Daniel Joseph Wilson (born 1 January 1960) is a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

and manager. He has previously coached

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 ...

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 ...

, Milton Keynes Dons,

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

, Swindon Town,

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough ha ...

and Chesterfield.

Playing career

Born in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, Wilson started his career with hometown club

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

, 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, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

. As a player, he won the Anglo Scottish cup with Chesterfield in 1981, and went on to win the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

with both Luton Town in 1988 and

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 Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, 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 Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

. In 1994–95, Barnsley finished sixth in

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First Div ...

. In an ordinary season this would have meant occupying a playoff place, but due to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

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 knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

quarter finals knocking out favourites

Manchester United 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 ...

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 Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

. 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

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 ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

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

. 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 Alan O'Brien (born 20 February 1985) is a former Irish footballer who last played for Wealdstone. O'Brien, who played as a winger, represented the Republic of Ireland at full international level five times, all while he was on the books of New ...

Jonathan Douglas Jonathan Michael Douglas (born 22 November 1981) is an Irish professional footballer who last played for Ipswich Town and has also represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. Club career Blackburn Rovers Born in Monaghan, Dougl ...

, David Lucas and

Charlie Austin Charles Austin (born 5 July 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker. Released from his contract by Reading as a youth, Austin played non-league football up to May 2009, when he was signed by Swindon Town after a pro ...

After getting Swindon into the 10 League 1 Play-off Final, the club lost 0–1 against

Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name d ...

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 City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

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 t ...

and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

, 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 Stephen Mark Darby (born 6 October 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Darby represented England at under-19 level. He began his career playing on the winning team of the Liverpool FA Youth Cup in 200 ...

, 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

. The appointment was greeted with some dissatisfaction amongst the fans, as approximately 400 gathered outside

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall family of file and graver manufacturers. ...

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 Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

. This was then followed up by a

victory over Hartlepool United and a 2–0 home victory over

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...

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 large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a r ...

, 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 David John Flitcroft (born 14 January 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the director of football at club Port Vale. His older brother is the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City player Garry ...

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 system ...

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 Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. 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.

Managerial statistics

:''Updated 7 January 2017''

Honours

As a player

Chesterfield *

Anglo-Scottish Cup The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format t ...

: 1980–81 Luton Town *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...

: 1987–88 Sheffield Wednesday *Football League Cup:

1990–91 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 ...

As a manager

Barnsley *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

runner-up: 1996–97 Bristol City *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL ...

: 2002–03 Hartlepool United *

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 L ...

runner-up: 2006–07 Individual * LMA Manager of the Year: 1996–97 * Premier League Manager of the Month: January 2000 *

Football League One Manager of the Month The Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the manager adjudged best for each month of the season in the Football League One, the third tier of English football. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the Lea ...

: December 2011, October 2012 *

Football 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 ...

: September 2006, February 2007, March 2007

Personal life

Wilson lives in Chesterfield with his wife Karen. His son, Lawrie, played non-league

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 ...

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 footballers English football managers Association footballers from Northern Ireland Association football midfielders Northern Ireland 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 FA Cup Final players