In the end, it wasn’t meant to be. Darren Fletcher was appointed as Manchester United’s caretaker manager in January 2026, after the Red Devils hierarchy decided to dispense with the services of Ruben Amorim. It presented Fletcher with a unique opportunity, as his sons – Jack and Tyler – had been knocking on the door of the United first team even in the last days of Amorim’s tenure in charge.
With Africa Cup of Nations call-ups and injuries decimating the Red Devils’ squad, there was a very real chance that Fletcher would be forced to name one – or both – of his sons in the starting eleven. The Scot took charge of two games: a Premier League tie with Burnley and an FA Cup clash with Brighton. He named Jack amongst his substitutes for the former, with both Jack and Tyler on the bench against the latter. Would either of them get on?
The answer was a resounding no, as Fletcher decided not to field either of his boys in the draw with Burnley and the defeat against Brighton. And so the chance of ending an eleven-year wait for a father-son, manager-player situation in the Premier League came to an end, with Michael Carrick replacing Fletcher as interim manager later that month. And so that exclusive club of EPL father-son, manager-player combinations remains rooted at five for the foreseeable future.
Brian & Nigel Clough (Nottingham Forest)
You might think that accusations of nepotism would follow these familial connections. But not so with the Cloughs; quite simply, plain-speaking Brian would not stand for it. His son, Nigel, earned his place at Nottingham Forest on merit, working his way through the youth ranks and breaking into the first-team picture thanks to the weight of goals he scored.
A prolific goalscorer in the 1980s and into the nineties, Nigel was a mainstay of his dad’s Nottingham Forest sides – ultimately notching 131 goals for the Tricky Trees across 400+ appearances. Clough Jr would secure a lucrative transfer to Liverpool in 1993 after being called up for England’s European Championship squad a year earlier.
All of which meant that the Cloughs would only have one Premier League season together in 1992/93, as the old First Division went through its EPL re-brand. And it was a bitter one for Forest fans, as the club was relegated to the second tier. Nigel left Nottingham for Liverpool after his father had been sacked by the Forest board. As Brian himself said when clubs had previously shown an interest in signing his boy: “I can’t let him go, his mother would kill me.”
Alex & Darren Ferguson (Manchester United)
It would be fair to say that Darren Ferguson wasn’t blessed with the same amount of talent as Nigel Clough. Indeed, there are those who believe that if it wasn’t for the fact that his father, Alex, was a rather formidable figure at Manchester United, he might not have played top-flight football at all.
But the Scot did appear for the Red Devils 28 times over a four-year period, including a run of games in the first team when Bryan Robson suffered an injury. Back in the days when ten appearances was enough to secure a Premier League winner’s medal, Darren Ferguson did just about enough to get his hands on some silverware – his father masterminding United’s run to the title in 1992/93.
Ferguson Jr was moved on to Wolves in 1994, before going on to play out his career in the lower levels of English football… but he would always be a Premier League champion.
Mind you, some felt he was ‘very lucky’ to do so. Roy Keane, who captained Manchester United before falling out with Ferguson Sr, hinted at nepotism:
Ferguson came out and said he always did what was best by Manchester United. Nonsense! His son Darren played for the club and won a league medal, very lucky. His brother was the chief scout for Manchester United for a long time. I’m surprised his wife wasn’t involved in the staff somewhere.
Gordon & Gavin Strachan (Coventry City)
When Gordon Strachan moved to Coventry City as player-coach in 1995, he of course moved his family south with him from Leeds United. That included his son, Gavin, who was considered to be a talented if limited young footballer.
But trusting in the family name, Strachan Sr handed his son a contract after taking over as manager in 1996, but Gavin was unable to truly break through. In the end, he made just 16 league appearances for Coventry City over the course of four years – with eleven of those coming as a substitute. But, for the interests of this article, a handful of those came in the Premier League – securing the Strachans’ place in the EPL father-son hall of fame.
Harry & Jamie Redknapp (Southampton)
Harry Redknapp managed Tottenham for nearly four years between 2008 and 2012, doing an admirable job and landing a win ratio a fraction shy of 50%. His son, Jamie, was a respected midfielder who won 17 caps for England. He played for Tottenham too.
But it wasn’t at Spurs that the Redknapps would form their Premier League father-son combination. Instead, that would come at Southampton in 2005. Harry was parachuted in by the Saints in December 2004 to save them from relegation, and by early January he’d snapped up Jamie on a free transfer – throwing him straight into first-team action.
He made just 16 appearances as he battled the injuries that would ultimately end his career that summer. Southampton would be relegated in May 2005, with Harry staying on as manager until December.
Steve & Alex Bruce (Birmingham and Hull City)
Steve Bruce signed his son, Alex, when he was manager of Birmingham City during the 2004/05 season. Bruce Snr would hand his boy, a chip-off-the-block centre back, his Premier League debut during the 2005/06 – to cries of nepotism from the media. Alex would make just six appearances before being moved on to Ipswich Town, commenting:
The fact that my dad was the manager did get in the way. My teammates and the fans were fantastic, but the press gave me a hard time.
The Bruces would be reunited at Hull City in 2012, where things went rather better – the Tigers enjoying a promotion campaign to the Premier League, where Steve and Alex would add their name to the annals of father-son combinations for a second time.
