List of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers

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

Only competitive first-team matches in official competitions are counted
NameNationalityFromToPWDLWin % 1 Honours
George Worrall Flag of England.svg  England August 1877May 1885411225.0
Jack Addenbrooke Flag of England.svg  England August 1885June 19221,12545522045040.4 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 Flag of England.svg  England June 1922May 19249136262939.6 1923–24 Third Division (N) champions
Albert Hoskins Flag of England.svg  England June 1924March 19267834133143.6
Fred Scotchbrook Flag of England.svg  England March 1926June 1927572492442.1
Major Frank Buckley Flag of England.svg  England July 1927March 194468128113626441.3 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 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales April 1944May 194817887405148.9
Stan Cullis Flag of England.svg  England June 1948September 196474835017122746.8 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 Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland November 1964September 1965441971843.2
Ronnie Allen Flag of England.svg  England September 1965November 196815066354944.0 1966–67 Second Division runners-up
Bill McGarry Flag of England.svg  England November 1968May 197639815311013538.4 1971 Texaco Cup winners
1972 UEFA Cup runners-up
1974 League Cup winners
Sammy Chung Flag of England.svg  England June 1976November 197810841274038.0 1976–77 Second Division champions
John Barnwell Flag of England.svg  England November 1978January 198216664406238.6 1980 League Cup winners
Ian Greaves Flag of England.svg  England February 1982August 19822056925.0
Graham Hawkins Flag of England.svg  England August 1982April 19849026283628.9 1982–83 Second Division runners-up
Tommy Docherty Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland June 1984July 1985489122718.8
Bill McGarry Flag of England.svg  England September 1985November 19851223716.7
Sammy Chapman Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland November 1985August 198633891624.2
Graham Turner Flag of England.svg  England October 1986March 199441217910912443.4 1987–88 Fourth Division champions
1988 Football League Trophy winners
1988–89 Third Division champions
Graham Taylor Flag of England.svg  England March 1994November 19959136292639.6
Mark McGhee Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland December 1995November 199815965395540.9
Colin Lee Flag of England.svg  England November 1998December 200011144333439.6
Dave Jones Flag of England.svg  England January 2001November 200418775526040.1 2003 First Division play-off winners
Glenn Hoddle Flag of England.svg  England December 2004July 20067627341535.5
Mick McCarthy Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland July 2006February 20122701046610038.5 2008–09 Championship champions
Terry Connor Flag of England.svg  England February 2012June 2012130490.0
Ståle Solbakken Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1 July 20126 January 2013301051533.3
Dean Saunders Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 7 January 20137 May 201320551025.0
Kenny Jackett Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 1 June 201329 July 201615069433846.0 2013–14 League One champions
Walter Zenga Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 30 July 201625 October 20161764735.3
Paul Lambert Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 5 November 201630 May 2017331451442.4
Nuno Espírito Santo Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 31 May 20171 June 202119995495547.7 2017–18 Championship champions
Bruno Lage Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 9 June 20212 October 20225119102237.2
Julen Lopetegui Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 14 November 20228 August 2023271061137.0
Gary O'Neil Flag of England.svg  England 9 August 20236220113132.3

Note: Win percentage is rounded to one decimal place.

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References