Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson ( born November 13, 1943 in Sheffield ) is an English football functionary and former player and coach. He was known primarily as a longtime manager of Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United; the latter club he led to the 1992 to the English Championship. To this end, he served the English Football Association in various positions and was both before and after the term of office of Kevin Keegan (1999-2000) as interim coach of the England team. Wilkinson is chairman of the English coach Association League Managers Association.
Active players career
Wilkinson came in the Sheffield district Netherthorpe to the world and showed up early as a student with his team of Abbeydale Boys Grammar fußballaffin. Not infrequently he stood with English school selections against Scottish opponents. In addition to five youth internationals he graduated to a series of regional meetings choice for the Sheffield and Hallamshire County. In the organized club football, he was first an amateur for Sheffield United on the road, before he moved through the detour Hallam FC to local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
On June 25, 1962 Wilkinson signed his first professional contract with the "owls". The young winger, whose heart had already beaten in childhood for Wednesday, first completed a two-year training in the reserve team before against Chelsea (1-1) in the First Division for the first time came in the Profielf for use in September 1964. A further 13 league games in the season 1964/65 were hoping for a sporting breakthrough in English top flight, but Wilkinson was denied the hoped-for jump. After only eight other encounters he left the club in the direction of Brighton & Hove Albion, which paid the transfer fee of £ 6,000 in July 1966.
In the southern English coastal town of Brighton Wilkinson spent until the early 1970s a modest playing career in the third division and reinforced in 129 league games the team the " Seagulls ". In May 1971, he then undertook Boston United. There Wilkinson took over in parallel with its players being also first coach duties at the side of Jim Smith. His playing career lasted until 1976, before he took the place on the bench finally after 143 league games for Boston.
Coaching career
First experiences (1972-1983)
Sheffield Wednesday (1983-1988)
With the support of assistant and former Wednesday player Peter Eustace and the highly acclaimed physiotherapist Alan Smith Wilkinson undertook far-reaching innovations in the club. Success was not long in coming and his runs driven as aggressively convincing men remained unbeaten until the 16th game in the 1983/84 season. Sheffield Wednesday remained during the entire season on the front seats and the penalty to make it 1-0 against Crystal Palace by Mel Sterland was responsible for the promotion to the top English league.
Although Wilkinson was often the subject of public criticism for the little technically -oriented approach his team demonstrated this with 8th place and fifth place in the following year - this by reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1986 - his coaching skills at the highest level nationally. This " card" would have almost cost him an engagement with Saudi Arabian club Al- Ittihad, according to the press reports, lured with an annual salary of one million pounds and Sheffield Wednesday offered a transfer fee of £ 500,000. Wilkinson remained, but after the ban on English clubs as a result of the disaster at Heysel prevailed as to the future course with the club leadership now more common disagreement. The successful coach was despite the lack of additional revenue from the European games on additional investments in order to keep the team in the top half of the table can. President Bert McGhee, however, had proclaimed austerity and soon a lack of sporting quality in the team, it was noticeable. A special discord generated while the 1:5 home defeat against the new champions FC Liverpool on the final day of the 1987/88 season that overshadowed the entire summer of 1988.
Advances of the Greek giants PAOK Salonika he resisted shortly afterwards, but as the ambitious second division side Leeds United on Wednesday officially asked to transfer calls, one was quick to agree. On October 10, 1988 Wilkinson announced his resignation in Sheffield and took a short time later in West Yorkshire his new job on.
Leeds United (1988-1996)
In Leeds United shaped " Sergeant Wilko ", as he was called in allusion to the television broadcast Sergeant Bilko due to his penchant for high discipline, a powerful cadre of the newly obligated Gordon Strachan, " roughneck " Vinnie Jones, and Mel Sterland, Chris Fairclough and Lee Chapman brought about the rise in the 1989/90 season in the highest English league. With further transfers like Gary McAllister and John Lukic, but also new talents from their own youth as Gary Speed and David Batty succeeded Wilkinson surprisingly easily to establish the club in the First Division and lead to the fourth.
Only a year later, the greatest success was followed in Wilkinsons coaching career when he was in the 1991/92 season - before the start of the new Premier League last season - winning the English title. He had the team further strengthened with players like Rod Wallace, Tony Dorigo and Steve Hodge and even gained in February 1992 with the Frenchman Eric Cantona a decisive offensive power. Sustainability, this high-altitude flight then had not but what turned the crash on final standings 17 the year after the test. An example for the " wrong direction " in which the club has developed now under Wilkinson, was there in September 1992, the controversial decision for 1.2 million pounds of Manchester United to sell Cantona, who there again one of the best Premier League player of the 1990s developed. In the two subsequent years, Wilkinson's luck changed for the better temporarily again, then even the FC Arsenal showed interest in 1995 in search for a successor to George Graham in the summer - but the club's management of Leeds United gave a possible change of a rejection.
In the season 1995/96 Wilkinson's men made it to the final of the League Cup, but with the 0:3 lost against Aston Villa and the coach brought in a large amount of criticism. Then came his time in Leeds quickly to an end when the club started poorly in the new season 1996/97. A 0-4 defeat against Manchester United finally made on 9 September 1996 for Wilkinsons dismissal.
English selection teams (1997-2002)
Four months after his resignation in Leeds Wilkinson accepted an offer from the English Football Association technical director. His work profile foresaw that he supervised the training work and concepts at all levels of junior representative teams. In this context, he initiated the construction of a near Burton National Football Centre; a project that will reach completion in 2012.
Quick awareness about the country's borders, he obtained in 1999, when he was coach of the English short A- team after the sacking of Glenn Hoddle and the " Three Lions " supervised as part of a friendly match against France. He then took over the head coach role of the U -21 and replaced so that the still appointed by Hoddle Peter Taylor. This decision has been controversial in the English media. There were also failures in Wilkinson's term of office and the recently remained unbeaten and conceding team lost, he directed three of six games. In June 2001, Wilkinson came then from his post back - he finally followed by David Platt. Previously, he had once projected in October 2000, the senior team in a 0-0 draw in their World Cup qualifier against Finland as Hoddles successor Kevin Keegan had announced his resignation. Until 2002, it remained at the British Association as technical director active before again overtook him a call from the Premier League.
Last Trainer Jobs (2002-2004)
The request came from the relegation candidates Sunderland AFC and in October 2002, Wilkinson agreed with the "Black Cats" in terms of a commitment - his assistant Steve Cotterill. However, this year was a disaster with only two wins from 20 league games, which culminated at the end of the descent as severed Table. Already in March 2003, Wilkinson had been there already dismissed.
A year later lured him to the Chinese first division side Shanghai Shenhua, but after only two months ended Wilkinson 's activities for personal reasons prematurely. Back in his native England, he worked in October 2004 interim the coaching staff of Leicester City, before it finally " behind the scenes" pulled him.
Official activities
In his old club Notts County Wilkinson took over as director. For this purpose he engaged henceforth intensely for the coaches Association League Managers Association as its Chairman. In January 2009 he returned to Sheffield Wednesday a broad time back as a consultant and took over for the 2010/11 season after the resignation of Lee Strafford the club presidency. He was there one of the key figures who saved the club from bankruptcy and einfädelte sale to the new owner Milan Mandarić. He remained until his resignation in January 2011, part of the three-member board of directors.
Title / Awards
- English Championship ( 1): 1992
- Charity Shield ( 1): 1992