How is ex-Birmingham City and Leeds United manager Garry Monk getting on these days? | OneFootball

FLW take a look at the career of Garry Monk since leaving the likes of Leeds United and Birmingham City.

Garry Monk may have spent just one season in charge of Leeds United, but he oversaw the Whites' best season in five years and had rejuvenated belief at Elland Road before joining the likes of Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday.

It's fair to say that Leeds supporters had seen their fair share of flop signings in the years prior to Monk's arrival, particularly during the Massimo Cellino era. However, the 2016/17 campaign saw shoots of life in West Yorkshire, with multiple signings going on to become the foundation of one of their best sides in recent years.

Monk's time at Leeds saw the club just miss out on the play-offs, finishing seventh, which was a decent effort when you consider some of the off-field upheaval and mid-table finishes the club's support had become accustomed to in the seasons prior to his arrival.

He reinvigorated the fanbase after the side languished in mid-table for multiple seasons, and under his tutelage, clever recruitment included the likes of Luke Ayling, Kemar Roofe, Pontus Jansson, and Kyle Bartley. Despite the foundations which he had helped lay, he left the club at the end of the season.

The former Swansea City manager resigned as Leeds boss at the end of the 2016/17 season, leaving many involved with the club surprised. Despite falling short, they had looked on course for a place in the top-six until the closing weeks of the season and many expected him to continue that summer.

Garry Monk's career post-Leeds

The 2017/18 season saw Leeds return to mid-table following Monk's departure, but the years that followed saw Leeds enjoy huge success under Marcelo Bielsa, although supporters have Monk's arrival in the summer of 2016 to thank for turning a corner after finishing 13th, 15th, 15th, 13th, 14th in the five years prior.

Monk left Leeds with a win percentage of 47.2%, having had initial success with Swansea City between February 2014 and December 2015 in the Premier League. On the back of heading out of Elland Road, Monk took the Middlesbrough job after their relegation from the Premier League.

However, he lasted only 26 games, suffering nine defeats in that short period. Monk was then appointed manager of Birmingham City in March 2018, but in June 2019, it was reported that the relationship between himself and chief executive Xuandong Ren had broken down, with Ren dissatisfied with Monk's playing style and plans for the new season and Monk unhappy with the sales of key players.

After leaving Blues, he then took the reins at Sheffield Wednesday in September 2019 for the remainder of the 2019/20 season. After just over a year in charge, on 9 November 2020, he was sacked by the Owls, with the club second-last in the league.

Interestingly, despite being a fairly active manager following his retirement, with five different jobs between 2014 and 2020, Monk took some time to return to management after his Wednesday dismissal. For a period, Monk was content with coaching sessions up and down the country, with a return to management not forthcoming until this year, when Cambridge United appointed him as their new chief.

Garry Monk's stint in charge of Cambridge United

The 45-year-old may have had an array of EFL jobs over the course of his coaching career, including Leeds, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday, as well as Swansea City in the Premier League, but he now finds himself in the third tier for the first time as a manager.

On 4 March 2024, after a little over three years away from football management, Monk was appointed head coach of Cambridge on a contract until the end of the 2025/26 season to replace the outgoing Neil Harris, who had opted to re-join Millwall. Monk's first game as Cambridge head coach ended in a 1-1 draw with Northampton, but they were then thumped 6-0 by ex-Leeds coach Michael Skubala's Lincoln City.

He oversaw 11 games at the back end of the season to secure their status in League One with an 18th-place finish. Monk won twice, with both wins coming in back-to-back games against Barnsley at Oakwell and Wigan Athletic in a home fixture. They would draw a further four times, including in the final two games of the season, but would taste defeat in five games, including a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Reading.

Three wins in pre-season ahead of 2024/25, including one over Championship play-off semi-finalists West Brom, meant there was some optimism about what Monk might do, despite League One looking like a stronger league this season. Things didn't transpire that way early on, with Cambridge rooted to the foot of the table for much of the season so far, having drawn once in their first nine league games.

That was a 4-4 draw at home to Blackpool after coming back from 4-1 down, but the pressure was on Monk after losing the other seven fixtures — each of them was a 2-0, 2-1 or 1-0 defeat, though, and there remained the possibility that things could turn around quickly.

They have since tasted victory in back-to-back games this week to lift themselves from 24th place, having won 2-0 at home to Wigan Athletic and 2-0 away to Stevenage. It leaves them four points from safety after 11 games and has eased some of the pressure on the ex-Birmingham and Leeds boss already.