Wikipedia

Lennie Lawrence

Robin Michael Lawrence,commonly known asLennie Lawrence,(born 12 December 1947) is an Englishfootball manager.He is manager and non-executive director atNational LeaguesideHartlepool United.

Lennie Lawrence
Personal information
Full name Robin Michael Lawrence
Date of birth (1947-12-12)12 December 1947(age 76)
Place of birth Brighton,England
Team information
Current team
 Hartlepool United(Manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Croydon
Carshalton Athletic
Sutton United
Managerial career
1978 Plymouth Argyle(caretaker)
1982–1991 Charlton Athletic
1991–1994 Middlesbrough
1994–1995 Bradford City
1995–2000 Luton Town
2000–2001 Grimsby Town
2002–2005 Cardiff City
2012 Crystal Palace(caretaker)
2024 Hartlepool United(caretaker)
2024– Hartlepool United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lawrence was a semi-professional atCroydon,Carshalton AthleticandSutton Unitedbefore becoming caretaker manager ofPlymouth Argylein 1978. He went on to manageCharlton Athletic,Middlesbrough(during their debut season in thePremier League),Bradford City,Luton TownandGrimsby TownandCardiff City.[1]He is one of a select few managers to have managed over 1,000 games.[2]

Since 2005 Lawrence has worked at a number of clubs as either part of the coaching staff or in aDirector of Footballrole. He joinedStevenagein June 2020 as a managerial advisor, to begin at either the restart of the 2019–20 season or the start of the 2020–21 season,[3]following three years as the management consultant toNewport County,Lawrence left this role in early November 2020.

Playing career

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Lawrence turned out at non-league level forCroydon,Carshalton AthleticandSutton Unitedduring his semi-professional career.

Managerial career

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Plymouth Argyle and Lincoln City

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He came to Plymouth as Assistant Manager to Mike Kelly and when Kelly was sacked he got his first managerial appointment atPlymouth Argyleas caretaker and then worked alongside Malcolm Allison as Assistant. He later worked as a coach atLincoln City,helping them win promotion fromDivision Fourin the1980–81season.[2]

Charlton Athletic

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Lawrence moved toCharlton Athleticas reserve-team manager, and was later promoted to full-time manager in 1982. appointing Leicester City first team coach Eddie May, as his assistant.[2]During his first few years in charge, the club was in a poor financial situation and came close to going out of business in 1984, and even left its home ground,The Valley,in 1985. Despite this, Lawrence and May, not only kept Charlton in theSecond Divisionbut gained promotion to theFirst Divisionin 1986, ending Charlton's 29-year absence from the top-flight. With limited resources, he kept Charlton at this level for four years, before being relegated in 1990. He remained in charge for a further season.[2]

Middlesbrough

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Before the start of the1991–92season, Lawrence moved on to manageMiddlesbrough.Under his stewardship, Middlesbrough finished Second Division runners-up in his first season as manager and gained promotion to the newPremier Leaguebut they struggled in1992–93and were relegated at the end of the season.[2]Lawrence remained in charge until the end of the following season, his departure being confirmed on 2 May 1994.[4]Upon leaving he helped young chairmanSteve Gibsoncontact his replacementBryan Robson.[5]

Bradford City and move to Luton Town

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Lawrence joinedBradford Cityat the beginning of the1994–95season. After a mid-table finish in his first season, Bradford were challenging for promotion in his second season in charge before he left to manage strugglingLuton Townin the division above. Lawrence was unable to save Luton from relegation to Division Two at the end of the1995–96season, which saw them replaced by former club Bradford. He remained in charge atKenilworth Roaduntil 2000 when he was sacked by the new incoming Luton chairman, Mike Watson Challis,[6]and replaced with former Luton fans favourite, Ricky Hill.

Grimsby Town

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He made a quick return to management shortly after the beginning of the2000–01season with Division One sideGrimsby Town.[2]They avoided relegation and made a reasonable start to the2001–02season, and caused an upset in theLeague Cupthird round by knocking out holdersLiverpool2–1 after extra time atAnfield,scoring with aPhil Jevonswonder-goal in the last minute.[7]However, he was sacked later in the season after Grimsby dropped to the bottom of the table.[8]

During the opening weeks of the 2001–02 season, his Grimsby side had briefly led Division One, sparking hopes that he could repeat the promotion success he achieved at Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough with a much smaller club. However, these hopes were quickly extinguished as Grimsby's form plunged.[9]

Cardiff City

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After a short while out of the game he joined Division Two sideCardiff Cityas a consultant. OwnerSam Hammamhad made it clear to managerAlan Corkthat he expected back-to-back promotions, which it did not look like Cork was going to deliver. Eventually Cork was sacked, and Lawrence took over the manager's chair.[2]In his first full season in charge, Lawrence took Cardiff to promotion after beatingQueens Park Rangersin the 2003Football League Second Divisionplay-off final.[10]He remained atNinian Parkfor a further two years before being replaced in May 2005.[11]

Hartlepool United

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Following the sacking ofDarren Sarllin October 2024, Lawrence was appointed caretaker manager ofHartlepool United.He was also previously caretaker manager the previous season.[12]On 8 November 2024, he was permanently appointed manager of Hartlepool until the end of the season.[13]

Coaching career

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After acting as a consultant at Cardiff for a while, he was appointedDirector of Footballat Bristol Rovers, working alongside coachPaul Trollopein a two-tier managerial structure.[14]In the pair's first full season in charge, Bristol Rovers won promotion intoLeague Oneafter winning theLeague Twoplay-offs.[15]He remained in this position until leaving the club on 12 May 2010, with their League One status still intact.[16]

In August 2010 Lawrence joined non-leagueCarshalton Athleticin a football consultancy role, assisting manager Mark Butler. Four months later he was appointed technical director atHereford Unitedin League Two, to assist new managerJamie Pitman.[17]

On 20 January 2011, he was appointed assistant manager atCrystal Palace,to support new rookie manager,Dougie Freedman.[18]In October 2012 Freedman became manager atBolton Wanderers,and Lawrence was named as a joint-caretaker manager at Crystal Palace withCurtis Fleming,but within a week Lawrence rejoined Freedman at Bolton.[19]

Lawrence's first game at Bolton was a victory over former club Cardiff at theReebok Stadium,in which aMartin Petrovpenalty and a further goal fromDavid Ngoggave Wanderers a 2–1 victory.[20]At the end of the season, Bolton missed out on a Play Off place toLeicester City

On 3 October 2014, he left Bolton along with fellow coachCurtis Flemingfollowing the sacking ofDougie Freedmanas manager. He later joined Freedman as assistant manager atNottingham Forestin early 2015.

During the Summer of 2016 Lawrence became assistant manager to Paul Trollope at Cardiff City. However, a poor start to the 2016/2017 season saw Paul Trollope sacked in the October at which time Lawrence also departed from the club.

Consultancy roles

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On 21 March 2017, Lawrence joinedNewport Countyas First Team Management Consultant to new managerMike Flynnwith Newport 11 points adrift at the bottom of League Two.[21]A remarkable turnaround in the remaining 12 league games saw Newport complete the Great Escape and avoid relegation with a win against Notts County with a 89th-minute winner on the final day of the 2016–17 season.[22]Lawrence departed County in June 2020 at the end of the2019–20 EFL League Twoseason.[3] Lawrence announced his move to Stevenage in June 2020 and is set to start employment there "either the recommencement of the 2019–20 season or the start of the 2020–21 season", with the club in the relegation spot at the end of the 2019–20 EFL League Two season. He serves as the Managerial Advisor toAlex Revell.In December 2020, Lawrence left the club.[3]

Lawrence announced his move to Stevenage in June 2020, set to start employment there "either the recommencement of the 2019–20 season or the start of the 2020–21 season", with the club in the relegation spot at the end of the 2019–20 EFL League Two season. He served as the Managerial Advisor toAlex Revell.In December 2020, Lawrence left the club.[3]

On 10 November 2022, Lawrence was appointed as a non-executive director atHartlepool United.[23]Following the sacking ofJohn Askey,Lawrence was appointed caretaker manager in January 2024.[24]AfterKevin Phillipswas appointed as Askey's successor, it was confirmed that Lawrence would be one of his assistant managers.[25]

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 26 November 2024
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Plymouth Argyle 14 February 1978 16 March 1978 5 0 3 2 000.00
Charlton Athletic 22 November 1982 10 July 1991 393 120 109 164 030.53
Middlesbrough 10 July 1991 2 May 1994 187 75 52 60 040.11
Bradford City 25 May 1994 27 November 1995 77 29 20 28 037.66
Luton Town 21 December 1995 4 July 2000 248 89 66 93 035.89
Grimsby Town 29 August 2000 28 December 2001 77 22 19 36 028.57
Cardiff City 18 February 2002 25 May 2005 174 72 50 52 041.38
Crystal Palace§ 23 October 2012 1 November 2012 2 1 0 1 050.00
Hartlepool United(caretaker) 3 January 2024 23 January 2024 5 2 1 2 040.00
Hartlepool United 16 October 2024 Present 6 3 2 1 050.00
Total 1,174 413 322 439 035.18

§: Joint caretaker manager withCurtis Fleming

Honours

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Charlton Athletic

Middlesbrough

  • Football League Second Division second-place promotion:1991–92[27]

Cardiff City

Individual

References

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  1. ^"Bristol Rovers terminate Lennie Lawrence contract".BBC Sport.12 May 2010.Retrieved12 May2010.
  2. ^abcdefg"Lennie Lawrence manager profile".League Managers Association. Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2010.Retrieved14 December2007.
  3. ^abcd"Lennie Lawrence: Newport County lose management consultant to struggling Stevenage".BBC Sport.1 June 2020.Retrieved1 June2020.
  4. ^Shaw, Phil (3 May 1994)."Football: Lawrence leaves Middlesbrough".The Independent.London.
  5. ^"Lennie Lawrence (July 1991 to May 1994)".MFC.Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2008.Retrieved6 November2008.
  6. ^"Lennie leaves Luton".BBC Sport.4 July 2000.Retrieved3 August2010.
  7. ^"Grimsby stun Liverpool".BBC Sport.9 October 2001.Retrieved14 December2007.
  8. ^"Grimsby sack Boss Lawrence".BBC Sport.28 December 2001.Retrieved14 December2007.
  9. ^"Grimsby Town 2001".When Saturday Comes.21 July 2005.Retrieved6 October2010.
  10. ^ab"Cardiff seal promotion".BBC Sport.25 May 2003.Retrieved25 November2024.
  11. ^"Cardiff Boss Lawrence steps down".BBC Sport.23 May 2005.Retrieved14 December2007.
  12. ^"Club Statement: Darren Sarll".hartlepoolunited.co.uk.16 October 2024.Retrieved16 October2024.
  13. ^"Pools announce new management team".Hartlepool United F.C.Retrieved8 November2024.
  14. ^"Rovers unveil Trollope & Lawrence".BBC Sport.7 November 2005.Retrieved14 December2007.
  15. ^"Trollope & Lawrence pen new deals".BBC Sport.10 August 2007.Retrieved14 December2007.
  16. ^"Bristol Rovers terminate Lennie Lawrence contract".BBC Sport.12 May 2010.
  17. ^"Lennie Lawrence arrives as Jamie Pitman confirmed as Hereford United manager".Hereford Times.16 December 2010.Retrieved17 December2010.
  18. ^"Crystal Palace name Lennie Lawrence as assistant".BBC Sport.20 January 2011.Retrieved20 January2011.
  19. ^"Lennie Lawrence & Dougie Freedman reunited at Bolton".BBC Sport.1 November 2012.Retrieved21 June2015.
  20. ^"Bolton 2–1 Cardiff".BBC Sport.3 November 2012.Retrieved21 June2015.
  21. ^Lawrence joins Newport
  22. ^Newport seal League Two status
  23. ^"Lennie Lawrence joins as Non-Executive Director".Hartlepool United.10 November 2022.
  24. ^"Caretaker management team announced".hartlepoolunited.co.uk.3 January 2024.Retrieved3 January2024.
  25. ^"Kevin Phillips: Hartlepool United appoint ex-England and Sunderland striker as head coach".BBC Sport.20 January 2024.Retrieved23 January2024.
  26. ^"We are ready - Lennie".Wales Online.19 May 2003.Retrieved25 November2024.
  27. ^Vickers, Anthony (2 May 2020)."How patched-up Middlesbrough overcame odds - and 'terror' hoax - to win promotion at Wolves in 1992".Teesside Live.Retrieved25 November2024.
  28. ^"Bursting the Grimsby bubble".Coventry Telegraph.7 September 2001.Retrieved21 June2015.
  29. ^"Lawrence lands manager's gong".ESPN FC. 3 February 2005.Retrieved21 June2015.
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