Summer backroom changes: Club-by-club guide
Chris Jone (left) exited Chelsea after 12 years, while Rui Faria stepped down as Man Utd assistant
Written by Simon Austin — August 10, 2018
THE trade in backroom staff in the Premier League has almost outpaced the turnover of players this summer.
According to research carried out by TGG, 46 first-team staff have left their posts since the end of last season, with the vast majority being sacked. Twenty were in medical and performance positions.
Coming in the opposite direction have been 44 new appointments. You can see the club-by-club breakdown below and click on individual names to read their stories.
The biggest change came at Arsenal, who brought in 10 new staff, sacked eight and promoted two. Next up were Chelsea, with seven appointments and 10 sackings, then West Ham, with eight in and eight out, and Everton, with eight in and seven out.
All four clubs made managerial changes in the summer, resulting in big backroom overhauls.
Dave Carolan, the Head of Performance at Stoke City, told TGG it's not always the case that change is bad.
"As someone with experience of both situations (being hired and being sacked), it depends," he said. "Core club staff must prove value to new management. If a manager hasn’t time, he needs proven lieutenants to deliver.
"Plenty of support staff have been in situ for years - which in itself can be a problem. Arsenal had some staff for 20 years without moving."
Scott Guyett, Head of Sports Science at Crystal Palace, told TGG: "I think the situation is improving overall. You can understand new managers coming in and bringing one or two coaching staff they’ve worked with before, but I don’t see why managers would want to change an entire medical staff, particularly when the turnover of managers is so regular.
"Medical staff have a lot of contact time with the players and you build close relationships with them.
"I still work with players who were signed eight years ago. I used to room with Joel Ward as a player and now I’m one of his coaches.
"Those relationships are important. With so many changes at football clubs now, it’s really important that players trust the staff."
ARSENAL
IN: Unai Emery (head coach), Juan Carlos Carcedo (assistant), Pablo Villanueva (first-team coach), Javi Garcia (goalkeeper coach), Victor Manas (data and video analyst), Chris Morgan (senior physio), Tim Parham (physio), Mikhail Zhilkin (data scientist)
OUT: Jens Lehmann (first team coach), Boro Primorac (first team coach), Neil Banfield (first team coach), Tony Colbert (fitness coach), Gerry Peyton (goalkeeper coach), Colin Lewin (head of medical), Dr Philippe Boixel (osteopath), Ben Ashworth (physio), Andrew Rolls (physio), James Haycock (physio)
PROMOTED: Gary O'Driscoll (head of medical), Jordan Reece (physio)
BOURNEMOUTH
IN: Jeremy Chor (assistant analyst)
OUT: John Yems (football operations manager), Gavin Boorman (training analyst)
PROMOTED: Tom Webber (out-of-possession analyst)
BRIGHTON
IN: David Weir (loans manager)
BURNLEY
CARDIFF CITY
CHELSEA
IN: Maurizio Sarri (head coach), Gianfranco Zola (assistant), Luca Gotti (assistant), Marco Ianni (assistant), Massimo Nenci (goalkeeper coach), Davide Ranzato (fitness coach), Davide Losi (fitness coach)
OUT: Antonio Conte (head coach), Angelo Alessio (assistant), Paolo Vanoli (assistant), Davide Mazzotta (assistant), Gianluca Conte (assistant), Julio Tous (fitness coach), Costantino Coratti (fitness coach), Chris Jones (fitness coach), Gianluca Spinelli (goalkeeper coach), Tiberio Ancora (fitness/ nutrition)
CRYSTAL PALACE
OUT: Alessandro Schoenmaker (performance coach), Chris Morgan (head physio)
PROMOTED: Ed Richmond (head physio), Michael Eglon (S&C), Chris Petrie (lead S&C)
EVERTON
IN: Marcel Brands (director of football), Marco Silva (head coach), Pedro Conceição (first team coach), João Pedro Sousa (assistant), Hugo Oliveira (goalkeeper coach), Antonis Lemonakis (analyst), Bruno Mendes (head of performance), Dan Donachie (head of therapy)
OUT: Steve Walsh (director of football), Sam Allardyce (manager), Sammy Lee (assistant), Craig Shakespeare (first team coach), Martyn Margetson (goalkeeper coach), Ryland Morgans (head of performance), Matt Connery (head of medical)
FULHAM
IN: Scott Parker (first team coach)
OUT: Stuart Gray (senior coach)
PROMOTED: Joseph Moore (performance analyst)
HUDDERSFIELD
IN: Olaf Rebbe (Sporting Director)
LEICESTER CITY
IN: Jacques Bonnevay (assistant)
OUT: Michael Appleton (assistant)
PROMOTED: Adam Sadler (first team coach)
LIVERPOOL
IN: Philipp Jacobsen (rehab & performance manager), Pepijn Lijnders (assistant)
OUT: Zjelko Buvac (assistant), Ruben Pons (physio)
MANCHESTER CITY
OUT: Stephen Rands (head of performance analysis)
MANCHESTER UNITED
IN: Stefano Rapetti (assistant)
OUT: Rui Faria (assistant), Tony Strudwick (head of performance)
PROMOTED: Kieran McKenna (assistant), Michael Carrick (assistant)
NEWCASTLE UNITED
No changes.
SOUTHAMPTON
No changes.
TOTTENHAM
WATFORD
No changes.
WEST HAM
IN: Mario Husillos (director of football), Manuel Pellegrini (manager), Ruben Cousillas (assistant), Enzo Maresca (assistant), Xavi Valero (goalkeeper coach), Richard Collinge (head of medical), Felix Fernandez Cao (fitness coach), James Eubank (pre-match analyst)
OUT: David Moyes (manager), Stuart Pearce (assistant), Alan Irvine (assistant), Billy McKinlay (assistant), Chris Woods (goalkeeper coach), Ian Beasley (club doctor), Gary Lewin (head of medical), Nick Davies (head of fitness)
WOLVES
IN: Ian Cathro (first team coach)
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