Curiously, Oldham had not beaten a top-flight club in a cup tie for 66 years, yet that season they beat four in four months (Arsenal, Southampton, Everton and Aston Villa), all at Boundary Park. Critics have pointed to the fact that Oldham played on an infamous plastic pitch between 1986 and 1991, resulting in an unfair home advantage. They certainly enjoyed a golden age during those years and only tore the pitch up due to Football League rules when they eventually reached the First Division. Whatever the reasons, it was undoubtedly a special team that got them there. Unfortunately, that is where it ended for Frankie Bunn: having missed the majority of the second half of that special season with that knee injury, he called time on his professional career at the age of 27.
He made a playing comeback in 1992 with newly-promoted Conference side Stalybridge Celtic, although he was always unable to train due to the knee injury. He then moved on to Radcliffe Borough in 1994 where he was appointed player-coach. After two more seasons, he hung the boots up for good in 1996 and joined Wigan Athletic as Community Development Officer.
With his coaching career underway, Frankie moved to Manchester City in 1998 as a youth team coach, turning down a similar offer from Oldham at the same time. The long-serving senior youth team coach at Maine Road was Steve Eyre (son of Lincoln legend Fred), with whom Bunn would build a lengthy working relationship. He enjoyed a spell as reserve team manager under Stuart Pearce before graduating to working with the first team. In February 2007 he moved to Championship side Coventry where he worked as both reserve and first-team coach under Iain Dowie. When Dowie was sacked in February 2008, Bunn enjoyed his first taste of management when he took joint control of the side for two games. After a 0-0 draw with Cardiff in the league and a 5-0 home defeat by West Brom in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Bunn reverted to his coaching role under new manager Chris Coleman. He remained at Coventry until May 2010 when his contract was not renewed.
His next job was at Newcastle as U18 coach in March 2011, but his stay was to prove very short. He quit Newcastle on 24 June 2011 to join Rochdale as assistant manager to his former Manchester City colleague Steve Eyre. Unfortunately things did not go well for the rookie management duo, and they were sacked on 19 December 2011 after one win in ten league games had left Rochdale 22nd in the table. Eventually they were to be relegated to League Two in bottom place.
Frankie joined up with Steve Eyre for the third time on 14 July 2012, at the Huddersfield Town Academy where Eyre had been appointed senior professional development coach a few months earlier. Initially placed in charge of the U18 side, Bunn had immediate success in leading the side to two Professional Development League II play-off finals after winning their North section, beating Crewe in the 2014 final. The side also reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-final that season. His success led to his promotion to Senior Professional Development Coach in July 2014, at which point he also took over coaching the U23 team. Bunn then reached two more PDL II play-off finals, winning in 2016 with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United.
In May 2016 he was linked with the vacant manager’s job at former club Oldham when John Sheridan left for Notts County. Having decided to remain loyal to Huddersfield, that loyalty was not reciprocated when he was made redundant from his job as U23 coach at Christmas 2017. Huddersfield had decided to downgrade their academy from Category II to Category IV because manager David Wagner felt that too few players were being developed for the first team. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise: on 13 June 2018 he was finally appointed manager of relegated League Two side Oldham on a one-year contract. Former Oldham team mate Andy Rhodes joined as his assistant.
After a year of turmoil at Boundary Park, it would be fair to say that the man named by Paul Scholes as his favourite ever player has a big job on his hands. Frankie Bunn has an impressive coaching record, especially recently at Huddersfield. If he can translate his obvious skills with development players into first-team success, there is no reason why Oldham cannot halt their current slide. But Frankie is another unknown quantity in League Two this season with no track record in senior management from which to judge him. It could be a very interesting season ahead.
Key:
P = Promoted; R = Relegated; SF = Lost in play-off semi-final; F = Lost in play-off final; PO = Won play-off final; D = Demoted.
Figures are league games only; cup matches and playoffs are not included.
League position shown is either the position at the end of the season or the position at the time of departure.
* Joint caretaker manager with John Harbin.
Writer: Scotimp
Who Are The League Two Managers? No.18: Frankie Bunn (@OfficialOAFC):https://t.co/jFTQ6pA6U3#Oldham #OAFC #EFL
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) July 28, 2018
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/1784354374934133
