Rotherham United moved into the New York Stadium in the summer of 2012 and have had nine management teams and three caretaker managers since that date.
But what has happened to them all?
The first man in the hot seat was current manager Steve Evans who joined the Millers in April 2012 becoming the first man to be in charge of Rotherham United at their new stadium. The team were in League Two and after some inconsistent results looked like staying there until they got five wins out of five in the last games to send them up to League One as runners-up. The next season saw the Millers get to the League One Play-Off Final which was drawn two-all with Leyton Orient, Rotherham winning on penalties sending them into the Championship finishing one place above relegation. After just two wins in nine league games Evans left the club in September 2015. As we know, Steve is now back as Rotherham boss.
First team coach Eric Black took over for just one game which was a loss. After leaving Rotherham Eric was appointed first team coach with Aston Villa and was given a three month stint as boss at Villa Park before joining Southampton as Assistant Manager in the summer of 2016. Although there was never any evidence against him Black was alleged to have ‘offered advice to a third-party player ownership consortium on how to bribe lower league clubs’ with Southampton clearing his name. December 2017 saw Eric resign the club saying due to a back problem and eighteen months later he said that he no longer wanted to be involved in professional coaching.
Neil Redfearn was given the job in October 2015 on a two-and-a-half year deal. He lasted just four months with Rotherham in twenty-second place. After leaving the New York Stadium Neil was manager of Doncaster Belles, the Liverpool Women, the Newcastle U23 side, Sheffield United Women before taking on caretaker assistant manager at Oldham Athletic helping former Miller Steve Thompson for a few weeks. In November 2023 he became the lead professional development phase coach at Bradford City.
Three days after Redfearn left Tony Stewart sent for the cavalry and Neil Warnock rode in to try and stave off relegation. He had sixteen games to save the Millers and although it didn’t start so well there was a run of eleven unbeaten games which saw Rotherham finish one above the relegated sides to again keep them in the Championship. Warnock commented, more than once, that he wanted one more season in management and with a Championship club with Millers fans presuming he would be there for the following season. He didn’t. Neil went on to manage Cardiff City who he guided to the Premier League, before joining Middlesbrough in June 2020 leaving in November 2021 after breaking the record for the most games managed in English professional football. Two months later he moved to Huddersfield Town, keeping them in the Championship staying until mid-September 2023. Five months later he went to take over the hot seat at Aberdeen for eight games before May 2024 saw him appointed football advisor to National League South Torquay United.
June 2016 saw Alan Stubbs given the Rotherham job but four months later, after a record seventh straight away loss, which saw the Millers lose ten out of fourteen games he was sacked. In the summer of 2018 Stubbs was named St Mirren Manager leaving after just three months at the helm. All I’ve seen of Alan Stubbs recently is of him berating referees on his X account.
After Stubbs left Paul Warne took charge for three days though there were no matches involved.
Kenny Jackett was the next to be paraded round the New York Stadium arriving days after Stubbs departed. The former Watford player had been out of work since July so took over with the Millers on six points from eighteen games and rock bottom of the Championship. Jackett took charge of just five games before resigning thirty-nine days after arriving. The following summer he signed a two year contract with Portsmouth, five months later adding another two years to that. Under him Pompey won the EFL Trophy and he stayed at Fratton Park until he was sacked in March 2021. Two months later he was appointed as Leyton Orient Manager lasting seven months before being appointed Director of Football at Gillingham in January 2023 which he stepped down from earlier this month for medical reasons. We all wish Kenny ‘all the best’.
Paul Warne again took over saying he didn’t really want to be a manager but finally caved being appointed the permanent manager in April 2017, after the Millers were already relegated. Under Warne Rotherham were promoted and relegated three times while also winning the EFL Trophy in 2022. On 17th September 2022 Millers fans were astonished to learn that Warney had left the club, who were eighth in the Championship, and joined League One side Derby County. Although things started well at Pride Park Warne failed to make the play-offs that season but the following year the Rams were promoted as runners-up to the Championship. As I write this article Derby are currently in fifteenth place in the second tier of English football with twenty points and, after former Miller Mark Robins was relieved of his duties with Coventry City, Warne is now the longest serving active manager of the teams of the EFL Championship.
When Warne left the New York Stadium, the interim managers were Richard Wood and Lee Peltier who were jointly in charge for one game which was a loss at home to Wigan. Woody is now plying his trade with Doncaster Rovers, although he was given a testimonial at the New York Stadium against his new side in August this year. Pelts was let go at the end of last season and hadn’t found another club. Earlier this week he announced his retirement from football but, it seems, he has ‘found a new calling’ as an agent.
After four years as manager of Exeter City Matt Taylor arrived to take over the helm at Rotherham on 3rd October 2022. The Millers were sitting in twelfth place with fourteen points when he took over finishing the season with fifty points in nineteenth place. The Millers and Matt parted company on 13 November 2023 with the club in twenty-second place with eleven points. Less than a month after leaving Rotherham Matt was named manager of League One outfit Bristol Rovers who he led to fifteenth place at the end of the season. Rovers are currently fourteenth in the table with twenty-one points. It was announced this week that Matt has taken leave of absence from Bristol Rovers due to an ‘ongoing family emergency’. Our thoughts go out to Matt.
Wayne Carlisle was named interim manager overseeing four games seeing the Millers get two points. He stayed on with Rotherham until mid-December. Two months later he joined Matt Taylor at Bristol Rovers as Individual Player Development Coach before being named assistant manager during the summer.
11th December 2023 saw Leam Richardson appointed as manager on a three-and-a-half year deal. He took charge of twenty-four games winning just two and was sacked on 17 April 2024 with the Millers already relegated. In May he was involved in the Every Minute Matters campaign.
It’s as though we have come full circle with Steve Evans back in the dugout for Rotherham United. The Millers come into this weekend, which is a blank one for Steve Evans side, in nineteenth place with seventeen points and just four league wins on the board.
Obviously managers will come, managers will go but I do wonder, in my life time, how many, when and from where.
