Mick Wadsworth
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mick" Wadsworth (born 3 November 1950 in Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...

, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 football coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 and former player, who is currently the Manager at Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 club Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...

.

Playing career

Wadsworth was, for a very short time, a player. But with his Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 playing experience limited to around thirty appearances for Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....

 in the 1976–77
1976-77 in English football
The 1976–77 season was the 97th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League revamped the tie-breaking criteria for teams level of points, replacing the traditional goal average tie-breaker with one based on goal difference to try to encourage more scoring...

 season, it is for coaching that he is best known.

A non-League
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

 playing career with clubs including Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club are an English football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.Between 1896 and 1912 they were members of the Football League. They are currently in the Conference North, and play their home matches at The Northolme, which has a capacity of 4,304...

 and Mossley
Mossley A.F.C.
Mossley Association Football Club are an English football club from the town of Mossley, Greater Manchester, currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One North. They were founded in 1903 and are nicknamed the Lilywhites, owing to their colours...

 ended at Frickley Athletic
Frickley Athletic F.C.
Frickley Athletic F.C. are a football club based in South Elmsall, in West Yorkshire, England. They were established in 1910 as Frickley Colliery F.C., and changed to their present name in 1974.-History:...

, where Wadsworth was player-manager. Wadsworth was then employed by the FA until commencing his club management career in 1993.

The FA

In 1985, Wadsworth was appointed as an FA regional coach in the north-west region of England, a position he would hold until 1991, when he became a Technical Co-ordinator on the FA's Excellence Programme, working on the futures of promising youngsters. Between 1988 and 1992, he was also an official match observer for the England national team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 under Bobby Robson and then Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (football manager)
Graham Taylor OBE is a football pundit, ex-football manager, and a former player. He is best known as the manager of the England national football team, as well as being manager of Watford, a club he took from the Fourth Division to the First in the space of five years, then from bottom of the...

.

Wadsworth also coached some of the FA's representative teams during his time in their employ, including a coaching role with the national team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

. He spent two years as manager of the England non-league team, five years as manager of the England youth team and had a coaching role with the England U-21 team
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

.
Carlisle United Manager

In 1993, Wadsworth was offered a coaching role at PSV Eindhoven, but couldn't accept due to a lack of Dutch coaching credentials. In August, however he was appointed Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

 manager. Carlisle finished 7th in Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

 and made the playoffs, but lost in the semi-final. The following season Carlisle reached the Auto Windscreens Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

 final but lost to Barry Fry's Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

. In the league the club finished 1st in Division Three, winning promotion.

After a poor start to 1995–96
1995-96 in English football
- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....

 in Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

, Wadsworth resigned from his post as Director of Coaching.
Scarborough

In January 1996 Wadsworth became the assistant to the inexperienced Gary Megson
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...

 at Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

. Norwich were to finish the season 16th of 24 in Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

. At the end of the disastrous season he moved to Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

 as manager and took the club to the play-off semi-finals in his second season.
Colchester United Manager and St Kitts & Nevis Coach

In January 1999 Wadsworth left Scarborough to manage Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

, who finished 18th in Division Two that May. In the close-season, Wadsworth held a short-term coaching role with St. Kitts & Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team
The Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team is the national team of Saint Kitts and Nevis and is controlled by the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association...

. Not long afterwards, however, Wadsworth resigned from Colchester, on 25 August 1999.
Newcastle United Assistant Manager

After leaving Colchester, Wadsworth spent two weeks working with Steve Coppell
Steve Coppell
Stephen James "Steve" Coppell is an English former footballer and manager, currently without a club.As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and represented England at the World Cup...

 at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 before becoming assistant manager to Sir Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....

 at Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

.

In May 2000, Newcastle finished 11th in the Premier League, a position they would repeat in 2001.
Southampton Assistant Manager, Oldham Manager

Wadsworth was to leave Newcastle in June 2001, without telling Sir Bobby, to become assistant manager to Stuart Gray at Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

. In November the duo were sacked after a very poor start to the season. The following month he was appointed manager of Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

 but was fired at the end of the season after finishing ninth in Division Two.
Huddersfield Town Manager

After Lou Macari
Lou Macari
Luigi "Lou" Macari is a Scottish former footballer and football manager of Italian descent.-Playing career:...

 and Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan (footballer)
Joseph "Joe" Jordan is a Scottish football coach and former player and manager. He is currently first team coach for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, under manager Harry Redknapp....

's dismissal Wadsworth was appointed manager of Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 in July 2002, after being recommended to chairman David Taylor for the job. Firstly he brought in Dave Wilkes
Dave Wilkes
David "Dave" Wilkes is a former professional football midfielder who played for Barnsley, Carlisle United, Halifax Town, Stockport County, Frickley Athletic and Bridlington Town.-Barnsley:...

 as his First Team Coach and former Barnsley keeper Dave Watson but by January 2003 he was sacked but as Wadsworth and the club could not agree a severance package, he was reinstated until March.
Congo national team

In November 2003 he was appointed manager of Democratic Republic of Congo
Congo DR national football team
The Congo DR national football team is the national team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is controlled by the Fédération Congolaise de Football-Association , and are nicknamed The Leopards.Congo have been ranked as high as 51 in the FIFA Rankings...

 ahead of African Nations Cup, for which they had qualified. He was sacked from "The Simbas" on 2 February 2004, the day after the team had lost their third of three matches in the tournament.
Portugal/Shrewsbury

In June 2004, he was appointed manager of Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 club Beira-Mar, but left in September amid claims of boardroom interference. Wadsworth re-surfaced at Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...

 in January 2005 as assistant manager to Gary Peters
Gary Peters (footballer)
Gary David Peters is an English former professional footballer and now manager. He is currently Director of Football at Hereford United.-Playing career:...

 and remained with the club until March 2006.
Gretna and Chester

Wadsworth was appointed Director of Club Development at Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 side Gretna
Gretna F.C.
Gretna Football Club was a Scottish football club that represented the town of Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway, close to the border between England and Scotland...

 in July 2006, and he later took on a dual role as Director of Football
Director of football
"Director of football" is a term describing a senior management figure at a football club, most commonly used in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and extremely variable and causes much debate in the sports media...

 and assistant manager when David Irons
David Irons
David Irons is a former American football cornerback for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn.Irons has also played for the Florida Tuskers...

 was appointed as Gretna's new manager in July 2007. On 19 May 2008, forty members of staff at Gretna, including Wadsworth, were laid off due to financial difficulties and after relegation.

He was appointed Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 manager on 29 June 2009. After just two wins in 13 Football Conference games, Wadsworth was sacked.
Hartlepool

Wadsworth was appointed First Team Coach at Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 club Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...

 in June 2010
and Caretaker Manager on 19 August following the resignation of Director of Sport Chris Turner. After a highly successful season in League One where Pools finished 16th defying the sceptics, on 23 June Wadsworth was rewarded with an extension to his contract; becoming the clubs first permanent manager in 920 days.

External links

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