 Slade as manager ofCardiff City in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Russell Mark Slade[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1960-10-10)10 October 1960 (age 65)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Reading, England | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1994–1995 | Notts County (caretaker) | ||
| 1995–1996 | Armitage | ||
| 1996 | Leicester United | ||
| 1998 | Sheffield United (caretaker) | ||
| 1999 | Sheffield United (caretaker) | ||
| 2001–2004 | Scarborough | ||
| 2004–2006 | Grimsby Town | ||
| 2006–2009 | Yeovil Town | ||
| 2009 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| 2010–2014 | Leyton Orient | ||
| 2014–2016 | Cardiff City | ||
| 2016 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| 2016–2017 | Coventry City | ||
| 2017–2018 | Grimsby Town | ||
| 2019–2020 | Hereford | ||
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English former professionalfootball manager and coach.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional sports coaching withNotts County in 1993. He briefly took charge of the club as caretaker manager during the 1994–95 season. Slade then had spells in charge of non-league sidesArmitage andLeicester United before joining the coaching staff ofSheffield United in 1997. He had two spells as caretaker manager of The Blades in 1998 and 1999 before the appointment ofNeil Warnock. In 2001, he took over the managerial post atConference National sideScarborough before later moving toGrimsby Town in 2004 andYeovil Town in 2006. He was appointed manager ofBrighton & Hove Albion in 2009 but the stay was brief and he was dismissed in November 2009.
In 2010, Slade was appointed manager ofLeyton Orient and he led the club to two 7th-place finishes, anFA Cup fifth round replay againstArsenal and took the O's to the2014 play-off final – a feat which saw win the LMA League 1 Manager of the Year award. He left Orient to take charge of Championship sideCardiff City, and spent two years in charge of the side, finishing in 11th and 8th positions, before being appointed the club's head of football. He resigned from the role after only two weeks and, in June 2016, was appointed manager ofCharlton Athletic. He then went on to manageCoventry City, before returning to Grimsby Town once again between 2017 and 2018. His final managerial role to date was with non-league sideHereford, whom he departed in 2020.
Slade developed a reputation for being an effective man manager,[3] and a very savvy operator within the transfer market who never bought a player whilst at Leyton Orient, instead bringing in a number of players on free transfers.[4]
Slade started out as a PE teacher at Frank Wheldon School after studying Sport atEdge Hill University.[5]
Slade was assistant manager toMick Walker atNotts County, and took over as caretaker manager when Walker was sacked in September 1994. When County appointedHoward Kendall as manager in January 1995, Slade stayed on as his assistant.
Slade was then appointed manager ofMidland Alliance sideArmitage, then moving on toSouthern Football League sideLeicester United before having two separate spells as caretaker manager atSheffield United.
Slade's first permanent managerial post was atFootball Conference sideScarborough. When he arrived in November 2001 the club was adrift at the bottom of the Conference and looking doomed. His first match in charge resulted in a home win overFarnborough Town but the next three games yielded just one point. However a remarkable run of 39 points from the final 19 games of the season meant Scarborough finished 12th. He was hailed as a hero by the fans and his stock rose when taking the team to 4th position by Christmas in the2002–03 season. In January 2003, two days after the club went into administration, Slade tendered his resignation. The fans presented a tearful Slade with a petition at the next game and on the Monday morning he changed his mind.
The following season saw mixed league performances, but a tremendousFA Cup run which saw victories over Hinckley United,Doncaster Rovers,Port Vale, and finallySouthend United following a replay, meant a glamorous home tie in front ofPremier LeagueChelsea. Despite losing 1–0 Slade's side had put up a tremendous battle.
At the end of the2003–04 season,Grimsby Town decided not to renew the contract of managerNicky Law following relegation intoLeague Two. Slade was appointed as their new manager.[6] A mid-table finish ensued in the2004–05 season but despite some disgruntled fans calling for his head, Grimsby spent most of the2005–06 season in an automatic promotion spot in League Two, also managing to topple bothDerby County andTottenham Hotspur in theLeague Cup.[7] Town eventually finished the season in 4th place and had to settle for the playoffs, following a lateNorthampton Town equaliser meant thatLeyton Orient would finish the season in the final automatic promotion places. Despite guiding his team to a semi-final victory over local rivalsLincoln City, Slade was unable to secure promotion, Grimsby losing 1–0 in the final againstCheltenham Town in theMillennium Stadium.
Slade's success with Grimsby had attractedLeague One sideYeovil Town, and Slade was appointed as theSomerset club's new manager.[8] Slade led Yeovil to a surprise 5th-place finish play-off finish in the league, where they defeated favouritesNottingham Forest to reach the play-off final.[9] However, Yeovil lost the final againstBlackpool 2–0.[10] Slade's successful first season at Yeovil saw him win the League One manager of the year award, and he was targeted by League One rivalsCarlisle United andMillwall for their managerial positions but this interest was rejected by Yeovil chairman John Fry.[11]
Slade left his post at Yeovil on 16 February 2009, despite having won four consecutive matches immediately prior to this.[12] Slade had become frustrated with the club's lack of ambition, although the club chairman John Fry had previously stated that changes would be needed due to the current economic climate.[13]
On 6 March 2009, Slade was appointed manager of strugglingBrighton & Hove Albion until the end of the season,[14] and succeeded in ensuring they avoided relegation from League One by beatingStockport 1–0 in the final game.[15] Slade signed a further two-year contract at Brighton in May 2009.[16]
Slade was appointed manager ofLeyton Orient on 5 April 2010, six matches before the end of the season.[17] The club was in danger of being relegated from League One, but Slade revived the club's fortunes, helping Leyton Orient to take 10 points from their last six matches, resulting in them avoiding relegation by a single point. Slade was rewarded with a new two-year contract on 14 May[18] and the following season he guided Orient to seventh place, one point outside the play-off places, as well as a fifth round replay atArsenal in theFA Cup. During the season, Orient chairmanBarry Hearn rejected an approach fromBarnsley for Slade. Leyton Orient were unable to match their previous year during the 2011–12 season and the club finished in 20th, but the next season Slade was able to guide them to another 7th-place finish.
On 7 June 2013, Leyton Orient announced that Slade, his assistantKevin Nugent and chief scoutKevin Dearden had signed contract extensions to keep them at the club for a further three years, until the end of the 2015–16 season.[19]
Slade guided Orient to 3rd place finish in the 2013–14 season, seeing Orient finish within the play-off spots. After beatingPeterborough United 3–2 in the semi-finals, Orient lost thefinal toRotherham United on penalties at Wembley.
On 6 October 2014, Slade was appointed manager ofChampionship sideCardiff City on a two-year contract, replacingOle Gunnar Solskjaer.[20] The job was the highest level that Slade had ever managed at.[21] Slade was tasked with reducing the club's wage bill, which was still inflated after the relegation from thePremier League in the previous season.[22] Seven first team players left the club in his first three months in charge. Slade became unpopular with a large section of supporters and crowd numbers fell dramatically during his tenure at the club, as he finished 11th in his first season and 8th in his second.[23] Despite his detractors, Slade insisted that the club had made progress under his stewardship and that he had "given the club stability".[24]
On 6 May 2016, Slade was removed from his position of manager, and was instead named the club's head of football.[25] He took charge of his last match for the Bluebirds on the final day of the 2015–16 season, drawing 1–1 withBirmingham City.[26]Paul Trollope, a member of Slade's coaching staff, was appointed as the new head coach, but did not report to Slade on any first team matters.[27] However, he resigned from the role on 3 June.[28]
On 6 June 2016, Slade signed a three-year contract to be manager ofCharlton Athletic following their relegation to League One.[29] On 14 November 2016, with the club in 15th place, the club announced that it had "parted company" with him, having won just five of the 21 games in all competitions of the season.[30]
On 21 December 2016, Slade signed a contract until the end of the season to be manager ofCoventry City.[31] Slade joined with the club sitting 23rd in League One, amid protests by fans against the owners of the club. His first game in charge was a 4–1 defeat to Bristol Rovers on 26 December 2016.[32]
In February 2017, he led Coventry to the final of theEFL Trophy, after beatingWycombe Wanderers in the semi-final at theRicoh Arena.[33]
The last minute equaliser byAFC Wimbledon on 14 February 2017 meant that Slade had equalled the record set byNoel Cantwell of nine games without a win at the start their reign as Coventry City manager.[34]
Slade managed to gain his first league victory at the tenth attempt in a 2–1 home victory overGillingham; this victory also ended Coventry's 15 match winless streak.[35] He was sacked on 5 March 2017. He had managed Coventry for 16 games, of which they won only three.[36]
On 12 April 2017, Slade was appointed manager of Grimsby Town for the second time.[37] Slade was sacked by Grimsby on 11 February 2018, after seeing the team fail to win in 12 league games, with eight losses, he left the team 17th in League Two.[38]
In August 2019, after 18 months out of management, Slade joinedNational League North sideHereford as their new club manager.[39]On 20 January 2020, Slade leftHereford by mutual consent.[40]
In 2021, Slade led a group of hundreds of footballers who were threatening legal advice against the data collection industry.[41]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Notts County | 15 September 1994 | 12 January 1995 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 026.1 | [42] |
| Sheffield United | 2 March 1998 | 9 March 1998 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 000.0 | [42] |
| Sheffield United | 23 November 1999 | 2 December 1999 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 000.0 | [42] |
| Scarborough | 31 October 2001 | 28 May 2004 | 133 | 50 | 41 | 42 | 037.6 | [42] |
| Grimsby Town | 28 May 2004 | 31 May 2006 | 105 | 41 | 30 | 34 | 039.0 | [42] |
| Yeovil Town | 7 June 2006 | 16 February 2009 | 137 | 49 | 32 | 56 | 035.8 | [42] |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 March 2009 | 1 November 2009 | 31 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 029.0 | [42] |
| Leyton Orient | 6 April 2010 | 24 September 2014 | 242 | 103 | 61 | 78 | 042.6 | [42] |
| Cardiff City | 7 October 2014 | 18 May 2016 | 86 | 32 | 27 | 27 | 037.2 | [42] |
| Charlton Athletic | 6 June 2016 | 14 November 2016 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 023.8 | [42] |
| Coventry City | 21 December 2016 | 7 March 2017 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 018.8 | [42] |
| Grimsby Town | 12 April 2017 | 11 February 2018 | 43 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 025.6 | [42] |
| Hereford | 29 August 2019 | 20 January 2020 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 021.7 | [42] |
| Total | 865 | 314 | 240 | 311 | 036.3 | — | ||
Individual
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