Strudwick steps down as Wales Head of Performance after five years
Tony Strudwick speaking at TGG's 2018 Cohesive Coaching event
Written by Simon Austin — March 3, 2023
TONY STRUDWICK has stepped down as Wales Head of Performance after almost five years and been replaced by Nick Davies.
Strudwick, who is a former Head of Performance for Manchester United and England, had held the role since June 2018. He was brought in by Ryan Giggs and was on a contract to the end of 2022.
The high point of Strudwick's tenure with Wales was the country reaching the finals of the 2022 World Cup under manager Robert Page - the first time they had qualified for the competition since 1958.
Strudwick was appointed Director of Medical Services at West Brom in July 2022 and believed that the workload of two such major jobs would not be sustainable going forward.
Wales’ performance department has also been restructured recently, with Daniel Nisbet coming in as High Performance Manager for the country’s youth teams in January.
Nisbet joined from Swansea City first-team physical performance coach at Swansea City for three-and-a-half years. He has also been physical performance coach with the English FA, working with the England U20s and Lionesses.
David Adams, the Chief Football Officer for the Football Association of Wales (FAW), told TGG: “Tony is a world-leading practitioner and we are grateful for his four years supporting our men’s national team.”
Strudwick told TGG: "I would like to thank the FAW for four-and-a-half great years and some wonderful experiences. I wish the team all the best for the future."
Davies has come in on a consultancy basis to replace Strudwick. The Welshman’s full-time role is as Head of Performance with West Ham, where he has worked since July 2021.
He is hugely experienced, having also been Head of Performance at West Brom, Norwich and Birmingham City. Manchester United first-team coach Eric Ramsay has also joined the Wales backroom staff as Page's assistant for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Strudwick was our guest on Episode #13 of the TGG Podcast and also delivered a presentation titled 'Creating the football athlete of the future' at our 2018 Cohesive Coaching event.
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