Christian Hargreaves (born 12 May 1972) is an English football manager, former footballer and pundit.

Chris Hargreaves
Personal information
Full name Christian Hargreaves[1]
Date of birth (1972-05-12) 12 May 1972 (age 52)[1]
Place of birth Cleethorpes, England
Position(s) Striker, midfielder
Youth career
Grimsby Town
Everton
Grimsby Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1993 Grimsby Town 51 (5)
1993Scarborough (loan) 3 (0)
1993–1995 Hull City 49 (0)
1995–1996 West Bromwich Albion 1 (0)
1996Hereford United (loan) 17 (2)
1996–1998 Hereford United 82 (8)
1998–2000 Plymouth Argyle 76 (5)
2000–2004 Northampton Town 151 (6)
2004–2005 Brentford 30 (2)
2005–2007 Oxford United 73 (6)
2007–2010 Torquay United 105 (10)
2010 Oxford United 11 (0)
Total 646 (43)
Managerial career
2014–2015 Torquay United
2022 Yeovil Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a player he was a forward and midfielder who played for Grimsby Town, Scarborough, Hull City, West Bromwich Albion, Hereford United, Plymouth Argyle, Northampton Town, Brentford, Oxford United and Torquay United

He subsequently managed Torquay United from January 2014 until June 2015, and Yeovil Town from May until October 2022.

Playing career

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Hargreaves began as a youth team player at Everton[2] but came back to his home town club Grimsby Town as a trainee with June 1988, turning professional in December 1989.[3] He had a loan spell with Scarborough in March 1993, before leaving Grimsby to join Hull City in July 1993 for a fee of £50,000.[3]

He moved to West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer in July 1995, but made just two first team appearances for the Baggies (both as a substitute). He joined Hereford United on loan in February 1996 until the end of the season when he moved to Hereford on a free transfer. His next move was in July 1998 when he joined Plymouth Argyle on a free transfer. He was a regular in the Argyle side, leaving to join Northampton Town on a free transfer in June 2000.[4] He was Northampton's player of the year in the 2001–02 season, signing a new two-year contract in July 2002.[5]

Hargreaves made over 150 league appearances for Northampton, leaving to join Brentford in June 2004.[6] Hargreaves joined Oxford United on free transfer in July 2005,[7] remaining with Oxford after their relegation to the Conference in 2006. He was released by Oxford in May 2007,[8] signing for newly relegated Torquay United the following month.[9] On 17 May 2009, he scored Torquay's first goal as he captained them in a 2–0 victory over Cambridge United in the Conference National play-off final at Wembley. The victory earned them promotion to the Football League.

In January 2010 Hargreaves completed a return to Oxford United,[10] where he won promotion out of the Conference for the second successive season.

Managerial career

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On 6 January 2014, Hargreaves was appointed as Torquay United manager.[11] Hargreaves was unable to keep Torquay in the Football League despite an upturn in form and performances.[citation needed] He was placed on gardening leave on 14 June 2015 after rejecting a pay cut.[12] In September 2016, Hargreaves was appointed under-21 coach at Bristol Rovers.[13] Hargreaves left his role with Rovers by mutual consent in February 2022 having seen a number of his Development Squad players progress into the first team picture including Alfie Kilgour, Luca Hoole and Jed Ward.[14]

On 18 May 2022, Hargreaves was appointed as manager of National League club Yeovil Town, signing a two-year contract.[15] Following a poor start to the season, Hargreaves was sacked on 27 October 2022 with the club sitting in the relegation zone, one point from safety.[16]

Personal life

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Hargreaves was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire,[1] and went to school at Lindsey School in Cleethorpes. His son Cameron is a professional footballer.[citation needed]

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 25 October 2022
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
P W D L Win %
Torquay United 6 January 2014 14 June 2015 74 27 14 33 036.5 [11][12][17]
Yeovil Town 18 May 2022 27 October 2022 17 2 8 7 011.8 [18]
Total 91 29 22 40 031.9

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Chris Hargreaves". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ^ Hargreaves, Chris (2011), Where's Your Caravan? ISBN 978-0-00-736414-5
  3. ^ a b Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. p. 105. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.
  4. ^ "Cobblers enjoy promotion party". BBC Sport. 28 June 2000. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Hargreaves commits to Cobblers". BBC Sport. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Bees seal triple deal". BBC Sport. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Hargreaves completes Oxford move". BBC Sport. 5 July 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Seven players released by Oxford". BBC Sport. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  9. ^ "Gulls boss Buckle brings in duo". BBC Sport. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  10. ^ "Torquay veteran Chris Hargreaves clinches Oxford return". BBC Sport. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Hargreaves out of running for Cobblers job as he becomes Torquay United boss". Northampton Chronicle & Echo. National World Publishing. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Chris Hargreaves: Torquay boss 'placed on gardening leave'". BBC Sport. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Rovers Appoint Chris Hargreaves as Under-21 Coach". Bristol Rovers. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Hargreaves Leaves Rovers". Bristol Rovers. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  15. ^ Collard, Sam (18 May 2022). "Club News | Chris Hargreaves announced as manager". Yeovil Town FC. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  16. ^ "CLUB STATEMENT : Chris Hargreaves". www.ytfc.net. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Torquay: Results/matches: 2013/14". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2017. Individual seasons accessed via dropdown menu.
  18. ^ "Managers: Chris Hargreaves". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
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