TEN managers who used to play for their clubs

Following Rob Edwards' appointment as Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach, as he returns to the club he once played for, football writer Oliver Young-Myles looks back on 10 other occasions a manager has followed a similar path.

The cliched saying that one should never go back - to a special place, a former job, an ex-partner - tends to be ignored in the romance-fuelled world of the Premier League.

The allure of adding to their own personal legend has been too great for club icons, record breakers and cult heroes alike to ignore.

Sometimes, managers match or even surpass their achievements as a player. Pep Guardiola won it all at Barcelona, on the pitch and from the sidelines. Sometimes, though, intoxicating reunions fall flat.

With Rob Edwards rejoining Wolves, we take a nostalgic trip down memory lane to revisit some of the most memorable homecomings in Premier League history.

Mikel Arteta - Arsenal

Mikel Arteta was offered the coaching opportunity of a lifetime to join Guardiola at Manchester City, mere weeks after hanging up his boots.

Arteta spent three-and-a-half trophy-packed years in Manchester before being enticed back to the red half of north London where he played for five years.

Arteta's record as a player and manager for Arsenal

The 43-year-old lifted the FA Cup within eight months and has since re-established Arsenal as title challengers.

A silky playmaker in his heyday, Arteta's team is defensively resolute, ruthless in transition and potent from set-pieces. It's a heady mix that could yet lead to a first Premier League crown since 2004 this season.

Frank Lampard - Chelsea

Frank Lampard scored the goals that clinched a first league title in 50 years, wore the armband on "that" night in Munich and netted more times than any Blues player in history. He is as synonymous with Chelsea's success this century as anyone.

Lampard has been tempted back to Stamford Bridge twice in testing circumstances: in 2019 at the start of a season-long transfer ban for Chelsea and again in 2023, when a new-look squad was mired in mid table.

Lampard's record as a player and manager for Chelsea

Chelsea tend to trust their own more than most. Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Di Matteo have all played and managed them in the Premier League era.

Sir Kenny Dalglish - Liverpool

After winning numerous trophies as a Liverpool player and player-manager in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Sir Kenny Dalglish added another medal to his collection in the 2010s.

Dalglish had been out of management for 11 years but made a long-awaited return to the dugout after Roy Hodgson’s dismissal in 2010/11.

The Reds had a new-look frontline within weeks of Dalglish’s arrival, as Luis Suarez and then club-record signing Andy Carroll replaced Chelsea-bound Fernando Torres.

Dalglish led Liverpool to a League Cup triumph in 2012, but left a few months later after a disappointing Premier League season.

Dalglish's record as a player and manager for Liverpool

Glenn Hoddle – Spurs

One of the most elegant players to pull on a Tottenham Hotspur shirt, Hoddle won three major honours and made 490 appearances across 14 years in north London before moving to Monaco to be coached by Arsene Wenger.

Hoddle followed in Wenger’s footsteps by managing in the Premier League, with Swindon Town, Chelsea and Southampton, where his exploits caught the eye of Spurs’ then new owners ENIC.

The appointment was not without controversy - Southampton accused Spurs of making an illegal approach for Hoddle - but the prodigal son returned to N17 regardless.

He led Spurs to a League Cup final, but their league form was inconsistent and he was dismissed in September 2003.

Hoddle's record as a player and manager for Spurs

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - Man Utd

When Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United spell ended at Anfield, nobody could have foreseen who would follow him.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won six Premier League titles as a player, but had struggled in the division as a manager. The Norwegian managed three wins in 18 games with Cardiff City as they slipped into the Championship.

A restorative spell at Norwegian side Molde - where he coached a fresh-faced Erling Haaland – paved the way for an emotional Old Trafford reunion. Solskjaer’s impact was immediate as United won eight on the spin; form that a certain bushy-haired fan would relish right now.

Solskjaer steered United to second and third in his two full seasons, but missed out on silverware in the 2021 Europa League final.

Solskjaer's record as a player and manager for Man Utd

Scott Parker - Fulham

Scott Parker ended a distinguished playing career in Fulham’s colours and after cutting his coaching teeth in Spurs' academy, he began his managerial career at Craven Cottage.

Parker took temporary charge after a short-lived Claudio Ranieri stint and while the Cottagers ultimately succumbed to relegation, he led them to promotion from the Championship at the first attempt - a feat he would later repeat with AFC Bournemouth and Burnley.

A talented squad containing Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ademola Lookman and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, among others, struggled in the Premier League, though, and a second demotion in three years spelled the end for Parker.

Parker's record as a player and manager for Fulham

Alan Shearer – Newcastle

Seven months after Kevin Keegan’s departure, Newcastle United turned to another legendary former striker to save them from the drop.

Alan Shearer’s assignment couldn’t have been tougher, not least for a rookie boss. He inherited a side already 18th in the table with only eight games remaining.

Unfortunately for Shearer, a new manager bounce didn’t materialise, with Newcastle failing to win any of his first five matches.

Shearer's record as a player and manager for Newcastle

A 3-1 win victory over similarly-doomed Middlesbrough provided fleeting hope, but the Magpies were condemned to the drop on the final day at Aston Villa.

Gareth Southgate – Middlesbrough

Gareth Southgate may be renowned for leading England to consecutive UEFA European Championship finals now, but Middlesbrough was his coaching entry point.

His appointment wasn’t a return, as such. Southgate hung up his boots at the end of the 2005/06 season after defeat to Sevilla in the UEFA Cup final. Weeks later, he succeeded Steve McClaren in the dugout after the latter's appointment by England.

Southgate demonstrated a knack for developing young talent on Teeside, but after two mid-table placings, Boro sunk into the second tier in 2008/09. He hasn’t managed a club side since.

Southgate's record as a player and manager for Middlesbrough

Slaven Bilic - West Ham

As an earring-sporting, guitar-wielding, shaggy-haired defender who could play a bit, Slaven Bilic was always likely to become a cult hero at West Ham United.

Bilic came back in 2015 ahead of West Ham's Upton Park farewell. Their 2015/16 campaign would come to be remembered as the Dimitri Payet season. The Hammers finished seventh in the table, enjoying memorable home wins against Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Man Utd along the way.

Teething problems at the London Stadium and Payet's acrimonious mid-season return to Marseille ensured Bilic's second campaign was less successful and he was replaced by David Moyes early in his third season.

Bilic's record as a player and manager for West Ham

Mark Hughes - Southampton and Blackburn

Mark Hughes’ managerial beginnings were certainly untypical. In 1999, Hughes took over Wales, while continuing to play Premier League football with Blackburn Rovers for another two-and-a-half years.

His eye-catching work with Wales piqued the interest of his former club, who gave Hughes a first shot at club management in 2004. A team of cult heroes - Christopher Samba, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Roque Santa Cruz, to name a few – consistently punched above their weight under Hughes.

He later managed Southampton, steering them to Premier League safety in 2017/18 before being dismissed later that year with Saints languishing in 18th place.

Hughes' record as a player and manager for Blackburn and Southampton