[News] 10 Youngest Managers In English Football

[SliCeR]

There’s been a shake-up at England’s youngest manager table following the new permanent appointments at Bradford City and Bristol Rovers, with one of the incumbents yet to blow the candles on his 30th birthday cake. Below we cast an eye over the 10 youngest managers currently employed in England’s top-four divisions - that’s the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two - which feature the likes of Joey Barton, Wayne Rooney, and Mikel Arteta... 1. Conor Sellars: Bradford City (29) At the top of the pile we have a brand new face: Conor Sellars. Aged just 29, Sellars is now the youngest permanent manager in English football after League Two side Bradford City made the rare decision to give the job to not one but two managers (more on joint-boss Mark Trueman in a moment). In mid-December the duo were installed as caretaker managers following the exit of Stuart McCall. A couple of weeks later the pair were named interim managers, then in February (2021) they were deservedly handed the reins full-time following a remarkable transformation. The decision - made by CEO Ryan Sparks who is only 29 himself - came after a cracking run of form which saw Selles and Trueman bag seven wins from 11 games, losing only once. This is made even more impressive considering that the club had previously won none and lost seven of Stuart McCall’s final eight matches. Sellars, son of former Blackburn and Newcastle winger Scott, enjoyed a varied playing career in Portugal, Iceland, and at non-league level in England. The Englishman, who secured his UEFA A Licence in 2019 and speaks Portuguese, has been at Bradford since 2014, during which he’s held various roles, including Academy Coach, Head Foundation Phase Coach, U18 Professional Development Phase Coach, and now manager! The aforementioned Mark Trueman is the second youngest boss in the top-four divisions, behind his Bradford associate Conor Sellars. Trueman, who turned 34 earlier this month, has enjoyed a fantastic start to life in the Bantams dugout (see above section). Similarly to Sellars, Trueman spent his playing days in the non-league circuit, and only recently (October) was on the books at Thackley. He took his first steps into coaching with FC Halifax Town, where he won the National League U19 Alliance. Then ventured over to Bradford Academy, where he was the U18 boss. Up until the joint-manager appointments at Bradford City, it was Russell Martin who had the title of ‘youngest manager in England’. The now 35-year-old was a surprise replacement for Paul Tisdale in the MK Dons dugout back in November 2019, when he was still a player. Martin had a tough task on his hands with the newly-promoted club stuck in the League One relegation zone, however despite his inexperience he impressed in his new post and later steered the club to safety while he also managed to finish above rivals Wimbledon. He’s now got his side up in the top-half of the table; the play-offs could even be within reach with 17 games still left to play. A bright future awaits Martin whose superb start to life in management recently saw him linked with Championship side Bristol City, although this following quote was no doubt music to the ears of MK Dons fans: “I'm very happy here, I'm so invested in the people I work with, the culture we've brought here and I want to continue to improve and grow that. And I'm invested in the club. We've got a lot of work to do, and that's all I'm focussing on.”