John Gregory — Public People

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Карьера и клубы

Playing career

Gregory was born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, where his father, Jack Gregory, was playing for Scunthorpe United. Gregory made his professional football debut in 1972, at the age of 18, when playing for Northampton Town. He scored eight goals in 187 games over the next five years, before being transferred to First Division Aston Villa in 1977. Gregory was a considerable success at Aston Villa. Despite playing two divisions higher than he had ever done before, he adapted well to First Division football and scored 10 goals in 65 games over the next two seasons. During his time at Villa, Gregory became the first player to play in every outfield position, wearing every number from 2 to 11 over his two seasons with the club, which remained a record, until Steve Palmer. In 1979, Gregory signed for Brighton & Hove Albion, who had just won promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history. He scored seven goals in 72 games over the next two seasons, before dropping down into the Second Division to sign for Queen's Park Rangers. He was part of the QPR side that reached the FA Cup final in 1982 (losing to Tottenham Hotspur in a replay) and won promotion to the First Division a year later as Second Division champions. He also helped QPR finish fifth and qualify for the UEFA Cup in 1984, but 1984–85 was a tough season for Gregory and his colleagues after manager Terry Venables departed to Barcelona and successor Frank Sibley was unable to keep up QPR's good form. At the…

▸ Источник: Wikipedia

Managerial career

Gregory started his management career in the 1970s as a player/manager of amateur teams in Northamptonshire. His first two professional spells in management (between January 1989 and June 1990), first with Portsmouth and then with Plymouth Argyle did not last long, with the latter being a caretaker appointment for just 2 games. Shortly afterwards, he linked up as a non-contract player with his former England and Northampton Town teammate Phil Neal, who was then manager at Bolton Wanderers. Gregory later worked under Brian Little on the coaching staff at Leicester City (1991–1994) and Aston Villa (1994–96) before moving back into management with Wycombe Wanderers in September 1996. Wycombe were bottom of Division Two when Gregory took over, but he oversaw a massive improvement in league form which saw the club climb up to a secure mid-table finish. However, the side also suffered an embarrassing FA Cup exit to Basingstoke Town. Wycombe were performing well in February 1998 when Gregory quit to take the manager's job back at Aston Villa.

▸ Источник: Wikipedia

Later career

Gregory's next spell in management was with Derby County (January 2002 – March 2003). When he took charge at Derby they were bottom of the Premiership, but after winning both of his first two games at the helm it looked as though he might be able to save them from relegation. Unfortunately, seven defeats from their final eight fixtures saw Derby slip out of the Premiership after six years. The club's financial problems meant that Gregory hadn't purchased any players during the 2002–03 season, and their subsequent form in Division One was disappointing. He was dismissed in March 2003 for alleged misconduct but later won £1 million in compensation for unfair dismissal. Due to the ongoing lawsuit, Gregory was unable to apply for another managerial position for some time, so he spent most of the next three years working as a television pundit. On 20 September 2006, he was unveiled as manager of Queens Park Rangers. He replaced Gary Waddock, who had stepped down following a poor succession of results that had left the club bottom of the Football League Championship. This appointment caused a schism among QPR fans, some of whom saw Gregory's friendship with controversial chairman Gianni Paladini as a conflict of interest. After a decent start with successive victories over Hull City and Southampton, Rangers form dipped before winning three consecutive matches (including a victory at (then) league leaders Cardiff City). However, results did not continue to improve, and relegation…

▸ Источник: Wikipedia