Archibald Knox (born 1 May 1947) is a Scottish football player and coach. He was most recently the assistant manager of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
until leaving the club in March 2013.
Knox worked with Alex Ferguson as an assistant manager at Aberdeen and Manchester United, and with
Walter Smith
Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers.
A defender, Smith's playing car ...
As a player, Knox played in his native Scotland, featuring for Forfar Athletic (twice), St Mirren,
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
and a short spell with Montrose. During his time with Dundee United, Knox was a runner-up in the 1974
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
capacity when he returned to first club Forfar in 1976, spending four years in the dual role. In 1980, Knox became assistant to Alex Ferguson at
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, helping the team to two Scottish Cups, the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
and subsequent European Super Cup in his three years with the Dons. In 1983, Knox returned to management with Dundee, where he would spend two-and-a-half years, with a best finish of sixth place in 1984–85 and 1985–86, narrowly missing out on UEFA Cup qualification. A short spell back at Aberdeen followed, before following Ferguson to Manchester United in 1986, where he stayed until April 1991. At this point, Knox came back to Scotland, becoming assistant to
Walter Smith
Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers.
A defender, Smith's playing car ...
at Rangers, where the pair would enjoy six titles over the next seven years together. In July 1998, both men moved south to Everton, although their time was ended by March 2002.
It was at this point that Knox's association with the national team began, with a three-year spell assisting then-manager Craig Brown. Short spells followed at
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
and
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
Eric Black
John Eric Black (born 1 October 1963) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. Black played as a striker for Aberdeen and Metz, winning major trophies with both clubs, and earned two international caps for the Scotland nat ...
respectively) before returning to Scotland as
Richard Gough
Charles Richard Gough (born 5 April 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Gough played in the successful Dundee United team of the early 1980s, winning the Scottish league title in 1982–83 and reachi ...
's assistant at Livingston in November 2004. Knox again assisted the national team as a coach, helping at the
Kirin Cup
The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...
in May 2006. Knox was appointed Scotland under-21 manager in July 2006 following Rainer Bonhof's departure. In August 2007 he was appointed as Bolton's Assistant Manager by Wanderers manager Sammy Lee. When Lee left Knox was made caretaker manager for two games (against Arsenal and in the UEFA Cup against
S.C. Braga
Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...
) before
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager.
He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers ...
took over. Knox remained at the club under Megson.
Two days after Bolton Wanderers secured their premiership status he was axed by Megson with six other members of the coaching staff at the club. The club denied it was due to cost-cutting measures and stated it was due to Megson wanting to bring in his own staff.
On 4 July 2008 Knox was appointed as the first-team coach of Blackburn Rovers by
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship side Reading. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, st ...
. They had previously worked together at Manchester United. He became the second member of the backroom staff to be appointed by Ince; his appointment followed that of
Ray Mathias
Raymond Mathias (born 13 December 1946) is an English football coach and former player. He has spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football. Mathias played for Tranmere Rovers between 1964 and 1985, and remains their reco ...
as assistant manager. On 18 December 2008, Knox was relieved of his duties along with
Ray Mathias
Raymond Mathias (born 13 December 1946) is an English football coach and former player. He has spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football. Mathias played for Tranmere Rovers between 1964 and 1985, and remains their reco ...
following the sacking of
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship side Reading. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, st ...
and the subsequent arrival of
Sam Allardyce
Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player.
Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...
as the new Rovers manager.
On 29 December 2009, he was appointed as the assistant manager to Craig Brown at Motherwell. On 10 December 2010, after Brown moved to Aberdeen, Knox followed him back to his former club. After three years with Brown, it announced that he and Brown would leave the club at the end of the season. Though leaving the club, Knox reversed his decision to retire, insisting he "not retiring now. I still feel young and I've plenty to offer."
In October 2013, Knox returned to Scottish Championship side Dundee as a playing scout role. Knox will be reunited with manager John Brown, whom he signed whilst manager at Dundee.
In November 2017, he was one of four inductees into the Aberdeen ''Hall of Fame''.
Honours
Assistant manager
Aberdeen
*
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1981–82, 1982–83
*
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
:
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
Manchester United
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
Scottish Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
:
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
Scottish Football Hall of Fame
The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is located at the Scottish Football Museum. Nominations are made each year by fans and a committee selects the inductees. The first inductions to the Hall of Fame were in November 2004 in a ceremony at Hampden Pa ...