Neil Critchley


Neil Critchley is an English former footballer and manager who played in the Football League First Division for Crewe Alexandra. His only appearance for Crewe came in a 3–0 defeat away at Fulham during the 1999–2000 season. He is currently the head coach of Blackpool, having left his post as Liverpool's under-23s manager on 2 March 2020.
He is one of sixteen coaches worldwide to have obtained UEFA's elite badge.

Managerial career

Liverpool

Due to fixture congestion of Liverpool's first team during the 2019–20 season, Critchley served as the stand-in manager for Liverpool in their EFL Cup away match against Aston Villa on 17 December 2019. The congestion was caused by Liverpool's participation in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, which overlapped with the EFL Cup quarter-finals. Liverpool, fielding a team made up exclusively of under-23s, were beaten 5–0. Critchley again served as Liverpool's stand-in manager for the FA Cup fourth round replay against Shrewsbury Town on 4 February 2020, as the first team were on a mid-season break. The youthful Liverpool team won 1–0 via an own goal. Critchley ranks 13th in Liverpool's history for highest win percentage of matches with 50%.

Blackpool

On 2 March 2020, Critchley was appointed as head coach of Blackpool on a three and a half year contract. After a curtailed regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Blackpool finished in 13th position after standings were amended to reflect a points-per-game ratio.

Managerial statistics