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Biweekly Staff Roundup: July 25-Aug 8

10 Aug, 2025
Biweekly Staff Roundup: July 25-Aug 8

By early August, the new season is just a matter of days away, and the departure of a key player has the potential to be severely damaging for a team's preparations. Even more costly at this stage is a manager leaving for pastures new, which can destabilise the dressing room and leave players unsure what their future holds.

Thankfully, coaching exits in August are extremely rare; most of the moves outlined in this fortnight's staff roundup either involve youth team coaches and assistants, or, in the case of our first entry, a manager at a club that is currently experiencing a huge crisis.

Henrik Pedersen, Sheffield Wednesday

It's been an extremely tricky summer for Sheffield Wednesday. The first team squad is a mess, and despised club owner Dejphon Chansiri continues to struggle in his attempts to sell the club.

His lack of funds means players' wages have consistently been paid late, and while the departure of many talented pros has been depressing for supporters, the departure of well-admired manager Danny Rohl in July was perhaps the biggest blow of all.

Rohl's replacement, Henrik Pedersen, is unproven as a senior coach, but he certainly has some useful experience of what it takes to succeed at Hillsborough. Pedersen was brought in as an assistant by Rohl in October 2023 and excelled in the role, while also falling in love with the city.

He recently told the club channel that he and his family "love this culture that is in Sheffield, we are all on the same level," adding about the season ahead: "To the fans, I ask that we stick together. At times, we may need to be a little patient as we strive to grow. We all care deeply and will do all we can to bring the great times back to Hillsborough."

Gareth Taylor, Liverpool Women

On 8 August, The Athletic announced that Liverpool Women had brought in ex-Manchester City Women boss Gareth Taylor as their new head coach, after almost a month of behind-the-scenes talks. After Matt Beard's February sacking, the team has been managed on an interim basis by Amber Whiteley, but uncertainty over the managerial position has finally ended with the news of Taylor's appointment.

According to the team's managing director Andy O'Boyle, the hunt for the new boss was "a very detailed process and it was clear that Gareth was the outstanding candidate. He has a proven track record of building successful, identity-driven teams and his ability to develop players and help them reach the next level is second to none."

With Liverpool finishing seventh in the WSL last season, the goal will be to push them up the table and start challenging for European football.

Leanne Crichton, Rangers Women

Elsewhere in the women's game, Scottish giants Rangers have announced that former Glasgow City, Celtic, and Hibernian midfielder Leanne Crichton will take over as head coach for 2025/26. The 37-year-old has signed a three-year deal and doesn't have long before the start of the new campaign; her move to Ibrox was necessitated by former coach Jo Potter's decision to move to WSL2 side Crystal Palace at the end of June.

This is without doubt Crichton's biggest coaching job yet, and she appears well aware of how big the task ahead is, telling reporters, "I don't think second best is acceptable here and for us, that will be the aim - that we deliver a successful team."

Yannick Euvrard, Brighton & Hove Albion

Last season, the Seagulls made the unusual decision to operate with two set-piece coaches: Jonas Scheuermann, focusing on attacking set plays, and Marco Knoop honing in on defensive ones.

For 2025/26, Scheuermann will continue working at the South Coast club as Fabian Hurzeler's assistant, but following the departure of Knoop, the job of overseeing all set pieces has now fallen into the hands of a fresh face at the Amex: Yannick Euvrard.

The 39-year-old most recently worked at Belgian Pro League outfit Anderlecht, in a similar set-piece-centred role, and he's also previously worked extensively with the Belgian Football Association, heading up data analytics and focusing on senior performance. 

Bjorn Hamberg, Brighton & Hove Albion 

Another new appointment at Brighton & Hove Albion sees Swedish coach Bjorn Hamberg join the club this August to serve as Under-18s head coach. Hamberg previously worked with the Seagulls as a first-team coach under Graham Potter, and he followed Potter to Chelsea before breaking out on his own and working as an assistant coach at Dutch heavyweights Feyenoord.

Taking an Under-18s job may seem like a slight step down, then, although Brighton's youth development setup is without a doubt one of the most advanced in the country these days. According to academy manager Ian Buckman, "Bjorn brings outstanding knowledge and experience having worked at Premier League and Champions League level, and he will undoubtedly impact our scholars through this key period of their development."

Simon Wiles, Liverpool Under-18s

Ex-Manchester United youth coach Simon Wiles will join up with former Wales boss Rob Page in the Liverpool youth set-up, leading the Under-18s side for the new campaign. The 40-year-old coach has bags of experience in the EFL, and has spent time coaching young players at top-level academies too.

He'll replace Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who left Liverpool in the summer to work under Lee Grant as Huddersfield Town assistant manager, after ten years with the Reds.

Jansen Moreno, Liverpool

There's been further movement behind the scenes at Liverpool in recent weeks, after a busy summer that has seen assistant coach John Heitinga and set-piece coach James French depart for Ajax and Manchester City respectively, while the likes of assistant coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst and U-21s coach Rob Page have entered the fold at Anfield.

The club's latest appointment sees the highly-regarded young analyst Jansen Moreno (who hails from Gibraltar) land the role of Head of First Team Analysis. Moreno makes the step up from Opposition Analyst, where he'd been in post since March 2024, entering a more all-encompassing position and utilising prior experience as a first team analyst at Norwich City and Huddersfield Town.

Michael Farrell, Manchester United

On 30 July, Training Ground Guru revealed that Michael Farrell would be the first person to take up the newly created role of Head of Football Culture and Development at Manchester United.

Farrell has spent the last decade working at the club, so he clearly has an understanding of its inner workings, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe — who has wielded his axe behind the scenes, ruthlessly cutting hundreds of jobs and making long-time staff redundant in order to make savings — trusts him to improve a culture that is evidently failing.

Farrell is widely regarded as an expert at boosting culture and development, having enjoyed successful stints at Preston North End, Oxford United, and the rugby clubs Wigan Warriors and Sale Sharks, as well as working as a Performance Consultant for Bury and the Wales national rugby team.

Michael Doyle, Portsmouth

At the start of August, Championship outfit Portsmouth revealed that former club captain Michael Doyle would return to his old side for the 2025/26 campaign, taking on the role of first team coach at Fratton Park.

Working alongside fellow assistants Jon Harley, Zesh Rehman, Joe Prodomo and Eddie Denton, he'll assist head coach John Mousinho as the club seeks to improve on last year's 16th-placed finish. It'll be a tough ask given the competitive nature of the Championship, although Doyle noted that "the side are going from strength to strength under John," adding "hopefully I can play a small part in continuing that upward trajectory."

John Utaka, Montpellier Women 

Former Ghana international John Utaka (who racked up 66 Premier League appearances with Portsmouth in the late 2000s) has landed his first senior coaching job. The Super Eagle star retired in 2018, and in the years since he's earned his UEFA A licence and received plenty of plaudits whilst coaching in Montpellier's youth set-up.

Now, the French club has given him an opportunity to kickstart his senior coaching career in charge of the Women's team. Montpellier finished sixth in the Premiere Ligue last year, and will be hoping Utaka can help push them up into the play-off places, which will give them an opportunity to compete for Champions League qualification.

Colin Osbourne, Motherwell Women

Motherwell Women have made a key appointment behind the scenes, bringing in UEFA B-licensed goalkeeping specialist Colin Osbourne for the new season.

Having previously headed up goalkeeper coaching at Airdrieonians, Spartans, and Partick Thistle, and played for the likes of Kilmarnock, Millwall, and Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, he's an experienced football pro with bags of goalkeeping knowledge. Following this appointment, he spoke to club media about how his new club "have had a track record of working with some really talented goalkeepers… I wanted to support their development."

Darren Molloy, Shamrock Rovers

Irish outfit Shamrock Rovers have announced that Darren Molloy will enter the fold this August as Academy Head of Coaching, having spent a decade working within academies across England (including Southampton, Bristol City, and Chesterfield).

He told the press: "I was attracted to the role by the opportunity of working with the most talented players in the country, with facilities which will allow me alongside the staff already in place to create an elite environment for players and coaches with a holistic approach."