Christopher George Robin Powell (born 8 September 1969) is an English football coach and former player, who is currently head of coaching at

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 Foo ...

club Tottenham Hotspur's Academy and a coach for the England national team. As a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, Powell played for Southend United,

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

, Charlton Athletic,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

and

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 Nation ...

. He also made five appearances for the England national team. With Charlton he had three spells as a player over eight seasons and in the 1999–2000 season was part of the squad that won the First Division to be promoted to the Premier League. After finishing his playing career at Leicester in 2010, Powell became first team coach. He then returned to Charlton Athletic as manager. In the 2011–12 season, Charlton were promoted to the Championship as League One champions in Powell's first full season as a manager. He has also managed

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. ...

from 2014 to 2015. He was assistant manager at Derby County from 2016 to 2017, including a spell as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

. He then managed Southend United from January 2018 to March 2019. Powell served as chairman of the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

from November 2005 until he retired. In October 2009 Powell was named as one of 50 ambassadors for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

Club career

Early career

After leaving Raynes Park High School, Powell spent the 1985–86 season playing for the Epsom & Ewell youth team alongside a young Matt Elliott. He began his professional career in December 1987 as a trainee at Crystal Palace with

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arse ...

but failed to become a regular with the first team. He spent time on loan at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alde ...

, where he made 11 appearances.

Southend United

In August 1990, Powell moved on a free transfer to

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

club Southend United. In six years at the club Powell made 288 first-team appearances. In November 2004 a BBC poll of Southend United supporters voted Powell their all-time cult hero. One fan described him as "A very skilled, left-footed defender, who could quite possibly be considered one of the nicest men in football, a true gent."

Derby County

In January 1996 Powell moved to

for a fee of £750,000. He made 99 first-team appearances before being transferred to Charlton Athletic in June 1998 for a fee of £825,000. Powell was a favourite of the Derby fans, and won the Supporters' Player of the Year award for the 1996–97 season. He scored twice during his spell at Derby, with both goals coming in the 1997–98 season: against Everton in the league and

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, 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, S ...

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 competit ...

Charlton Athletic

While at Charlton, he made 200 first-team appearances, and evidently caught the eye of

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning ...

, who picked him for the England team in 2001, at the unusually late age of 31. He was the oldest England debutant since

Syd Owen Sydney William Owen (29 September 1922 – 27 August 1998) was an English football player and coach. He spent nearly all his playing career as a centre half for Luton Town. Born in Birmingham to Florence Laura (née Whiley) and Henry Sydney O ...

in 1954. At Charlton he delighted the crowds after each home victory with his exuberant leaps of celebration. Powell scored twice during his first spell with the ''Addicks'', with both goals coming against Tottenham Hotspur; once in the league and once in the FA Cup. Shortly after the start of the 2004–05 season, Powell was allowed to move to

, where he played a major part in their successful promotion campaign. However, during the summer of 2005 he and West Ham were unable to agree terms for a further contract and he returned to Charlton on a one-year contract, with a suggestion that he would develop his coaching skills. Typically consistent performance belying his years throughout 2005–06 saw Powell regain his place as Charlton's first choice left back, rotated with loanee

Jonathan Spector Jonathan Michael Paul Spector (born March 1, 1986) is an American former soccer player who played as a defender. In his 16-year career playing first-team soccer he played over 400 games for club and country, and helped the United States win the ...

, due to Hermann Hreiðarsson's move to the centre of defence. On 1 July 2006 he signed a one-year contract with Premiership newcomers

Aidy Boothroyd Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who is currently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur. At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was r ...

looked to add some experience to his youthful squad. He was released by the club after one year. In July 2007, Powell returned to Charlton for a third spell, primarily as a coach. He made his last appearance for Charlton on 4 May 2008, coming on as substitute for the last five minutes in the final game of the season, against

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

, and scoring only his third goal for the club to seal a 4–1 victory.

Leicester City

Powell joined League Two side AFC Bournemouth on a trial basis in July 2008. whilst the club looked to see if he could bring much needed experience to their defence. He joined Leicester City on a six-month contract on 23 August 2008. He made his debut against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

in Leicester's League Cup second round 3–2 defeat, playing the full 90 minutes. On 6 December 2008 Powell started his 750th career appearance against former club Southend; Leicester won the game 3–0. He signed a contract extension that would see him stay at the club until the end of the 2008–09 season on 5 January 2009. In July 2009, Powell signed a contract to be a player-coach at Leicester City, becoming first team development coach, and also re-registering himself as a player. With teammates Bruno Berner out with a calf injury and

Ryan McGivern Ryan McGivern (born 8 January 1990) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for NIFL Championship club Newry City. He can play as a left-back or a central defender, and has represented Northern Ireland in international football. He began his ...

struggling with form, Powell played his first league match on 26 January 2010, in a 1–0 defeat to Barnsley. He retired from playing at the end of the 2009–10 season; his final appearance came on 27 March 2010 against his former club Derby County.

International career

Powell was a surprising call-up 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 2001 under

, earning his first cap against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Powell earned five caps in total.

Coaching career

Having served as a player coach under Nigel Pearson, Powell was retained by incoming Leicester manager Paulo Sousa in the summer of 2010. In October, Powell was named caretaker manager with

Mike Stowell Michael Stowell (born 19 April 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is now first team coach and goalkeeping coach at Leicester City. As a player, he spent twenty years as a professional, eleven o ...

of the Foxes after Sousa was sacked. Their first, and only, game in charge came against

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

; Leicester won the game 3–1. He remained a coach at the club after Sousa's replacement,

, was appointed. Eriksson—who selected Powell for his England caps—commented in December 2010 that Powell "will be a very good manager in the future". In September 2019, Powell was appointed as a coach for the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliat ...

ADO Den Haag

In December 2019, Powell was appointed as assistant coach to Alan Pardew at

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

in the Netherlands. Both Pardew and Powell left ADO Den Haag on 28 April 2020 following the premature ending of the

2019–20 Eredivisie The 2019–20 Eredivisie was the 64th season of the Dutch football league Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. The season began on 2 August 2019 and was suspended on 12 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. The season ...

due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Tottenham Hotspur

In August 2020, Powell was appointed as head of coaching for the Tottenham Hotspur Academy while continuing his job as a coach with

. On 20 April 2021, Powell was named as an interim assistant head coach at Tottenham alongside Nigel Gibbs, working with interim head coach Ryan Mason.

Managerial career

Charlton Athletic

On 14 January 2011, Powell was appointed manager of Charlton Athletic, who were by now languishing in League One. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract following the sacking of Phil Parkinson. His first signing of his managerial career was Bradley Wright-Phillips, who went on to score on his debut on 1 February 2011, against

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 ...

. Powell won his opening four games at Charlton, but then went 11 games without a win, falling out of the play-off places and leaving the Addicks in 13th place at the end of the season. Powell signed 19 new players in summer 2011, including midfielders Danny Green, Danny Hollands, Dale Stephens, defenders Matt Taylor,

Rhoys Wiggins Rhoys Barrie Wiggins (born 4 November 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a left back. Wiggins began his career at Crystal Palace, from where he had his first spell on loan to AFC Bournemouth. After just one first-team appea ...

and goalkeeper Ben Hamer.

Bradley Pritchard Bradley Pritchard (born 19 December 1985) is a Zimbabwean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lewes. He previously played for Carshalton Athletic, Nuneaton Borough, Tamworth, Hayes & Yeading United, Charlton Athletic and Cray ...

was signed from non-league Hayes & Yeading United Football Club and has excelled in midfield, with

Yann Kermorgant Yann Alain Kermorgant (born 8 November 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Early career Born in Vannes, Brittany, Kermorgant began his career with the Stade Rennais Youth Academy, but aged 14 he ...

forming a formidable strike partnership alongside Wright-Phillips. Captain Johnnie Jackson has been a talisman all season despite numerous injuries, and

Chris Solly Christopher James Solly (born 20 January 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right back for Ebbsfleet United. Career Charlton Athletic Solly was born in Rochester, Kent. On 3 May 2009, he made his debut for Charlton ...

, a product of the youth academy has made the right back berth his own. Clever loan signings were made throughout the season including

Hogan Ephraim Hogan Phillip Ephraim (born 31 March 1988) is an English footballer who last played for National League South Whitehawk. He is a graduate of the West Ham United Academy, a former England Under-19 international, and made over 100 appearances for ...

, Darel Russell,

Dany N'Guessan Djombo Dany-Gael N'Guessan (born 11 August 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left winger or forward A graduate of the Auxerre Academy, he left France for Scotland when he signed with Rangers in July 2005. He nev ...

and the return of Lee Cook. Charlton finished strongly into the second half of the 2011–12 season and sealed promotion back to 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 ...

as champions of League One. Charlton finished the 2012–13 season in 9th place, ending with a 4–1 victory over already relegated Bristol City and three points off a play-off position. On 11 March 2014, Powell was sacked as manager of Charlton Athletic by owner Roland Duchâtelet; this decision came after a poor run of form with the Addicks sitting at the bottom of the Championship table, although media reports have suggested that it was a reluctance to play players Roland Duchâtelet had brought to the club and differences in transfer policy.

Huddersfield Town

On 3 September 2014, Powell was named the new manager of

on a rolling contract, following the resignation of Mark Robins after the first game of the season. Ten days later, in his first game in charge at the John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield lost 1–2 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 a ...

Jon Stead Jonathan Graeme Stead (born 7 April 1983) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He currently is an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in USL Championship, the American second division. Stead played for ...

had equalised for Huddersfield with 4 minutes to play but Grant Leadbitter scored the winner with an added-time penalty. In November, Powell took in on loan Diego Poyet, a player whom he had given a professional debut at Charlton. He signed Grant Holt on an emergency loan from Wigan. On 28 December 2014, Holt returned to his parent club after a successful operation on his knee, though it kept him out for nine months. Chris Powell was sacked by Huddersfield Town on 4 November 2015

Derby County

On 27 May 2016, Powell was named the new assistant manager of

alongside new manager Nigel Pearson, who had also managed him at Leicester City. On 27 September, Powell was appointed caretaker manager after Pearson was suspended by Derby chairman Mel Morris. On 12 October 2016, Powell reverted to his previous role of assistant manager upon the reappointment of Steve McClaren as manager. Powell left Derby in March 2017 following the sacking of McClaren.

Southend United

Powell returned to management on 23 January 2018, taking over at Southend United, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract. He is the only permanent Southend United manager to have won his first three matches. After 11 games without a win and with the club in 20th place in the league, on goal difference off the relegation zone, Powell was sacked as manager of Southend United on 26 March 2019.

Personal life

Powell is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. He is an ambassador for numerous charities and organizations.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Charlton Athletic *

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 D ...

: 1999–2000 West Ham United * Football Championship play-off winners: 2004–05 Leicester City *

Football 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 Lea ...

: 2008–09 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...

: 1999–2000 First Division

As a manager

Charlton Athletic *

: 2011–12 *

Manager of the Month: November 2011, January 2012, February 2012 * League Managers Association League One Manager of the Year: 2011–12

References

External links

*
Chris Powell Official Website
at officialplayerwebsites.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Chris 1969 births Living people Footballers from Lambeth English footballers England international footballers Association football defenders Crystal Palace F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players English football managers English Football League managers Leicester City F.C. managers Charlton Athletic F.C. managers Huddersfield Town A.F.C. managers Southend United F.C. managers Derby County F.C. non-playing staff English sports executives and administrators Association football coaches Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff Black British sportsmen