Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson OBE (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Born in Sheffield, he had a modest playing career as a winger with Hallam, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Boston United.
He began his managerial career in non-league with Boston United and Mossley before moving to professional clubs: Notts County, Sheffield Wednesday, and Leeds United. His greatest achievement came at Leeds United, where he led the team to the First Division title in 1992, the last English club to win the top flight before the Premier League era. Known as "Sergeant Wilko" for his strict discipline, he rebuilt the squad with key signings such as Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister, Rod Wallace, Tony Dorigo and Eric Cantona, and helped develop homegrown talent like Gary Speed and David Batty. He also oversaw the opening of Leeds' Thorp Arch training complex (The Grange) in 1994.
After Leeds, Wilkinson became the FA's Technical Director (1997–2001). He helped establish England's academy system and the National Football Centre, drawing on a plan modelled after France’s Clairefontaine. He published the Charter for Quality in 1997. He managed England on a caretaker basis in 1999 for a friendly against France and briefly led the England under-21s; he returned as caretaker of the senior team in 2000. He stepped down in 2001 and later managed Sunderland (2002–03), with further short stints at Shanghai Shenhua and Leicester City.
Back in football, Wilkinson held roles with Notts County as technical director and later worked with Sheffield Wednesday as Technical Adviser and interim chairman in 2010. He helped secure investment to prevent the club’s administration and remained in a non-executive role until 2011. He was a founder and long-time chairman of the League Managers Association, serving from its creation in 1992 until his retirement in 2024.
In 2024 Wilkinson was honoured with the OBE for services to association football and charity. His son Ben is also a professional footballer.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:44 (CET).