Martin leaves West Ham to become Technical Director at Stoke
Martin worked with Stoke manager Alex Neil at Norwich City
Written by Training Ground Guru — November 7, 2022
RICKY MARTIN has been appointed Technical Director at Stoke City after almost four years as Academy Manager at West Ham.
The move reunites him with Potters boss Alex Neil, with whom he worked from 2015 to 2017 at Norwich City.
Martin spent a total of 16 years with the Canaries, rising to become Academy Manager and then Technical Director. At Stoke he will oversee all aspects of their football operation, including Academy, analysis, medical, performance and recruitment.
His last day at West Ham will be on Friday, before he starts work at Stoke next week.
Andy Cousins, who was promoted from Lead Analyst to Head of Football Operations in February this year, will now become Head of Recruitment.
Martin joined West Ham in January 2019, initially as Academy Operations Manager, before being promoted to Academy Manager when Terry Westley exited a few weeks later.
Meanwhile, Kenny Brown, who joined as Assistant Head of Coaching for the 9s to 14s at West Ham last December, will step up to become Interim Academy Manager at Chadwell Heath.
A permanent appointment “will be a priority” for Sporting Director Mark Noble when he takes up his new role in January, the club said. Brown will be assisted by Head of Coaching Development Kalam Mooniaruck.
West Ham said: “Everyone at West Ham United would like to thank Ricky Martin for his fantastic service and dedication to the role since he arrived as Academy Manager in 2019. We wish him all the very best for the future.”
Brown added: “On behalf of everyone at the Academy, I’d like to thank Ricky for all of his hard work and support. He has been a great help to me personally since I arrived at the club in January and he leaves the Academy in an extremely strong and healthy position.
“We continue to hold Category One elite status following the recent report from the Professional Game Academy Audit Company, meaning that we can provide the very highest tier of youth football provision for our players.
“I am looking forward to continuing that good work with Kalam – who has great experience and knowledge having been at Chadwell Heath for more than four years now – along with all of the Academy staff, who do such great work across so many areas.”
West Ham placed seventh in our 2021/22 Academy Productivity Rankings, up a place from the previous season.
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