England’s Golden Generation never quite fulfilled its potential on the pitch and a similar scenario is panning out in the dugout.
Eight of the Three Lions’ starters against Switzerland at Euro 2004 have moved into management, almost of all them with forgettable results.
On Tuesday, Wayne Rooney was sacked by Birmingham City after just 82 days at St Andrews and only two wins in 15 games in charge.
Frank Lampard did well at Derby, but was sacked by Chelsea and Everton, while Steven Gerrard‘s SPL triumph at Rangers was overshadowed by a disappointing 11 months in charge of Aston Villa.
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at where things have gone wrong when members of the Golden Generation moved into management.
Eight members of the England team from Euro 2004 have gone into football management
1 DAVID JAMES – Win percentage: 29.3
Coaching jobs: IBV player-coach (2013), Kerala Blasters (2014, 2018)
After learning under Hermann Hreidarsson in Iceland, he lost the Indian Super League final to end his first spell as Kerala player-boss in 2014. An 11-game winless run curtailed the second.
2 GARY NEVILLE – Win percentage: 35.7
Coaching jobs: England assistant (2012-16), Valencia (2015-16)
Won only three of his 16 league games in charge of Valencia, which included a 7-0 thrashing by Barcelona. Back on Sky Sports within three months.
Gary Neville won only three of his 16 league games in charge of Valencia
3 ASHLEY COLE – Win percentage: N/A
Coaching jobs: England U21 assistant (2021-22), Everton first-team coach (2022-23), Birmingham first-team coach (2023-24)
Worked under former team-mates Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney. Now on the hunt for another job.
4 STEVEN GERRARD- Win percentage: 57.1
Coaching jobs: Rangers (2018-21), Aston Villa (2021-22), Al Ettifaq (2023-)
Ended Celtic’s run of nine straight league titles with Rangers but struggled after No 2 Michael Beale left and is now two months without a win in Saudi.
Steven Gerrard ended Celtic’s run of nine consecutive titles by leading Rangers to the SPL title back in 2021, but has since been sacked by Aston Villa
5 JOHN TERRY – Win percentage: N/A
Coaching jobs: Aston Villa assistant (2018-21), Leicester assistant (2023)
Dean Smith’s No 2 in two roles is back at Chelsea as an academy coach.
6 SOL CAMPBELL – Win percentage: 22.6
Coaching jobs: Macclesfield (2018-19), Southend (2019-20).
Kept Macclesfield up on the final day in 2019 but left soon after and backed the HMRC winding-up order against the club, claiming he was owed £180,000.
7 DAVID BECKHAM – Win percentage: N/A
Coaching jobs: None
Sticks to philanthropy, ambassadorial roles, endorsements and acting — making cameos in two Guy Ritchie films.
8 PAUL SCHOLES – Win percentage: 30.8
Coaching jobs: Salford (2015, 2020), Oldham (2019)
Two caretaker roles at Salford and a seven-game spell at Oldham, where he won once and resigned over owner interference. Now a TNT Sports pundit.
9 WAYNE ROONEY – Win percentage: 26.1
Coaching jobs: Derby (2020-22), DC United (2022-23), Birmingham (2023-24)
Kept Derby up amid a financial crisis but finished last in MLS Eastern Conference in Washington and won only two of 15 games with Birmingham.
Wayne Rooney was sacked by Birmingham after winning just two of his 15 games in charge
10 MICHAEL OWEN – Win Percentage: N/A
Coaching jobs: None
Straight into punditry with BT Sport, where he has remained. Also owns racehorses but says he wants to get involved with sixth-tier side Chester.
11 FRANK LAMPARD – Win percentage: 41.3
Frank Lampard won just 13 of 55 games in charge of Everton and in his second spell at Chelsea
Coaching jobs: Derby (2018-19), Chelsea (2019-21, 2023), Everton (2022-23)
Impressive in leading Derby to play-off final and Chelsea under a transfer embargo. Won just 13 of 55 games after that with Everton and Chelsea again.
