Ian Atkins
Ian Atkins (born
16 January 1957 in
Birmingham) is an
English professional football
manager, and former professional
footballer.
Ian Atkins' first club, whom he joined as an
apprentice in January 1975, was
Shrewsbury Town. In seven years at the club, he made 279 appearances and scored 58 times. In August 1982, he signed for
Sunderland staying with them for two years, before joining
Everton in October 1984. His stay with Everton lasted just one year, and in September 1985 he left them for
Ipswich Town. In the three years he was at Town he played 77 matches and scored four goals. He joined and left
Birmingham City in March 1988, going from there to
Colchester United. After three years at Colchester (including one season as
player-manager), he again joined Birmingham staying for a year, before joining
Cambridge United as player-manager. He then had a short second spell at
Sunderland, before he ended his playing days at
Doncaster.
Atkins began his managerial career in
1990â€"91 when he was player-manager of Colchester United. He left after one season to rejoin his old club Birmingham as a player. He got his second job in management when he was named player-manager of
Cambridge United in 1992, but was sacked after one season.
In October 1994 he was appointed manager of
Northampton Town. In the
1996â€"97 season, he guided Northampton Town to promotion by winning the
Division Three promotion playoffs. They reached the
Division Two playoff final the following season losing out to
Grimsby Town.
The
1998â€"99 season saw Northampton relegated to Division Threeâ€"the third season in a row that the previous year's playoff losers had been relegated. Atkins handed in his resignation soon afterwards.
He was appointed manager of Division Three strugglers
Chester City in January 2000, but he quit six months later, after the club were relegated to the
Conference after 69 years in
The Football League. He later had a year-long spell in charge of
Carlisle United.
Atkins was assistant manager to
Alan Cork at
Cardiff City from November 2000 to December 2001, and helped them win promotion as Division Three runners-up at the end of the
2000â€"01 season. In December 2001, he left Cardiff to take over from
Mark Wright as manager of
Oxford United.
2001â€"02 was Oxford's first season in the bottom division of the football league for over 30 years, and they finished a record low 21st place in the final table. Atkins rebuilt the team during the 2002 close season and the new-look squad looked capable of achieving a far higher position in the coming season. Oxford United occupied the automatic promotion and playoff places in Division Three for much of the 2002â€"03 season, but a slight dip in form during the final weeks of the season saw them finish eighth in the final tableâ€"one place short of the playoffs. A lively start to the 2003â€"04 season saw Oxford United leading the Division Three table at Christmas with just one defeat in over 20 fixtures. Atkins was dismissed in March 2004 for talking to
Bristol Rovers about the possibility of taking over as manager, which he subsequently did.
Atkins' spell at Bristol Rovers lasted little over a year, but he was sacked after a disappointing start to the
2005â€"06 season. He returned to management in April 2006 when he was handed the seemingly impossible task of keeping
Torquay United in
The Football League. However, a run of four straight wins and a draw on the last day of the season lifted Torquay out of the relegation zone, and the Atkins was appointed manager for the following season.
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Profile on Pride of Anglia website 
