 Wilson in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Joseph Wilson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1960-01-01)1 January 1960 (age 65)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Wigan,[1] England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1977 | Wigan Athletic | 8 | (1) |
| 1977–1980 | Bury | 90 | (9) |
| 1980–1983 | Chesterfield | 100 | (13) |
| 1983 | Nottingham Forest | 10 | (1) |
| 1983 | →Scunthorpe United (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 1983–1987 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 135 | (33) |
| 1987–1990 | Luton Town | 110 | (24) |
| 1990–1993 | Sheffield Wednesday | 98 | (11) |
| 1993–1995 | Barnsley | 77 | (2) |
| Total | 634 | (97) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987–1992 | Northern Ireland | 24 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1994–1998 | Barnsley | ||
| 1998–2000 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 2000–2004 | Bristol City | ||
| 2004–2006 | Milton Keynes Dons | ||
| 2006–2008 | Hartlepool United | ||
| 2008–2011 | Swindon Town | ||
| 2011–2013 | Sheffield United | ||
| 2013–2015 | Barnsley | ||
| 2015–2017 | Chesterfield | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Daniel Joseph Wilson (born 1 January 1960) is a formerfootballer and manager. He has previously coachedSheffield Wednesday,Bristol City,Milton Keynes Dons,Hartlepool United,Swindon Town,Sheffield United,Barnsley andChesterfield.
Born inWigan,Lancashire, Wilson started his career with hometown clubWigan Athletic in theNorthern Premier League, scoring once in eight appearances before moving toBury in theFootball League.[3] As a player, he won the Anglo Scottish cup withChesterfield in 1981, and went on to win theLeague Cup with bothLuton Town in 1988 andSheffield Wednesday in 1991. His equaliser for Luton against Arsenal with seven minutes remaining in the 1988 final is arguably the most famous match-saving goal in the club's history. He was also a runner-up in both domestic cup finals with Sheffield Wednesday in 1993. He also won 24caps forNorthern Ireland, scoring one goal.
In 1993, Wilson andViv Anderson joined Barnsley from Sheffield Wednesday on free transfers to become player-assistant manager and manager respectively. 12 months later, after a disappointing season, Wilson was appointed player-manager after Viv Anderson left to become assistant manager toBryan Robson atMiddlesbrough.
In 1994–95, Barnsley finished sixth inDivision One. In an ordinary season this would have meant occupying a playoff place, but due to thePremier League reducing from 22 to 20 clubs, only two teams would be promoted (with fifth placed club occupying the final playoff place) and Barnsley missed out. The following season was a disappointment as the club finished mid-table.
In the following season,1996–97, Wilson guided Barnsley to the Premier League as Division One runners-up. It was the first time that Barnsley had won promotion to the top division of English football. Although their stay lasted only a single season before relegation, Wilson's side reached theFA Cup quarter finals knocking out favouritesManchester United in the fifth round.
In the summer of 1998, Wilson returned to his old club Sheffield Wednesday as manager and was hopeful of revitalising the club's fortunes. They had just finished 16th in the Premier League and five seasons earlier, when Wilson was still on the club's playing staff, they had reached both domestic cup finals and finished seventh in the first ever Premier League.
In 1998–99, Wilson guided Sheffield Wednesday to a respectable 12th place in the Premier League and had hopes for a top half finish the following season. But he was sacked the following March, having led the club only toward relegation.[4] Four Sheffield based MPs includingDavid Blunkett called for his head in January 2000 (he picked up the Premier League'sManager of the Month award in January 2000) following some poor results like losing 8–0 toNewcastle United.Bassetlaw MPJoe Ashton said after his sacking: "Danny was a lovely fellow, but he couldn't do it (manage Sheffield Wednesday).[5]
In June 2000, Wilson was appointed manager ofDivision TwoBristol City on a four-year contract. He left the club at the end of the 2003–04 season after his contract was not renewed, having failed to achieve promotion at the club.[6]
In December 2004, Wilson took over fromStuart Murdoch as the new manager of theLeague One sideMilton Keynes Dons.[7] In his first season, he managed to save the club from relegation – they would have gone down had it not been for a 10-point penalty imposed onWrexham who had gone into receivership.
Wilson was unable to save MK Dons from relegation toLeague Two at the end of the 2005–06 season, and he was sacked on 10 May 2006.[8]
On 13 June 2006, Wilson was appointed manager ofHartlepool United.[9] Wilson took over from Youth Team CoachPaul Stephenson who took temporary charge of the first team for the late stages of the 2005–06 season. Hartlepool United were relegated alongside MK Dons to League Two.
In the2006–07 season, he brought Hartlepool to second from top of League 2 and won promotion back to League 1.
He left Hartlepool United on 15 December 2008, leaving Chris Turner in temporary charge.[10]
Appointed manager ofSwindon Town on 26 December 2008, Wilson saved the team from relegation that season. Wilson brought in many new signings, includingGordon Greer,Alan O'Brien,Jonathan Douglas,David Lucas andCharlie Austin[11] After getting Swindon into the 10 League 1 Play-off Final, the club lost 0–1 againstMillwall F.C.
The following 2009–10 play-off season saw Wilson and club chairman Andrew Fitton forge many relationships with Premier League and SPL sides, most notablyLiverpool,Manchester City andCeltic, who all loaned Wilson players to aid his development of the squad. Wilson released youth team goalkeeperJamie Stephens to the Liverpool youth academy, who in turn loaned SwindonStephen Darby, who later scored the winning penalty that put Swindon through to the 2009–10 play-off final.Simon Ferry andPaul Caddis were loaned from Celtic, both having since been signed on permanent deals from the club. Wilson loaned Manchester City strikerDavid Ball for the 2010–11 season. On 2 March 2011, Wilson resigned his post after a poor run of form that had seen the club slip into the relegation zone.[12]
On 27 May 2011, Wilson was appointed the manager ofSheffield United. The appointment was greeted with some dissatisfaction amongst the fans, as approximately 400 gathered outsideBramall Lane to voice their anger at the appointment, particularly considering his links as a former player and manager of bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Disapproving chants against his appointment could be heard throughout the announcing press conference. Wilson's subsequent statements suggested that he already felt the pressure resultant from having crossed the divide. As part of the restructure of the Blades managerial setup, captainChris Morgan was promoted to a player-coach position. Morgan had played under Wilson during his earlier years at Barnsley. A couple of weeks later, Wilson appointed former Sheffield United playerFrank Barlow as his assistant.[13]
Wilson made a positive start at the Blades, winning his first league game in charge with a 2–0 victory overOldham Athletic. This was then followed up by aLeague Cup victory over Hartlepool United and a 2–0 home victory overBrentford in Wilson's first home league game. Wilson was named League One manager of the month for December 2011 after managing the Blades to league victories overRochdale,AFC Bournemouth,Notts County and Hartlepool United. Despite the Blades scoring 92 league goals and accumulating 90 points (finishing 3rd) in Wilson's first season in charge, the team lost on penalties in the 2011–12 League One play-off final againstHuddersfield Town.
Wilson won the League One manager of the month award for October 2012 after guiding the Blades into the automatic promotion places, including a 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions. However, six months later he left Sheffield United on 10 April 2013 following a poor run of form.[14]
On 17 December 2013, Wilson was announced as manager of Barnsley for the second time, fifteen years after his previous departure. He took over following the sacking ofDavid Flitcroft with Barnsley at the foot of theChampionship table.[15]
On 12 February 2015, Wilson was sacked by Barnsley after a poor run of results.[16]
On 24 December 2015 he was named as new manager ofChesterfield, replacingDean Saunders.[17] His second game in charge saw an impressive 7–1 victory againstShrewsbury Town.[18]
Wilson secured Chesterfield's League One status with a game to spare, ending the season in 18th place.[19]
The following season started brightly under Wilson, with Chesterfield remaining unbeaten in the opening three games of the season, winning two.[20]
Wilson was sacked as Chesterfield manager on 8 January 2017, following a 2–0 defeat at Bradford City, after a poor run of results.
Wilson lives inChesterfield with his wife Karen, daughter Carrie and[21][22] his son, Laurie, who playednon-leaguefootball.[23]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Barnsley | 2 June 1994 | 7 July 1998 | 201 | 74 | 55 | 72 | 036.82 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 7 July 1998 | 21 March 2000 | 80 | 23 | 17 | 40 | 028.75 |
| Bristol City | 27 June 2000 | 5 June 2004 | 226 | 107 | 55 | 64 | 047.35 |
| Milton Keynes Dons | 7 December 2004[a] | 21 June 2006 | 81 | 25 | 24 | 32 | 030.86 |
| Hartlepool United | 13 June 2006 | 15 December 2008 | 133 | 58 | 29 | 46 | 043.61 |
| Swindon Town | 26 December 2008[b] | 2 March 2011 | 120 | 43 | 40 | 37 | 035.83 |
| Sheffield United | 27 May 2011 | 10 April 2013 | 106 | 55 | 31 | 20 | 051.89 |
| Barnsley | 17 December 2013 | 12 February 2015 | 63 | 19 | 13 | 31 | 030.16 |
| Chesterfield | 24 December 2015 | 8 January 2017 | 57 | 18 | 10 | 29 | 031.58 |
| Total | 1,067 | 422 | 274 | 371 | 039.55 | ||
Chesterfield
Luton Town
Sheffield Wednesday
Individual
Barnsley
Bristol City
Hartlepool United
Individual