40 Howard Wilkinson

Howard Wilkinson began his coaching career at Notts Co., before dropping down a division to become manager of his boyhood team, Sheffield Wednesday. His first season at Sheffield Wednesday brought them promotion to the top flight and he guided them to finishes as high as 5th during his period as manager. He joined Leeds United in 1988, becoming known as a no-nonsense disciplinarian and earning him the nickname 'Sgt. Willko.' The players he signed were an effective blend of the skillful and the physical in order to compete in the second tier. His signings of Gordon Strachan and Vinny Jones aptly demonstrating the blend of silk and steel he was aiming for. He brought Leeds back to the top flight in 1990 and immediately offloaded Vinny Jones, replacing him with playermaker Gary McAllister. Having made a number of bargain purchases, Wilkinson blended these signings with very high quality players brought through the Leeds ranks, such as Speed and Batty, and coached them to the league title in 1992, with the help of a good goals haul from Lee Chapman and occasional moments of inspiration from Eric Cantona. He was widely praised for managing to usurp teams such as Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal in such a short time. His decision to sell Eric Cantona to Man utd for £1.2 million and bring in Brian Deane for over £2 million will go down in history as one of the poorest transfer decision of all time. While Cantona inspired Man Utd to a new successful dawn in their history with his verve and style on the pitch and lots of goals, Deane struggled to succeed in Leeds' side and they sunk towards mid-table blandness in the following seasons. Wilkinson's excellent approach to youth development, however, presented future managers with a goldmine of excellent, young footballers. Wilksinon's talent as a coach and advocate of youth development led to his appointment as FA technical director (they had considered Dario Grady for the post too) after being sacked at Leeds Utd; a stint as England's caretaker manager followed. However, in the remainder of his career, he has failed to replicate the success of his earlier years at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United.

British league champions: 1
Foreign league champions: 0
European cup: 0