Robert George Campbell (23 April 1937 – 6 November 2015) was an English professional football player and later manager.

Playing career

He began his career with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, where he also won England Youth international caps. He then moved on to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and later

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

Coaching and managerial career

After injury ended his career in 1966, he turned his hand to coaching, at Portsmouth and then, with greater success, at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. He went on to work under

Bertie Mee Bertram Mee OBE (25 December 1918 – 21 October 2001) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Derby County and Mansfield Town. Mee was also a manager, noted for leading Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971. Playing career Bor ...

at Arsenal as first-team coach, after

Steve Burtenshaw Stephen Burtenshaw (23 November 1935 – 17 February 2022) was an English football player and manager. Burtenshaw played as a wing half for Brighton & Hove Albion. As a manager, he was at the helm of clubs Sheffield Wednesday, Everton, Queens ...

's resignation and subsequent departure to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

in 1973. His first managerial job came at Fulham in 1976, after his former boss

Alec Stock Alec William Alfred Stock (30 March 1917 – 16 April 2001) was an English footballer and manager. He briefly managed AS Roma, between long spells at Leyton Orient and Queens Park Rangers. At QPR, he won successive promotions, leading the club t ...

was sacked. Campbell made a poor start winning no games in his first 3 months as manager. After four years of underachievement Campbell was sacked when the team made a poor start to the 1980–81 season after a disastrous relegation the previous season. He moved on to

, whom he led to the Third Division title in 1982–83. However, he was sacked in May 1984 after Portsmouth only narrowly avoided being immediately relegated back to the Third Division. Campbell then returned to Queens Park Rangers for a stint as reserve team manager, before taking up the same position at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the summer of 1987. Towards the end of the 1987–88 season, Campbell was appointed assistant to manager

John Hollins John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...

, with the team in the midst of a relegation battle; one month later Hollins was sacked and Campbell appointed caretaker manager until the end of the season. Campbell was unable to turn around the club's fortunes in the eight games which remained that season, and they were relegated via the short-lived play-off system. He made amends the following season, however, as his side romped to promotion as

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

champions with a haul of 99 points. A year later, he led to Chelsea to a 5th-place finish in the First Division, their highest league placing since 1970. He was relieved of his managerial duties after an 11th-place finish and appointed personal assistant to Chelsea chairman

Ken Bates Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United. Bate ...

in 1991. Campbell went on to coach in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

where he managed the two biggest clubs in the country: Al-Arabi SC and

Qadsia SC ) The Royal ( ar, الملكي) The Yellow Castle ( ar, القلعة الصفراء) , founded = as ''Al-Jazira'' , ground = Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium Hawalli , capacity = 26,000 , chairman = Khaled Fahad Al Sabah , manager = Boris ...

Death

He died on 6 November 2015.

References

External links

Liverpool profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Bobby 1937 births 2015 deaths Aldershot F.C. players Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff Chelsea F.C. managers English football managers English footballers English people of Scottish descent Fulham F.C. managers Association football wing halves Liverpool F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. managers Portsmouth F.C. players Footballers from Liverpool Expatriate football managers in Kuwait English Football League players English Football League managers English expatriate football managers England youth international footballers Queens Park Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Kuwait Premier League managers Qadsia SC managers Al-Arabi SC (Kuwait) managers