Bulletin Board
Who’s in, who’s out and what’s available
July 11, 2025
Hannon appointed Head of Sports Nutrition at Man Utd
Marcus Hannon has been appointed Head of Sports Nutrition at Manchester United as the club continue their summer staff rebuild.
There have been a huge number of departures from United over the last year as the club cuts its headcount. In February, Chief Executive Omar Berrada informed staff of a fresh wave of redundancies, saying that up to 200 were set to lose their jobs, following on from 250 in the summer of 2024.
One recent exit was Performance Nutritionist Thomas Maynard, who had worked for United for 21 months, and who is now Performance Nutritionist for Al Ain in the UAE. In his place at United has come Hannon, who has been Lead Performance Nutritionist for the Qatar FA and for the Aspire Academy for the last two years.
Prior to this, Hannon was Head of Nutrition at Aston Villa from 2020 to 2022. At United, he will work closely with Will Carvalho, who joined from Brighton to become their Head Performance Chef last month.
Hannon presented on TGG’s Recovery Webinar, giving expert insights into ‘nutrition in a congested fixture schedule.’ You can buy the Webinar as a one-off or watch it for free if you’re a TGG Member.
July 10, 2025
Shah promoted to Head of Methodology by Tottenham
Zaheer Shah has been promoted to the new role of Head of Football Methodology at Tottenham.
A Head of Methodology is responsible for overseeing implementation of a game model and coaching methodology across a club.
Data and video is usually key to doing this and Shah has a background in analysis, having been a First Team Performance Analyst at Spurs since 2019.
Prior to this he worked for Brentford for six years, going from Academy Intern to First Team Performance Analyst.
July 9, 2025
Mangan goes from Stockport to Botafogo in Brazil
Stockport County Assistant Andy Mangan is moving to Brazil as part of Davide Ancelotti’s staff at Botafogo.
Ancelotti, 35, was appointed Head Coach of the Brazilian side yesterday (July 8th), marking the first managerial role of his career.
One of his first acts has been to bring in Mangan, a 38-year-old former striker who played for Tranmere Rovers and Shrewsbury Town. The duo know each other from their time together doing their coaching badges with the Football Association of Wales.
Ancelotti and his father Carlo had attempted to bring Mangan onto the staff at Real Madrid last season, but the Englishman’s work permit was rejected.
The other members of Ancelotti’s Botofogo staff are Spaniard Luis Tevenet, 51, who has worked at Levante and Atlético Madrid, and Italian, Luca Guerra, 36, who has worked with the Ancelottis at Bayern Munich, Everton and Napoli.
Davide Ancelotti was our guest on Episode #19 of the TGG Podcast.
July 2, 2025
QPR promote Hemingway to Head of Analysis
QPR have promoted Lead First Team Performance Analyst Saul Hemingway to be their new Head of Analysis.
Hemingway has moved swiftly through the ranks at Loftus Road since arriving as First Team Performance Analyst in February 2023 from Manchester United. He was promoted into his previous role last summer and has now moved up again. He has also worked for Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Salford City.
Meanwhile, QPR have appointed Alou Diarra as First Team Coach as part of new Head Coach Julien Stephan’s backroom staff, which also includes Steve Bould. Diarra has previous coaching experience with Lens and Troyes. As a player, he won 44 caps for France and played in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy. He spent some of his playing career in England with West Ham United and Charlton Athletic.
June 26, 2025
Former Wolves Set Piece Coach joins Sparta Prague
Former Wolves Set Piece Coach Jack Wilson has joined Sparta Prague in the same role.
The Scot was Wolves’ first dedicated Set Piece Coach, but departed last October after just seven Premier League games with the club.
Prior to this he was Performance Analyst for Set Pieces at Manchester City and Assistant First Team Performance Analyst for Brentford – the pioneers of specialist set piece coaching and has also worked for the Irish FA, Hearts and Dundee United.
Writing on LinkedIn, Wilson said: “Really excited to be joining Sparta Prague as Set-Piece Coach! An amazing club with great people. I can’t wait for the games to get started!”
Earlier this month Newcastle United Under-21s Lead Diarmuid O’Carroll joined Sparta Prague as First-Team Coach.
June 22, 2025
Lucas leaves Preston to join Perth Glory
John Lucas is leaving Preston North End after three years to become Performance Director at Perth Glory in Australia’s A League.
Writing on LinkedIn, Lucas said: “So opportunities don’t come along too often, especially ones which are just too good not to accept. I’ve loved the last three years at PNE and was very fortunate to work with some brilliant staff and players during that time [at] a truly a fantastic football club.
“So excited for this next chapter. A complete new challenge ahead and exciting times approaching.”
Lucas joined PNE as their Head of Performance in May 2022 and has also headed up the fitness departments at Salford City and Plymouth Argyle.
June 19, 2025
Hyde returns to Watford in Academy role
Watford have appointed their former midfielder Micah Hyde as the club's new Academy Head of Coaching.
Hyde, who has been a Senior Professional Development Coach in QPR’s Academy for the past five years, replaces Jimmy Gilligan, who left earlier this month after four years as the club’s Academy Head of Technical Development.
As a midfielder, Hyde made 286 appearances for the Hornets, including in the Premier League.
Academy Manager Richard Johnson is a former team-mate and said: “I’m looking forward to rekindling the partnership with Micah and to the continued progress of the Academy.”
June 19, 2025
Carr and Stead join Bristol Rovers backroom team
Rhys Carr and Jon Stead have joined Bristol Rovers as men's First Team Assistant Head Coaches.
It is a second spell at the club for Carr after previously working as their Lead Professional Development Phase Coach. Since leaving the Memorial Stadium, he has worked as an Elite Player Development Coach at Wolves, an Assistant Head Coach for the Republic of Ireland and also had a spell as Interim Head Coach and then First Team Coach at Coventry City.
Stead is reunited with Rovers Manager Darrell Clarke, with whom he also worked in the same role at Barnsley. He made more than 700 senior appearances for 10 clubs in England and started his coaching career in the US as an Assistant Head Coach at Hartford Athletic and then Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Rovers were relegated to League Two last season and Director of Football Ricky Martin said: “Everyone is working tirelessly to ensure the club starts pre-season positively. The appointment of two Assistant Coaches of such quality is another step in this process.”
June 18, 2025
Cleverley adds to Plymouth backroom staff
New Plymouth Argyle Head Coach Tom Cleverley has brought three of his backroom team from Watford to Home Park.
Damon Lathrope has joined as Assistant Head Coach, Matt Bevans has become First-Team Coach and Chris Douglas is the club’s new First-Team Performance Analyst.
They join First-Team Coach and former Caretaker Manager Kevin Nancekivell and Goalkeeping Coach Darryl Flahavan, who were already part of Argyle’s backroom staff.
Former Assistant Manager Adin Osmanbasic and Head of Athletic Performance Eddie Lattimore have both left the club.
June 17, 2025
Newcastle U21s Lead leaves to join Sparta Prague
Newcastle United Under-21s Lead Diarmuid O'Carroll has left the club after 10 months to become First-Team Coach at Sparta Prague.
The 38-year-old joined Newcastle in September 2024 from St Mirren, where he was Assistant Manager. He was also a senior coach with the Northern Ireland senior men’s team and continued in that part-time position.
Writing on LinkedIn, O’Carroll said: “I’ve absolutely loved my time working at Newcastle United, I didn’t envisage it being this short but this opportunity was too exciting for me to turn down.
“It’s genuinely been a real pleasure working with top staff and with some very exciting young players. I wish everyone at the club nothing but continued success going forward.”
Sparta Prague’s Manager is the former Denmark international Brian Priske. Newcastle are now looking for a replacement for O’Carroll, with the title Player Development Lead (U21s).
The job is being advertised on TGG and the summary states that the successful candidate will have, “Overall responsibility for the day-to-day management of the U21 squad and managing their transition into first-team football; enabling players to achieve their full potential through collaborative working with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), nurturing our talent to produce players capable of making the transition to first team.”
June 13, 2025
Shan promoted to Villa U21 Head Coach
Jimmy Shan has been promoted to Under-21s Head Coach by Aston Villa, replacing Josep Gombau.
Gombau joined in January 2024, having previously worked for Barcelona’s Academy and the Australia Olympic team. He led Villa’s youngsters to the last 16 of the UEFA Youth League last season.
Shan, the former West Brom caretaker Head Coach, had a stellar season as U18 Head Coach last season, winning the U18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup.
President of Football Operations Monchi said: “The club is very excited by the talent of our Academy players. Jimmy has shown his ability to conduct and develop players with the U18s and we look forward to watching him work with our U21s.”
June 12, 2025
Leman leaves Swansea for Portsmouth role
Swansea's Head of Performance Intelligence Ian Leman has left the club to join fellow Championship club Portsmouth.
Leman becomes Pompey’s Elite Performance Insight Lead and has worked for the club before as Performance Improvement Consultant during the 2023/24 season. He was also advising Swansea during the same period before joining the Welsh club full-time in October 2024.
Before working in football, Leman spent 12 years in the UK military, including three tours of Afghanistan leading elite teams on military intelligence operations and working on defence liaison operations in the Middle East and South East Asia.
June 5, 2025
Carter lands First Team Operations role at Villa
Paul Carter has become the new First Team Operations Manager at Aston Villa.
Carter has been promoted from his role as Senior Kit and Equipment Manager, which he had held since joining the club three years ago, to replace Matt Bennett, who has taken up a similar role at Al Ain Club in the United Arab Emirates.
He has also worked as Assistant Kit Man at Birmingham City, Assistant Kit Manager at Stoke City and Kit and Equipment Manager at Cardiff City – a job he had for more than five-and-a-half years before moving to Villa Park in the summer of 2022.
June 4, 2025
Sport Scientist Scott leaves Southampton
First Team Sport Scientist Sam Scott is leaving Southampton after 13 years at the club.
Scott originally joined the club staff in December 2012 as an Academy Strength and Conditioning Coach and went on to perform the same role for the club’s Under-9 to Under-16 players until being appointed to his first team role in December 2020.
He said on LinkedIn: “It wasn’t an easy decision to step away from somewhere that’s given me so much, both professionally and personally. Saints has been where I’ve truly learned my trade.
“I’ve been lucky to have shared some boyhood dream moments and now feels the right time for a new chapter. I’m excited to put that experience into building something of my own helping others push forward with their physical performance.”
June 4, 2025
Badlan joins Aston Villa as Scout
Chris Badlan has been appointed as a Scout by Aston Villa.
Badlan returns to English football after nearly a year-and-a-half as Head of Recruitment at Aberdeen.
Before that, he spent nearly six years at Wolverhampton Wanderers – four as Technical Recruitment Officer before being promoted to Head of Emerging Talent.
From there he had a brief spell at Norwich City as Head of European Scouting and then more than four-and-a-half years as Head of Recruitment at Coventry City. In-between that and his job with Aberdeen, he spent five months as Sporting Director at Blackpool.
TGG Members: Aston Villa staff profiles
May 30, 2025
Analyst Bailey leaves Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur's Lead Performance Insights Analyst Chloe Bailey has left the club to take up a new job in Norway.
Bailey joined the club in October 2019 as Post Match Performance Analyst, before being promoted to Data Analyst and then Lead Data Scientist in June 2023. She played a key role in Spurs’ Football Insights department led by Fred Leth.
She has been appointed as Lead Football Data Analyst/Scientist for the Norwegian Football Association.
TGG Members: Tottenham Hotspur staff profiles
May 30, 2025
Jones leaves Kansas to take up Cambodian role
Gerard Jones has left his role at Sporting Kansas City to become Head Coach of Cambodian Premier League side Visakha FC.
Jones spent three-and-a-half years as Director of Coaching in the MLS side’s Youth department, setting up a new Youth Academy Affiliate – Sporting City North.
Rick Ashcroft, who was made redundant from his role in Manchester United’s Academy in September as part of the club’s cost-cutting programme, will be joining Jones as his Assistant and will also become Visakha’s Academy Manager.
May 21, 2025
Derby appoint Clements as Head of Goalkeeping
Paul Clements has been appointed as Derby County's Head of Goalkeeping.
Clements initially joined the Rams on an interim basis in February after John Eustace became Head Coach.
He has now signed a contract until the summer of 2028 and will oversee the Men’s First Team and Academy goalkeepers.
The 40-year-old has previously had senior roles with Stoke, Norwich and Huddersfield, where he was for nine years, and Academy roles at Wolves and Middlesbrough.
Leigh Bromby, who was Academy Manager and then Head of Football Operations at Huddersfield, has described Clements as: “The best coach, goalkeeper or otherwise, that I’ve worked with.”
May 14, 2025
Tivey joins Chelsea as Physical Performance Coach
David Tivey has been appointed as a Physical Performance Coach at Chelsea.
Tivey was previously the Head of Performance at Nottingham Forest and Swansea City, working under Steve Cooper. Prior to this, Tivey was a Performance Coach with the Football Association for seven years, again working with Cooper. The duo won the Under-17 World Cup with England in 2017.
For the last nine months, Tivey has been working as a Consultant with The FA, primarily with the men’s U20s. His move to Chelsea sees him reunited with Bryce Cavanagh, who was Head of Performance for The FA from 2016 to 2023.
Cavanagh has been the Director of Performance at Chelsea since October 2023.
May 10, 2025
Cairney appointed Lead First Team Scout by Blackburn
Dundee United Head of Recruitment Michael Cairney has joined Blackburn Rovers as Lead First Team Scout.
Cairney had worked at Tannadice for a year and prior to that worked for Sport Republic, the owners of Southampton. He has also been Head of Scouting at Doncaster and Head of Recruitment at Barnet.
Former Manchester United Central European Scout Piotr Sadowski recently joined Rovers as a Senior Scout.
The Championship club have been without a Head of Recruitment since John Park left the club in November 2024.