Latest news with #managerialappointment
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Andrews' journey from set-piece expert to Brentford boss
Keith Andrews has landed his first senior managerial role 10 years after retiring as a player [Rex Features] Two months ago, Keith Andrews applied for the manager's job at League Two MK Dons only for former Derby County boss Paul Warne to get the role instead. In an unexpected turn of events, the former Republic of Ireland midfielder now finds himself a Premier League manager after Brentford promoted their set-piece coach to head coach following Thomas Frank's departure to Tottenham. Advertisement Andrews is the 98th permanent (non-caretaker or interim) managerial appointment by a Premier League club since June 2015, but only the sixth to be a first-time manager. Of the other five - Mike Phelan (Hull, 2016), Craig Shakespeare (Leicester, 2017), Scott Parker (Fulham, 2019), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal, 2019) and Gary O'Neil (Bournemouth, 2022) - only Parker and Arteta lasted longer than seven months as a permanent manager in that post. "An appointment like this is a rarity and a risk," Matthew Upson, who played with Andrews at Brighton in 2013-14 - and under him when the Irishman began his coaching career at MK Dons in 2015 - tells BBC Sport. "But it's exciting - it's got everyone talking about it. It's a real acceleration of Keith's career, but I know him well and I can understand why he has got this opportunity." Advertisement Dublin-born Andrews has gone from captaining Wolverhampton Wanderers at the age of 20 to landing his first senior managerial role at the age of 44. Will he be a success like Frank, who got Brentford promoted and established them in the Premier League during his seven years in charge? "I really like Keith but I don't think it's unfair to say that some people are very surprised," Dan McDonnell, football correspondent for the Irish Independent, says of the appointment. Suited and booted - smart appointment by Bees? Andrews' playing career included Premier League appearances for Wolves, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion, while he represented his country 35 times and featured at Euro 2012 when Giovanni Trapattoni was in charge of the Republic of Ireland. Advertisement But he has also experienced life in League Two at MK Dons, one of 12 different clubs he represented in a career spanning 15 years and 412 appearances in all competitions. "He has always been someone who is aware of the world around him," adds McDonnell, who has followed Andrews' career as a player and a coach closely. "He was close to the owner at MK Dons, Pete Winkelman, and his standing there in his mid-20s was such that he helped recommend Paul Ince as manager in 2007. "They had played together at Wolves. Ince then went to Blackburn and took Keith with him. "Keith has good interpersonal skills. He always had his eye on the future and what was going on. He was networking and speaking to people. Advertisement "He recognised it was a short playing career and maybe he realised that to stay in the game you had to have your eyes open to what was going on around you." After the Republic of Ireland qualified for Euro 2012, Andrews - who was 31 at the time - helped supply the squad with suits for the tournament after becoming involved in a clothing company. "He had an entrepreneurial side to him," says McDonnell. Andrews made his international debut in 2008 at the relatively late age of 28 soon after joining Blackburn, then a Premier League club, from League One MK Dons for around £1m. In 2009, he was part of the Ireland side that cruelly missed out on a place at the World Cup to France after Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball. Advertisement "Euro 2012 was a disaster [Ireland finished bottom of their group featuring Spain, Italy and Croatia] but Keith was probably one of the few to emerge with any credit," adds McDonnell. Andrews announced his retirement from playing in August 2015, aged 34, to become first-team coach to Karl Robinson at MK Dons. "I absolutely love my new role and this is the perfect place for me to start learning," he said at the time. "I'm just obsessed with football. I never switch off for a second - even when I'm watching a game at home on the sofa, I'm analysing it. "I'm just looking to evolve as I go along and it certainly won't be through a lack of effort if I don't get to where I want to go to." Advertisement Andrews (left) made a combined 84 Premier League appearances for Wolves, Blackburn and West Brom between 2003-2012, scoring seven times [Getty Images] 'Risky appointment - but refreshing too' Andrews worked as assistant to Stephen Kenny for both the under-21 and senior Republic of Ireland national teams until Kenny's departure in November 2023. Anthony Barry, now Thomas Tuchel's assistant at England, was also part of the coaching staff at the time Andrews was involved, before leaving to link up with Roberto Martinez at Belgium. Andrews joined the backroom staff at Sheffield United in December 2023 under Chris Wilder, leaving at the end of the season when he was appointed set-piece coach at Brentford. Though Andrews has been part of Brentford's backroom team since last summer, it has been known that he has had ambitions to begin his managerial career for some time - hence his decision to apply for the MK Dons job. Advertisement Appointing someone with no Premier League managerial experience will be viewed as a bold move by Brentford, whose first Premier League game of 2025-26 is at Nottingham Forest on 17 August. Andrews (right) in action with Spain's Xabi Alonso, who has recently been appointed Real Madrid's new boss, at Euro 2012 [Getty Images] Yet it continues a policy of appointing from within after Frank was promoted from his role as an assistant to replace Dean Smith in 2018. Frank had managed Brondby and Denmark youth teams before joining Brentford. "It is a risk but it is also refreshing from Brentford," adds former England defender Upson. "It shows they have got faith in their structure, the same as they had when they appointed Frank." Advertisement On his time working with Andrews at Brighton and MK Dons, Upson says: "He's a very personable guy, and is excellent working with the players - he has got really good people skills, and his communication was really good. "He was a good talker on the pitch and that links into his coaching as well. "I had a good chat with Keith only a few weeks ago when I was covering a Brentford game for 5 Live and he was very complimentary about the club and working with Frank, and talked about how he was really getting his teeth into his role. "He doesn't have the experience of being a manager but he has the personality and the belief to do it and that must have come across, not just in an interview but from his work at the club in the past few months." Advertisement Andrews has certainly made an impact since he was appointed set-piece coach at the Gtech Community Stadium on 1 July, 2024. Fourteen of Brentford's 66 Premier League goals in 24-25 came from set-pieces. Only Arsenal (17), Crystal Palace (17), Nottingham Forest (17), Aston Villa (16), Brighton (15) and Everton (15) scored more. Meanwhile, Brentford finished top of the table in terms of fewest goals conceded from set-pieces (3) - second on the list is Manchester City who conceded six. Last season, the Bees gained a reputation for exploiting a fast start from kick-offs, with Andrews' methods said to be partly responsible for the strategy. Advertisement In three successive league matches between 14-28 September - Manchester City (away), Tottenham (away) and West Ham (home) - they scored after 22 seconds, 23 seconds and 38 seconds. In Brentford's next game - a 5-3 home win over Wolves on 5 October - Nathan Collins scored after 76 seconds. "What I would say from my time working with him is that he kept things relatively simple in the way he viewed the game as a player," adds Upson. "He would do the simple things really well and he would like to play forwards quickly. "With how he sees the game and how he thinks as a coach, his style definitely suits Brentford and follows on relatively seamlessly from how Thomas Frank set them up, and how they already play." Will critics be lining up? Andrews has been a pundit on radio and television in both the Republic of Ireland and England. Advertisement He was highly critical of Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill after losing to Wales in 2018, and told him to "stop moaning", adding: "They don't have a clue what they are doing." Andrews can expect to face similar scrutiny himself now he is a Premier League manager, but what will success look like for Brentford under their new boss? Since winning promotion to the Premier League in 2021, the Bees have finished 13th, 9th, 16th and 10th. "Following on from Thomas Frank, there is probably going to be a point where the team is going to have a wobble, a dip or a drop-off in results," says Upson. Advertisement "What happens then is going to be interesting, and it comes down to what the expectations are for Keith, really. "Even Thomas Frank has had wobbles in the past, when the team went through really bad spells. It also looks like Bryan Mbeumo is going to go, which is a blow. "It is a really interesting appointment but having played with Keith and seen him as a coach, very much in his early days, I can see why he has got this chance. "As well having good opinions, he is an impressive communicator in how he gets his ideas across. That is a very strong skill that he has, which will help him as a manager - if you can get the players on board with you, that is half the battle." Advertisement Matthew Upson was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Andrews' journey from set-piece expert to Brentford boss
Two months ago, Keith Andrews applied for the manager's job, external at League Two MK Dons only for former Derby County boss Paul Warne to get the role an unexpected turn of events, the former Republic of Ireland midfielder now finds himself a Premier League manager after Brentford promoted their set-piece coach to head coach following Thomas Frank's departure to is the 98th permanent (non-caretaker or interim) managerial appointment by a Premier League club since June 2015, but only the sixth to be a first-time the other five - Mike Phelan (Hull, 2016), Craig Shakespeare (Leicester, 2017), Scott Parker (Fulham, 2019), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal, 2019) and Gary O'Neil (Bournemouth, 2022) - only Parker and Arteta lasted longer than seven months as a permanent manager in that post."An appointment like this is a rarity and a risk," Matthew Upson, who played with Andrews at Brighton in 2013-14 - and under him when the Irishman began his coaching career at MK Dons in 2015 - tells BBC Sport."But it's exciting - it's got everyone talking about it. It's a real acceleration of Keith's career, but I know him well and I can understand why he has got this opportunity."Dublin-born Andrews has gone from captaining Wolverhampton Wanderers at the age of 20 to landing his first senior managerial role at the age of he be a success like Frank, who got Brentford promoted and established them in the Premier League during his seven years in charge?"I really like Keith but I don't think it's unfair to say that some people are very surprised," Dan McDonnell, football correspondent for the Irish Independent, says of the appointment. Suited and booted - smart appointment by Bees? Andrews' playing career included Premier League appearances for Wolves, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion, while he represented his country 35 times and featured at Euro 2012 when Giovanni Trapattoni was in charge of the Republic of he has also experienced life in League Two at MK Dons, one of 12 different clubs he represented in a career spanning 15 years and 412 appearances in all competitions."He has always been someone who is aware of the world around him," adds McDonnell, who has followed Andrews' career as a player and a coach closely. "He was close to the owner at MK Dons, Pete Winkelman, and his standing there in his mid-20s was such that he helped recommend Paul Ince as manager in 2007."They had played together at Wolves. Ince then went to Blackburn and took Keith with him."Keith has good interpersonal skills. He always had his eye on the future and what was going on. He was networking and speaking to people. "He recognised it was a short playing career and maybe he realised that to stay in the game you had to have your eyes open to what was going on around you."After the Republic of Ireland qualified for Euro 2012, Andrews - who was 31 at the time - helped supply the squad with suits, external for the tournament after becoming involved in a clothing company."He had an entrepreneurial side to him," says made his international debut in 2008 at the relatively late age of 28 soon after joining Blackburn, then a Premier League club, from League One MK Dons for around £ 2009, he was part of the Ireland side that cruelly missed out on a place at the World Cup to France after Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball."Euro 2012 was a disaster [Ireland finished bottom of their group featuring Spain, Italy and Croatia] but Keith was probably one of the few to emerge with any credit," adds announced his retirement from playing in August 2015, aged 34, to become first-team coach to Karl Robinson at MK Dons."I absolutely love my new role and this is the perfect place for me to start learning," he said at the time."I'm just obsessed with football. I never switch off for a second - even when I'm watching a game at home on the sofa, I'm analysing it."I'm just looking to evolve as I go along and it certainly won't be through a lack of effort if I don't get to where I want to go to." 'Risky appointment - but refreshing too' Andrews worked as assistant to Stephen Kenny for both the under-21 and senior Republic of Ireland national teams until Kenny's departure in November Barry, now Thomas Tuchel's assistant at England, was also part of the coaching staff at the time Andrews was involved, before leaving to link up with Roberto Martinez at joined the backroom staff at Sheffield United in December 2023 under Chris Wilder, leaving at the end of the season when he was appointed set-piece coach at Andrews has been part of Brentford's backroom team since last summer, it has been known that he has had ambitions to begin his managerial career for some time - hence his decision to apply for the MK Dons someone with no Premier League managerial experience will be viewed as a bold move by Brentford, whose first Premier League game of 2025-26 is at Nottingham Forest on 17 August. Yet it continues a policy of appointing from within after Frank was promoted from his role as an assistant to replace Dean Smith in 2018. Frank had managed Brondby and Denmark youth teams before joining Brentford."It is a risk but it is also refreshing from Brentford," adds former England defender Upson."It shows they have got faith in their structure, the same as they had when they appointed Frank."On his time working with Andrews at Brighton and MK Dons, Upson says: "He's a very personable guy, and is excellent working with the players - he has got really good people skills, and his communication was really good. "He was a good talker on the pitch and that links into his coaching as well."I had a good chat with Keith only a few weeks ago when I was covering a Brentford game for 5 Live and he was very complimentary about the club and working with Frank, and talked about how he was really getting his teeth into his role."He doesn't have the experience of being a manager but he has the personality and the belief to do it and that must have come across, not just in an interview but from his work at the club in the past few months."Andrews has certainly made an impact since he was appointed set-piece coach at the Gtech Community Stadium on 1 July, of Brentford's 66 Premier League goals in 24-25 came from set-pieces. Only Arsenal (17), Crystal Palace (17), Nottingham Forest (17), Aston Villa (16), Brighton (15) and Everton (15) scored Brentford finished top of the table in terms of fewest goals conceded from set-pieces (3) - second on the list is Manchester City who conceded season, the Bees gained a reputation for exploiting a fast start from kick-offs, with Andrews' methods said to be partly responsible for the three successive league matches between 14-28 September - Manchester City (away), Tottenham (away) and West Ham (home) - they scored after 22 seconds, 23 seconds and 38 Brentford's next game - a 5-3 home win over Wolves on 5 October - Nathan Collins scored after 76 seconds."What I would say from my time working with him is that he kept things relatively simple in the way he viewed the game as a player," adds Upson. "He would do the simple things really well and he would like to play forwards quickly."With how he sees the game and how he thinks as a coach, his style definitely suits Brentford and follows on relatively seamlessly from how Thomas Frank set them up, and how they already play." Will critics be lining up? Andrews has been a pundit on radio and television in both the Republic of Ireland and England. He was highly critical of Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill after losing to Wales in 2018, and told him to "stop moaning", , external adding: "They don't have a clue what they are doing."Andrews can expect to face similar scrutiny himself now he is a Premier League manager, but what will success look like for Brentford under their new boss?Since winning promotion to the Premier League in 2021, the Bees have finished 13th, 9th, 16th and 10th."Following on from Thomas Frank, there is probably going to be a point where the team is going to have a wobble, a dip or a drop-off in results," says Upson."What happens then is going to be interesting, and it comes down to what the expectations are for Keith, really."Even Thomas Frank has had wobbles in the past, when the team went through really bad spells. It also looks like Bryan Mbeumo is going to go, which is a blow."It is a really interesting appointment but having played with Keith and seen him as a coach, very much in his early days, I can see why he has got this chance. "As well having good opinions, he is an impressive communicator in how he gets his ideas across. That is a very strong skill that he has, which will help him as a manager - if you can get the players on board with you, that is half the battle."Matthew Upson was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Cardiff working on deal for Barry-Murphy
Cardiff City are working on a deal to make Brian Barry-Murphy their new Bluebirds are in negotiations with Leicester City over the 46-year-old, who is currently part of Ruud van Nistelrooy's backroom staff at the are said to be progressing and should pave the way for the former Manchester City academy coach to take charge at the entered into advanced discussions with Barry-Murphy over the role after he emerged as the leading choice to succeed Omer Riza, who was sacked in captain Aaron Ramsey had taken temporary charge but was unable to prevent the club's relegation to the Championship, before then ruling himself out of – who has previously been linked with the Cardiff job – was among the names recommended to the club's board by a panel, with former Oxford United boss Des Buckingham also a contender after efforts to snatch Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones hit a Irishman has not managed at senior level since a two-year spell at Rochdale where he earned praise for his style of play and working with homegrown terms would still have to be formally agreed with Barry-Murphy, as well as arrangements over backroom staff.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Cardiff trial new hiring process in manager search
Cardiff City will trial a new process to appoint their next manager, by assembling a sub-committee – including former Swansea City sporting director Mark Allen – to lead a search they hope to complete by the end of after finishing bottom of the Championship, Cardiff are preparing to play in the third tier next season for the first time since are looking for their ninth manager in four years after sacking Erol Bulut and Omer Riza during this campaign, with Aaron Ramsey taking charge of the final three games on a temporary turbulence on and off the field has prompted fierce criticism from fans, who have staged protests demanding that club owner Vincent Tan and the board and former players have questioned Tan's apparent reluctance to appoint a director of football or some kind of intermediary between the board and the management what appears to be a reaction to criticism of the board's lack of football knowledge, Cardiff will use a new sub-committee for their next managerial appointment, with "high" interest in the job according to chairman Mehmet on a one-off basis for this recruitment process, the sub-committee will answer to the board and will feature Bluebirds head of academy Gavin Chesterfield, former Manchester City academy manager Allen and a member of the Wasserman agency."I think some of the criticism is fair, some of it is not fair. Overall, I would say I would welcome more knowledge on football," said Dalman. "After all, this is a football club and the more people it has who understand football the better it is. We're striving towards that."We need a new manager and we've got to get it right. This is not one to take lightly if we are going to exploit the best of the talent we have."Personally, I'd like to see a proven manager who's done this before and knows how to get the best out of the young and the experienced players."Previously, it has been Tan, Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo leading the managerial recruitment has led to mixed results. Cardiff have gone through 16 managers in 15 years under Tan and, despite twice being promoted to the Premier League, this season's drop to League One was the consequence of a third relegation battle in four hopes the new approach can help the Bluebirds make an instant return to the Championship."In terms of process, we've recruited a lot of managers in the past and we've got some right, but got some wrong," he added."This time we can't take that risk so we're putting in place a process where we'll have globally-recognised sporting agents, Wasserman, working with us, not exclusively but they are driving the process of recommending potential managers to us."On the board level, we're creating a sub-committee on football, where two people will probably, but not necessarily, be appointed from the outside for the purpose of recruiting a manger. We are making an internal appointment from the academy who has experience in football."They [sub-committee] will run the first round of interviews and I'm envisaging 30-odd applicants and that will be distilled down to about a dozen, then half a dozen. Then it becomes a board interview process and a final recommendation to the owner."Dalman would not be drawn on potential candidates, but hopes the process will be concluded quickly."I can't give you any names, but the interest is high. This is a big club, it's good to see it is attracting good names who are interested in taking on the challenge," he said."To be honest, there are too many names there for me and the board to distil and analyse and that's why this process will help us."We will end up with two or three buckets, if you like, one will be for an experienced manager who has done this before; a bright, upcoming manager who will give us a longer-term (option), and the club desperately needs that stability; and the third one is that we will look at some of the continental managers and go to a shortlist."We will then make a final decision, certainly within the next month, if not within the next two weeks." Criticism 'overdone, unfair and hurtful' Along with Tan and Choo, Dalman has faced stinging criticism from supporters at games and a written statement to fans, Tan hit back at suggestions he does not care by insisting he watches every game and speaks to the manager before and after each one."I don't speak for Vincent Tan. What I can say is I think some of the criticism is overdone and unfair. This is an owner who has got this club promoted twice into the Premier League," Dalman said."He has injected a substantial amount of funds in the club. In his statement, it was clear to me he wants to bounce back. On the other hand, he has always said 'Everything is for sale at the right price - except for family'."As far as I am concerned, and I am having this discussion after a dialogue with him, I don't see anything else but his commitment to make sure we bounce back."Asked about the criticism directed at himself, Dalman added: "Honestly, it's hurtful. I think people underestimate how challenging this job is. I am a non-exec here. I have chaired this club for 14 years and some of the remarks are too personal for me."But I am committed to making sure we do the right thing for the club. We have a financial interest in the club, but, honestly, that's secondary to me. We will do the best we can."Vincent, myself and Ken Choo, our chief executive, feel the pain a lot more than people imagine, not just financially but emotionally."
