Bulletin Board

March 7, 2025

Blackburn hire Man Utd’s Sadowski as Senior Scout

Piotr Sadowski has left Manchester United after seven-and-a-half years to become Senior Scout at Blackburn Rovers.

The Pole joined United in September 2017 as their Central European scout as part of a big overhaul of their scouting and recruitment department. He had previously been Academy Operations Director at Lech Poznan for two years and Head of Scouting in the UK for the Polish Football Association before that.

Previous United Chief Executive Ed Woodward had brought in more than 50 new scouts from 2015 to 2017 but the club are now scaling back. 

Writing on LinkedIn, Sadowski said: “I am excited to share that I have joined Blackburn Rovers Football Club and I am starting a new chapter in my career path as a Senior Scout. I am honoured to be a part of this historical club now.”

March 4, 2025

Villa hire Ulster’s O’Neill as new Loans Physio

Aston Villa have hired Gareth O’Neill from Ulster Rugby to become their new Loans Physio.

O’Neill has extensive experience in rugby union, having been a Senior Physio for Wasps, Cornish Pirates and the Dragons, as well as for Ulster, where he was also Rehab Lead.

Loans Physios are becoming more common in elite football as clubs build their support around on-loan players. Villa advertised the role before Christmas and the job purpose was to “lead, co-ordinate, deliver and evaluate player-centred rehabilitation and performance development to our on loan First Team and Academy players.”

Writing on LinkedIn, O’Neill said his time at Ulster had been “a boyhood dream fulfilled.”

He added: “This role has meant so much to me on so many levels. I can’t speak highly enough of the people behind the scenes at this club and how they look after each other, professionally & personally. I’m incredibly grateful.

“Ran onto the field in ’99 with my Dad after we beat Stade Francais in the semi-final. Walk off it with a full heart, knowing it’s only a matter of time before more kids storm it again after big European victories.”

February 24, 2025

Dawson and Alcock sacked by Leicester

Leicester City have parted company with First Team Coaches Ben Dawson and Danny Alcock.

The duo joined the club at the start of 2024/25 under Steve Cooper and had a brief spell in interim charge when the Welshman was sacked in November. They stayed on when Ruud van Nistelrooy was appointed as Cooper’s successor, but have now been dismissed.

“We place on record our thanks to Ben and Danny for their contribution and service and wish them both well in the next steps of their respective careers,” Leicester said.

Van Nistelrooy’s remaining assistants are: Jelle ten Rouwelaar (Assistant and Goalkeeper Coach), Brian Barry-Murphy (Assistant), Andrew Hughes (Set Piece Coach) and Andy King (First Team Coach).

TGG Members: Leicester City staff profiles 

February 24, 2025

Round and Clements join Eustace at Derby

Former Arsenal Assistant Steve Round and ex Huddersfield, Norwich and Stoke Goalkeeper Coach Paul Clements have joined John Eustace’s staff at Derby County.

Eustace succeeded Paul Warne as Derby County Manager earlier this month and immediately brought long-time Assistants Matt Gardiner and Keith Downing with him to Pride Park.

Now Round has joined on a “part-time basis in a support role” until the end of the season. Derby said this would allow Eustace and his staff to “tap into” Round’s “significant experience for the remainder of the campaign.”

Round was a Derby full-back in the 1990s and began his coaching career with the Rams under the late Jim Smith. After that he was Assistant at Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Everton, Manchester United, Derby (under Steve McClaren in 2014/15) and Arsenal (from December 2019 to July 2023).

He was also Director of Football at Aston Villa from September 2016 to July 2018. 

Clements spent eight years at Huddersfield Town, where he became Head of Goalkeeping, and went on to work for Norwich City and Stoke City. He left the Potters halfway through this season when Narcis Pelach was sacked.

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.”

Meanwhile, First Team Coach Matt Hamshaw and Goalkeeper Coach Andy Warrington have left the Rams, following on from the recent departures of Warne and his Assistant Richie Barker.

February 19, 2025

Leicester legend King promoted to Foxes first-team staff

Leicester City legend Andy King, who made 379 appearances for the Foxes, has been appointed to the club’s first-team staff and will act as a bridge between the Academy and senior side.

The 36-year-old former midfielder rejoined Leicester as Under-18s Assistant last summer.

Manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy said: “Andy is one of the people in the Club with Leicester City in the DNA. What has impressed me most is his eye for the team and for the details of the game. He’s very bright in his ideas and we’re aligned in the idea of how to bring Leicester City forward.

“[Early on] I asked him to be a part of the First Team with the coaching staff. He really liked it, we all did, also the players. He’s fully a part of that set-up now and I’m happy that he’s helping us with his knowledge of the club and also of football.

“He also is a bridge with the Academy. We have players like Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans who are with us a couple of days a week and he’s guiding these players so they’re not caught in the middle.

“That’s one of his important tasks. It’s fantastic to have him here.”

King won the Premier League, Championship and League One during his time as a Leicester player. He joins the existing first-team coaching staff of Jelle ten Rouwelaar, Brian Barry-Murphy, Ben Dawson, Andrew Hughes and Danny Alcock.

TGG Members: Leicester City staff profiles

February 16, 2025

Simpson leaves FA to become UEFA Performance Analyst Co-Ordinator

Daniel Simpson has left the Football Association after four years to become Performance Analyst Co-Ordinator for UEFA.

Simpson joined the FA as Games Insights Analyst in January 2021 and was responsible for the planning, collation and delivery of football insights in line with their Coach Development Framework. 

Writing on LinkedIn, Simpson said: “After four fantastic years at the FA, where I have developed a much deeper understanding of coach development and met many people who I know will be friends for life, I am excited to have started my new role at UEFA. 

“The first week has flown by and I am really looking forward to getting settled into both UEFA and Swiss life. Oh, and of course the mountains.”

At UEFA, he will report into Atle Rosseland, the Supervisor Performance Analysis. Jason Todd, UEFA’s Strategic Performance Analysis Lead, explained what the Analysis and Technical Department do in this article for TGG earlier this month. 

February 13, 2025

Eustace takes coaching duo to Derby County

John Eustace has taken Assistant Matt Gardiner and First Team Coach Keith Downing with him to Derby County.

Eustace was today named Derby Manager on a three-year contract, leaving Blackburn Rovers, where he had been in charge for a year.

Gardiner has worked with Eustace at QPR, Birmingham and Blackburn, while Downing, a former England Under-19s and 20s Head Coach, has worked with him at Birmingham and Blackburn.

The duo are both UEFA Pro Licence coaches. David Lowe, Damien Johnson, Ben Benson, Mike Sheron and Paul Butler have taken interim charge at Blackburn following the departure of Eustace and his assistants. 

February 10, 2025

Former Huddersfield Head of Performance joins CF Montreal

Former Huddersfield Town Head of Performance Paul Bower has joined CF Montreal in the MLS as a Physical Performance Coach.

Bower left Huddersfield in April after seven years’ service. Since then he has been working as an Athletic Development Consultant for the Under-15s to 21s at Leeds United.

Writing on LinkedIn, Bower said: “I am so grateful for the staff and players at Leeds for making me feel so welcome – there are some brilliant people there across the board. 

“I hope that they return to the Premier League this season and develop the Academy to be one of the best around over the coming years – it definitely has huge potential.

“Being out of full-time work was especially hard, as many people will have experienced. I’m therefore thankful to experience a new club, city, country, continent, culture, and league, confirming to myself that I know very little and have plenty to learn (including French!)”

February 8, 2025

Brentford Set Piece Analyst joins New England Revolution

Brentford Set Piece Analyst Marc Ortí Esteban has left the Bees after two years to join New England Revolution in the MLS.

The Spaniard joined Brentford in February 2023 from their sister club FC Midtjylland, which is also owned by Matthew Benham. He took over the position from Jack Wilson, who went on to be Set Piece Analyst at Manchester City and then Set Piece Coach at Wolves.

Esteban has been appointed Set Piece Coach for the New England Revolution, whose Head Coach is Caleb Porter. Brentford are now looking for a new Set Piece Analyst, who will work closely with Set Piece Coach Keith Andrews. 

TGG Members: Brentford staff profiles

January 31, 2025

Kyle joins Bolton as Schumacher’s Assistant

Richie Kyle, who has worked alongside Rob Edwards at Forest Green, Watford and Luton Town for the last four seasons, has been named as Steven Schumacher’s Assistant at Bolton.

Schumacher was appointed as Bolton’s new boss yesterday, replacing Ian Evatt. He has taken Kyle and Mark Hughes – who worked alongside him at both Plymouth and Stoke – as Assistants. 

“I’m delighted to have made Mark and Richie my first two appointments since joining the club,” Schumacher said. “They are going to be very important additions, alongside the staff already here, who I know will make a huge contribution to the work we plan to do.”

Julian Darby and Andy Taylor, who had taken interim charge of the League One side for two games after Evatt was sacked, will also be part of Schumacher’s backroom staff when Bolton visit Reading tomorrow. 

January 26, 2025

Roberts-Smith leaves Luton Town after ‘journey like no other’

Head of Performance Jared Roberts-Smith has left Luton Town after two spells spanning seven years. 

Roberts-Smith originally joined the Hatters in 2016, before moving to Stoke City with Manager Nathan Jones three years later. He returned to Kenilworth Road under Jones at the start of 2021/22 and remained when Rob Edwards succeeded the Welshman as Manager.

However, following the sacking of Edwards and arrival of Matt Bloomfield as Manager earlier this month, Jared-Smith has now departed.

Writing on LinkedIn, he said: “I gave it my all and worked as hard as I could. Departing hoping I made a difference and carrying memories that will last a lifetime.

“Have enjoyed being part of such a special club, surrounded by incredible people, starting in League Two working all the way up to the Premier League across two spells over seven amazing years – it was a journey like no other. 

“A huge thank you to all the players, coaches, analysts, performance & medical staff, catering teams, media, kit men, grounds, security and pitch teams, cleaners, behind-the-scenes staff, and the fans who make the Brache and the Kenny truly unforgettable. I wish nothing but the best for LTFC and all my friends, past and present.”

January 22, 2025

Muslic adds Osmanbasic and Lattimore to staff at Plymouth

New Head Coach Miron Muslic has added Adin Osmanbasic and Eddie Lattimore to his backroom staff at Plymouth Argyle.

The duo both worked with him at his previous club, Cercle Brugge. Osmanbasic, who becomes Assistant, worked as an Analyst in the MLS before joining Cercle in August 2024.

Lattimore, who has been appointed Head of Athletic Performance and First Team Coach, worked for Tottenham, Swansea and Reading before joining Cercle in July 2020. 

Both appointments are subject to final visa and work permit approvals.

Gareth Law, who had been Head of Performance under Wayne Rooney, reverts to his previous role as Head of Physiotherapy. Kevin Nancekivell continues as First Team Coach and Darryl Flahavan as Goalkeeping Coach. There club said there could be further additions too.

“Adin and Eddie are two people I know well from my time at Cercle and are outstanding at their respective roles,” Muslic said.

“Both will strengthen the team we have in place and know the way I work on and off the pitch and the footballing principles we want to implement into the team.”

January 16, 2025

Former Brighton Scouting Manager joins Ipswich Town

Pete Bulmer, Brighton’s former Senior Scouting Manager, has been appointed Head of Technical Scouting for the North of England by Ipswich Town.

As TGG reported in November, Bulmer was made redundant by Brighton along with Centre Forward Scouting Manager John Doolan and Emerging Talent Manager Charlie Hutton as part of a revamp of their scouting and recruitment department.

He had joined the Seagulls in April 2022 from Blackburn Rovers, where he was First Team Scout, and was focused on scouting centre-backs for the Premier League side.

January 15, 2025

Bloomfield brings trio of staff to Luton

New Luton Town Manager Matt Bloomfield has taken a trio of staff with him to the club from Wycombe.

The 40-year-old was named as Luton’s new boss yesterday after agreeing a three-and-a-half year contract with the Championship club.

He has brought Assistant Richard Thomas, First-Team Coach/ Goalkeeper Coach Lee Harrison and Senior Analyst Ben Cirne with him to Kenilworth Road.

Luton CEO Gary Sweet said: “We identified Matt’s personal and team-building qualities as the outstanding candidate to fit in with the culture we have long established here at Luton Town, and I’m sure every supporter will join me in welcoming him, along with Richard, Lee and Ben to Kenilworth Road.”

TGG Members: Luton Town staff profiles 

January 14, 2025

Quartet leave Luton after Edwards exit

A quartet of staff have left Luton Town following the exit of Manager Rob Edwards last week.

January 14, 2025

McCarthy joins Brighton as U21s Coach

Former Wycombe full-back Jason McCarthy has been appointed as an Under-21s Coach by Brighton. 

The 29-year-old hung up his boots at Christmas, having made 301 career appearances and 220 for Wycombe in four separate spells. He has the UEFA B License, studied psychology, emotional intelligence and leadership on a 16-month postgraduate course at Portsmouth University and has also completed a five-month course at the PFA Business School on data analytics in football and sport.

McCarthy will assist Head Coach Shannon Ruth and plugs a gap left by Gary Dicker, who left his role as U21s Assistant in November to become Head Coach of Crown Legacy, the reserve team of MLS side Charlotte FC.

Brighton Academy Manager Ian Buckman said: “After a thorough process, we’re delighted to welcome Jason to the club. He is a great fit for the profile of coach we wanted to appoint and is an exciting addition to the staff.

“He has a huge amount of recent experience in the professional game as a player and a big desire to make the step into coaching. We believe that he can be a really positive influence on the U21s and look forward to the future with him.”

January 10, 2025

Radusin leaves Cardiff after 11 years to join San Diego

Jack Radusin has left Cardiff City after 11 years to become a Video Analyst with San Diego in the MLS.

Radusin joined the Bluebirds in 2013 and quickly rose up the ranks in first the Academy and then the first team. Since 2016 he has been Head First Team Performance Analyst for the club and has worked with eight managers during that time: Neil Warnock, Neil Harris, Mick McCarthy, Steve Morison, Mark Hudson, Sabri Lamouchi, Erol Bulut and Omer Riza. 

San Diego are the new MLS franchise owned by The Mansour Group – which also owns Right to Dream – and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. 

In 2021, Radusin did this piece with TGG on how he used live video on the bench on matchday. 

TGG Members: Cardiff City staff profiles

December 28, 2024

Shaw joins Cardiff City as Riza’s Assistant

Richard Shaw has been appointed as Omer Riza’s Assistant at Cardiff City.

The former defender, who played for Crystal Palace and Coventry City, is an experienced coach. He has been caretaker manager at Millwall and Coventry and was most recently U23 boss at Crystal Palace and Watford – which is where he worked with Bluebirds boss Riza (from 2021 to 2024). 

In the summer of 2023, he worked for the Canada national team alongside Phil Neville at the CONCACAF Nations League Finals and Gold Cup.

TGG MEMBERS: Cardiff City staff profiles

December 23, 2024

Taylor promoted to Head of Player Care and Personal Development by Leicester City

Cleveland Taylor has been promoted from PDP Player Care Officer to Head of Player Care and Personal Development by Leicester City following the departure of Paul Wassell after five years.

Taylor is a former professional player and coach, who made more than 400 senior appearances for clubs including Scunthorpe United, Burton Albion and Carlisle United.

Leicester are currently advertising on TGG for a Player Care & Personal Development Officer to assist Taylor. 

Meanwhile, Under-21s Analyst Hannah Beare has been promoted to Lead age group Performance Analyst for the women’s pathway. Harbir Rana has stepped up from the U18s to replace her, while Camren Bisal moves from U15/U16 Analyst to U18s Analyst. 

The Foxes are also advertising for an U15/U16 Analyst on TGG. 

December 22, 2024

Selles takes two assistants to Hull City

Ruben Selles has taken two staff with him from Reading to Hull City - James Oliver-Pearce and Tobias Loveland.

Oliver-Pearce joins as Selles’s Assistant, while Loveland has been appointed First-Team Coach. Oliver-Pearce, 33, was First-Team Coach for Reading from July 2022, having previously spent a decade with AFC Wimbledon, in both Academy and first-team roles.

Loveland, who is also 33, first worked with Selles at Southampton, where he was Senior Technical Analyst, and moved with him to Reading as Assistant. 

“I’m delighted to be here and to work with an exciting group of players with plenty of potential and opportunity to develop,” Loveland said. “First and foremost, Rubén is a fantastic human; I appreciate him as a friend and the opportunity he has given me to learn.

“His football knowledge is outstanding, his life experience is huge. He is a great person to work with and we are looking forward to our journey with Hull City.”

Selles was appointed Hull City boss on a two-and-a-half year deal at the start of December. He was our guest on Episode #59 of the TGG Podcast.