Neil Critchley (born 18 October 1978) is an English former footballer who played in the

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 ...

for Crewe Alexandra. He was most recently the head coach of

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

side Queens Park Rangers. He has previously managed Liverpool under-18s (standing in for Jürgen Klopp for two of Liverpool's cup fixtures in the 2019–2020 season), and guided

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

to promotion, via the playoffs, from League One to the Championship in 2020–21, his first full season in charge of the club. He is one of sixteen coaches worldwide to have obtained UEFA's elite badge.

Playing career

Crewe Alexandra

Critchley, aged 10, joined Crewe in 1989. The club was then managed by Dario Gradi who had recently started a player development scheme that became the

Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy The Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy is the player development centre of English Football League club Crewe Alexandra F.C. Set up by manager Dario Gradi in the late 1980s, it achieved official status as an FA Youth Academy in the late 1990s. By concen ...

. Gradi noticed Critchley's ability, even at the age of 17, to coach younger players and encouraged him to become more fully involved. Critchley's only playing appearance for Crewe came in a 3–0 defeat away at

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 Wandsworth ...

during the 1999–2000 season.

Leigh RMI

He signed for Leigh RMI in 2000, and made three league appearances as substitute for the club.

Coaching and managerial career

Critchley retired as a player aged 24 and became a coach at Crewe, working under Gradi and Steve Holland, and being appointed joint Academy director in 2007, before joining Liverpool as under-18s coach in 2013.

Liverpool

Due to

fixture congestion Association football (more commonly known as football) was first codified in 1863 in England, although games that involved the kicking of a ball were evident considerably earlier.

of Liverpool's first team during the 2019–20 season, Critchley served as their stand-in manager for their

EFL 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 the ...

away match against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on 17 December 2019. The congestion was caused by Liverpool's participation in the

2019 FIFA Club World Cup The 2019 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament betw ...

in Qatar, which overlapped with the EFL Cup quarter-finals. Liverpool, fielding a team made up exclusively of under-23s, were beaten 5–0. Critchley again served as Liverpool's stand-in manager for the FA Cup fourth round replay against Shrewsbury Town on 4 February 2020, as the first team were on a mid-season break. The youthful Liverpool team won 1–0 via an own goal.

Blackpool

On 2 March 2020, Critchley was appointed as head coach of

on a three-and-a-half-year contract. After a curtailed regular season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

, Blackpool finished in 13th position after standings were amended to reflect a points-per-game ratio. In Critchley's first full season in charge, 2020–21, Blackpool finished third at the conclusion of the regular season, going on to win promotion via the EFL League One play-offs. On 19 November 2021, Critchley signed a four-year extension to his contract, keeping him at Bloomfield Road until 2026. The following week, Critchley was named Manager of the Season at the annual North West Football Awards, beating

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 tw ...

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of club Manchester City. He is considered one of the greatest managers of all time and holds the re ...

, Blackpool's former captain and now

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 Pike's ...

manager Ian Evatt, and former

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

manager Derek Adams.

Aston Villa (assistant)

On 2 June 2022, Critchley departed Blackpool after accepting the role of assistant head coach to

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...

. He had told Blackpool's owner

Simon Sadler Simon Sadler (b. 1968, UK) is a professor in thDepartment of Designand in the Art History Program at the University of California, Davis. His publications focus on histories, theories and ideologies of architecture, design and urbanism since the m ...

that he was keen to work again with Gerrard and "pit himself against some of the best coaches in the world". On 21 October 2022, Critchley departed Aston Villa, following the sacking of Gerrard the day prior.

Queens Park Rangers

On 11 December 2022, Critchley was appointed head coach of Championship club Queens Park Rangers on a three-and-a-half year deal. His first match in charge was a single-goal victory over

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. On 19 February 2023, Critchley was relieved of his duties as head coach of Queen's Park Rangers, with the victory over Preston North End being the team's sole victory during his time in charge.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Blackpool * EFL League One play-offs:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Personal life

Critchley is married to Janine."Neil Critchley: The Blackpool manager giving fans their club back"
– '' The Daily Telegraph'', 16 April 2021

References

External links

* (playing stats)
Neil Critchley
at Soccerbase (managerial stats) {{DEFAULTSORT:Critchley, Neil 1978 births Living people English footballers Association football midfielders Crewe Alexandra F.C. players English Football League players Leigh Genesis F.C. players National League (English football) players Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff Liverpool F.C. managers Blackpool F.C. managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff English football managers Crewe Alexandra F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches