Paul Robert Tisdale (born 14 January 1973) is an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

. As a player, Tisdale represented

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

FinnPa Finnairin Palloilijat, or FinnPa as the club is more commonly known as, was a Finnish association football club established in 1965. The club was based in Helsinki and it operated from 1965 to 1998. FinnPa was founded by staff of the Finnish natio ...

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

and

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

during a career which began in 1991 and concluded in 2000, playing primarily as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. During his time at Exeter City, he remained registered as a player between 2007 and 2016, making his debut as a late substitute in a 2–1 victory at

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 of ...

at the end of the 2010–11 season and naming himself as a substitute in the EFL Trophy match at Oxford Utd on 30 August 2016. Tisdale previously managed

Team Bath TeamBath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, TeamBath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper of t ...

. Having managed

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

from June 2006 until June 2018, he was, for 19 days, the longest-serving manager at one club in the English

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Playing career

Southampton

A former England schools international, Tisdale came through the youth system at

. He signed as a professional in June 1991. He was loaned out to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

in February and March 1993, where he made five league appearances. He eventually made his Southampton debut in a League Cup game against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

on 5 October 1994. Unfortunately, at this time Southampton were enduring frequent changes of manager and, as a result, Tisdale never had a settled run in the first team. Having played his last senior game for Southampton on 27 April 1996, he again went out on loan in the 1996–97 season, this time to

, where he made only two appearances. In his time at Southampton he made a total of 18 first team appearances, scoring once, against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

on 16 March 1996, when he took one touch and delicately lifted the ball over goalkeeper

Eike Immel Eike Heinrich Immel (born 27 November 1960) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper from 1975 until 1997 for Borussia Dortmund, Vfb Stuttgart and Manchester City. He was capped at International level for West Germa ...

. Following the departure of mentor

David Merrington David Robert Merrington (born 26 January 1945) is an English former professional footballer who later worked as a commentator for BBC Radio Solent. Playing career Merrington played for Burnley, appearing in 98 league games (1 goal), including ...

, Tisdale moved to

in August 1997.

Bristol City and abroad

At Bristol City his appearances were limited. It was while at Bristol City that Tisdale got his first taste of life at

, with a three-month loan at the club during the 1997–98 season. He left Ashton Gate after just one year, and played abroad for both Finnish club

and Greek club

before returning to England to spend a year with

Coaching and management

Team Bath

Injury forced him to end his career early, and he took a coaching role with non-league club

in 2000. Tisdale entered the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

side into the

2002–03 FA Cup The 2002–03 FA Cup was the 122nd staging of the world's oldest cup competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 1–0 victory in the final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff against Southampton, courtesy of a Robert Pires g ...

, becoming the first university team to enter the competition since

Gonville & Caius Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1881. Team Bath entered in the preliminary round and advanced through four qualifying rounds to the first round proper, before losing to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. At Team Bath, Tisdale led the club through four promotions in non-league football.

Exeter City

During the summer of 2006, Tisdale left Team Bath to take up the vacant manager's position at then

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

. In his first season he led the club to their first

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

finish, just missing out on

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

after losing the final 2–1 to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 20 May 2007. However the following season success would soon follow, with Tisdale eventually leading the club to yet another playoff finish and ultimately promotion to the

following a 1–0 final victory over

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

on 18 May 2008. Following promotion, Tisdale signed a new two-year rolling contract with the club in October 2008. Under his guidance the club continued their impressive form with Tisdale eventually leading the club to a second-place finish and promotion to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

, becoming the first Exeter City manager in their history to lead the club to back-to-back promotions. The following 2009–10 season proved more of a challenge however, with the club surviving relegation from the third tier with an 18th-placed finish on the final day of the season following a 2–1 win over

. Exeter City's second season in League One under Tisdale proved to be far more successful, with the club finishing in eighth place at the conclusion of the 2010–11 season – equalling the club's highest ever league finish. During the final day of the season, Tisdale – also a registered player at the club – came on as a 90th-minute substitute in a 2–1 away win over

. The 2011–12 season however, concluded Exeter City's short stay in League One under Tisdale, with the club eventually relegated to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

following a 23rd-place finish. Over the following four seasons under Tisdale's management, Exeter maintained their League Two status with consecutive top-half finishes. At the end of the 2016–17 season – Tisdale's eleventh season as manager of the club – Exeter City finished in fifth place, achieving another playoff finish. After defeating

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

across a two-legged semi-final, Tisdale led Exeter to Wembley once again. The final would end in disappointment however, with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

defeating Exeter 2–1 on 28 May 2017. The 2017–18 season was to be Tisdale's final season as manager of Exeter City. Once again he led the club to the playoffs after achieving a fourth-place league finish. Following victory over promotion rivals Lincoln City across two legs, Tisdale led Exeter City to a Wembley playoff final for a fourth time. Once again, the day was to end with disappointment for Tisdale and Exeter City, with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

winning the tie 3–1 on 28 May 2018. On 1 June 2018, following a failure to agree a new contract, Tisdale left Exeter City after twelve years at the club. At the time of his departure, Tisdale was the longest-serving manager in English football's top four divisions.

Milton Keynes Dons

Tisdale was appointed manager of newly relegated

club

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

on 6 June 2018 ahead of the 2018–19 season. After a near-perfect month which saw the club gain 16 points from a possible 18, he was named League Two Manager of the Month for October 2018 by the EFL for only the second time in his career. Tisdale went on to lead Milton Keynes Dons to automatic promotion back to League One at the first attempt, achieving a third-place finish. Following a poor start to the 2019–20 season in which Milton Keynes Dons achieved only one point from a possible 27 – the worst run of results in the club's short history – Tisdale's contract with the club was mutually terminated on 2 November 2019 following a 1–3 home defeat to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

Bristol Rovers

After a twelve-month break, Tisdale returned to football management on 19 November 2020, signing a two-and-a-half year deal with

club

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

. On 10 February 2021, Tisdale departed the club after just 12 points in 15 league matches that saw Rovers only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.

Colchester United

On 1 April 2021, Tisdale joined

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in an advisory role until the end of the season, assisting inexperienced head coach

Hayden Mullins Hayden Ian Mullins (born 27 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and current manager. He played primarily as a defensive midfielder, but he also played as a sweeper and at right-back. He was most recently the head coach at ...

as Colchester attempted to stay in the Football League.

Stevenage

Tisdale was appointed as manager of

club

, taking on the role on 29 November 2021. He left the club on 16 March 2022, with Stevenage having won three of his 21 matches as manager.

Personal life

Born in Malta, Tisdale went to

Beechen Cliff School Beechen Cliff School is a boys' secondary school in Bath, Somerset, England, with about 1,150 pupils. Its earliest predecessor school was founded in 1896. There are around 930 boys in years 7 to 11 and a co-educational sixth form of 402 pupils ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, England, where he was childhood friends with actor

Andrew Lincoln Andrew James Clutterbuck (born 14 September 1973), known professionally as Andrew Lincoln, is an English actor. His first major role was as the character Egg in the BBC drama ''This Life'' (1996–1997). Lincoln later portrayed Simon Casey in ...

. In 2017, Lincoln said "One of my oldest and dearest friends happens to be Paul Tisdale. So I've been watching him very avidly throughout his whole career and I've been very proud of him." Tisdale's uncle is ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'' actor James Faulkner who played

Randyll Tarly George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others (A So ...

in the show. His brother Peter Tisdale also played at

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

and

and attracted interest from league clubs such as

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 ...

and

Bournemouth FC Bournemouth Football Club is an English football team currently playing in the , in the ninth tier of the English football league system. Their nickname is "The Poppies", and they are often known as Bournemouth Poppies to avoid confusion wit ...

before deciding on a corporate career after graduating from the

with a degree in politics and economics.

Career statistics

Club

Managerial

Honours

As a manager

Team Bath *

Western Football League The Western Football League is a football league in South West England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The league's current main sponsor is Toolstation, so it is also known as ...

First Division: 2000–01 *Western Football League Premier Division: 2002–03 Exeter City *

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

play-offs:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

runners-up: 2008–09 Milton Keynes Dons *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

third-place promotion: 2018–19 Individual *

LMA Manager of the Year The League Managers Association Awards is an annual award ceremony in English football, awarded by the League Managers Association. The most prestigious award is the LMA Manager of the Year award. It is presented to a manager from any division for ...

: 2008–09 League Two *

EFL League Two Manager of the Month The EFL League Two Manager of the Month is a monthly association football award to recognise the outstanding team manager in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor ...

: August 2017, October 2018

References

External links

*
www.paultisdale.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tisdale, Paul 1973 births Living people People from Valletta English footballers England schools international footballers Maltese footballers Association football midfielders Southampton F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players FinnPa players Panionios F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Veikkausliiga players Super League Greece players English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Finland Expatriate footballers in Greece English football managers Maltese football managers Exeter City F.C. managers Milton Keynes Dons F.C. managers Bristol Rovers F.C. managers Stevenage F.C. managers Colchester United F.C. non-playing staff National League (English football) managers English Football League managers People educated at Beechen Cliff School Association football coaches