Gary Megson is a former English midfielder born on May 2, 1959 in Manchester, England. He is the son of Don Megson, also a footballer, and the brother of retired U.S football midfielder, Neil Megson. Gary Megson was nicknamed “Ginger Mouinho” after his team, Bolton Wanderers, knocked down Manchester United for the first time since 1978.
Gary Megson began his career at Plymouth Argyle, a football club in England in 1977. Owing to his commendable performance, by the end of 1979, Everton signed him for a transfer fee of £250,000. After establishing himself in Everton lineup for two years, Gary Megson moved to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £130,000 where he was part of the team that got promotion to top flight in 1983–84. Gary Megson signed up for the Newcastle United and was a regular during the 1984-85 season. By the end of the beginning of 1985, he moved back to Sheffield Wednesday and established himself as an important member of the squad, n 1989, his move to the Manchester City came along with a fee of £250,000 where he remained for three and a half season and then shifted to the Norwich City in 1993. The Norwich’s astounding victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup was indeed the highlight of his playing career.
Gary Megson began his managerial career as an assistant manager with Norwich City in 1995, while still playing for the club. He was then elected as the manager of Blackpool in 1996, where he recorded 21 wins in 52 matches. In 1997, Gary Megson switched to the Stockport County, and in 1999, he held his managerial post with the Stoke City. He then took over as manager of First Division West Bromwich Albion in March 2000 and made the team win their final game of the season. On 10 January 2005, he became the successor of Joe Kinnear, manager of Nottingham Forest.
Gary Megson was selected as a coach by the Stoke City manager, Tony Pulis in June 2007 and continued there until he was appointed as the manager of Leicester. Leicester City manager, Milan Mandaric made an announcement of Gary Megson as the manager on September 13, 2007, where he cited that the wealthy experience possessed by him was the deciding factor. During his tenure with Leicester City, they attained their first League win in a 2-0 score over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. However, he did not stay there for long, on October 25, 2007 he took over as the manager of Bolton Wanderers for a two and a half year deal.
Gary Megson has high respect for Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in the history of English football. While he was the manager of the West Bromwich Albion, he took his team into the playoffs and received the “Manager of the Month” award for the November 2000. Gary Megson was honored the “Nationwide Division One Manager of the Year” award and the “Lord of the Manor of West Bromwich” title for leading West Bromwich Albion team to the FA Premier League for the first time overcoming the Wolverhampton Wanderers. His biggest triumph in football career was achieved at the West Bromwich Albion, where he procured two-time promotion to Premier League in 2002 and in 2004.
