David Sharpe (football club chairman)

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David Sharpe (Chairman) and Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic striker) with the League One trophy won in 2016

David Sharpe (born 11 May 1991)[1] has been the chief executive and director of football of English football club Mansfield Town since May 2020. He was formerly chairman of Wigan Athletic (2015–2019).[2]

Sharpe was born in Wigan. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and then studied business at Oxford Brookes University.[3] Sharpe's grandfather is Dave Whelan, who took control of Wigan Athletic in February 1995. Whelan made Sharpe a director at Wigan in December 2014, and was appointed as chairman after Whelan's resignation in March 2015. At the age of 23, he became one of the world's youngest football bosses.[4] Sharpe's appointment came with shock and scepticism from both fans and the media as the youngest chairman in English football.[5][6] Sharpe’s first major decision was to sack Malky Mackay on Easter Monday after a 2–0 home defeat to Derby County.[7][8] With 5 games remaining till the end of the season Sharpe appointed former club captain Gary Caldwell,[9] however Wigan Athletic fell short and were relegated to League One.[10]

Sharpe with his grandfather Dave Whelan

The 2015–16 season, Sharpe and Caldwell’s first full season, saw the club winning League One and being promoted to the Championship.[11] During the following season, Sharpe made the decision to sack Gary Caldwell after a run of 14 games with only two victories.[12] Sharpe appointed Warren Joyce from Manchester United who came highly recommended from well-known names such as Sir Alex Ferguson.[13][14] However, results didn't improve and, in March 2017, Sharpe sacked Joyce.[15] The club was now in a relegation battle and Graham Barrow took over as caretaker manager.[16]

After relegation was confirmed Sharpe made the decision to approach Portsmouth for their manager Paul Cook.[17] Cook was appointed in June 2017.[18] Wigan managed to keep star players and under Cook have dominated League One so far this season.[19][20][21][22]

References[]

  1. ^ "MEET OUR NEW CHAIRMAN, DAVID SHARPE - News - Wigan Athletic". (Archived 2018-09-30 at the Wayback Machine). Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Sharpe to step down after Wigan takeover". BBC Sport.
  3. ^ "MEET OUR NEW CHAIRMAN, DAVID SHARPE - News - Wigan Athletic". Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  4. ^ Williams, Mike (3 November 2016). "Meet football's youngest chairman, Wigan Athletic's David Sharpe - BBC Newsbeat". BBC Newsbeat. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Ex-Shrewsbury School pupil becomes one of world's youngest football bosses". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Can a 23-year-old run a football club?". BBC News. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  7. ^ Jackson, Jamie (6 April 2015). "Wigan Athletic 0-2 Derby County | Championship match report". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Wigan Athletic sack manager Malky Mackay after 2-0 home defeat". ITV News. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  9. ^ Prenderville, Liam (7 April 2015). "Wigan appoint captain Gary Caldwell as new manager following Malky Mackay sacking". mirror. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Wigan Athletic relegated to League One". www.wigantoday.net. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  11. ^ "WIGAN ATHLETIC ARE SKY BET LEAGUE ONE CHAMPIONS". Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Gary Caldwell: Wigan Athletic manager sacked after 18 months in charge". BBC Sport. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  13. ^ Whittell, Ian (3 November 2016). "Wigan appoint Manchester United starmaker Warren Joyce on Sir Alex Ferguson's recommendation". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Warren Joyce: Wigan Athletic appoint Man Utd U21 boss as manager". BBC Sport. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Warren Joyce: Wigan Athletic part company after four months". BBC Sport. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  16. ^ Wheelock, Paul (13 March 2017). "Chester legend Graham Barrow named interim manager of Wigan Athletic". chesterchronicle. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Paul Cook: Portsmouth manager interested in Wigan Athletic talks". BBC Sport. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Paul Cook: Wigan Athletic appoint Portsmouth boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  19. ^ "EFL Official Website Manager of the Month: Paul Cook - Wigan Athletic". Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  20. ^ "'Why would anyone want to leave Wigan Athletic?' - Grigg". www.wigantoday.net. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  21. ^ Association, Press (17 January 2018). "Wigan sense repeat of history after crushing win over Bournemouth". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  22. ^ Wilson, Paul (27 January 2018). "Will Grigg hits double as Wigan cause FA Cup upset against 10-man West Ham". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2018.

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