Bengaluru FC have appointed Englishman Simon Grayson as their new head coach to replace the outgoing Marco Pezzaiuoli.
Pezzaiuoli came into the BFC fold ahead of their AFC Cup campaign and for the remainder of the 2020-21 ISL where they failed to qualify for the play-offs. The following season (the recently concluded 2021-22 ISL), the Blues finished sixth and missed out on the play-offs again prompting the management to make a change.
Prior to taking up coaching, the 52-year-old Grayson was a professional football player who played in the English Premier League for Leicester City, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. The right back/midfielder went onto play for multiple clubs in the English Football League (EFL) during the latter part of his career.
Simon began his coaching career with Blackpool in 2005 as player-manager. A year later, he retired from playing and guided the club to promotion from League One to the Championship in the 2006-07 season. His next stint was with Leeds United and he got them promoted to the Championship in 2010. Then in 2012, Grayson helped Huddersfield Town gain promotion to League One and the following season, he helped Preston North End secure promotion to the Championship.
Prior to joining Bengaluru FC, Simon had short stints Sunderland, Bradford City, Blackpool and in 2021, he was managing Fleetwood Town.
| Team | From | To | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Win % |
| Blackpool | 10 November 2005 | 23 December 2008 | 163 | 60 | 51 | 52 | 36.81 |
| Leeds United | 23 December 2008 | 1 February 2012 | 169 | 84 | 40 | 45 | 49.7 |
| Huddersfield Town | 20 February 2012 | 24 January 2013 | 49 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 34.69 |
| Preston North End | 18 February 2013 | 29 June 2017 | 235 | 104 | 74 | 57 | 44.26 |
| Sunderland | 29 June 2017 | 31 October 2017 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 16.67 |
| Bradford City | 11 February 2018 | 8 May 2018 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 21.43 |
| Blackpool | 6 July 2019 | 12 February 2020 | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 34.21 |
| Fleetwood Town | 31 January 2021 | 24 November 2021 | 43 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 30.23 |
| TOTAL | 728 | 297 | 213 | 218 | 40.8 |
Simon prefers to play in 3-5-2 Flat formation and over the course of his managerial career has averaged 1.52 points per match.
Be First to Comment