QPR OFficial Site
Neil Critchley named QPR head coach NEIL Critchley has been appointed as QPR’s new head coach, agreeing a three-and-a-half-year deal at Loftus Road.
Critchley was most recently at Aston Villa as assistant head coach, which followed a successful two-year spell as manager of Blackpool.
During his time with the Tangerines, Critchley won promotion to the Championship in 2020/21 and successfully achieved safety in the second tier last term.
There have been some good foundations laid here and now it is my job to work as hard as I can to build on that.
Neil Critchley
A highly-respected coach, Critchley demonstrated an early love of the tactical side of the game following retirement as a player at the age of 24, becoming academy director with boyhood club Crewe in 2007 before joining Liverpool’s set-up in 2013.
His success at Anfield at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-23 level led to his first foray into management at Bloomfield Road.
The 44-year-old is now looking forward to life in W12.
“I am very excited and can’t wait to get started,” Critchley said.
“It is a huge honour for me and I would like to thank the owners, Les Ferdinand and Lee Hoos for entrusting me to lead the club.
“I would also like to thank Paul Hall and his staff for the hard work they have put in during the interim period.
“Now I am looking forward to getting to work with the players and staff. I already know some of the players from working with them previously and I am aware of a number of them, having followed their careers from afar.
“There have been some good foundations laid here and now it is my job to work as hard as I can to build on that.
“We want to move the club forward and ensure we are competing at the top end of the Championship table.”
QPR chairman Amit Bhatia said: “We are absolutely delighted to bring Neil to the club.
“Following the abrupt departure of Mick Beale it was important that we made a swift appointment, but also that we took the necessary steps to ensure it was the correct appointment. In announcing Neil today, we have achieved that.
“We have made a good start to the season and, in the same way Mick built on the strong work of his predecessor Mark Warburton, we wanted somebody who we felt certain could continue that progress for the club.
“We also wanted to ensure we appointed someone who shares the footballing philosophy of our club, and in Neil and his team we also feel confident we have achieved that.
“I’m excited for Neil to get started immediately and wish him the best of luck.”
Critchley will be joined at Loftus Road by Mike Garrity, who leaves his role as assistant head coach at Lincoln City, and Ian Brunskill, who was previously Critchley’s assistant head coach at Blackpool.
A full interview with our new head coach will be available on club channels on Monday.
www.qpr.co.uk/news/club-news/neil-critchley-named-qpr-head-coach-111222/
QPR Official Site
11th December 2022
In profile: Neil Critchley
NEIL Critchley has been named QPR’s new head coach, agreeing a three-and-a-half-year deal.
The 44-year-old arrives at Loftus Road following a two-year stint as manager of Blackpool and a brief spell with Aston Villa as assistant head coach.
But Critchley’s coaching career goes back a lot further than when he took the reins at Bloomfield Road in 2020.
QPR’s new boss actually cut his teeth as a coach when he was just 17 years old and a player at Crewe.
After retiring as a player at the age of just 24, Critchley continued on his coaching path at Gresty Road, working closely with Steve Holland, now England boss Gareth Southgate’s assistant.
Critchley became Academy Director with the Railwaymen in 2007 and remained in that position for six years before joining Liverpool as Under 18s coach.
His capabilities on the training pitch saw him progress through the age groups with the Reds. After four years with the 18s, Critchley spent three seasons leading Liverpool’s Under 19s before taking on the role as Under 23s manager in 2017.
While in this position, Critchley also managed two first-team games during the 2019/20 campaign owing to fixture congestion issues.
After three years with the 23s and growing his reputation further in the game, Critchley took up his first role as a manager at senior level when he was appointed by Blackpool in March 2020.
The League One season was curtailed early due to the pandemic, meaning Critchley only took two games in charge, and the Tangerines ended the campaign in 13th spot.
In 2020/21, Critchley’s first full season as manager, a similar mid-table finish was the expectancy from many for Blackpool, but the club defied the odds to finish in third spot – and then achieved promotion via the playoffs.
Blackpool were 16th in the Championship last season, and those achievements saw Critchley approached by Steve Gerrard to replace QPR-bound Mick Beale at Aston Villa, a position he took up.
Now, Critchley is once again taking up a role vacated by Beale and QPR fans will be looking forward to seeing the impact he can have in W12.
www.qpr.co.uk/news/club-news/in-profile-neil-critchley-111222/
