Bury Football Club was founded in 1884 and joined the Football League in 1894. In its early years, team management was the responsibility of one or more members of the club committee and the first specialist manager was appointed in 1907. The table below provides a list of all the club's managers to date.

The Bury F.C. website contains a list, drawn from the club's own records, of first team managers from 1890 until David Flitcroft's appointment on 9 December 2013. The page has not been updated since then so all later dates are individually sourced. +ManagerCaretaker managerFromToNotes Tom Hargreaves18901891Hargreaves was a member of the club committee given matchday charge of the team in 1890–91. John T. Ingham18911892Ingham was the club chairman but he acted as team manager in 1891–92, during which Bury won the Lancashire Cup and he originated the club nickname (see above). Albert Duckworth18921893Duckworth was a member of the club committee given matchday charge of the team in 1892–93. unknown18931894It is possible that more than one member of the club committee was responsible for the team in 1893–94. Albert Duckworth18941895For the club's first season in the Football League, sole responsibility reverted to Duckworth. The team won the Second Division championship.management committee18951907Management of the team in this period, throughout which Bury were in the First Division, was the responsibility of a three-man committee. According to a Sheffield newspaper report, the committee seems to have included, and may have been headed by, club secretary Harry Spencer Hamer.Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 22 December 1913. Archie Montgomery 1 February 190730 April 1915The committee stepped aside and the first specialist manager was appointed. Montgomery, then aged 34, had been the club's goalkeeper. Like Cameron and Thompson who succeeded him, he was Scottish. Montgomery managed the team in 316 league games, a total beaten only by Dave Russell. The club site says that, technically, Montgomery was the first Bury manager to be sacked but the reason for it was the club's lack of income in wartime so it was effectively a redundancy. none1 May 191515 May 1919The position was unfilled for the remainder of World War I. William S. Cameron16 May 191929 May 1923Cameron was the club's first player-manager. He was banned from football in 1923 following a match-fixing scandal from three years earlier involving Bury. James Hunter-Thompson11 June 192310 February 1927Hunter-Thompson was the first Bury manager to be sacked because of poor results. The team finished nineteenth in 1926–27, narrowly avoiding relegation. Percy J. Smith24 May 19274 January 1930Smith left to take over at Tottenham Hotspur. Arthur Paine7 January 193029 December 1935Arthur Paine joined Bury in 1923 as club secretary, but then served as team manager for nearly six years before reverting to secretary. Through the Second World War, he took additional employment as a company secretary in industry and decided after the war to remain there permanently. He resigned his job with Bury on 1 July 1946. Norman Bullock30 December 193521 June 1938Bullock played for Bury as a forward from 1920 to 1935, representing England three times. He became a coach and then team manager after he retired from playing. He left to take over at Chesterfield. Charlie Dean21 June 193814 March 1944The club website does not name a manager in this period and it is possible that Dean was appointed on a temporary or part-time basis. He is listed by Soccerbase as manager from June 1938 to March 1944. The club site confirms the exact dates of Bullock's departure and Porter's appointment. Jimmy Porter14 March 194414 June 1945Porter played for Bury as a wing half from 1921 to 1935 and then became a coach. He appears to have been a stand-in as wartime manager because he stepped aside in June 1945 to become assistant manager on Norman Bullock's return. In 1949, Porter became manager at Accrington Stanley for two years. Norman Bullock15 June 194530 November 1949Bullock's second term as Bury manager. He was the first Bury manager to be given sole responsibility for team selection. He left to become manager of Leicester City. Johnny McNeil 30 March 195028 November 1953Formerly manager of Torquay United. McNeil left Bury for health reasons. Dave Russell 1 December 195313 December 1961Russell managed the team in 352 league games, more than any other manager. Bury were Third Division champions under him in 1960–61. He left to take over at Tranmere Rovers. Bob Stokoe13 December 196111 August 1965After Cameron and Bullock, Stokoe was the club's third player-manager. He left to take over at Charlton Athletic. Bert Head 16 August 196510 April 1966Head left to take over at Crystal Palace. Les Shannon11 July 196629 May 1969Shannon managed the club's 1967–68 immediate re-promotion to the Second Division. He left to take over at Blackpool. Jack Marshall 1 July 196916 September 1969Marshall was in charge for a mere seven games before being sacked and his term was the shortest of any Bury manager. Les Hart 16 September 196917 September 1970Hart was only the third Bury manager to be sacked for poor results and there have been several more sackings since then. Colin McDonald17 September 197010 November 1970A local man whose career as a goalkeeper was mostly with Burnley. He held an executive post with Bury after he retired from playing and agreed to stand in as temporary team manager after Hart's dismissal, until McAnearney's appointment. He was afterwards the club's general manager for a time. Tommy McAnearney10 November 19708 May 1972McAnearney left to take over at Aldershot. Allan Brown20 June 197219 December 1973Brown left to take over at Nottingham Forest where, until 3 January 1975, he was Brian Clough's predecessor. Bobby Smith 19 December 197317 November 1977Won promotion from Fourth Division in 1974. Sacked. Bob Stokoe17 November 197721 May 1978Stokoe's second term at Bury. He left to take over at Blackpool. Dave Hatton1 June 197830 October 1979Arrived as player-manager. Sacked. Dave Connor 9 November 197913 June 1980Sacked. Jim Iley1 July 198014 February 1984Sacked. Martin Dobson14 March 19841 April 1989Arrived as player-manager. Won promotion from Fourth Division in 1985. Sacked. Sam Ellis16 May 198911 December 1990Ellis left to take over at Manchester City. Mike Walsh 11 December 19904 September 1995Sacked. Stan Ternent18 September 199530 May 1998Arguably the club's most successful manager as he led the team to successive promotions from fourth tier to third in 1995–96 and, as champions, from third to second in 1996–97. He left to take over at Burnley. Neil Warnock16 June 19982 December 1999Warnock left to take over at Sheffield United. Andy Preece & Steve Redmond3 December 19991 June 2000Preece and Redmond shared management duties after Warnock departed until Preece was formally appointed. Andy Preece1 June 200016 December 2003Initially player-manager. Sacked. Graham Barrow16 December 200319 September 2005Sacked. Chris Casper19 September 200514 January 2008Sacked. Chris Brass15 January 20084 February 2008 Alan Knill4 February 200831 March 2011Knill left to take over at Scunthorpe United. Richie Barker1 April 20111 June 2011Secured the club's 2010–11 promotion in the last month of the season. Richie Barker14 June 20117 August 2012Barker left to take over as manager of Crawley Town. Peter Shirtliff7 August 201226 September 2012Shirtliff was the first-team coach and filled the gap between Barker and Blackwell as the 2012–13 season began. Kevin Blackwell26 September 201214 October 2013Sacked. Ronnie Jepson14 October 20139 December 2013Jepson was on a short-term caretaker contract which ended early when Flitcroft was appointed. David Flitcroft9 December 201316 November 2016Won promotion from League Two in 2015. Sacked. Chris Brass15 December 201615 February 2017Brass was on a short-term contract as head coach, not manager as such, and this was terminated early when Lee Clark became available. Lee Clark15 February 201730 October 2017Sacked. Ryan Lowe 30 October 201722 November 2017 Chris Lucketti22 November 201715 January 2018Sacked. Ryan Lowe 15 January 201810 May 2018 Ryan Lowe 10 May 20185 June 2019Having won promotion to League One, accepted offer to manage Plymouth Argyle. Paul Wilkinson 2 July 2019 c. November 2019Formerly caretaker manager at Truro City. It is understood that Wilkinson left several weeks after the club was expelled from the EFL. Andy Welsh 29 July 2020 17 September 2023On 5 June 2023, upon the merger of Bury F.C. and Bury A.F.C., the two team's histories were combined — retroactively counting A.F.C's seasons as seasons for Bury F.C. and also retroactively counting Welsh as Bury F.C. manager since 29 July 2020. Dave McNabb 26 September 2023 2 December 2025 Stepped down as manager to take up a new role as head of football operations Tim Lees 2 December 2025 12 December 2025 Michael Jolley 12 December 2025 14 December 2025Left by mutual consent after unrest about Jolley's past conviction for a sex offence. Tim Lees 14 December 2025 11 February 2026Returned to his duty as assistant manager at Bury Anthony Johnson 11 February 2026Present

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