Ranking Exeter City’s last 7 managers including Caldwell from worst to best – Inglethorpe = 3rd
FLW takes a look at the Grecians’ 7 most recent managers, dating all the way back to 2002…
HIGHLIGHTS
- Exeter City has had very few different managers in the 21st century, primarily due to the long-serving Paul Tisdale.
- Neil McNab had a short and unsuccessful tenure as manager, winning only six of his 26 matches in charge.
- Paul Tisdale is regarded as the best manager in Exeter’s history, having managed over 600 games, won two promotions, and achieved a significant league finish with limited resources.
In the 21st century, Exeter City haven’t had that many different managers in the dugout, and that is thanks mainly to the long-serving Paul Tisdale.
Since the start of 2001, just nine individuals have been the permanent boss of the Grecians, showing how little movement there has been at St. James’ Park.
| Exeter City last seven managers’ stats, as per October 25, 2023 | |||||
| Name | Matches Managed | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win Percentage |
| Neil McNab | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 23.08% |
| Gary Peters | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 38.46% |
| Eamonn Dolan | 62 | 26 | 19 | 17 | 41.94% |
| Alex Inglethorpe | 89 | 44 | 16 | 29 | 49.44% |
| Paul Tisdale | 626 | 241 | 159 | 226 | 38.5% |
| Matt Taylor | 227 | 100 | 67 | 60 | 44.5% |
| Gary Caldwell | 52 | 17 | 10 | 25 | 32.7% |
How do Exeter’s last seven managers rank though? FLW takes a look at them and rates them from worst to best.
7Neil McNab
Arriving in October 2002 to replace John Cornforth, McNab was taking on his first senior managerial role, having been previously a youth coach with Man City and Portsmouth.
The Scotsman did not last very long though – four months in-fact before he was sacked after poor performances, with the club sleepwalking towards non-league.
McNab won just six of his 26 matches in charge of City and by the time he was replaced, the writing was seemingly on the wall.
6Eamonn Dolan
A former player and then a youth coach with City, Dolan took up the role of manager after the resignation of Peters, but he couldn’t guide the Grecians back to League Two in his time in charge.
In his one full season, City just missed out on the play-off spots, and just a month into the 2004-05 campaign he left to join Reading as their academy manager.
Dolan though had a decent win percentage of 41.94, and there was reason to believe that if he remained in charge then he may have gotten the club back to the fourth tier.
5Gary Peters
Ultimately, Peters wasn’t at Exeter for very long so it’s hard to judge his credentials, and he couldn’t keep Exeter in the Football League in 2003 when he replaced McNab.
However, he did win five of his 13 matches, losing just three times, so he did the best job he could in difficult circumstances and if the club’s hierarchy weren’t investigated for their financial dealings, then Peters may have stayed on.
Peters resigned however and Exeter went in a different direction on their drop to the Conference, but if he had stayed then he’d have probably been higher up this list.
4Gary Caldwell
Caldwell hadn’t exactly had a glittering managerial career before he was appointed as Exeter boss in 2022, having flopped at Chesterfield, disappointed at Partick Thistle but he did get Wigan promoted from League One.
The Scot came into a City job where they had been in the third tier for nearly three months following their promotion, and in the end a 14th-placed finish last season was solid.
Exeter were top of the league under Caldwell just a month ago, although results have since tailed off and they now find themselves in mid-table, but with the resources he has, the ex-defender is doing an okay job.
3Alex Inglethorpe
Inglethorpe was selected to replace Dolan in October 2004, having previously managed Leatherhead and was also a youth coach at Leyton Orient.
A young, progressive manager at the time, Inglethorpe didn’t quite get Exeter into the play-offs in the near two seasons he had down in Devon, but he was highly regarded by the time he departed in 2006, and in that time he got the club to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy and also led them to a famous 0-0 draw with Man United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford.
With a win percentage of 49.44, Inglethorpe was getting noticed and he eventually left to join the youth coaching staff at Tottenham, whilst he also got the offer to become manager of MK Dons, so whilst he didn’t quite get Exeter into the top five of the Conference, there were definitely promising signs under him.
2Matt Taylor
It was never going to be easy for Taylor to replace long-serving Paul Tisdale, but by the end of his four years in charge he was a very respected and highly-rated coach who was ready to take the next step.
Taylor, who played plenty for the club as a defender between 2007 and 2011, had to suffer pain in his second season as City lost the League Two play-off final, but he finally got the club back to League One in 2022 with automatic promotion.
Whilst he did leave for Rotherham in 2022, a few months into the 2022-23 third tier season, his win record was good and ultimately he won promotion – something which won’t be forgotten.
1Paul Tisdale
Top spot was never going to go to anyone else other than Tisdale.
Brought in from Team Bath in 2006, no-one would have expected that he would’ve lasted 12 years as Exeter boss.
Tisdale managed over 600 games for the Grecians, winning 241 of them and won two promotions, got to three play-off finals and also guided the club to an eighth-placed finish in League One in 2010-11, which was far above the expectations considering their budget.
After not agreeing a new contract in 2018, Tisdale left as a club icon and his impact won’t be forgotten.
