Revealed: How England’s Golden Generation managers including Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard compare after Wayne Rooney was sacked by Plymouth following dire eight-month spell
England’s ‘Golden Generation’ struggled to withstand the pressure of such a lofty name and fell short in a series of major tournaments, despite boasting some of the world’s most coveted players.
And it appears their managerial skills are not worth the considerable hype either, with the sacking of Wayne Rooney from Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday further tarnishing the group’s reputation.
The former Manchester United star was appointed in May – his third spell in the English second tier after failures at Derby County and Birmingham City – and oversaw just 25 games in all competitions, recording just five wins. Plymouth have lost five of their last six games, including twice 4-0 over the Christmas period.
And off the pitch there were concerns about his lifestyle – including from his wife Coleen, who was said to be concerned about the way he spent many evenings alone eating fast food, drinking and playing video games.
He reportedly struggled to adjust to life without his wife and sons. He had been I saw him regularly drinking in Plymouth’s pubs and bars, making new friends at quiz nights and also belting out hits at karaoke events.
It is the latest dismal failure for a Golden Generation that is losing its luster even faster than during its players’ days on the pitch and now shocking statistics have revealed just how poor the former Three Lions stars have been in the dugout.
Wayne Rooney has been sacked as boss of Championship bottom Plymouth
He is the last of the ‘Golden Generation’ to suffer a blow to their management ambitions
Rooney, 39, yesterday responded to speculation suggesting he took a mystery woman to his luxury flat, saying a couple had given him a lift home and his son was there
Rooney is United’s record goalscorer with 253 goals in all competitions and held the same honor for his country until Harry Kane usurped his total of 53 strikes.
His managerial career was less successful, although a spell at Derby started promisingly as he lifted the Rams out of the Championship relegation zone in 2021.
The following season they were awarded 21 points as they entered administration and Rooney left the club with a record of 1.14 points per game and the side had been relegated to the third tier.
The former striker then had an unsuccessful spell with American side DC United, where he won just 1.04 points per game in 53 games.
The 39-year-old had a disastrous 15-game spell as manager of Birmingham last season, eventually being sacked on January 2.
His resignation on New Year’s Eve means he has took charge of 178 games in his managerial career and oversaw just 45 wins, while being defeated 87 times and drawing 46 times. He has a winning percentage of 25.3 percent.
You might be surprised to hear that Rooney isn’t even the worst manager of England’s Golden Generation; that dubious honor goes to Sol Campbell.
The former Three Lions star crossed the North London border from Tottenham to Arsenal and won two league titles and three FA Cup trophies at Highbury and was a crucial part of the 2003-04 Invincibles squad, while winning 73 caps for England.
Sol Campbell has an even worse record than Rooney after a difficult spell at the helm of Southend
It was in contrast to his playing days, which saw him win the Premier League with the Invincibles
Paul Scholes did not play many games and left Oldham after seven games
He won a lot at Manchester United, making 714 appearances and winning the Champions League twice
The 50-year-old has held just two managerial positions, making 30 games in charge at Macclesfield and finishing with a respectable record of 1.23 points per game.
It became a pear-shaped situation for the former centre-back at League One club Southend United, where he was in charge from October 2019 to June 2020. He left the club when the team was relegated to League Two following the suspension of the 2019-2020 season. season thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Overall, Campbell has won just 22.6 percent of his games as manager.
Paul Scholes has a slightly better record than his two former England teammates, albeit on a small sample size of just eleven games.
He won 0.86 points per game in a seven-game spell at Oldham, resigning after just a month after owner Abdallah Lemsagam interfered in first-team affairs.
The former midfielder also managed Salford City as interim manager for four games, finishing with two wins and a draw for the club he bought in 2014, alongside fellow Class of 92 stars Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville.
It means that Scholes currently has a winning percentage of 30.77 percent.
None of that compares to his prolific playing career at United, which ended with 153 goals in 714 appearances, as well as 11 league titles and two Champions League trophies.
Gary Neville had a much-discussed spell at Valencia, where he won just 35.71 percent of games
As a player he was a one-club man who broke into the famous class of 92
Frank Lampard made a surprise return to management as Coventry boss in November
His 648-game career at Chelsea was a lot better than his two spells as manager
His teammate Gary Neville’s record as boss is surprisingly slightly better, despite a much-discussed spell at Valencia from December 2015 to January 2016.
This was the Sky Sports pundit’s only foray into management and saw him win 35.71 percent of games at the helm before being sacked with the side in 14th place and failing to keep a single clean sheet to keep.
Frank Lampard recently returned to management at Coventry City and has made a solid start, with three wins including a 4-0 thrashing of Plymouth that spelled the end for Rooney.
After a spell at Derby, during which he earned 1.63 points per game and promoted a string of young players, he landed his dream job at his old side Chelsea.
However, it all came a little too soon for the former midfielder and he was sacked after 84 games in January 2021, leaving the Blues in ninth place.
After leaving Chelsea, he saved Everton from relegation in the 2021-22 season before bringing the following season to the brink of collapse and being sacked in January.
On his return to Stamford Bridge, he won just once in eleven games and took Chelsea to the bottom half of the Premier League.
The former England star, who scored 211 goals and 146 assists in 648 appearances for the Blues, can now boast a 41.3 percent win record as a manager.
Steven Gerrard has the best managerial win rate of all, despite his problems at Al-Ettifaq
The midfielder captained both Liverpool and England and won the Champions League in 2005
By far the top of the pile is former Three Lions captain Steven Gerrard, who impressed as Rangers coach between 2018 and 2021, earning 2.15 points per game.
This earned him a move to Aston Villa, but within a year in the West Midlands he took the side from eleventh to fourteenth place and was sacked after only starting two of the first twelve games of the 2022/2023 season had won.
He has won 1.35 points per game for Saudi side Al-Ettifaq since joining the club in July 2023, but was recently booed by fans who called for him to leave the club after poor form.
However, thanks to his solid spell in Scotland, Gerrard can be seen as the cream of the Golden Generation, having won 54.9 percent of his games as boss.