This is a list of former and current managers of Crewe Alexandra Football Club. Since 1892, 29 men have managed Crewe; Ernie Tagg had two spells in charge, and Dario Gradi four (including one spell co-managing with Steve Holland). Gradi holds the record for the most games: 1,359 first team games.[1]
Two Crewe managers have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame: Gradi in 2004[2] and Harry Catterick, posthumously, in 2010.[3]
Managers
- Key
- Names of caretaker managers are supplied where known, and periods of caretaker-management are highlighted in italics and marked †
- P = matches played; W = matches won; D = matches drawn; L = matches lost; Win % = win percentage
- Win percentage is rounded to two decimal places
- Statistics are complete up to and including the match played on 11 April 2026
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win% | Honours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W.C. McNeill[a] | August 1892 | May 1894 | ||||||||
| J.G. Hall[a] | August 1895 | May 1896 | ||||||||
| Robert Roberts[a] | January 1897 | December 1897 | ||||||||
| John B. Blomerley[b] | January 1898 | May 1925 | 4 Cheshire Senior Cups | |||||||
| Tom Bailey[a] | August 1925 | May 1938 | 2 Welsh Cups | |||||||
| George Lillycrop | August 1938 | July 1944 | ||||||||
| Frank Hill | July 1944 | October 1948 | ||||||||
| Arthur Turner | October 1948 | December 1951 | ||||||||
| Harry Catterick | December 1951 | June 1953 | ||||||||
| Ralph Ward | June 1953 | May 1955 | ||||||||
| Maurice Lindley | August 1955 | May 1958 | ||||||||
| Harry Ware | August 1958 | May 1960 | ||||||||
| Jimmy McGuigan | June 1960 | November 1964 | ||||||||
| Ernie Tagg | November 1964 | October 1970 | ||||||||
| Tom McAnearney | October 1970 | July 1971 | ||||||||
| Dennis Viollet | August 1971 | November 1971 | ||||||||
| Jimmy Melia | May 1972 | December 1973 | ||||||||
| Ernie Tagg | January 1974 | December 1974 | ||||||||
| Harry Gregg | January 1975 | May 1978 | ||||||||
| Warwick Rimmer | August 1978 | May 1979 | ||||||||
| Tony Waddington | June 1979 | July 1981 | ||||||||
| Arfon Griffiths | August 1981 | October 1982 | ||||||||
| Peter Morris | November 1982 | June 1983 | ||||||||
| Dario Gradi[4][c] | June 1983 | July 2007 | 2 Cheshire Senior Cups 1 Second Division play-off | |||||||
| Dario Gradi[d] Steve Holland[e] | July 2007 | November 2008 | ||||||||
| Dario Gradi[4] † | November 2008 | December 2008 | ||||||||
| Guðjón Þórðarson | December 2008 | October 2009 | ||||||||
| Dario Gradi[4] | October 2009 | November 2011 | 2 Cheshire Premier Cups | |||||||
| Steve Davis | November 2011 | January 2017 | 1 League Trophy 1 League Two play-off | [5] | ||||||
| David Artell | January 2017 | April 2022 | ||||||||
| Alex Morris | April 2022 | November 2022 | ||||||||
| Lee Bell | November 2022 | Present |
Notes
- ^ secretary-manager
- ^ John Bradburn Blomerley (also among the club's first directors in 1899,[6] and, in 1902, chairman of the Cheshire F.A.)[7] was secretary-manager to 1911; honorary secretary to 1925
- ^ As sole manager. Between 22 September and 17 October 2003, Gradi underwent heart surgery. Assistant manager Neil Baker took charge of the team for this period (P6, W0, D1, L5).
- ^ As technical director
- ^ As first team coach
References
- ^ "Crewe Alexandra managers". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Hall of Fame: Dario Gradi". National Football Museum. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ "Everton FC legend Harry Catterick will gain Hall of Fame recognition at last". Liverpool Echo. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "Dario Gradi". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Steven Davis Managerial Statistics". Soccerbase. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ Memorandum of Association of the Crewe Alexandra Football Club Company Limited, signed 29 May 1899. Companies House. Retrieved: 22 September 2021
- ^ "Football: Chester and District Association Annual Dinner". Cheshire Observer. June 14, 1902. Retrieved 22 September 2021.