Top 10 shortest managerial reigns in England

By Dan Silver in Mirror Football Blog

Published 12:03 12/08/10

Steve Coppell has quit as Bristol City manager after just three months in charge.

The former Reading boss does have form in this department - as you'll see below - but does his 113 day stint at Ashton Gate get him in our top 10 of shortest managerial reigns? Not even close...

10) Paul Gascoigne, Kettering (39 days)
After abortive attempts to launch his coaching career in China, the Algarve and, er, Boston (in Lincolnshire, rather than the USA), Gazza eventually got his big break at Kettering in October 2005. Sadly the former England star turned alcoholic appeared to be more interested in the bottle than the backroom - it was later claimed that he drank almost every day he worked - and his managerial career ended for good just over a month later.

9) Steve Coppell, Manchester City (33 days)
Compared to this, his three months at Bristol City must have seemed like a lifetime for the flighty boss. Sandwiched slap-bang in the middle of his four(!) spells at Crystal Palace, Coppell did his bit for the mayfly-esque average life expectancy of a Manchester City manager by resigning 33 days into his stint at Maine Road. He claimed at the time that he'd returned to management too soon and couldn't handle the pressure, but surely the truth is that he just couldn't bear to be away from the, er, picturesque environs of Selhurst Park. Well, that Sainsbury's out the back is very appealing...

8) Paul Hart, QPR (29 days)
Hapless Paul Hart presumably never thought he'd look back on his eight months in charge of Portsmouth with any degree of fondness, but this subsequent stint in West London made that turbulent time on the South Coast look like an al fresco meal in the park by comparison. Perhaps Hart should now consider a change of career in order to get some much needed relaxation: chainsaw juggling might do it.

7) Tommy Docherty, (QPR, 28 days)
Ill-fated reign for the legendary manager, who soon fell foul of bureaucratic chairman Jim Gregory and lasted just 28 days at Loftus Road back in 1968. Docherty went from the frying pan into the fire, moving to Aston Villa to become the first manager under chairman 'Deadly' Doug Ellis. He lasted 13 months at Villa Park. The Doc went on to greater success at Manchester United, where he won the FA Cup in 1977.

6) Micky Adams, Swansea (13 days)
Having managed in some capacity at nine different clubs in the last 13 years, Micky Adams is, you suspect, a man not accustomed to moving personal possessions into his new office. Even so, the fortnight - give or take - he spent as player-manager at the Vetch Field in 1997 before quitting over a lack of funds remains a personal record.

5) Martin Ling, Cambridge (9 days)
Alarm bells should have been ringing in the former Leyton Orient manager's mind when Gary Brabin, the former incumbent at Cambridge, quit despite a successful first season, citing differences with club chairman Gary Rolls. As it was, Ling managed to stick it out at the Abbey Stadium for just over a week before walking out for exactly the same reasons on August 4, 2009. Fortunately for him, Rolls departed a day later, allowing Ling to return to his desired post just a week after he'd quit.

4) Kevin Cullis, Swansea (7 days)
In April 2003, Cullis was jailed for nine months for fraud and deception after falsely claiming to be a highly-paid marketing consultant. He's lucky a similar fate wasn't meted out in 1996 when, despite never having played professional football and boasting only a stint as the youth coach of non-league club Cradley Town on his CV, Cullis was appointed Swansea manager by prospective new chairman Michael Thompson. Two games - and two defeats - later, both were thankfully put out of their misery.

3) Dave Bassett, Crystal Palace (4 days)
After earning his managerial reputation by overseeing Wimbledon's astonishing ascent up the Football League, Bassett almost trashed it overnight by agreeing to join Crystal Palace in 1984 and then changing his mind again almost immediately afterwards. Technically no contract was ever signed, but for four giddy days in June, Bassett was the de facto gaffer at Selhurst Park, so he just about makes the list.

2) Bill Lambton, Scunthorpe (3 days)
Not a man overly blessed by longevity, former goalkeeper Lambton managed just three official league appearances as a player thanks to the Second World War. Having moved into coaching after finally hanging up his gloves in 1947, Lambton landed his first managerial post, at Leeds United, 11 years later. It lasted four months - a veritable epoch when compared to his next job at Glanford Park. Lambton barely had time to find his desk, let alone get his feet under it, before a 3-0 defeat to Huddersfield ushered in another P45.

1) Leroy Rosenior, Torquay (10 minutes)
Surely the most farcical managerial reign in history, Rosenior's appointment came just 10 minutes before Torquay were taken over by a local consortium - who promptly removed him and appointed former Exeter assistant manager Paul Buckle instead. And seeing as even Flavio Briatore would bristle at the idea of moving on a manager in less time than it takes to complete a dozen laps of the Brand's Hatch circuit, it will surely never be bettered.

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