Didn't he get Exeter relegated last season?
Exeter City
Tisdale's neat footballing style was warmly welcomed at
St James Park, with his side's patient approach and desire to pass the ball in all areas of the pitch catching the eye amid the rough and tumble of the Conference.
In his first season at Exeter, Tisdale led The Grecians to their first appearance in the end-of-season
playoffs, where they played
Oxford United in the Semi-final. They lost the first leg at St James Park 1–0; however, they still managed to go through to the play-off final after a 2–1 victory at Oxford. This resulted in a 4–3 win on
penalties, where they met
Morecambe at
Wembley on the 20th May 2007 in the fianl in front of 40,000 fans. However, a late goal from
Danny Carlton meant that Morecambe won 2–1.
[1]
In Tisdale's second summer at
Exeter, his City side continued to play smart, tidy football and held their nerve in a tense climax to the season to qualify for the play-offs with a game to spare.
Similarly to the previous year, Exeter lost the home leg 2-1, yet won away 4-1 with 3 goals in the last 20 minutes for
Exeter– this time against
Torquay United – to seal a return to Wembley. Tisdale led the side out at
Wembleybefore his side claimed a 1–0 win against
Cambridge United on 18 May 2008.
[1] He is one of only four managers to lead The Grecians to promotion.
In naming Tisdale among the League's top ten managers, SkySports.com wrote in October 2008: "Tisdale is renowned for ensuring his sides play short, tidy football."
[1]
In December 2008, Exeter City extended their record of league (including Conference) games without back to back defeats to 125 matches, including the first 120 under Tisdale's management. This shattered the club's previous record of 53 league games without consecutive defeats. Defeats against Brentford in the last game of 2008 and at Notts County in the first of 2009 ended the run.
Tisdale cemented his place as one of Exeter City's most successful managers ever by guiding the club to second place in
League 2 during their first season back in the Football League in 5 years, in doing so becoming the first Exeter City manager to win successive promotions.
On their return to football in League 1, Exeter secured safety on the final day of the season with a 2–1 win over Huddersfield, securing 18th place in the league. The winning goal coming from
Ryan Harley8 minutes from time in front of a packed St James' Park. For Tisdale to secure League 1 status for the club was remarkable given the comparative differences in playing budget between themselves and other teams in the league such as
Leeds United,
Norwich City and
Southampton.
Even more remarkable is the fact that on top of previous player sales, Tisdale also recouped notable sums by selling
Dean Moxey to Derby County and
Danny Seaborne to Southampton. He has paid a transfer fee for just one player,
Troy Archibald-Henville, £50,000 from Tottenham Hotspur in 2010.
In the 2010–11 season, he guided the club to 8th in the league, equaling the clubs best ever finish. Tisdale came on as a sub against Sheffield Wednesday on the last day of the season; the first time for the club since becoming manager, and the first time as a player for more than a decade, since his
Yeovil Town days. The club confirmed his retirement as a player on 23 May 2011.
[5]
As a manager
Promotions
Managerial statistics
Team Nat From To Record G W L D Win %
Exeter City
26 June 2006
Present 317 122 108 87 38.49
In December 2008, Exeter City extended their record of league (including Conference) games without back to back defeats to 125 matches
