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Daniel Joseph Wilson (born 1 January 1960) is a former footballer and manager. He has previously coached
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
, Bristol City, Milton Keynes Dons, Hartlepool United, Swindon Town, Sheffield United,
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
and Chesterfield.


Playing career

Born in
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, Wilson started his career with hometown club
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
in the Northern Premier League, scoring once in eight appearances before moving to Bury in the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
. As a player, he won the Anglo Scottish cup with Chesterfield in 1981, and went on to win the League Cup with both Luton Town in 1988 and
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
in 1991. His equaliser for Luton against Arsenal with seven minutes remaining in the 1988 final is arguably the most famous match-saving goal in the club's history. He was also a runner-up in both domestic cup finals with Sheffield Wednesday in 1993. He also won 24 caps for
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, scoring one goal.


Managerial career


Barnsley

In 1993, Wilson and Viv Anderson joined Barnsley from Sheffield Wednesday on free transfers to become player-assistant manager and manager respectively. 12 months later, after a disappointing season, Wilson was appointed player-manager after Viv Anderson left to become assistant manager to Bryan Robson at
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
. In 1994–95, Barnsley finished sixth in Division One. In an ordinary season this would have meant occupying a playoff place, but due to the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
reducing from 22 to 20 clubs, only two teams would be promoted (with fifth placed club occupying the final playoff place) and Barnsley missed out. The following season was a disappointment as the club finished mid-table. In the following season, 1996–97, Wilson guided Barnsley to the Premier League as Division One runners-up. It was the first time that Barnsley had won promotion to the top division of English football. Although their stay lasted only a single season before relegation, Wilson's side reached the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
quarter finals knocking out favourites
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
in the fifth round.


Sheffield Wednesday

In the summer of 1998, Wilson returned to his old club Sheffield Wednesday as manager and was hopeful of revitalising the club's fortunes. They had just finished 16th in the Premier League and five seasons earlier, when Wilson was still on the club's playing staff, they had reached both domestic cup finals and finished seventh in the first ever Premier League. In 1998–99, Wilson guided Sheffield Wednesday to a respectable 12th place in the Premier League and had hopes for a top half finish the following season. But he was sacked the following March, having led the club only toward relegation. Four Sheffield based MPs including David Blunkett called for his head in January 2000 (he picked up the Premier League's Manager of the Month award in January 2000) following some poor results like losing 8–0 to Newcastle United. Bassetlaw MP Joe Ashton said after his sacking: "Danny was a lovely fellow, but he couldn't do it (manage Sheffield Wednesday).


Bristol City

In June 2000, Wilson was appointed manager of Division Two Bristol City on a four-year contract. He left the club at the end of the 2003–04 season after his contract was not renewed, having failed to achieve promotion at the club.


Milton Keynes Dons

In December 2004, Wilson took over from Stuart Murdoch as the new manager of the League One side Milton Keynes Dons. In his first season, he managed to save the club from relegation – they would have gone down had it not been for a 10-point penalty imposed on
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
who had gone into receivership. Wilson was unable to save MK Dons from relegation to League Two at the end of the 2005–06 season, and he was sacked on 10 May 2006.


Hartlepool United

On 13 June 2006, Wilson was appointed manager of Hartlepool United. Wilson took over from Youth Team Coach Paul Stephenson who took temporary charge of the first team for the late stages of the 2005–06 season. Hartlepool United were relegated alongside MK Dons to League Two. In the 2006–07 season, he brought Hartlepool to second from top of League 2 and won promotion back to League 1. He left Hartlepool United on 15 December 2008, leaving Chris Turner in temporary charge.


Swindon Town

Appointed manager of Swindon Town on 26 December 2008, Wilson saved the team from relegation that season. Wilson brought in many new signings, including Gordon Greer, Alan O'Brien, Jonathan Douglas, David Lucas and Charlie Austin After getting Swindon into the 10 League 1 Play-off Final, the club lost 0–1 against Millwall F.C. The following 2009–10 play-off season saw Wilson and club chairman Andrew Fitton forge many relationships with Premier League and SPL sides, most notably
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Manchester City and Celtic, who all loaned Wilson players to aid his development of the squad. Wilson released youth team goalkeeper Jamie Stephens to the Liverpool youth academy, who in turn loaned Swindon Stephen Darby, who later scored the winning penalty that put Swindon through to the 2009–10 play-off final. Simon Ferry and Paul Caddis were loaned from Celtic, both having since been signed on permanent deals from the club. Wilson loaned Manchester City striker David Ball for the 2010–11 season. On 2 March 2011, Wilson resigned his post after a poor run of form that had seen the club slip into the relegation zone.


Sheffield United

On 27 May 2011, Wilson was appointed the manager of Sheffield United. The appointment was greeted with some dissatisfaction amongst the fans, as approximately 400 gathered outside
Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...
to voice their anger at the appointment, particularly considering his links as a former player and manager of bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Disapproving chants against his appointment could be heard throughout the announcing press conference. Wilson's subsequent statements suggested that he already felt the pressure resultant from having crossed the divide. As part of the restructure of the Blades managerial setup, captain Chris Morgan was promoted to a player-coach position. Morgan had played under Wilson during his earlier years at Barnsley. A couple of weeks later, Wilson appointed former Sheffield United player Frank Barlow as his assistant. Wilson made a positive start at the Blades, winning his first league game in charge with a 2–0 victory over Oldham Athletic. This was then followed up by a League Cup victory over Hartlepool United and a 2–0 home victory over
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
in Wilson's first home league game. Wilson was named League One manager of the month for December 2011 after managing the Blades to league victories over
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
,
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
, Notts County and Hartlepool United. Despite the Blades scoring 92 league goals and accumulating 90 points (finishing 3rd) in Wilson's first season in charge, the team lost on penalties in the 2011–12 League One play-off final against Huddersfield Town. Wilson won the League One manager of the month award for October 2012 after guiding the Blades into the automatic promotion places, including a 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions. However, six months later he left Sheffield United on 10 April 2013 following a poor run of form.


Barnsley

On 17 December 2013, Wilson was announced as manager of Barnsley for the second time, fifteen years after his previous departure. He took over following the sacking of David Flitcroft with Barnsley at the foot of the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
table. On 12 February 2015, Wilson was sacked by Barnsley after a poor run of results.


Chesterfield

On 24 December 2015 he was named as new manager of Chesterfield, replacing Dean Saunders. His second game in charge saw an impressive 7–1 victory against Shrewsbury Town. Wilson secured Chesterfield's League One status with a game to spare, ending the season in 18th place. The following season started brightly under Wilson, with Chesterfield remaining unbeaten in the opening three games of the season, winning two. Wilson was sacked as Chesterfield manager on 8 January 2017, following a 2–0 defeat at Bradford City, after a poor run of results.


Personal life

Wilson lives in Chesterfield with his wife Karen, daughter Carrie and his son, Laurie, who played non-league
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
.


Managerial statistics

:


Honours


As a player

Chesterfield * Anglo-Scottish Cup: 1980–81 Luton Town * Football League Cup: 1987–88 Sheffield Wednesday *Football League Cup: 1990–91 Individual *
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
Player of the Year: 1994–95


As a manager

Barnsley *
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
runner-up: 1996–97 Bristol City *
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
: 2002–03 Hartlepool United * Football League Two runner-up: 2006–07 Individual * LMA Manager of the Year: 1996–97 *
Premier League Manager of the Month The Premier League Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League manager each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to ...
: January 2000 * Football League Two Manager of the Month: September 2006, February 2007, March 2007 * Football League One Manager of the Month: December 2011, October 2012


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Danny 1960 births Living people Footballers from Wigan English people of Northern Ireland descent English people of Ulster-Scottish descent English men's footballers English football managers Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Men's association football midfielders Northern Ireland men's international footballers Northern Premier League players Premier League players Premier League managers English Football League players English Football League managers Wigan Athletic F.C. players Bury F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Barnsley F.C. managers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers Bristol City F.C. managers Milton Keynes Dons F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers Swindon Town F.C. managers Sheffield United F.C. managers