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| ROBERT BALL - April 1895 to May 1903 |
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| Robert Ball was a founder member of Harchester United Football Club. He was the manager of the Dragon Leather Tannery so it was only right that he should also become the manager of the newly found football club. Ball would remain in this position until May 1903 when he handed over the reigns to his company assitant within the tannery, David Ryan. |
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| Website Created February 2001
All material on this website is Copyright © 1997-2007 Harchester.TV |
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| DAVID RYAN - May 1903 to August 1908 |
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| David Ryan was a founder member of Harchester United Football Club and became the manager of the team in May 1903 following a handover in power from his friend, Robert Ball. Although remaining as a player, Ryan was ousted from the managerial spot shortly before the 1908/09 season following new ownership of the club from the outside. |
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| JOSEPH PETERSON - August 1908 to April 1920 |
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| Joseph Peterson was assigned as manager of the club in August 1908 by the new owners. His involvement didn't go down too well with the local supporters and never had the local support. Peterson resigned from the club at the end of the 1919/20 season following back to back relegations. |
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| DAVID COOPER - August 1920 to May 1928 |
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| David Cooper was made manager in August 1920, just days before the start of the new season. He repaired alot of the damage left by former manager, Joesph Peterson. After winning promotion from Division Three North in 1926/27, Cooper left the club in 1928 to join Huddersfield Town. |
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| EDWARD EVANS - August 1928 to September 1939 |
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| Edward Evans was made manager in August 1928 after a long pusuit to bring him in from West Ham United. In a succesuly 1932/33 season, Evans took Harchester United to the top flight again. Like many players, Evans left in September 1939 following the abandonment of the League due to the second world war. |
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| ARTHUR CHARLTON - September 1946 to March 1965 |
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| Arthur Charlton is Harchester United's longest ever serving manager. He took charge of the team following to commencement of the league after the Second World War. After relegation in 1947, Charlton took Harchester back up in a succesful 1957/58 campaign. Charlton sadly died following a heart attack in a league game against Blackburn Rovers at Addison Road in March 1965. |
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| JIM STEPHENSON - March 1965 to September 1967 |
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| Jim Stephenson was assistant manager to Arthur Charlton and took over as full time boss following Charltons tragic death. Stephenson had an unsuccesful 1966/67 season as the Dragons were relegated. Following five losses at the start of the 1967/68 season, he was sacked. |
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| ROBERT McCLAREN - September 1967 to May 1974 |
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| Robert McClaren was the first non-English manager to manage Harchester United. The Scot got Harchester United back into the top flight following promotion in his second season in charge. In 1973/74, Harchester United finished as high as 4th. In May 1974, McClaren left the club to takeover as boss of German side Hamburg. |
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| HARRY SIDWELL - July 1974 to May 1985 |
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| After two months of searching for a new manager, former West Ham United defender Harry Sidwell was brought in as new Harchester United boss. Sidwell had a good time as Harchester United boss, but never materialised anything better than mid-table positions throughout his time. He left the club by mutual agreement at the end of the 1983/84 season. |
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| KENNY BRUCE - June 1985 to January 1990 |
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| Kenny Bruce came in with fresh ideas in June 1985 that would revolutionise the club and bring the championship to Harchester for the first time in 1985/86. Although the only Harchester United manager to win the league, he was sacked in January 1990 following allegations of a relationship with a players wife. He went abroad to manage in France. |
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| STEVE TOMKINS - January 1990 to December 1992 |
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| Former assistant boss Steve Tomkins took over as boss in January 1990 but failed to impress in his first season. Relegation to the second division! After a succesful start to the 1992/93 campaign in the new division one, Harchester United's new owner, Michael Jacobs, decided to replace Tomkins with the more experianced Ron Atkinson! |
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| RON ATKINSON - December 1992 to October 1997 |
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| Ron Atkinson was brought in by new chairman Michael Jacobs to make changes, and he did exactly that with promotion to the Premiership in 1993/94. After relegation in 1995/96, Atkinson would again lead the Dragons to promotion. However, in 1997/98, due to a bust up with Michael Jacobs, Big Ron quit the club to go and manage Atletico Madrid. |
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| JOHN HOLLINS - October 1997 to November 1997 |
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| John Hollins was assistant manager to Big Ron at Harchester and took caretaker charge following Atkinsons departure in October 1997. When Ian Coates took over as full time boss in November 1997, Hollins remained as his assistant before leaving to take over as manager of Swansea City in 1999. |
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| IAN COATES - November 1997 to February 1999 |
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| Former PSV Eindhoven boss Ian Coates took over as manager in November 1997. In his first season in charge, he saved the club from relegation. In his second season, Coates was found guilty of assaulting referee Colin Kingsley on live TV. He was then suspended by the FA. Following his suspension, he was replaced as manager and made Director of Football - a role he'd have until May 1999. |
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| LUIS AMOR RODRIGUEZ - February 1999 to March 2000 |
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| Luis Amor Rodriguez was installed as boss to replace Ian Coates as manager. The Argentine had a succesful first few months in charge by winning the FA Cup Final against Manchester United. He also scored both goals. Following a knee injury in December 1999, Rodriguez went to USA for treatment. When he returned in March 2000, he resigned as manager. |
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| RAY WYATT - March 2000 to May 2001 |
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| Ray Wyatt had been assistant to Rodriguez for almost six months before taking over as manager. In his first season in charge, he kept the Dragons in the Premiership. In his second season, 2000/01, he took Harchester United to the brink of the Champions League but quit as manager before the final game following an alleged bust up with new chairman, Prashant Dattani. |
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| KARL FLETCHER - May 2001 |
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| Karl Fletcher was in charge of Harchester United for just one day. The legend was made caretaker boss by Prashant Dattani following the departure of Ray Wyatt, although Fletcher insisted he was to be permanant manager. Fletcher was replaced by the returning Ray Wyatt the following much to his displeasure. |
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| RAY WYATT - May 2001 |
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| Although not on best terms with new chairman Dattani, Wyatt returned as manager for the final game of the season to finish what he'd started following much persuasion by his players. The final game went according to plan, and following a 3-2 home win over West Ham, the Dragons finished 3rd and qualified for the Champions League. Wyatt then left the club and retired from management. |
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| ALAN ROTHMAN - June 2001 to August 2001 |
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| Alan Rothman was made manager in June 2001 by new Harchester United chairman, Sam Irving. After winning his first two games in charge of the club, Rothman was sacked by the club following allegations in a newspaper he'd made against the club, players and the chief executive, Lynda Block. |
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| DAVID SPEARS - August 2001 to December 2001 |
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| David Spears first of all took over as caretaker boss before being given the full time managers job in August 2001. He had a good time going with the players during his spell in charge, but resigned from his position after he'd been found out of having an affair with chairman Sam Irving's daughter, Claudia. |
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| MONDAY BANDELE - December 2001 to February 2002 |
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| Nigerian striker Monday Bandele immediately took over as manager following the resignation of David Spears in December 2001. Although a world class striker, Monday could rarely motivate his players nor get the best performance out of them. So in February 2002, he was replaced by his former boss at Paris St.Germain, Patrick Doyle. |
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| PATRICK DOYLE - February 2002 to February 2003 |
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| Patrick Doyle was brought in as manager from Paris St.Germain to change the ailing fortunes of Harchester United, and in his first season he did just that by guiding the Dragons to their first ever UEFA Cup final, which they sadly lost. The following year brought off-field shocks and revelations as, months after his sacking, Doyle was found to have been fixing games in order to get the club relegated. He was found dead in a toilet cubicle at the Dragons Lair in May 2003. |
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| STUART NAYSMITH - February 2003 to March 2003 |
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| Coach Stuart Naysmith took full time charge of team affairs following the sacking of Patrick Doyle. After a brief spell in charge, he was replaced as manager following a bust up with captain Marcel Sabatier at an airport in Mallorca and his arrest. |
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| ALAN ROTHMAN - March 2003 to May 2003 |
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| Alan Rothman returned for a second spell as manager and a less contraversial one. The objective was to save the club from relegation. After almost completing his mission, Rothman was one of many hostages taken in during a siege held by Jamie Parker. After suffering a heart attack, Rothman retired from football due to ill health and handed the reigns on to Stuart Naysmith. |
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| STUART NAYSMITH - May 2003 to May 2004 |
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| After saving the club from relegation whilst in temporary charge, Stuart Naysmith was given the job on a full time basis and steared the club towards the Champions League. However, he had been found, along with chief executive Pilar Hernandez, to have thrown a league game against Leicester City. He was sacked by the club and suspended by the FA for life. He has since gone into a witness protection scheme. |
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| CURTIS ALEXANDER - May 2004 |
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| New club captain Curtis Alexander took over as caretaker manager due to the clubs financial position following the sacking of Stuart Naysmith in May 2004. He had two games in charge to save the club and get the Dragons into the Champions League. After defeat against Wolves, they overcome the odds to beat Manchester United and therefore qualified for the Champions League. |
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| DON BARKER - May 2004 to April 2005 |
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| Don Barker, previously manager at Wigan Athletic, was made manager by new owner Eli Knox following the clubs relegation for Match Fixing. Barker made the club push strong and hard for promotion and was to be suceeding in this cause. However, following allegations of an affair with a players wife, Barker was forced out by his players. He later went on to become Director of Football at West Ham United and was found dead in the Coach Explosion in Cardiff in May 2005. |
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| VIV WRIGHT - April 2005 to May 2005 |
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| The first ever goalkeeper to become manager of Harchester United! After being knocked out of the Champions League in the Quarter Finals, Wright made sure the club continued it's push for promotion back to the Premiership. After success in the Play Offs, tragedy struck as a coach explosion at the Millennium Stadium killed many players and staff including Viv Wright himself. |
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| FELIX HAHN - June 2005 to January 2006 |
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| Former Bayer Leverkusen manager Felix Hahn took charge of Harchester United in the summer of 2005 and had a massive job on his hands following the tragic coach explosion in May of that year. After an inconsistant season, Hahn reisgned from the club in January 2006 following all sorts of allegations made against him, in which he was later cleared. |
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| LAWRIE HANNIGAN - January 2006 |
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| Former AC Milan boss Lawrie Hannigan became the suprise new manager of Harchester United in January 2006. Known for his old school, no nonsense managerial style, Hannigan never got to put any of this into practice at Harchester United as he mysteriously disappeared the night before an FA Cup 4th Round tie with Bolton Wanderers. |
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| ALEX DEMPSEY (ROSE) - January 2006 to August 2006 |
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| Alex Dempsey became the manager following the disappearance of Lawrie Hannigan. After disappointment in the League Cup Final against Chelsea, he rallied his team on to success in the FA Cup Final against Arsenal. During this time, Alex had become a Rose and had inheritited the club from his now dead brother and former player, Casper. In August 2006, Alex sold the club and admitted to accidently killing Casper Rose in an heated argument. |
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| JIMMY CRAIG - August 2006 to June 2008 |
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| Jimmy Craig was brought in as the new manager of Harchester United, just hours before former boss and owner, Alex Rose, had handed himself into police. Jimmy led the team to become Premiership Champions in 2007 but resigned from his job in June 2008 after a fall out with then-chairman Terry Harrison. In the 2007/08 season, he led the club to the Champions League Semi-Finals. |
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