England’s 2004-2006 golden generation had some of the most promising players in recent history, yet on the pitch they were largely unsuccessful for their country. They failed to live up to the hype as a team, but as individuals, some are chancing their arm in the world of coaching and management.
And with Wayne Rooney making his return to English football as manager of Birmingham City, we look at some of the former golden generation players who are currently plying their trade as managers and coaches and how theic careers have gone so far…
Michael Carrick
Embed from Getty ImagesMichael Carrick had a glittering career predominately under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. The deep-lying midfielder was incredibly successful at club level and gained 34 caps for England as part of squads with plenty of midfield competition. Carrick spent some time as part of Manchester United’s backroom staff under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and after the Norwegian was sacked Carrick was briefly placed as caretaker manager. He managed three games, winning two and drawing one.
Less than a year later he was given his big break. Championship club Middlesbrough had started the season in underwhelming fashion. Former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was relieved of his duties and Michael Carrick was appointed as their new manager. At this point, Middlesbrough were 21st in the Championship, one point above the relegation zone.
Carrick transformed their season and got the winning feeling back at the Riverside. Strikers Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer pitched in with plenty of goals, and Middlesbrough propelled themselves into fourth position, earning themselves a play-off place. Boro’s opponents were Coventry, and Carrick’s side narrowly lost 1-0 on aggregate over two legs.
A huge blow for Middlesbrough, who were the favourites to win the play-offs. Things haven’t started well for Carrick this season, but Middlesbrough are slowly making progress and sit 15th in the Championship. Carrick has managed 50 games across Middlesbrough and Manchester United with a win percentage of 54%. A promising start to his young managerial career.
Wayne Rooney
Embed from Getty ImagesWayne Rooney has been appointed as the new manager of Birmingham City after John Eustace was sacked with 11 games of the season played, despite Blues sitting in the play-offs. A harsh as the decision may be, the new Birmingham owners were keen to have a bigger name at the helm. Rooney left MLS club DC United last week after 15 months in charge and was sounded out immediately by Birmingham.
Rooney started off in management as a player-coach for Derby County in 2020-2021, but was appointed as first team manager after stepping away from on the pitch duties. He accumulated 31 points from his first 18 games in charge and dragged Derby to 18th in the table, eight points above the relegation zone. One win in 14 followed and Derby found themselves deep in a relegation battle. The final game of the season was a relegation decider between Derby and Sheffield Wednesday. A 3-3 draw was enough to keep Derby up by a single point.
The next season they were relegated after entering administration. Rooney resigned in July 2022 before taking the DC United job in the USA. Rooney still has a high stock in management, and being back in England will put the spotlight back on him. It is an exciting project at Birmingham and the groundwork has already been laid.
Frank Lampard
Embed from Getty ImagesFrank Lampard has had a dramatic start to his managerial career. In 2018 he was appointed manager of Derby County, and made use of his contacts at Chelsea to sign Mason Mount on loan and Ashley Cole on a short-term deal. It was an excellent season for Lampard and Derby. The Rams reached the play-off final after a magnificent semi-final second leg win against Leeds BUT Aston Villa got the better of them at Wembley and clinched promotion to the Premier League.
Lampard’s success with Derby caught the eye of Chelsea and the Blues appointed their legendary midfielder as the new manager on a three-year contract. His first game in charge was a 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford against Manchester United, a less than ideal start.
Overall, Lampard’s first season at Chelsea was successful, guiding the Blues to a fourth place finish in the league, qualifying for Champions League. Chelsea got all the way to the FA Cup final where they lost to Arsenal, but for a first season managing in the top flight and under immense pressure, Lampard surpassed expectations.
The following season started positively, Chelsea won their Champions League group and were top of the Premier League in December. A run of two wins in eight spiralled Chelsea down to ninth in the league. Lampard was dismissed in January 2021 and replaced by Thomas Tuchel. Chelsea went on to win the Champions League and finish fourth in the league.
Lampard’s next job was at Everton and was appointed in January 2022, just over a year after his departure from Chelsea. Everton were embroiled in a relegation dogfight, sitting 16th went Lampard took charge. It was incredibly tense, but Lampard guided Everton to survival after a dramatic turnaround win at home to Crystal Palace. Things did not get any easier the following season, Lampard was sacked after picking up one win in 11 games of the 2022/23 season. He lasted less than a year at Goodison Park
Lampard returned to a Chelsea team in crisis as caretaker boss last season after Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter failed in a miserable campaign. He recorded the same number of wins in the same number of games as he did in the previous job at Everton, one win in 11.
Lampard has had a chaotic start to management, thrown into the deep end but has had plenty of experience. His next project will be an interesting one, but where will it be?
Steven Gerrard
Embed from Getty ImagesSteven Gerrard, much like Lampard has had a topsy-turvy start to managerial life. He spent some time coaching Liverpool’s under 18s and under 19s, but got his first big gig in management with Rangers in Scotland. He joined ahead of the 2018-19 season where Rangers finished second, this is where they would finish the following season, both times losing out to rivals Celtic.
At the third time of asking, Gerrard led Rangers to the SPL title, winning the league by 20 points and remaining unbeaten. A huge achievement for Gerrard and his first trophy in management. In November 2021, Aston Villa acquired the services of Gerrard and paid Rangers £4M to release him from his contract, after Dean Smith was sacked.
Gerrard led Villa to finish in an underwhelming 14th position. He did not last too long after that, and was sacked in October 2022 after a dismal 3-0 defeat against Fulham. He lasted less than a year at Villa Park.
Gerrard is now manager of Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League, currently sitting seventh in the league, where he has signed former Liverpool midfielders Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson.
Still in a coaching role
John Terry worked under Dean Smith at both Aston Villa and Leicester and is now back at Chelsea coaching the academies. Ashley Cole has joined Wayne Rooney as part of his backroom staff at Birmingham. Previously, Cole was England under-21 assistant coach and joined Frank Lampard at Everton as a first-team coach.
Emile Heskey has had some experience coaching the Leicester City women’s football team and took up the role as a supporting coach for Englands under 18s. Jermaine Defoe returned to Tottenham to be an academy coach and was appointed as the coach of Spurs’ under-18s.
