Following Chris Powell’s return to Derby County as the club’s new Assistant Manager, dcfc.co.uk takes a look back Powell’s illustrious career – both as a player and also in management to date.
Playing Career
* Born in Lambeth, London, Powell began his playing career at non-league side Epsom & Ewell in the mid-1980s – however his time with the Salts lasted just a season as he joined Crystal Palace as trainee in 1986
* With chances at Palace limited, Powell was sent out on loan to Aldershot in 1990 – where he made 11 appearances before - moving to Essex-based club Southend United on a free transfer later that year
* Powell’s time at Southend proved to be a very fruitful spell after the left-back made just under 250 appearances for the Shrimpers and was a regular feature in the club’s rise from the third tier to the first through consecutive promotions
* He remained with Southend for six seasons until in 1996, an offer of £750,000 saw Powell transfer to Jim Smith’s promotion-chasing Derby County
* Powell slotted into the Rams side seamlessly and made 19 appearances during the remainder of the 1995/96 season, helping the Rams to automatic promotion to the then-named Premiership
* After making 101 appearances for Derby in all competitions and winning Player of the Year in 1996/97, he joined Charlton Athletic in 1998 but was unable to save the Addicks from relegation to the First Division
* The following season, in 1998/99, saw a change in fortunes for both Powell and Charlton as the Addicks gained promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking
* Following promotion, Powell added to his existing top-level experience with Charlton, making 122 appearances between 2000 and 2004
* It was a time that proved to be successful not just for his club career, but also internationally after he was picked for his England debut at the age of 31 by Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2001
* Shortly after the start of the 2004/05 season, Powell landed a move to local club West Ham United and played a significant part in the Hammer’s promotion winning campaign back to the Premier League via the play-offs at the end of the campaign
* Powell’s stint at Upton Park lasted only a season, though, after he was unable to agree a new contract with club and subsequently moved back to Charlton on a one-year deal in the summer of 2005
* After serving a further year at the Valley, where he played alongside current Derby striker Darren Bent, Powell moved to newly-promoted and experience-seeking Watford in 2006 – before he moved back to Charlton for a third time and made his final appearance for the club against Coventry in 2008 on the final day of the season
* During the closed season of 2008, Powell trained with League Two side Bournemouth on a trial basis before opting to move to League One outfit Leicester City on a six-month contract - which was eventually extended until the end of the season as they were promoted as Champions under Nigel Pearson
* In 2009, under Pearson’s management, Powell signed a contract to become a player-coach. He announced that in 2010 that he would hang up his boots
* His final professional game was, ironically, against Derby at the iPro Stadium on 27th March 2010 – bringing down the curtain a playing career that saw him make 763 appearances in club football and score eight times, as well as making five international appearances for England
* Prior to hanging up his boots, Powell acted as the Chairman of the Professional Footballer’s Association for five years and is a graduate of the LMA Certificate of Applied Management of Warwick University
Managerial & Coaching Career
* Having being retained on the coaching staff following the appointment of two different managers, Powell remained with Leicester until January 2011 before deciding to take up the role of manager at his former club, Charlton Athletic
* While his managerial debut with the Addicks began with a mid-table finish, in the summer of 2011, Powell signed 19 new players and lead Charlton to the League One title in his first full season in charge – a feat which saw him win the Manager of the Month on three occasions and also the LMA Manager of the Year
* The following season, Powell lead Charlton to a respectable 9th place finish in the Championship and the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, before he was relieved of his duties in March 2014
* On the 3rd September 2014, Powell was unveiled as the new manager of Huddersfield Town
* Powell guided the side to 16th place in the Championship before leaving the John Smith’s Stadium in November 2015, after nine months in charge. During his time with the Terriers, he worked with current Derby midfielder Jacob Butterfield
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