Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Barnsley boss Danny Wilson to reach 1000 games in charge

Danny Wilson will be inducted into the League Managers Association's Hall of Fame when he becomes just the 24th man to take charge of 1,000 competitive games in professional football.

The Barnsley manager will bring up the landmark when his side take on Leyton Orient in League One on Saturday.

He will join a select group that includes Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Matt Busby, Brian Clough and Arsene Wenger.

Only four current managers -- Arsenal's Wenger, Crystal Palace's Neil Warnock, QPR's Harry Redknapp and England head coach Roy Hodgson -- are in the LMA's Hall of Fame.

Wilson said: "I am very proud to reach such a landmark. It goes without saying how privileged I feel to join such an elite group of managers who have reached the 1,000-match milestone."

LMA chairman Howard Wilkinson, who led Leeds to the title in 1992, paid tribute to Wilson.

He said: "The 1000 Club is a special club and Danny has well earned his place there. Danny is usually a man of few words but his record is great testimony to his enormous ability, resilience, enthusiasm, commitment, dedication, determination and his passion for the game. He embodies the very best of the breed.

"Since he made his playing debut 38 years ago at Wigan Athletic, then in the Northern Premier League, Danny Wilson's record is unbelievable. During that time he has amassed an amazing 1658 professional football matches, 1000 of those as a manager and the rest as a player. That amounts to almost 36 games per season as a player and 50 games per season as a manager. The figures speak for themselves, it has been non-stop."

Wilson, 54, is in his second spell in charge of Barnsley, whom he took into the Premier League in 1997.

The former Northern Ireland international has also managed Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City, Milton Keynes Dons, Hartlepool, Swindon and Sheffield United.

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said: "To achieve such longevity in the game is a remarkable success and 1,000 matches exhibits an enduring quality of resilience, which can only serve as an inspiration to all current as well as all aspiring managers and coaches.

"What is unique in Danny's case is that he has achieved this in just 20 years and at the age of 54 which shows he has enjoyed an almost unbroken spell in management across the seven clubs he has led during this time."

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