Brothers In The Dugout

Brothers Danny and Nicky Cowley led Lincoln City to an incredible FA Cup upset on Tuesday night as the non-league Imps beat Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich Town from the Championship.

The Siblings have led their side to their FA Cup fourth round for the first time since the late great Graham Taylor achieved this feat back in 1976.

The Cowley brothers are a success story. Aside from their cup run, manager Danny and assistant Nicky have led Lincoln to the top of the National League and they look set to return to the Football League after a five-year absence.

But, how successful have other brothers duos been in the dugout?

Ronald & Erwin Koeman

Ronald Koeman and brother Erwin, are currently in charge at Everton. The brothers first worked together at Southampton, as manager and assistant, and the success they had there led to Ronald bringing his younger brother Erwin over to Everton last summer.

The duo led Southampton to a 7th place finish in their first season, rose to 6th the season after, and they currently lie 7th in the league with Everton having demolished Man City 4-0.

Their aggressive and attacking style of play means the duo are a hit with the fans. A measure of their success is the fact that Ronald has recently been loosely linked with the Barcelona job. If he does end up at the Nou Camp, he is sure to take his brother with him.

Gary & Phil Neville

England have trusted Gary Neville a huge amount during his career. Gary was a solid right back and went on to be England assistant manager under Roy Hodgson before Valencia offered him their vacant managerial position. Brother Phil Neville was already at Valencia as assistant manager when his brother joined him.

The pair were about as successful as England in major tournaments. The most embarrassing defeat of their reign was a 7-0 hammering away at Barcelona, and in total the club had won just three of Gary’s 16 games in charge before he was dismissed. The club failed to keep a clean sheet and were just six points off the relegation zone. Phil left the club at the end of the season.

Bobby & Jack Charlton

Now this brotherly duo did England proud. The World Cup winners from ’66 also had separate managerial careers.

Sir Bobby spent two years in charge of Preston North End but was not successful as PNE got relegated in his first season. He left the club after a disagreement over the sale of John Bird to Newcastle.

Brother Jack had a longer and more fruitful managerial career. He was named Manager of the Year after leading Middlesbrough to the Second Division title, which they won by 15 points. He led the side to two mid-table finishes before leaving the club, which he said he later regretted. He joined Sheffield Wednesday before a short spell at Newcastle United, following that he took charge of the Republic of Ireland.

Jack famously beat England in Euro 1988 before leading his side to the Quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup. Ireland then qualified for Euro 92, then at the 1994 World Cup Ireland again secured a famous result, beating Italy 1-0. They went out to the Netherlands in the round-of-16 but Jack was awarded the freedom of Dublin for his achievements.

Filippo & Simone Inzaghi

Filippo Inzaghi might be better remembered for his prolific goal scoring from his playing career but he is now trying to make his name as a manager. After a period managing AC Milan’s under-19s he was made first team coach following the departure of Clarence Seedorf. He was only in charge for one season leading Milan to a disappointing 10th place finish, while he now manages Venezia who are top of the Italian third Division.

Filippo's brother Simone had been youth manager at Italian giants Lazio since 2010 but has now got the first team job on a permanent basis. Lazio currently sit fourth so the Inzaghi brothers seem to be doing well as a pair of managers!