Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English former professional football manager and coach.

Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional sports coaching with Notts County in 1993.

[4] Slade started out as a PE teacher at Frank Wheldon School after studying Sport at Edge Hill University.

The following season saw mixed league performances, but a tremendous FA Cup run which saw victories over Hinckley United, Doncaster Rovers, Port Vale, and finally Southend United following a replay, meant a glamorous home tie in front of Premier League Chelsea.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, Grimsby Town decided not to renew the contract of manager Nicky Law following relegation into League Two.

Despite guiding his team to a semi-final victory over local rivals Lincoln City, Slade was unable to secure promotion, Grimsby losing 1–0 in the final against Cheltenham Town in the Millennium Stadium.

[13] On 6 March 2009, Slade was appointed manager of struggling Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the season,[14] and succeeded in ensuring they avoided relegation from League One by beating Stockport 1–0 in the final game.

On 6 October 2014, Slade was appointed manager of Championship side Cardiff City on a two-year contract, replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

[21] Slade was tasked with reducing the club's wage bill, which was still inflated after the relegation from the Premier League in the previous season.

Slade became unpopular with a large section of supporters and crowd numbers fell dramatically during his tenure at the club, as he finished 11th in his first season and 8th in his second.

[28] On 6 June 2016, Slade signed a three-year contract to be manager of Charlton Athletic following their relegation to League One.

[32] In February 2017, he led Coventry to the final of the EFL Trophy, after beating Wycombe Wanderers in the semi-final at the Ricoh Arena.

[33] The last minute equaliser by AFC Wimbledon on 14 February 2017 meant that Slade had equalled the record set by Noel Cantwell of nine games without a win at the start their reign as Coventry City manager.

[40] In 2021, Slade led a group of hundreds of footballers who were threatening legal advice against the data collection industry.