 Boothroyd asEngland U21 manager, 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adrian Neil Boothroyd[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-02-08)8 February 1971 (age 55) | ||
| Place of birth | Eccleshill,West Riding of Yorkshire, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1990 | Huddersfield Town | 10 | (0) |
| 1990–1992 | Bristol Rovers | 16 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Heart of Midlothian | 4 | (0) |
| 1993–1996 | Mansfield Town | 102 | (3) |
| 1996–1998 | Peterborough United | 26 | (1) |
| Total | 158 | (4) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005–2008 | Watford | ||
| 2009–2010 | Colchester United | ||
| 2010–2011 | Coventry City | ||
| 2011–2013 | Northampton Town | ||
| 2014–2015 | England U20 | ||
| 2015–2016 | England U19 | ||
| 2016 | England U20 | ||
| 2016–2021 | England U21 | ||
| 2022–2023 | Jamshedpur | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English formerfootballer who was most recently the manager ofIndian Super League clubJamshedpur.[3]
At club level, he wasmanager ofWatford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was regarded as one of the best young managers in England.[4] At the time of his departure, he was the youngest and the second longest serving manager in the division.
Boothroyd then had short spells atColchester United andCoventry City. In 2011, he replacedGary Johnson atNorthampton Town. After saving the club from relegation in the 2011–12 season, he took Northampton to theLeague Two Playoff final in May 2013, only to be defeated in the final. After a poor start to the 2013–14 season, he was relieved of his duties on 21 December 2013, with the club bottom of the Football League.[5]
Boothroyd was born inEccleshill,West Riding of Yorkshire. He started as a youth team player atHuddersfield Town and made his first team debut for the club in 1989. He played 10 league matches before moving on toBristol Rovers in 1990, where he played 16 games. In November 1992, Boothroyd was granted a release by Bristol Rovers, leading to a trial withHeart of Midlothian.[6] After a successful trial at the Jam Tarts, he signed a 18 month contract with the club.[7] Boothroyd scored two goals againstHuntly in a 6–0 win in theScottish Cup on 11 January 1993.[8] After a short spell in Scotland with Heart of Midlothian, he signed forMansfield Town, where he played 102 matches, scoring 3 goals in the process.[9] He left the club in 1996 to play forPeterborough United. Boothroyd picked up a career-ending injury after playing 26 games and scoring a single goal. He retired from the game in 1998.
After ending his playing career atPeterborough United, Boothroyd was appointed coach of the Under 17, Under 19 and reserve teams at the club. His tactical nous and drive impressed, and he left Peterborough in 2001 to joinNorwich City as their youth team coach underNigel Worthington. After two years atCarrow Road, Boothroyd assumed the positions of Youth Development Officer and Technical Director atWest Bromwich Albion, joining in October 2003.[10] A short spell atThe Hawthorns ended, when he was appointed first-team coach atLeeds United in July 2004,[11]
Boothroyd was appointed manager ofWatford in March 2005 at the age of 34.[12] The board backed their decision despite initial scepticism by Watford fans and the club entered a new era under Boothroyd. He managed to steer the club clear of relegation, with 1–0 victories overStoke City andRotherham United.
At the beginning of the2005–06 season, Boothroyd said that his aim for the forthcoming campaign would be promotion to thePremier League, although many pundits regarded the club as likely to be relegated. As the season progressed, though, the side gained more and more confidence, and finished in third place to secure a place in the play-offs. After overcomingCrystal Palace in the two-legged semi-final, Watford beatLeeds United 3–0 in the final to secure promotion to the Premier League. The rapid improvement in Watford's results in his first season in charge led to Boothroyd winning the Championship Manager of the Month in February 2006.[13] Boothroyd continued as Watford manager for the duration of the2006–07 season, but Watford finished 20th and were relegated. Nevertheless, they reached theFA Cup semi-finals, and Boothroyd was awarded a new three-year contract.[14] In July 2006, he completed his UEFA Pro Licence in coaching.[15]
"Professional footballers should be professional. They have a responsibility to come in, listen and learn, watch their performances, analyse where they went wrong and improve. Not to come in, have a five-a-side, bugger off and play golf. I get quite passionate because I was that person. I was a mercenary who went from club to club on a free transfer and, really, that's not how football should be. "
A good start to the2007–08 season saw Watford twelve points clear at the top of the Championship after nineteen games.[17] Boothroyd was named Championship Manager of the Month for October 2007 after Watford maintained a 100% record.[18] However, their form dropped in the second half of the season, and Boothroyd was criticised for his team selections,direct style of play and dealings in the transfer market.[19] One win in thirteen going into the last game of the season saw Watford in danger of missing out on a play-off spot altogether but a 1–1 draw againstBlackpool was enough to secure sixth place on goal difference ahead ofWolverhampton Wanderers. In their play-off semi-final againstHull City Watford lost 2–0 atVicarage Road and 4–1 at theKC Stadium.
After missing out on an immediate return to Premier League, Boothroyd announced his intention to re-build the side for the following season, and also change the team's style of play.[20] However, he left Watford by mutual consent on 3 November 2008, after a home defeat to Blackpool.[21]
On 2 September 2009, Boothroyd was announced as the new manager of League One sideColchester United, succeedingPaul Lambert.[22] In his first game as Colchester boss the team drew 0–0 withSouthampton and the team won five of the first nine games in his charge. The first defeat came in his 10th game in a 2–1 defeat toMillwall.
His first signing as Colchester boss was the loan ofJohn-Joe O'Toole and his first permanent signing wasKayode Odejayi. O'Toole was subsequently signed on a permanent basis and he also signedDavid Prutton from Leeds United,Ian Henderson fromAnkaragücü and Morten Knudsen from Norway. Boothroyd added another loan signing withFranck Queudrue arriving on loan fromBirmingham City.
Colchester, under Boothroyd, were in the top 6 for over half of the campaign. However, a poor run of form towards the end of the season which saw them win only 2 games of their last 14 games, and this saw them drop just outside the play-offs and finish in 8th position in League One. On 20 May 2010, Boothroyd left the club to take over Championship sideCoventry City.
On 20 May 2010, Boothroyd was announced as the new manager of Championship sideCoventry City, succeedingChris Coleman.[23] His first game in charge was on 7 August, in which Boothroyd led Coventry City to an opening day victory overPortsmouth with both goals fromFreddy Eastwood.
On 14 March 2011, Boothroyd was sacked by Coventry City after a run of poor results, which saw the club win only once in sixteen league games.[24]
Boothroyd was appointed as manager ofNorthampton Town on 30 November 2011 on a one-year, rolling contract.[25] Northampton had slipped to the foot of theLeague Two table, and six points from safety, before Boothroyd guided them to a 20th-place finish in the2011–12 season. In the2012–13 season, Northampton finished 6th, making the playoffs with 73 points. They beatCheltenham Town 2-0 (on aggregate) in the two-legged semi-finals before losing 3–0 toBradford City in the final at Wembley on 18 May 2013.[26] On 21 December 2013, Boothroyd was sacked by Northampton after a 4–1 defeat byWycombe Wanderers. The club were bottom ofLeague Two.[27]
On 28 February 2014, Boothroyd was appointed manager of theEngland national under-20 football team,[28] but was replaced the following year in a reshuffle that saw him coach theunder-19 side instead.[29] He was re-appointed under-20s manager in August 2016, withKeith Downing taking charge of the under-19s.[30]
Boothroyd was named caretaker manager of theEngland national under-21 football team, afterGareth Southgate was named interim manager of thesenior team.[31] He would manage the side for their remaining2017 UEFA Euro Championship qualifiers againstKazakhstan andBosnia and Herzegovina.[31] His first match in charge of the under-21s ended in a 1–0 win over Kazakhstan,[32] and the second, a 5–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.[33]
On 9 June 2018, Boothroyd managed England to success at the2018 Toulon Tournament, beatingMexico 2–1 in the final.[34]
On 16 April 2021, Boothroyd announced he would leave his role withThe FA to focus on a return to club football.[35]
On 17 May 2022 it was confirmed that Boothroyd would joinNorthern Ireland's coaching staff on a short-term basis due to the absence ofAdam Sadler.[36]
On 10 July 2022, Boothroyd was appointed as head coach ofJamshedpur. He said: "Jamshedpur FC are the Champions of India currently and the city has a tremendous football legacy. We want to continue this upward trajectory and make the club reach places and win honours that our fans are dreaming of. We want to take the club to the next level and to compete really with the top teams of Asia."[37]
On 26 March 2025, Boothroyd publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed withParkinson's disease in November 2021 during a routine health check.[38]
Watford
England U21
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Watford | 29 March 2005 | 3 November 2008 | 176 | 65 | 51 | 60 | 036.9 | [39] |
| Colchester United | 2 September 2009 | 20 May 2010 | 44 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 043.2 | [39] |
| Coventry City | 20 May 2010 | 14 March 2011 | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 030.8 | [39] |
| Northampton Town | 30 November 2011 | 21 December 2013 | 108 | 39 | 26 | 43 | 036.1 | [39] |
| England U21 | 28 September 2016 | 16 April 2021 | 48 | 31 | 8 | 9 | 064.6 | [citation needed] |
| Jamshedpur | 10 July 2022 | 31 May 2023 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 033.33 | [40] |
| Total | 439 | 174 | 109 | 156 | 039.6 | |||
