 | 92 | 67 | 90 | 36.9 | - | |
Garry Thompson | England | [β] December 2001 – April 2002 |
January 2001 – May 2001
47 | 14 | 10 | 23 | 29.8 | - | [3] |
Phil Bater (caretaker) | Wales | January 2004 – March 2004 |
April 200214 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7.1 | - | [4] |
Ray Graydon | England | April 2002 – January 2004 | 81 | 22 | 22 | 37 | 27.2 | - | [5] |
Russell Osman Kevan Broadhurst (joint caretakers) [γ] |
England | March 2004 – April 2004 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | - | [6] [7] |
Ian Atkins | England | April 2004 – September 2005 | 68 | 21 | 26 | 21 | 30.9 | - | [8] |
Paul Trollope | Wales | September 2005 – December 2010 | 284 | 106 | 71 | 107 | 37.3 | League 2 play-off winner | [9] |
Darren Patterson (caretaker) | Northern Ireland | December 2010 – January 2011 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | [10] | |
Dave Penney | England | January 2011 – March 2011 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 15.4 | [11] | |
Stuart Campbell (caretaker) | Scotland | March 2011 – May 2011 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 33.3 | [12] | |
Paul Buckle | England | May 2011 – January 2012 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 27.5 | [13] | |
Mark McGhee | Scotland | January 2012 – December 2012 | 45 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 26.6 | [14] | |
Darrell Clarke | England | March 2014 – December 2018 | 246 | 104 | 56 | 86 | 42.3 | Conference Premier play-off winner, promotion to League One | [15] |
Graham Coughlan | Republic of Ireland | December 2018 – December 2019 | 56 | 25 | 18 | 13 | 44.6 | [16] | |
Joe Dunne (caretaker) | Republic of Ireland | December 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | [17] | |
Kevin Maher (caretaker) | Republic of Ireland | January 2020 [δ] |
December 20191 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | [18] | |
Ben Garner | England | [ε] | December 2019 – November 202033 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 18.2 | [20] | |
Tommy Widdrington (caretaker) | England | February 2021 |
November 20203 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.6 | ||
Paul Tisdale | England | November 2020 – February 2021 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 26.3 | [21] | |
Joey Barton | England | February 2021 – October 2023 | 143 | 53 | 30 | 60 | 37.1 | Promotion to League One | [22] |
Andy Mangan (caretaker) | England | October 2023 – November 2023 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 57.1 | ||
Matt Taylor | England | November 2023 – Present | 30 | 11 | 4 | 14 | 36.6 |
As of 8 February 2024 [update]
Manager | Games | Years | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Bert Tann | 897 | 1950-1968 |
2 | Alfred Homer | 652 | 1899-1920 |
3 | Albert Prince-Cox | 295 | 1930-1936 |
4 | Paul Trollope | 284 | 2005-2010 |
5 | Don Megson | 269 | 1972-1977 |
6 | John Ward | 250 | 1993-1996, 2012-2014 |
7 | Ian Holloway | 249 | 1996-2001 |
8 | Darrell Clarke | 246 | 2014-2018 |
9 | Gerry Francis | 240 | 1987-1991, 2001 |
10 | Andrew Wilson | 230 | 1921-1926 |
11 | Brough Fletcher | 227 | 1938-1950 |
12 | Bobby Gould | 196 | 1981-1983, 1985-1987 |
13 | Bill Dodgin Sr. | 163 | 1969-1972 |
14 | Joey Barton | 143 | 2021-2023 |
15 | Joe Palmer | 138 | 1926-1929 |
16 | David Williams | 108 | 1983-1985 |
As of Information correct as of 8 February 2024 [update]
Wins | Games | Years | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bert Tann | 369 | 897 | 1950-1968 |
2 | Alfred Homer | 243 | 652 | 1899-1920 |
3 | Albert Prince-Cox | 115 | 295 | 1930-1936 |
4 | Paul Trollope | 106 | 284 | 2005-2010 |
5 | Darrell Clarke | 104 | 246 | 2014-2018 |
6 | John Ward | 101 | 250 | 1993-1996, 2012-2014 |
Manager | Win% | Games | Years | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | David Williams | 47.2 | 108 | 1983-1985 |
2 | Graham Coughlan | 44.6 | 56 | 2018-2019 |
3 | Bill Dodgin Sr. | 44.2 | 163 | 1969-1972 |
4 | Darrell Clarke | 42.3 | 246 | 2014-2018 |
5 | Ben Hall | 42.2 | 45 | 1920-1921 |
Manager | Promotions | Years | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Darrell Clarke | 2 | 2015, 2016 |
2 | Bert Tann | 1 | 1953 |
Don Megson | 1974 | ||
Gerry Francis | 1990 | ||
Paul Trollope | 2007 | ||
Joey Barton | 2022 |
Country | Managers | |
---|---|---|
1 | England | 29 |
2 | Scotland | 4 |
3 | Wales | 2 |
4 | Republic of Ireland | 1 |