| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Mark Agnew[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-11-09)9 November 1965 (age 60)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Shipley, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1991 | Barnsley | 194 | (29) |
| 1991–1993 | Blackburn Rovers | 2 | (0) |
| 1992 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1993–1995 | Leicester City | 56 | (4) |
| 1995–1998 | Sunderland | 63 | (9) |
| 1998–2001 | York City | 81 | (4) |
| 2001–2002 | Gateshead | ||
| Total | 401 | (46) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010 | Middlesbrough (caretaker) | ||
| 2017 | Middlesbrough (caretaker) | ||
| 2019 | Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stephen Mark Agnew (born 9 November 1965) is an English football coach and former professionalfootballer. He was most recently the assistant head coach to the formerBlackpool manager,Steve Bruce.
As a player, he was amidfielder from 1983 to 2002, notably in thePremier League forBlackburn Rovers,Leicester City andSunderland, and in theFootball league forBarnsley,Portsmouth andYork City before finishing his career in non-League withGateshead.
He has since worked as a coach in a variety roles at Gateshead,Middlesbrough,Leeds United,Hartlepool Utd,Hull City,Aston Villa,Sheffield Wednesday,Newcastle United,West Bromwich Albion andAberdeen.
Agnew was born inShipley,West Riding of Yorkshire,[1] though grew up inBarnsley. He started his career atBarnsley F.C., staying there for eight years after turning professional and making over 200 appearances.
He was sold toBlackburn Rovers for a £700,000 fee in June 1991 – making him theEwood Park club's most costly signing at the time, just after wealthy ownerJack Walker bought the club.[2] His spell at Blackburn was unsuccessful, only making four appearances before he joinedPortsmouth on loan and thenLeicester City permanently in the1992–93 season, when Rovers were in the newPremier League and Leicester were challenging for promotion from Division One. During his time at Blackburn, the club earned promotion to the Premier League, but Agnew's part in the success was a minimal one as the attention was focused on big-money new signings such asMike Newell andRoy Wegerle and laterAlan Shearer andStuart Ripley.[citation needed]
One of Agnew's most memorable nights in a Leicester City shirt was 15 April 1993, when Leicester beat Millwall 3–0. Agnew scored and was sent off. Agnew "reacted angrily to a heavy challenge by Andy Roberts. At least a dozen players jostled each other as police, stewards and the respective managers tried to restore order. Agnew, who had already been cautioned, appeared to lash out at a Millwall player, leaving Mr Parker no option other than to reach for red. Millwall tried hard to exploit their numerical advantage, only for the home team to score again throughDavid Oldfield."[3] He was part of the Leicester team that won promotion to the Premier League as Division One play-off winners in 1994.[4]
Agnew then moved north toSunderland, helping them win promotion to the Premier League as Division One champions in 1996, although they went down after just one season. In 1998 he signed forYork City and despite his efforts theBootham Crescent team were unable to avoid relegation from Division Two in the1998–99 season.[5] Agnew spent the 2001–02 season playing forGateshead, where he finished his playing career.[6]
In February 2002, Agnew moved into coaching, becoming assistant manager of Gateshead to Gary Gill.[7] Both he and Gill resigned from Gateshead after the playing budget was cut in early October 2002.[8]
Agnew continued his coaching at theMiddlesbrough Academy and then joinedLeeds United as reserve-team manager on 23 July 2003.[9] Agnew left the club to become assistant manager atHartlepool United on 23 June 2005.[10] On 9 February 2006, Agnew quit his position as reserve-team coach at Hartlepool[11] before rejoining Leeds as under-18s manager.[12]
He rejoined Middlesbrough as reserve-team coach on 23 January 2007.[13] He was promoted to the position of assistant manager on 7 July 2008, following the departure ofSteve Harrison.[14] On 18 October 2010, he took over ascaretaker manager at Middlesbrough following the resignation ofGordon Strachan.[15] On 29 June 2012, Agnew took up the post of assistant manager atHull City.[16]
On 23 December 2014, Agnew joined Middlesbrough as assistant head coach, working under head coachAitor Karanka.[17] On 16 March 2017, Agnew took over as caretaker manager at Middlesbrough, after Aitor Karanka was dismissed.[18] His first match in charge came three days later, as Middlesbrough were beaten 3–1 at home byManchester United.[19] He was unable to save Middlesbrough from relegation after they finished 19th in the Premier League, remaining in charge until the appointment ofGarry Monk on 9 June 2017.[20]
On 22 December 2017 Agnew was appointed the first team coach ofAston Villa.[21] But on 3 October 2018, head coachSteve Bruce,Colin Calderwood,Stephen Clemence,Gary Walsh and Agnew himself, were all fired.[22]
On 2 January 2019Sheffield Wednesday announced that the club had appointedSteve Bruce as the club's new head coach from 1 February 2019. Clemence and Agnew would be in charge of the team in his absence until that date.[23] With the arriving of Bruce, Agnew would function as a first team coach.[24] In November 2021, Agnew followed Bruce out the door atNewcastle United, following the appointment ofEddie Howe and his backroom staff.
Bruce was appointed manager of Championship clubWest Bromwich Albion in February 2022, and was again accompanied by Agnew and Clemence.[25] They left with him when he was sacked eight months later.[26] on 30 January 2023 he joinAberdeen as interim assistant manager to interim managerBarry Robson following sacking ofJim Goodwin,[27] signing on 1 May 2023 with Barry for a further two and a half years until end of season 2024–25. On 31 January 2024, the club parted company with both Robson and Agnew.[28]
Agnew followed Bruce toBlackpool on 3 September 2024, with Bruce replacingNeil Critchley as head coach.,[29] On 4 October 2025, the club parted company with both Bruce and Agnew.[30]
Agnew's nephewJordan Rhodes is also a footballer.[31]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Middlesbrough (caretaker) | 18 October 2010 | 26 October 2010 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.0 | [15][32] |
| Middlesbrough (caretaker) | 16 March 2017 | 9 June 2017 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 009.1 | [18][20][32] |
| Sheffield Wednesday (caretaker) | 3 January 2019 | 1 February 2019 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 040.0 | |
| Total | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 016.7 | — | ||
Sunderland
Individual
