Michael Christopher Phelan (born 24 September 1962) 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 ...

coach and former player who is currently a coach at

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 ...

. Born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

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 ...

, he spent most of his playing career at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

and

, with a short spell at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

before retirement. While he was with Manchester United he also earned a single cap for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In 2006, Norwich fans voted Phelan into the club's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

. Following the end of his playing career, Phelan moved into management. He first took a position as

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers an ...

's assistant at his former club, Norwich City, before following Megson to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

and then

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

. After Megson left Stockport, Phelan was hired by another former club, Manchester United, taking over as the assistant manager of the club's reserve team. Two years later, he was promoted to become

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

's chief first-team coach, and in 2008 he replaced

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirat ...

as Ferguson's assistant manager. He remained in the position until Ferguson's retirement in 2013, when Ferguson's successor

David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manch ...

replaced the entire coaching staff. After a year out of football, Phelan was appointed as first-team coach back at Norwich City in November 2014 and took temporary charge of the club when manager Neil Adams resigned in January 2015, only to be relieved of his duties by Adams' permanent replacement, Alex Neil. A month later, he was appointed as assistant manager at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

under former Manchester United teammate

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising scho ...

. He was promoted to first team management following the departure of Bruce on a temporary basis before the 2016-17 season. This was made permanent on 13 October. He was sacked from his position with Hull on 3 January 2017 with the club 20th in the Premier League.

Playing career

Phelan began his career at

, signing as an associated schoolboy in July 1979, as an apprentice two years later and as a professional in July 1980. He made his league debut in January 1981 against Chesterfield and whilst at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...

, gained England Youth caps and a Third Division champions medal in 1982. But in 1985, Burnley were relegated to the Fourth Division, and Phelan moved to

for £60,000 on 13 July 1985. Norwich won the

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 ...

title in his first season at the club. He became club captain when

joined

in December 1987, captaining them to fourth place in the First Division and a place in 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 ...

semi-finals in his first full season as captain. He was called into the England squad for the Rous Cup games against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

but did not play due to a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

injury. His success drew the attention of larger clubs and he followed Steve Bruce to

for £750,000 on 1 July 1989. While at United, he won his first international cap (against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1989) and an FA Cup winner's medal in his first season. This was followed by the

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier L ...

in 1990,

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

in 1991 and 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 ...

in 1992. Phelan was often deployed at right-back during his first season at Manchester United, but following the arrival of

Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. As a player, he played as a full-back from 1983 to 2004. Irwin is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester ...

in 1990 he mostly played on the right or in the centre of midfield. He had played on the right side of midfield before Irwin's arrival, most notably in the FA Cup final win over

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in 1990, when

Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship side Reading. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, sta ...

was switched from central midfield to right-back. By 1993, however, his appearances were becoming increasingly limited due to growing competition from younger players like

Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis ( uk, Андрій Антанасович Канчельскіс; russian: Андрей Антанасович Канчельскис; born 23 January 1969) is a professional football manager and former player. He ...

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his entire professional career for Manchester United and briefly served as ...

and

Lee Sharpe Lee Stuart Sharpe (born 27 May 1971) is an English professional golfer, former professional footballer, sports television pundit and reality television personality. As a player was predominantly a left winger from 1988 to 2004, he notably play ...

. He did make enough league appearances to collect a

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 ...

title medal for the 1992-93 season, but rarely played in the 1993-94 season, failing to make enough appearances for another league title medal, and not being in the squad for the

triumph over

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 ...

. With the introduction of Premier League squad numbers for the 1993–94 season, he was issued with the number 23 shirt which was next worn by Phil Neville. Phelan was given a free transfer at the end of the 1993-94 season. After leaving

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...

, Phelan signed for West Bromwich Albion, where he spent 18 months and played just 21 games, his first-team chances limited by younger players such as Kevin Donovan and

Lee Ashcroft Lee Ashcroft (born 7 September 1972) is an English former footballer and football manager who manages North West Counties Premier Division club Longridge Town. An England under-21 international, the striker began his playing career at Pre ...

, who were more favoured by new manager

Alan Buckley Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside. As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest ...

(appointed in the autumn following the dismissal of Keith Burkinshaw, who brought Phelan to the club).

Coaching career

He returned to

Carrow Road Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

in December 1995, as an assistant manager to

(another former Norwich player) and managed the club's reserve team. When Megson was fired and joined

, Phelan followed him to take a similar role, returning to his native North-West. A year later, he followed Megson to

. Following Megson's sacking as Stockport County boss on 25 June 1999,

Andy Kilner Andrew William Kilner (born 11 October 1966) is an English former professional footballer and manager. He began his career with Burnley, progressing through the club's youth system and making his professional debut in 1986 before being released ...

took over as manager. Phelan moved on shortly afterwards, taking up a role at Manchester United's Centre of Excellence. Following

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching caree ...

's departure to

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 the summer of 2001, Phelan was promoted to first-team coach. He was appointed assistant manager of United on 3 September 2008, replacing

who had left to manage the

Portugal national football team The Portugal national football team ( pt, Seleção Portuguesa de Futebol) has represented Portugal in international men's Association football, football competition since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federat ...

. For many years, Phelan conducted interviews for BBC programmes such as ''

Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary ...

,'' due to United manager

refusing to speak with the BBC following corruption allegations made in 2004 by the BBC's ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined i ...

'' programme towards one of Ferguson's sons, football agent Jason Ferguson. Ferguson finally agreed to BBC interviews once more in August 2011. In January 2010, Phelan was linked with a return to his first club

as manager following the departure of

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...

. He was Ferguson's right-hand man for three Premier League titles, a FIFA Club World Cup, two League Cups, and two runs to the final of the UEFA Champions League. He departed the club shortly after Ferguson's retirement. On 20 November 2014, Phelan was announced as a first-team coach at

. Following the resignation of Neil Adams on 5 January 2015, Phelan was named caretaker manager of Norwich. On 9 January, Norwich appointed

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

manager Alex Neil, and Phelan returned to his first-team coaching duties. On 20 January, Phelan left the club by mutual consent. On 5 February, Phelan was named assistant manager at

. On 22 July 2016, following the resignation of

, the club confirmed that Phelan would act as caretaker manager. He was named

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 ...

for August, after victories over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

, and a narrow defeat to

. On 13 October, Phelan was appointed first-team manager on a permanent basis. On 3 January 2017, Hull City's vice-chairman Ehab Allam released a statement stating that the club and Phelan had parted company for a "fresh approach". On 16 July 2018, Phelan was appointed sporting director at

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The ...

; however, less than six months later, on 19 December, Phelan was appointed as a first-team coach for Manchester United's caretaker manager,

Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward who last managed Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Solskjær spent the majority of his car ...

. On 10 May, he was appointed as United's assistant manager for the second time. Manchester United v Everton, 2 October 2021 (35)

In December 2021, following Solskjær's departure as Manchester United manager, his interim replacement

Ralf Rangnick Ralf Rangnick (; born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football coach, executive and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team. Rangnick began his coaching career in 1983, succeeding his career as a player, a ...

confirmed that Phelan would remain as one of the club's first-team coaches, though he was not involved in training sessions.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Burnley *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...

: 1981–82 Norwich City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1985–86 Manchester United *

1992–93 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 ...

: 1989–90 *

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 ...

: 1991–92 *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

(shared) *

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

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 ...

Manager

Individual *

August 2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh c ...

References

External links

Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelan, Mike 1962 births Living people People from Nelson, Lancashire English footballers England international footballers Association football midfielders Burnley F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players English football managers Norwich City F.C. managers Hull City A.F.C. managers Premier League managers Blackpool F.C. non-playing staff Stockport County F.C. non-playing staff Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Norwich City F.C. non-playing staff Hull City A.F.C. non-playing staff