Lennie Lawrence facts for kids

Robin Michael Lawrence, known as Lennie Lawrence, was born on December 12, 1947. He is an English football manager. Currently, he is the manager and a non-executive director at National League team Hartlepool United.

Lennie Lawrence played football as a semi-professional. He then became a manager, leading many different clubs. He is one of only a few managers to have been in charge of over 1,000 games.

Lennie Lawrence's Football Journey

Playing Days

Before becoming a manager, Lennie Lawrence played football himself. He was a semi-professional player. This means he played for a club but also had another job. He played for teams like Croydon, Carshalton Athletic, and Sutton United.

Starting as a Manager

Early Manager Roles

Lennie Lawrence began his managing career at Plymouth Argyle. He was the assistant manager first. When the main manager left, Lennie became the caretaker manager in 1978. A caretaker manager takes charge for a short time. After that, he worked as a coach at Lincoln City. He helped them get promoted to a higher division in the 1980–81 season.

Leading Charlton Athletic

In 1982, Lawrence joined Charlton Athletic. He started as the reserve-team manager. Soon, he became the main manager. The club faced money problems during his time there. They almost went out of business in 1984. They even had to leave their home stadium, The Valley, in 1985.

Despite these challenges, Lawrence did an amazing job. He not only kept Charlton in the Second Division. He also helped them get promoted to the top league, the First Division, in 1986. This was a big deal, as Charlton had not been in the top league for 29 years! He managed to keep them there for four years. They were relegated in 1990, and he stayed for one more season.

Time at Middlesbrough

Before the 1991–92 season, Lawrence moved to manage Middlesbrough. In his first season, Middlesbrough finished second in their division. This meant they were promoted to the new Premier League. They struggled in the Premier League and were relegated after one season. Lawrence stayed until May 1994. He even helped the club's young chairman find his replacement.

Moving to Bradford and Luton

Lawrence joined Bradford City in 1994. After one season, Bradford was doing well and aiming for promotion. But Lawrence left to manage Luton Town. Luton was in a higher division but was struggling. Lawrence could not save Luton from being relegated in 1996. He stayed at Luton until 2000 when a new chairman took over.

Managing Grimsby Town

Lawrence quickly returned to management in 2000. He joined Grimsby Town, a team in Division One. They avoided relegation in his first season. In the 2001–02 season, they caused a big upset. They beat Liverpool, who were the League Cup holders, 2–1. This happened at Liverpool's home ground, Anfield. However, Grimsby's form dropped, and Lawrence was sacked later that season.

Success with Cardiff City

After a short break, Lawrence joined Cardiff City as a consultant. The club's owner wanted them to get promoted quickly. The current manager was sacked, and Lawrence took over. In his first full season, Lawrence led Cardiff to promotion. They won the 2003 Football League Second Division play-off final against Queens Park Rangers. He stayed at Cardiff for two more years, leaving in May 2005.

Back at Hartlepool United

Lennie Lawrence has been involved with Hartlepool United several times. In January 2024, he was appointed caretaker manager. This means he took charge temporarily. He had also been caretaker manager the season before. In November 2024, he was officially made the permanent manager of Hartlepool until the end of the season. He is also a non-executive director at the club.

Coaching and Advising Teams

Director and Consultant Roles

After leaving Cardiff, Lawrence became the Director of Football at Bristol Rovers. He worked with coach Paul Trollope. In their first full season, Bristol Rovers won promotion to League One. He stayed there until 2010.

In 2010, he joined Carshalton Athletic as a football consultant. Later that year, he became the technical director at Hereford United.

Helping Out at Crystal Palace and Bolton

In 2011, Lawrence became assistant manager at Crystal Palace. He supported the new manager, Dougie Freedman. In October 2012, Freedman moved to Bolton Wanderers. Lawrence became a joint-caretaker manager at Crystal Palace for a short time. But within a week, he joined Freedman again at Bolton.

At Bolton, his first game was a win against his old club, Cardiff. He left Bolton in 2014 when Dougie Freedman was sacked. He later joined Freedman again as assistant manager at Nottingham Forest in 2015. In 2016, he became assistant manager at Cardiff City, but left when the manager was sacked.

Advising at Newport and Stevenage

In 2017, Lawrence became a First Team Management Consultant for Newport County. The team was at the bottom of League Two. With his help, Newport made an amazing comeback. They avoided relegation on the very last day of the season. This was called the "Great Escape." Lawrence left Newport in 2020.

He then moved to Stevenage in June 2020 as a Managerial Advisor. He helped the manager, Alex Revell. He left Stevenage in December 2020.

Lennie's Managerial Numbers

Lennie Lawrence has managed many games. Here is a summary of his record at different clubs:

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Plymouth Argyle		14 February 1978	16 March 1978	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&00.&&&&&00	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&0&&&&&&&&&&&&&&00.&&&&&00.00
Charlton Athletic		22 November 1982	10 July 1991	&&&&&&&&&&&&0393.&&&&&0393	&&&&&&&&&&&&0120.&&&&&0120	&&&&&&&&&&&&0109.&&&&&0109	&&&&&&&&&&&&0164.&&&&&0164	&&&&&&&&&&&&&030.53000030.53
Middlesbrough		10 July 1991	2 May 1994	&&&&&&&&&&&&0187.&&&&&0187	&&&&&&&&&&&&&075.&&&&&075	&&&&&&&&&&&&&052.&&&&&052	&&&&&&&&&&&&&060.&&&&&060	&&&&&&&&&&&&&040.11000040.11
Bradford City		25 May 1994	27 November 1995	&&&&&&&&&&&&&077.&&&&&077	&&&&&&&&&&&&&029.&&&&&029	&&&&&&&&&&&&&020.&&&&&020	&&&&&&&&&&&&&028.&&&&&028	&&&&&&&&&&&&&037.66000037.66
Luton Town		21 December 1995	4 July 2000	&&&&&&&&&&&&0248.&&&&&0248	&&&&&&&&&&&&&089.&&&&&089	&&&&&&&&&&&&&066.&&&&&066	&&&&&&&&&&&&&093.&&&&&093	&&&&&&&&&&&&&035.89000035.89
Grimsby Town		29 August 2000	28 December 2001	&&&&&&&&&&&&&077.&&&&&077	&&&&&&&&&&&&&022.&&&&&022	&&&&&&&&&&&&&019.&&&&&019	&&&&&&&&&&&&&036.&&&&&036	&&&&&&&&&&&&&028.57000028.57
Cardiff City		18 February 2002	25 May 2005	&&&&&&&&&&&&0174.&&&&&0174	&&&&&&&&&&&&&072.&&&&&072	&&&&&&&&&&&&&050.&&&&&050	&&&&&&&&&&&&&052.&&&&&052	&&&&&&&&&&&&&041.38000041.38
Crystal Palace§		23 October 2012	1 November 2012	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&00.&&&&&00	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&050.&&&&&050.00
Hartlepool United (caretaker)		3 January 2024	23 January 2024	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&040.&&&&&040.00
Hartlepool United		16 October 2024	Present	&&&&&&&&&&&&&014.&&&&&014	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&07.&&&&&07	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&035.71000035.71
Total				&&&&&&&&&&&01182.&&&&&01,182	&&&&&&&&&&&&0415.&&&&&0415	&&&&&&&&&&&&0327.&&&&&0327	&&&&&&&&&&&&0440.&&&&&0440	&&&&&&&&&&&&&035.11000035.11

§: Joint caretaker manager with Curtis Fleming

Awards and Achievements

Lennie Lawrence has helped his teams achieve several successes:

Charlton Athletic

• Promoted to the First Division: 1985–86 season

Middlesbrough

• Promoted to the Premier League: 1991–92 season

Cardiff City

• Won the Second Division play-offs: 2003

Individual Awards

• Manager of the Month (First Division): August 2001
• Manager of the Month (Championship): January 2005