 Powell atCharlton Athletic in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher George Robin Powell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-09-08)8 September 1969 (age 56) | ||
| Place of birth | Lambeth, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Luton Town (assistant manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1985–1986 | Epsom & Ewell | ||
| 1986–1987 | Crystal Palace | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1990 | Crystal Palace | 3 | (0) |
| 1990 | →Aldershot (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 1990–1996 | Southend United | 248 | (3) |
| 1996–1998 | Derby County | 91 | (1) |
| 1998–2004 | Charlton Athletic | 200 | (1) |
| 2004 | →West Ham United (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | West Ham United | 23 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Charlton Athletic | 27 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Watford | 15 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Charlton Athletic | 17 | (1) |
| 2008–2010 | Leicester City | 19 | (0) |
| Total | 667 | (6) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2002 | England | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010 | Leicester City (caretaker) | ||
| 2011–2014 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| 2014–2015 | Huddersfield Town | ||
| 2016 | Derby County (caretaker) | ||
| 2018–2019 | Southend United | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Christopher George Robin PowellMBE (born 8 September 1969) is an Englishfootball coach and former player. He is currently assistant manager atLuton Town.
As aleft back, Powell played forSouthend United,Derby County,Charlton Athletic,West Ham United,Watford andLeicester City. He also made five appearances for theEngland national team.
With Charlton he had three spells as a player over eight seasons and in the1999–2000 season was part of the squad that won theFirst Division to be promoted to thePremier League.[3]
After finishing his playing career at Leicester City in 2010, Powell became first team coach. He then returned to Charlton Athletic as manager. In the2011–12 season, Charlton were promoted to theChampionship asLeague One champions in Powell's first full season as a manager. He has also managedHuddersfield Town from 2014 to 2015. He was assistant manager atDerby County from 2016 to 2017, including a spell ascaretaker manager. He then managedSouthend United from January 2018 to March 2019.
Powell served as chairman of theProfessional Footballers' Association from November 2005 until he retired. In October 2009 Powell was named as one of 50 ambassadors forEngland's 2018 World Cup bid.[4]
After leavingRaynes Park High School, Powell spent the 1985–86 season playing for theEpsom & Ewell youth team alongside a young Matt Elliott. He began his professional career in December 1987 as a trainee atCrystal Palace withIan Wright but failed to become a regular with thefirst team. He spent time on loan atAldershot, where he made 11 appearances.
In August 1990, Powell moved on afree transfer toEssex clubSouthend United.In six years at the club Powell made 288 first-team appearances. In November 2004 aBBC poll of Southend United supporters voted Powell their all-timecult hero. One fan described him as "A very skilled, left-footed defender, who could quite possibly be considered one of the nicest men in football, a true gent."[5]
In January 1996 Powell moved toDerby County for a fee of£750,000. He made 99 first-team appearances before being transferred toCharlton Athletic in June 1998 for a fee of £825,000. Powell was a favourite of the Derby fans, and won the Supporters' Player of the Year award for the 1996–97 season. He scored twice during his spell at Derby, with both goals coming in the 1997–98 season: againstEverton in theleague[6] andSouthampton in theFA Cup.[7]
While at Charlton, he made 200 first-team appearances, and evidently caught the eye ofSven-Göran Eriksson, who picked him for the England team in 2001, at the unusually late age of 31. He was the oldest England debutant sinceSyd Owen in 1954. At Charlton he delighted the crowds after each home victory with his exuberant leaps of celebration. Powell scored twice during his first spell with theAddicks, with both goals coming againstTottenham Hotspur; once in the league[8] and once in the FA Cup.[9]
Shortly after the start of the 2004–05 season, Powell was allowed to move toWest Ham United, where he played a major part in their successful promotion campaign. However, during the summer of 2005 he and West Ham were unable to agree terms for a further contract and he returned to Charlton on a one-year contract, with a suggestion that he would develop his coaching skills.
Typically consistent performance belying his years throughout 2005–06 saw Powell regain his place as Charlton's first choice left back, rotated with loaneeJonathan Spector, due toHermann Hreiðarsson's move to the centre of defence. On 1 July 2006, he signed a one-year contract withPremiership newcomersWatford asAidy Boothroyd looked to add some experience to his youthful squad. He was released by the club after one year.[10] In July 2007, Powell returned to Charlton for a third spell, primarily as a coach.[11] He made his last appearance for Charlton on 4 May 2008, coming on as substitute for the last five minutes in the final game of the season, againstCoventry, and scoring only his third goal for the club to seal a 4–1 victory.[12]
Powell joined League Two sideAFC Bournemouth on a trial basis in July 2008.[13] whilst the club looked to see if he could bring much needed experience to their defence.[14] He joined Leicester City on a six-month contract on 23 August 2008.[15]He made his debut againstFulham in Leicester'sLeague Cup second round 3–2 defeat, playing the full 90 minutes.[16]
On 6 December 2008, Powell started his 750th career appearance against former club Southend; Leicester won the game 3–0.[17] He signed a contract extension that would see him stay at the club until the end of the2008–09 season on 5 January 2009.[18]
In July 2009, Powell signed a contract to be a player-coach at Leicester City, becoming first team development coach, and also re-registering himself as a player.[19] With teammatesBruno Berner out with a calf injury andRyan McGivern struggling with form, Powell played his first league match on 26 January 2010, in a 1–0 defeat to Barnsley.[20] He retired from playing at the end of the2009–10 season; his final appearance came on 27 March 2010 against his former club Derby County.[21]
Powell was called-up forEngland in 2001 underSven-Göran Eriksson, earning his first cap againstSpain.[22] Powell earned five caps in total.[23]
Having served as a player coach underNigel Pearson, Powell was retained by incoming Leicester managerPaulo Sousa in the summer of 2010. In October, Powell was named caretaker manager withMike Stowell of the Foxes after Sousa was sacked. Their first, and only, game in charge came againstScunthorpe United; Leicester won the game 3–1. He remained a coach at the club after Sousa's replacement,Sven-Göran Eriksson, was appointed. Eriksson—who selected Powell for his England caps—commented in December 2010 that Powell "will be a very good manager in the future".[24]
In September 2019, Powell was appointed as a coach for theEngland national football team.[25]
In March 2023, it was announced that Powell would step down from his job as a coach with England to focus on his role at Tottenham.[26]
In December 2019, Powell was appointed as assistant coach toAlan Pardew atADO Den Haag in the Netherlands.[27] Both Pardew and Powell left ADO Den Haag on 28 April 2020 following the premature ending of the2019–20 Eredivisie due to the2020 coronavirus pandemic.[28]
In August 2020, Powell was appointed as head of coaching for theTottenham Hotspur Academy while continuing his job as a coach withEngland.[29] On 20 April 2021, Powell was named as an interim assistant head coach at Tottenham alongsideNigel Gibbs, working with interim head coachRyan Mason.[30] On 1 August 2023 Powell left his position as head of coaching for the club's youth teams from Under-17 to U21 level.[31]
On 20 October 2023, Powell was appointed as assistant coach to newly appointed managerDanny Röhl.[32] It was announced he had left the club in July 2025, following manager Danny Röhl leaving the club.[33]
On 29 September 2025, it was confirmed that he had joined the coaching staff atWalsall on an interim basis.[34]
On 13 October 2025, Powell joinedLuton Town as assistant manager to the newly appointedJack Wilshere.[35]
On 14 January 2011, Powell was appointed manager of Charlton Athletic,[36] who were by now languishing inLeague One. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract[37] following the sacking ofPhil Parkinson.
His first signing of his managerial career wasBradley Wright-Phillips, who went on to score on his debut on 1 February 2011, againstColchester United.[38] Powell won his opening four games at Charlton, but then went 11 games without a win, falling out of the play-off places and leaving the Addicks in 13th place at the end of the season.[39]
Powell signed 19 new players in summer 2011, including midfieldersDanny Green,Danny Hollands,Dale Stephens, defendersMatt Taylor,Rhoys Wiggins and goalkeeperBen Hamer.Bradley Pritchard was signed from non-league Hayes & Yeading United Football Club and excelled in midfield, withYann Kermorgant forming a formidable strike partnership alongside Wright-Phillips. CaptainJohnnie Jackson was a talisman all season despite numerous injuries, andChris Solly, a product of the youth academy made the right back berth his own. Clever loan signings were made throughout the season includingHogan Ephraim,Darel Russell,Dany N'Guessan and the return ofLee Cook. Charlton finished strongly into the second half of the2011–12 season and sealed promotion back to theChampionship as champions of League One.[40] Charlton finished the2012–13 season in 9th place, ending with a 4–1 victory over already relegatedBristol City and three points off a play-off position.[41][42]
On 11 March 2014, Powell was sacked as manager of Charlton Athletic by ownerRoland Duchâtelet; this decision came after a poor run of form with the Addicks sitting at the bottom of the Championship table,[43] although media reports have suggested that it was a reluctance to play players Roland Duchâtelet had brought to the club[44] and differences in transfer policy.[45]
On 3 September 2014, Powell was named the new manager ofHuddersfield Town on a rolling contract, following the resignation ofMark Robins after the first game of the season.[46] Ten days later, in his first game in charge at theJohn Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield lost 2–1 toMiddlesbrough:Jon Stead had equalised for Huddersfield with four minutes to play butGrant Leadbitter scored the winner with an added-time penalty.[47] In November, Powell took in on loanDiego Poyet, a player whom he had given a professional debut at Charlton.[48] He signed Grant Holt on an emergency loan from Wigan. On 28 December 2014, Holt returned to his parent club after a successful operation on his knee, though it kept him out for nine months. Chris Powell was sacked by Huddersfield Town on 4 November 2015
On 27 May 2016, Powell was named the new assistant manager ofDerby County alongside new managerNigel Pearson, who had also managed him at Leicester City. On 27 September, Powell was appointed caretaker manager after Pearson was suspended by Derby chairman Mel Morris.[49] On 12 October 2016, Powell reverted to his previous role of assistant manager upon the reappointment ofSteve McClaren as manager.[50] Powell left Derby in March 2017 following the sacking of McClaren.[51]
Powell returned to management on 23 January 2018, taking over atSouthend United, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.[52] He is the only permanent Southend United manager to have won his first three matches.[53]After 11 games without a win and with the club in 20th place in the league, on goal difference off the relegation zone, Powell was sacked as manager of Southend United on 26 March 2019.[54]
Powell is aChristian.[55] He is an ambassador for numerous charities and organizations.[56]
Since 2020, Powell has appeared alongsideArlo White as a co-commentator in theApple TV+ seriesTed Lasso in all three seasons.[57]
Powell was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2024 Birthday Honours "for services to association football".[58][59]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other[60] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crystal Palace | ||||||||||||
| Aldershot (loan) | 1989–90 | Fourth Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Southend United | 1990–91 | Third Division | 45 | 1 | 45 | 1 | ||||||
| 1991–92 | Second Division | 44 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |||||||
| 1992–93 | First Division | 42 | 2 | 42 | 2 | |||||||
| 1993–94 | 46 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1994–95 | 44 | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1995–96 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| Total | 248 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 290 | 3 | ||
| Derby County | 1995–96 | First Division | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 19 | 0 | |
| 1996–97[61] | Premier League | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 39 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98[62] | 37 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | 43 | 2 | |||
| Total | 91 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 101 | 2 | |||
| Charlton Athletic | 1998–99[63] | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 42 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000[64] | First Division | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01[65] | Premier League | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02[66] | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 41 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03[67] | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 37 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04[68] | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05[69] | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 200 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 0 | – | 217 | 2 | |||
| West Ham United (loan) | 2004–05[69] | Championship | 13 | 0 | – | – | – | 13 | 0 | |||
| West Ham United | 2004–05[69] | Championship | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2005–06[70] | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | |
| Watford | 2006–07[71] | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 0 | |
| Charlton Athletic | 2007–08[72] | Championship | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 19 | 1 | |
| Leicester City | 2008–09[73] | League One | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2009–10[74] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 667 | 6 | 33 | 2 | 35 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 763 | 8 | ||
 | This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Chris Powell" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Leicester City (caretaker) |  | 1 October 2010 | 3 October 2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Charlton Athletic | | 17 January 2011 | 11 March 2014 | 161 | 66 | 43 | 52 | 040.99 |
| Huddersfield Town | | 3 September 2014 | 4 November 2015 | 57 | 15 | 20 | 22 | 026.32 |
| Derby County (caretaker) | | 27 September 2016 | 12 October 2016 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 |
| Southend United | | 23 January 2018 | 26 March 2019 | 66 | 24 | 13 | 29 | 036.36 |
| Total | 287 | 107 | 77 | 103 | 037.28 | |||
Charlton Athletic
West Ham United
Leicester City
Individual
Charlton Athletic
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
