Stapley appointed Assistant Technical Director by Southampton
Written by
Training Ground Guru
May 3, 2025
Elliott Stapley has been appointed to the new position of Assistant Technical Director by Southampton.
The move reunites him with Group Technical Director Johannes Spors, with whom he worked at 777 Group. Spors, who joined Southampton in February this year, was Global Sporting Director of 777, which owned clubs including Genoa, Standard Liège and Vasco da Gama, while Stapley was their Head of Technical Scouting and Analysis.
At Southampton, Stapley will assist Spors in recruitment strategy and long-term squad development, Southampton said.
Another former colleague of Spors’, Nikola Ladan, has also joined, as Head of International Scouting. Ladan joins from Genoa, where he was International Football Scout after retiring from playing in 2022.
Meanwhile, Andy Goldie has been promoted from Academy Director to Director of Group Talent Strategy and will “oversee all aspects of talent development, talent management, and talent acquisitions across the Sport Republic group.”
Academy Manager Duncan Fearnhead, who joined from Accrington Stanley in September 2024, will report into Goldie, as will his equivalents Sports Republic’s other clubs, Walenciennes in France and Göztepe in Turkey.
This will “ensure a unified and strategic approach to developing world-class talent,” Southampton said.
As TGG revealed last month, Mariela Nisotaki has joined from Norwich City as Head of Group Talent Acquisition.
Southampton said Nisotaki, who was our guest on Episode #34 of the TGG Podcast, “brings a strong track record in identifying and recruiting high-potential players aligned with long-term development models” and was “widely recognised as a key figure in a number of successful transfers in her role of Assistant Head of Recruitment at Norwich.”
Anthony Sheldon has joined as a Video Scout, having previously been a Software Engineer at Barclays.
The appointments are part of a big restructure under Spors. Until his arrival, the club had not had an official Technical Director or equivalent since the departure of Matt Crocker in April 2023.
Rasmus Ankersen, the CEO and Co-Founder of Sport Republic, had been doing elements of the job along with Director of Football Operations Mark Bitcon, while also taking an overview of the group’s other two clubs.
Head of Recruitment Darren Mowbray exited last month and Southampton are about to announce a replacement.
Spors said: “This is an important first step in establishing a strong and aligned football structure at Southampton as we head into an important summer for the club.
“Andy’s new role and the additions of Elliott, Nikola, and Mariela strengthen our ability to develop and recruit top talent in a strategic and unified way. I look forward to seeing them all flourish in their new roles with us.”
Southampton have won only 13 of 92 Premier League matches since Sport Republic bought the club in January 2022.
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