Goodman leaves Spurs to head up MK Dons Academy
Goodman has been Assistant Head of Player Development at Spurs since December 2018
Written by Simon Austin — March 30, 2019
TOTTENHAM’S Assistant Head of Player Development, Jon Goodman, has been appointed Academy Manager at MK Dons.
Goodman replaces Mike Dove, who held the role the role from 2004 to 2018, while Simon Dwight, who had been doing it on an interim basis, will now become assistant.
Goodman, 47, played more than 150 games for Millwall and Wimbledon as well as winning four caps for the Republic of Ireland. After retiring, he moved into fitness and sports science, working for Reading, Northern Ireland, the Nike Academy and Leeds United.
From May 2017 to December 2018 he was Academy Manager at Notts County, before moving to Tottenham. He will join MK Dons on April 8th and his departure represents another high-profile exit for the Spurs Academy, with Under-18 coach Matt Wells having recently moved to Fulham.
“It was a difficult decision to leave Tottenham, but once I had met with (chairman) Pete Winkelman, (manager) Paul Tisdale and (Executive Director) Andrew Cullen, I was immediately struck by the passion and vision that they shared,” Goodman said.
“The Academy here has a fantastic reputation and I am looking forward to working with Simon Dwight and all the staff in our drive to produce high-quality homegrown players for the first team.”
Executive Director Andrew Cullen added: “After an extensive and thorough recruitment search, we are delighted to announce and confirm the appointment of Jon Goodman as our new Academy Manager.
“We have chosen Jon, who has a wealth of experience in coaching, developing players and in operational management, to lead the Academy through what promises to be a most exciting stage in the club’s development.
“I would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to Simon Dwight for continuing as interim Academy Manager whilst we completed the search for the permanent role.
“During this time, Simon has successfully steered the Academy through a critical audit process and resulting in our Academy licence being awarded for a further period.”
MK Dons have a Category 3 Academy and placed 47th in our Academy Productivity Rankings for 2017/18.
