Craig Robert Shakespeare was an English professional footballer and coach.
27 Facts About Craig Shakespeare
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Craig Shakespeare played for Scunthorpe United before finishing his career in non-league football with Telford United and Hednesford Town.
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Craig Shakespeare was briefly caretaker manager at West Brom in 2006 and took a similar role at Leicester in February 2017 before he was appointed manager in March.
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Craig Shakespeare was appointed permanent manager of Leicester City on 8 June 2017 after signing a three-year deal.
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Craig Shakespeare later served as assistant manager for Everton, Watford, Aston Villa and the England national team.
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Craig Shakespeare signed as an apprentice at Walsall in September 1979, turning professional in November 1981.
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Craig Shakespeare stayed at Albion for over three years, making 128 appearances in total and becoming the team's first choice penalty taker.
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Albion were promoted in 1993, but Craig Shakespeare moved to Grimsby Town, rejoining Alan Buckley under whom he had played at Walsall.
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Craig Shakespeare later moved on to Scunthorpe United, and played for three non-league clubs before retiring.
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Craig Shakespeare later took up the post of academy coach, then in 2006 became Reserve Team Coach.
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In October 2006, following the departure of Bryan Robson and then his assistant Nigel Pearson, Craig Shakespeare was given charge of the first team for one game pending the arrival of Tony Mowbray.
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Craig Shakespeare left Albion in June 2008 to become Pearson's assistant manager at Leicester City, a move that was confirmed on 1 July.
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Craig Shakespeare once said that Pearson was the best captain he had ever played under.
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Craig Shakespeare then followed Pearson to Hull City, which lasted until 2011.
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Craig Shakespeare then followed Pearson back to Leicester City when the latter was reappointed manager there in November 2011.
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When Sam Allardyce was made England manager in 2016 Craig Shakespeare took on a coaching position alongside his Leicester job, but left when Allardyce resigned after just one match.
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Ranieri was sacked on 23 February 2017, with Leicester in 17th with 13 games remaining; Craig Shakespeare took over as caretaker manager.
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On 8 June 2017, Craig Shakespeare signed a three-year deal to be the permanent manager for Leicester City.
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On 1 December 2017, Craig Shakespeare was appointed first team coach at Everton following the appointment of Sam Allardyce as manager the previous day.
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On 16 May 2018, Allardyce and his backroom staff, including Craig Shakespeare, were dismissed by Everton.
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On 6 December 2019, Craig Shakespeare was reunited with Nigel Pearson , as he was named as assistant manager at Watford.
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Craig Shakespeare remained in this role until 19 July 2020, when Pearson and his backroom staff were sacked, despite there only being two games left in the season, and Watford being out of the relegation zone at that point.
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On 7 August 2020, Craig Shakespeare was appointed assistant head coach to former Walsall teammate Dean Smith at Aston Villa, the team he supported growing up.
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Craig Shakespeare parted company with Aston Villa on 8 November 2021, the day after Smith had left the club.
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On 10 April 2023, Craig Shakespeare was appointed assistant head coach at Leicester City, again under Smith.
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On 12 October 2023, it was announced that Craig Shakespeare had been diagnosed with cancer.
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Craig Shakespeare died on the morning of 1 August 2024, at the age of 60.