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Is Bryan Robson the worst football manager ever?

There have been some pretty lousy ones over the years - from Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore to Chris Kamara and Graeme Souness, they didn't exactly make a mega-success of their management careers. But Robbo takes some beating!

by 101greatgoals.com on 16 February 2008

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Bryan Robson: Cut loose by the Blades (Gettyimages.com)

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After being “relieved of his duties” at Sheffield United, Bryan Robson left another club with his managerial record worse than it was before he turned up at Bramall Lane.

In the space of eight months, the former England captain managed to turn the Blades from promotion hopefuls to a team hovering above the relegation zone in the Championship.

His disastrous reign as Sheffield United boss will come as no surprise to those who have watched his managerial career closely. Perhaps Robbo has never recovered from the 1996/97 season, where he managed to take Middlesbrough down and lose in both major English cup finals.

'It is still unbelievable to think that Glenn Roeder was responsible for West Ham’s relegation in 2002/3 with a squad full of great players, including Paolo Di Canio, Joe Cole, Fredi Kanoute, David James, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe'

It could be argued that Robson was a success at the Riverside; after all he took them up twice but it remains a mystery how he was unable to keep a team in the top flight with players of the calibre of Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli.

The man formerly known as ‘Captain Marvel’ then cast his magic spell over Bradford City and promptly got them relegated in 2004. Robson’s managerial career looked to be on an upwards curve when he engineered a dramatic escape from relegation for his beloved West Brom on the final day of the 2004/5 season. However, the following season he was unable to match the achievement and the Baggies dropped down a division and Robson was sacked the following September.

Having presided over three relegations at three different clubs, Robson’s image has been severely tarnished and it will be a surprise if anyone gives him a chance again. He can add his name to a number of high-profile ex-England players who have failed in the dugout.

Bobby Charlton’s lone season as manager of Preston North End was unsuccessful and apart from a brief spell as gaffer of Wigan, he never returned to the hot seat. England’s World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore also failed during his brief managerial career when he presided over Eastern AA in Hong Kong, Oxford City and Southend United.

And who could forget Alan Ball taking Manchester City down in 1995/96 after seven successive seasons in the top flight.

However, it is not just ex-England legends that make bad managers. Glenn Roeder challenges Robson for the title of worst manager to grace the top flight in recent seasons.

It is still unbelievable to think that Roeder was responsible for West Ham’s relegation in 2002/3 with a squad full of great players, including Paolo Di Canio, Joe Cole, Fredi Kanoute, David James, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe. He followed this up with a mediocre spell as manager of Newcastle, although he has improved the fortunes of Norwich City this season.

No analysis on the worst manager in English football would be complete without mentioning Graeme Souness. The ex-Liverpool legend is probably more responsible than anyone for the Anfield club’s lack of a league success since 1990. Some of his signings were truly awful (e.g. Julian Dicks) and the once great club are still playing catch up in English football. The moustachioed ex-Scotland midfielder was also hoaxed into playing Ali Dia whilst in charge at Southampton, supposedly on the recommendation of George Weah.

There are numerous candidates for the title of worst manager in English football. Les Reed, Chris Kamara, Terry Butcher and John Gregory can all lay a claim, but Robson has appeared out of his depth at almost every club he has managed.

Earlier this week Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe accused the Premier League of “poor governance.” The always excellent Mediawatch365 comically pointed out that ‘‘the man who appointed Bryan Robson as manager should think twice before accusing anyone else of running their shop badly.”

If all the managers mentioned above are bad, how awful must be the men who appointed them in the first place?

Comments (9)

by matt hoddlestone on February 16, 2008

Surprised theres no mention of Steve Mclaren who spent a fortune of boros money to keep them hovering above relegation. and the less said about England the better!!!

by chris kershaw on February 17, 2008

as a man.utd fan i like to think he hasnt found the right team?

by danny shepherd on February 18, 2008

I would like to say that the ever comical Media watch should really never let the facts get in the way of a good punch line, it was Robinson the chairman of the Football club and not McCabe the chairman of the PLC who appointed Robson, that would be saying bill gates is a poor boss if a sales rep doesnt do his job right,

by Pete Gibson on February 19, 2008

As a non man.utd fan I agree with you chris he hasn't found the right club yet. I look forward with anticipation for sir alex's retirement and robson's appointment as your new manager. But I bet a lot more than you do:-)

by p j on February 22, 2008

Robson must have been a success. There were two reasons we didn't stay up. The gap between the quality and the rest was quite vast and it was too much too soon to build a team all as good as Juninho n Rav. Secondly, we were deducted 3 points. Whether Boro were right to do what they did has nothing to do with Robson and therefore got enough points on the pitch to stay up. I don't think that he's that bad I really don't. Given time and money he will be a success but he's not right for the clubs on really strict budgets. Robson started the youth academy at Boro. That's enough for him to not be the worst.

by Stephen Thompson on February 23, 2008

Robson is the worst manager ever !! He is absolutely useless. Not only is he not a nice guy, he is stupid and thick. Robson can barely put a meaningful sentence together in English let alone think about football tactics. He is operating on one brain cell.

by Michael Slater on May 04, 2008

Peter Reid must be one of the worst managers going around, with him ad Robson they still manage to gat a job managing a club, it beggars belief as they are woeful, jobs for the boys or what?

by David V. on May 06, 2008

Well the 3 points deduction for not showing up was perfectly reasonable, because by not showing up to a game simply broke the rules of any professional league. Arsenal got points deducted and they still went on and won the League didn't they? And you can't blame that alone for relegation, it was simply that except for Juninho and a few others, a lot of the team were either poor or simply couldn't be bothered to do their best. Furthermore, Robson would have taken Boro down a second time if it weren't for Terry Venables' help! His time at Bradford City can't be judged at all, for the club were already in dire straits when he took over, and in a state of decline that has continued to this day. At West Brom, it was a miracle for them to stay up but it was also a very lucky escape they were unable to repeat the following season. That Tony Mowbray took a lot of that side, have them play attractive football and win promotion this year, gives you a lot to think about. Likewise Sheffield United, horribly unlucky not to stay up last season (albeit having blown a relatively comfortable position), started with one of the strongest sides in the Championship on paper. And they were turgid to watch under Robson too. I'd say however that Peter Taylor can be singled out in the list of worst managers because of the damage he did to Leicester, which they are continuing to pay a heavy price for. Similarly, Terry Butcher at Coventry, Dave Bassett at Watford and David Platt at Forest also caused to the destruction of those clubs. Ditto Lawrie McMenemy at Sunderland. Everton's worst would have to have been Mike Walker, whilst the last two years under Gordon Lee (Cup runs aside) were really poor. Malcolm Allison for his second spell Man City, in which he sold two of their golden boys (Barnes and Owen), bought Daley and Robinson for obscene money at the time (though even the best managers could make that mistake), and left them in the lurch, which John Bond had to rescue them from. And they were still doing OK when Bond left and John Benson took over, for Benson to take them down. Alan Ball's managerial record contains a mixture of really bad (Stoke, Man City) and not-so-bad (Southampton, Portsmouth). He did take Portsmouth to promotion in 1987 after a 28-year absence, after coming close for two years running, and apparently he wasn't given adequate backing in the top-flight to keep them there. Ball was actually one of the few post-Nicholl managers to leave Southampton in a better state than he found them in- they were in deep trouble when he took over following the disastrous Ian Branfoot tenure, and Saints managed to escape the drop that season. This was followed up by a 10th place finish. And when he left for Man City, it was a bad move for all parties involved!!!