Owen to remain as Stoke City Academy Manager after u-turn
Stoke announced in July that Owen would be leaving the club
Written by Training Ground Guru —
GARETH OWEN is to remain as Stoke City Academy Manager after reversing his previous decision to depart.
In July, Stoke announced that Owen was leaving after more than a decade to “seek a new adventure within the game.” He was due to depart this month, but has now decided to stay on.
Technical Director Ricky Martin said: “The fact that Gareth’s recent experiences within the club – and the direction in which he sees things travelling – have influenced his decision to stay with us is credit to his colleagues and testament to the potential that exists within our age group squads.
“We will continue in our pursuit of developing the best possible players through our Academy pathway. That, of course, is an exciting project and an area we must continue to strengthen and support as we seek to increase our production of homegrown talent."
Owen added: “Although the process we worked through in recent weeks was intended as transitional, it helped me take stock regarding the scale of the opportunity for the Academy, and the immensely talented players within it, in the future.
“Following positive conversations with Ricky in particular, our assessment was that for me to stay is in the best interests of the football club. Having been part of Stoke City for the majority of my footballing life on and off the field, to me, that really is the most important thing.”
Owen was a product of the Potters’ youth system and enjoyed a 288-game playing career with Stoke, Oldham, Stockport and Port Vale. He returned to Stoke in 2012 as a Foundation Phase coach and was promoted to Academy Director in May 2019.
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