Full name Keith John Hill Name Keith Hill Career end 2003 Career start 1987 | Years Team Height 1.83 m Playing position Role Football manager Position Defender | |
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Date of birth (1969-05-17) 17 May 1969 (age 46) Place of birth Bolton, Lancashire, England Similar People David Flitcroft, John Coleman, Lee Johnson, John Hollins, Danny Wilson | ||
Keith hill rochdale afc excited by unbelievable project
Keith John Hill (born 17 May 1969) is an English professional football manager and former footballer, who is the manager of League One club Rochdale. A former footballer, after retiring as a player, he moved into coaching at former club Rochdale, and was appointed as caretaker manager, following the sacking of Steve Parkin he would become the club's manager.
Contents
- Keith hill rochdale afc excited by unbelievable project
- Manager keith hill praises the spotland pitch
- Playing career
- Rochdale
- Barnsley
- Return to Rochdale
- Managerial statistics
- Player
- Manager
- References
In his 16-year-long playing career, Hill was a defender who represented Blackburn Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Rochdale, Cheltenham Town, Wrexham and Morecambe.
Manager keith hill praises the spotland pitch
Playing career
Hill began his career with Blackburn Rovers, moving on to Plymouth Argyle in 1992 in a joint deal with Craig Skinner, with Nicky Marker moving in the opposite direction. Hill spent four years with Plymouth, moving on to Rochdale in 1996. After five years at Spotland, he joined Cheltenham Town, but he only spent a year there, playing only five games, punctuated by a two-month loan with Wrexham. He then spent a year with Football Conference side Morecambe.
Rochdale
Following Hill's retirement from playing the game, he joined former club Rochdale's coaching staff, where he held the position of Director of Youth. On 17 December 2006, Hill was appointed as caretaker manager, following the sacking of Steve Parkin. His first game in charge against Milton Keynes Dons ended a 2–1 loss and they were left in the League Two relegation zone. His first win came 2 games into his reign, a 4–0 win over Boston United, which lifted them out of the relegation zone. After his second 4–0 win, Rochdale appointed Hill as permanent manager on 3 January 2007. Rochdale ended the season in ninth, despite being in the bottom three for the majority of the first half of the season.
In his first full season as Dale boss, he took Rochdale to League Two play-off final, where they lost 3–2 against Stockport County, having defeated Darlington 5–4 on penalties in the semi-final. The 2008–09 season saw Hill take Rochdale to the play-offs for the second year in a row, but they were beaten 2–1 by Gillingham, the eventual winners. The next season saw improvement again, gaining automatic promotion, after a 1–0 win against Northampton Town on 17 April 2010. However, a dip in form near the end of the season saw Rochdale miss out on the League Two title, finishing third behind Notts County and Bournemouth. Rochdale finished ninth in League One the following season. The 68 points gained meant the club had achieved their highest league finish since the 1969–70 season.
Barnsley
Hill was given permission to talk to Championship side Barnsley about their vacant manager's job on 20 May 2011. Four days later, he chose to remain with Rochdale because "we are ambitious but we're also happy in our work here." Hill changed his mind at the start of June and was appointed manager of Barnsley, with assistant David Flitcroft joining him. With a relatively small budget at his disposal, Hill mainly signed players from lower divisions. Rochdale players Matt Done and Scott Wiseman were among his first signings for Barnsley. Barnsley avoided relegation by one place in his first season in charge, with results having deteriorated following the sale of striker Ricardo Vaz Tê and long term injuries to influential midfielders Jacob Butterfield, Jim O'Brien and David Perkins in January. Hill was sacked by Barnsley on 29 December 2012, following a defeat by Blackburn.
Return to Rochdale
Following the sacking of John Coleman Hill returned to manage Rochdale A.F.C. for a second spell on 22 January 2013. On 26 April 2014, Rochdale won 2-0 against Cheltenham, promoting them back to League One.
Managerial statistics
As of match played 23 September 2017Player
Plymouth Argyle
Cheltenham Town
Manager
Rochdale