I’ve posted about this before, but I think it’s worth raising again given our poor defending at set pieces and repeated errors from the goalkeepers.
The club now has some elite coaches: Frank Lampard, Joe Edwards, and Chris Jones. All three have coached at Premier League and Champions League level, and both Edwards and Jones have been involved with the England setup. Their CVs are first-class, and you can see straight away why the players respect them.
But there’s a clear gap in quality compared to the rest of the coaching team, particularly Aled Williams and John Dempster.
Aled Williams joined us in 2019 when we were in League One. Before becoming City’s goalkeeper coach, he worked with Wolves’ U18s and at Telford United. Since his arrival, I don’t think any of our keepers have shown real improvement. Moore, Wilson, and Collins have all made too many basic errors. Yes, Wilson won the Golden Glove, but in my view that was more down to the quality of the defence and the work of Adi Viveash and Dennis Lawrence rather than outstanding goalkeeping.
Rushworth has also made some costly mistakes, which to me suggests the club needs a higher-level goalkeeping coach—ideally someone with elite playing and coaching experience. For example, Shay Given: over 400 Premier League appearances, 134 caps for Ireland, and who previously worked with Lampard at Derby. That kind of experience could be invaluable in developing keepers like Rushworth and Dóvin. By contrast, Williams never played professionally and simply doesn’t command the same respect.
John Dempster is another concern. Before joining our Academy in 2020, his only coaching role was at Mansfield’s Academy. While he holds a UEFA Pro Licence, he lacks top-level coaching experience. From what I understand, he and Williams are responsible for set pieces, and it’s clear how many goals we’ve conceded from them this season—while offering almost no threat ourselves from corners or indirect free kicks.
Doug King has raised standards across the club with quality appointments—just look at Nicola Ibbetson and Paul Tyrrell, both with experience of working at top Premier League clubs. It feels like the same approach now needs to be applied to the remaining members of the coaching staff who were in place before King’s arrival.
In my opinion, both Williams and Dempster should be replaced with better, higher-calibre coaches. If the club wants to continue progressing, all areas of the backroom team need to be operating at the same high level as Lampard, Edwards, and Jones.
The club now has some elite coaches: Frank Lampard, Joe Edwards, and Chris Jones. All three have coached at Premier League and Champions League level, and both Edwards and Jones have been involved with the England setup. Their CVs are first-class, and you can see straight away why the players respect them.
But there’s a clear gap in quality compared to the rest of the coaching team, particularly Aled Williams and John Dempster.
Aled Williams joined us in 2019 when we were in League One. Before becoming City’s goalkeeper coach, he worked with Wolves’ U18s and at Telford United. Since his arrival, I don’t think any of our keepers have shown real improvement. Moore, Wilson, and Collins have all made too many basic errors. Yes, Wilson won the Golden Glove, but in my view that was more down to the quality of the defence and the work of Adi Viveash and Dennis Lawrence rather than outstanding goalkeeping.
Rushworth has also made some costly mistakes, which to me suggests the club needs a higher-level goalkeeping coach—ideally someone with elite playing and coaching experience. For example, Shay Given: over 400 Premier League appearances, 134 caps for Ireland, and who previously worked with Lampard at Derby. That kind of experience could be invaluable in developing keepers like Rushworth and Dóvin. By contrast, Williams never played professionally and simply doesn’t command the same respect.
John Dempster is another concern. Before joining our Academy in 2020, his only coaching role was at Mansfield’s Academy. While he holds a UEFA Pro Licence, he lacks top-level coaching experience. From what I understand, he and Williams are responsible for set pieces, and it’s clear how many goals we’ve conceded from them this season—while offering almost no threat ourselves from corners or indirect free kicks.
Doug King has raised standards across the club with quality appointments—just look at Nicola Ibbetson and Paul Tyrrell, both with experience of working at top Premier League clubs. It feels like the same approach now needs to be applied to the remaining members of the coaching staff who were in place before King’s arrival.
In my opinion, both Williams and Dempster should be replaced with better, higher-calibre coaches. If the club wants to continue progressing, all areas of the backroom team need to be operating at the same high level as Lampard, Edwards, and Jones.