Lennie Lawrence facts for kids

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

Before becoming a manager, Lawrence played football as a semi-professional. He played for teams like Croydon, Carshalton Athletic, and Sutton United. In 1978, he became a caretaker manager for Plymouth Argyle. Over his long career, he managed many well-known clubs. These included Charlton Athletic, Middlesbrough (when they first joined the Premier League), Bradford City, Luton Town, Grimsby Town, and Cardiff City. Lennie Lawrence is one of the few managers who have led teams in over 1,000 games!

Since 2005, Lawrence has also worked in other important roles. He has been part of coaching teams or a Director of Football at various clubs. For example, he was a management consultant for Newport County for three years. In June 2020, he joined Stevenage as a managerial advisor, a role he left in November 2020.

Playing Career

Lennie Lawrence played football at a semi-professional level. This means he played for teams that were not fully professional. He played for three different non-league clubs: Croydon, Carshalton Athletic, and Sutton United.

Managerial Journey

Starting Out: Plymouth and Lincoln

Lennie Lawrence began his coaching career as an assistant manager at Plymouth Argyle. When the main manager was let go, Lawrence stepped in as a caretaker manager. This was his first time leading a team. After that, he worked as a coach at Lincoln City. He helped Lincoln City win promotion from Division Four in the 1980–81 season.

Success at Charlton Athletic

In 1982, Lawrence moved to Charlton Athletic. He started as the reserve-team manager and was soon promoted to lead the main team. He brought in Eddie May as his assistant. Charlton Athletic faced tough times financially in the early 1980s. The club almost went out of business in 1984 and even had to leave its home stadium, The Valley, in 1985.

Despite these challenges, Lawrence and May did an amazing job. They not only kept Charlton in the Second Division but also helped them get promoted to the First Division in 1986. This was a huge achievement, as Charlton had not been in the top league for 29 years! With limited money, Lawrence managed to keep Charlton in the top division for four years. The team was relegated in 1990, and he stayed for one more season.

Moving to Middlesbrough

Before the 1991–92 season, Lawrence became the manager of Middlesbrough. In his first season, Middlesbrough finished second in the Second Division. This meant they were promoted to the new Premier League. However, the team found it hard in the 1992–93 season and were relegated. Lawrence stayed until May 1994. When he left, he helped the club's young chairman, Steve Gibson, find his replacement, Bryan Robson.

Time at Bradford City and Luton Town

Lawrence joined Bradford City in 1994. After a steady first season, Bradford was doing well and aiming for promotion in his second year. But then, Lawrence left to manage Luton Town, a team in a higher division that was struggling.

Lawrence could not save Luton from being relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1995–96 season. Interestingly, his old club, Bradford, took their place in the division above. He stayed at Kenilworth Road (Luton's stadium) until 2000. He was then replaced by Ricky Hill, a former Luton player.

Grimsby Town Challenge

Soon after the 2000–01 season began, Lawrence returned to management with Grimsby Town, a Division One team. They managed to avoid relegation that season. In the 2001–02 season, they started well and even caused a big surprise in the League Cup. They beat the holders, Liverpool, 2–1 after extra time at Anfield. Phil Jevons scored a fantastic goal in the last minute. However, Grimsby's form dropped, and they fell to the bottom of the table. Lawrence was sacked later that season.

Leading Cardiff City to Promotion

After a short break, Lawrence joined Cardiff City in Division Two as a consultant. The owner, Sam Hammam, wanted the team to get promoted quickly. When the manager, Alan Cork, seemed unlikely to achieve this, he 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 Ninian Park (Cardiff's stadium) for two more years before leaving in May 2005.

Return to Hartlepool United

Lennie Lawrence has had several stints at Hartlepool United. In January 2024, he was appointed caretaker manager after the previous manager was sacked. He also served as caretaker manager in October 2024. On November 8, 2024, he was made the permanent manager until the end of the season. However, on February 3, 2025, Lawrence announced he was stepping back from the manager role. This allowed head coach Anthony Limbrick to take over.

Coaching and Consulting Roles

After his time as a consultant at 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 by winning the League Two play-offs. He stayed until May 2010.

In August 2010, Lawrence joined Carshalton Athletic as a football consultant. A few months later, he became the technical director at Hereford United.

On January 20, 2011, he became assistant manager at Crystal Palace, helping new manager Dougie Freedman. In October 2012, Freedman moved to Bolton Wanderers, and Lawrence became a joint-caretaker manager at Crystal Palace for a short time. Within a week, he joined Freedman again at Bolton.

Lawrence's first game at Bolton was a win against his former club, Cardiff. He left Bolton in October 2014 when Dougie Freedman was sacked. He later joined Freedman again as assistant manager at Nottingham Forest in early 2015.

In the summer of 2016, Lawrence became assistant manager to Paul Trollope at Cardiff City. However, after a difficult start to the 2016–17 season, Trollope was sacked in October, and Lawrence also left the club.

Consultancy Work

On March 21, 2017, Lawrence joined Newport County as a First Team Management Consultant. At the time, Newport was 11 points behind at the bottom of League Two. In a remarkable turnaround, Newport avoided relegation on the very last day of the 2016–17 season. This was known as the "Great Escape." Lawrence left Newport County in June 2020.

He then moved to Stevenage in June 2020 as a Managerial Advisor to Alex Revell. He left this role in December 2020.

On November 10, 2022, Lawrence was appointed as a non-executive director at Hartlepool United. He also served as caretaker manager in January 2024. When Kevin Phillips became the new manager, Lawrence was confirmed as one of his assistant managers.

Honours and Achievements

Lennie Lawrence has helped his teams achieve several important promotions and wins:

• Charlton Athletic
  • Promoted from Football League Second Division: 1985–86 (finished second)

• Middlesbrough
  • Promoted from Football League Second Division: 1991–92 (finished second)

• Cardiff City
  • Won Football League Second Division play-offs: 2003

• Individual Awards
  • Football League First Division Manager of the Month: August 2001
  • Football League Championship Manager of the Month: January 2005