Gary Paul O'Neil (born 18 May 1983) is an English football manager and former player who was most recently head coach of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A midfielder, O'Neil made 214 Premier League appearances and scored 16 goals between 2003 and 2016, representing Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, West Ham United and Norwich City.
In his first job as a manager, O'Neil led AFC Bournemouth to a 15th place finish in the 2022–23 Premier League, but was then dismissed ahead of the following season.
He went straight into the starting eleven for his Premier League debut against bottom of the table Leeds United at Fratton Park and scored two goals in a 6–1 win.
[6] This performance meant that he maintained his place for the next match, away at Fulham but then had to travel to Dubai to captain England Under 20s in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.
[8] This was the last match of Redknapp's reign,[citation needed] and technical director Velimir Zajec took over a temporary manager and made O'Neil a regular in the Pompey midfield.
During Zajec's five-month reign Portsmouth fell from midtable to relegation candidates and Alain Perrin was appointed to keep the club in the Premier League.
Pompey lost the game 1–0[11] and went on a run of form that left them near certainties for relegation in mid-March but O'Neil's performance in a crucial 1–1 draw against Bolton Wanderers saw him keep his place in the starting XI.
[18] He made his debut in the League Cup semi-final, second leg, against Birmingham City, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Luis Boa Morte.
[19] On 6 February 2011, O'Neil made his Premier League debut for the Hammers against Birmingham City in a 1–0 defeat at Upton Park and also completed the full 90 minutes.
His 2010–11 season was ended prematurely on 16 April 2011 following a tackle by Aston Villa's Nigel Reo-Coker during West Ham's 2–1 home defeat at Upton Park.
On 7 August 2013, O'Neil signed for Championship side Queens Park Rangers on a one-year deal, re-uniting with former manager Harry Redknapp.
[25] O'Neil was a member of the Queens Park Rangers side which won the 2014 Football League Championship play-off final, 1–0 against Derby County on 24 May 2014.
[38][39] They would remain unbeaten for four more games, including a 2–1 victory against Leicester on 8 October, while O'Neil garnered a nomination for Premier League Manager of the Month for the team's performances in September.
[40][41] He remained in caretaker charge until the season paused for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, adding another Premier League victory, against Everton on 12 November, during that stretch.
However, in April 2023, O'Neil's side secured their place in the top flight by winning five matches out of seven, including victories over relegation contenders Leicester City, Southampton and Leeds United.
[45] Despite this success however, on 19 June 2023, Bournemouth announced they had dismissed O'Neil and appointed former Rayo Vallecano manager Andoni Iraola to replace him.
[46] On 9 August 2023, O'Neil was appointed head coach of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year deal, replacing Julen Lopetegui who had left due to disputes with the board.
[48] On his debut four days later, the team lost by a single goal away to Manchester United in which Wolves had a penalty appeal turned down in added time.