John Coleman (footballer, born 1962)

John Coleman
Personal information
Date of birth (1962-10-12) 12 October 1962 (age 62)
Place of birth Kirkby,[1] England
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1982 Kirkby Town
1983–1984 Burscough
1984–1985 Marine
1985–1988 Southport 89 (49)
1988 Runcorn 6 (1)
1988 Macclesfield Town 11 (1)
1988–1989 Rhyl
1989–1990 Witton Albion
1990–1996 Morecambe
1996–1997 Lancaster City
1997–1999 Ashton United
Managerial career
1997–1999 Ashton United
1999–2012 Accrington Stanley
2012–2013 Rochdale
2013–2014 Southport
2014 Sligo Rovers
2014–2024 Accrington Stanley
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Coleman (born 12 October 1962) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of League Two side Accrington Stanley.

Playing career

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Coleman had a long playing career, mainly in non-league football for Kirkby Town, Burscough, Marine, Southport, Runcorn F.C. Halton, Macclesfield Town, Morecambe, Lancaster City and Ashton United. He also had a short spell in Wales with Rhyl. He was one of the most prolific non-league goalscorers in history, with over 500 goals to his name in a career spanning almost two decades. This success saw him play for the England National Game XI (the England team for semi-professional players) and receive many Player of the Year awards from the clubs he played for.

Coleman is ranked fifth on Southport's list of highest goalscorers of all-time.[2]

Managerial career

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He was appointed player-manager of Ashton United in 1997. After two years, he joined Accrington Stanley then playing in the Northern Premier League First Division. His 12+12-year tenure saw the club win three promotions as champions to enter the Football League in 2006. He was also the club's longest ever serving manager. At the time of his departure to Rochdale, Coleman was the third longest serving manager in England, behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger.

On 24 January 2012, Coleman and his assistant Jimmy Bell were appointed by Rochdale to replace Steve Eyre, who had left the club the previous month.[3] Their contracts were terminated by Rochdale on 21 January 2013 following a poor run in form.[4] In October 2013, Coleman declared his interest in replacing Dave Hockaday as manager of Forest Green Rovers,[5] but returned to Southport as manager on 7 December 2013, with Jimmy Bell once again as his assistant.

He took over as manager of Sligo Rovers in June 2014.[6]

On 18 September 2014, Coleman was confirmed as manager of Accrington Stanley for his second spell with the club.[7] In the 2015–16 season, Coleman led Accrington to a 4th place finish, missing out on automatic promotion on the final game of the season by goal difference.[8] In the play-offs, Accrington lost to AFC Wimbledon after extra time in the semi-finals.[8] In the 2017–18 season, the club won the League Two title to reach the third tier of English football for the first time in the club's history.[9][10] His achievement earned him the EFL Manager of the Season award for 2017–18.[11]

They were relegated to League Two at the end of the 2022–23 season.[12] On 3 March 2024, Coleman was sacked by Accrington the day after a 4–0 defeat to Wrexham with the club in 16th position.[12] At the time of his departure, he was the longest-serving manager purely in the EFL having been in charge for 9 years and 6 months.[12] Across his two spells with the club, Coleman was in charge for 1,098 matches.[12]

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 2 March 2024[13][14][15]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Ashton United 1 August 1997 1 May 1999 91 53 21 17 058.24
Accrington Stanley 1 May 1999 23 January 2012 587 236 148 203 040.20
Rochdale 24 January 2012 21 January 2013 52 14 14 24 026.92
Southport 7 December 2013 3 May 2014 25 8 8 9 032.00
Sligo Rovers 21 June 2014 18 September 2014 15 7 3 5 046.67
Accrington Stanley 18 September 2014 3 March 2024 511 200 128 183 039.14
Total 1,281 518 322 441 040.44

Honours

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Player

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Individual

Manager

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Accrington Stanley

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "How two best mates went from Sunday League to League One". The Independent. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Goalscorers". SouthportFC.net. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Rochdale appoint Accrington Stanley's John Coleman as boss". BBC Sport. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Rochdale Club Statement". rochdaleafc.co.uk. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  5. ^ "John Coleman: I'm interested in Forest Green Rovers job". Gloucester Citizen. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013.
  6. ^ "John Coleman appointed new Sligo Rovers manager". RTÉ Sport. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Accrington Stanley: John Coleman returns as manager". BBC Sport. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  8. ^ a b Mitchell, Brendon (18 May 2016). "Accrington Stanley 2–2 AFC Wimbledon (2–3 agg)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Accrington Stanley 1–0 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  10. ^ Freeman, Jay (18 April 2018). "Accrington Stanley: How club made history with League Two promotion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b "2018 EFL Awards: Winners announced". EFL.com. 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d "Accrington Stanley: John Coleman and Jimmy Bell sacked by League Two club". BBC Sport. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  13. ^ "John Coleman". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Matches played by Sligo Rovers 2013/14". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Matches played by Sligo Rovers 2014/15". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  16. ^ "Leading Scorer, POTY & Goal Of Season". Southport Football Club. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "History and Honours". Accrington Stanley FC. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Sky Bet League One: December Manager and Player of the Month winners". EFL. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Sky Bet League One: Manager and Player of the Month November winners". EFL. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  20. ^ "John Coleman named Sky Bet League 2 Manager of the Month". EFL. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Sky Bet EFL Manager and Player of the Month winners – March 2017". BBC Sport. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Manager of the Month: John Coleman – Accrington Stanley". EFL. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Manager of the Month: John Coleman – Accrington Stanley". EFL. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
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