Chelsea have helped our Head Coach Mark Robinson start a coaching revolution which can give us a real platform for the new season.
Robbo recently made a presentation to the Champions League winners explaining why we would be the perfect club for them to loan out promising young players.
However, he also mentioned that we would love to give their coaching staff chances to work with first-team players. Robbo explained: “When I made a presentation to Chelsea about us loaning their best young professionals I also mentioned the possibility of us bringing in their best young coaches and giving them first-team experience.”
Chelsea loved the idea and James Simmonds is now joining our first team coaching staff on a secondment. Currently Under-18s Assistant Manager at the Premier League club, James is a former Chelsea youth team player who played alongside Jack Cork, Ryan Bertrand, and Scott Sinclair. He also played for Dover Athletic and for the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Spain.
Robbo added: “I was really pleased with how it worked with Justin Cochrane from the England set-up last season. We benefitted from his coaching ideas and general love of the game and I know he benefitted from the experience he gained with us. It will be exactly the same with James, who has been coaching with Chelsea for 10 years. He is a top-quality coach, who has a wonderful enthusiasm about him and will come to us with fresh eyes, which is healthy when you are continually evolving your working environment and building a culture. “
That isn’t the only change to our coaching set up, either. Rob Tuvey, who moved up from Under-18s manager to first-team coach last season, has been confirmed as our Assistant Head Coach, continuing a rise up the ladder that started when he coached our Academy Under-7s.
In addition, Academy Manager Michael Hamilton will take on Robbo’s old role as Loans Manager, ensuring that our young professionals get senior football experience elsewhere at the right stage in their development. Academy coach Jack Matthews will also play a key role in this process as Individual Development Coach for the first-team, setting development targets for young pros and assessing their progress.
Robbo is delighted with his backroom team and he also added that the video analysis department has been strengthened for the new season.
“I am inspired by the coaching team we have assembled,” said our first-team Head Coach. “I made changes last season by bringing in Andy Parslow as restarts coach and Steve Sallis to educate players in terms of performance mindset. We have now appointed Goncalo Pinto full-time to look after first-team analysis after his excellent work last season. We have also taken on Tom Daws full-time to look after individual analysis for the players in line with their development targets. Now we have more young professionals out on loan it is key we have this support in place to maximise their potential. We also have Vicky Newbold coming in on a consultancy basis to educate the players on nutrition.
“With Michael Hamilton showing great commitment and stepping forward to take over the logistics of loans, it has allowed us to bring Jack Mathews up to work on the individual development of our young professionals. Jack is a fantastically talented coach and he will carry on the great work of James Oliver Pearce, our Under-18s Head Coach.
“I have kept Rob Tuvey as my assistant for the simple reason that he was brilliant and has continued to be so in the off season. I think people get very confused with experience and age. Coaching (educating players) is a specialised skill and Rob has been doing it for 13 years. I see him as a massive asset for our Club in the same way as we would our best young players who effect football matches positively. Bayzo will continue to take more first-team responsibility, as well as coaching our keepers. Therefore, we have an excellent mixture of skill sets and personality. More importantly we have an abundance of creativity and open mindedness which will be key to our success.”
Assistant Head Coach Rob Tuvey said: “I’m proud of my progression when I look back to the days when I was coaching the Under-7s and Under-8s, but I’m so grateful that Robbo, Michael, and Joe have believed in me and given me the pathway at this football club.
“I watched the club after it reformed, but I’ve got to make sure that I take the emotion out of it now and be known as Rob Tuvey the coach, not as a fan. I want to help us create our own history for the club now. That’s the main aim.
“We are here at Plough Lane and we are so grateful to the fans and everyone involved in creating this wonderful stadium, but now it’s about myself, Robbo, and the players putting together a product on the pitch that the fans can be proud of.
“The main thing for me is to help Robbo, to be his sounding board when he needs it, and to make sure that I’m always trying to give him my honest opinion. I know what Robbo wants because I’ve worked with him for so long. We have a really good working relationship and I know how he likes things to be done. It’s about making sure that I help to get that message across to other staff and to the players ultimately. It’s a really exciting project and hopefully we can build upon the form that we showed in the final few months of last season.”
Click on the link below to watch an interview with Rob.