Gwyn Williams (football manager)

Last updated July 02, 2024

Gwyn Williams is a former Chelsea coach, assistant manager and chief scout who spent 27 years with the London club, before a seven year spell with Leeds United as technical director.

Chelsea

Gwyn Williams joined Chelsea in 1979 and spent 27 years at Stamford Bridge where he served in a number of roles, including chief scout and as assistant manager under Claudio Ranieri, before eventually leaving the club in June 2006.^[1] He credits himself with discovering John Terry and helping Chelsea make a £14 million profit on Tore André Flo.^[2]

Leeds United

Williams took up the post of technical director aimed mainly at scouting for Leeds United in 2006, following new chairman Ken Bates from Chelsea.^[3] He briefly took charge of the first team in January 2008 as they faced Southend United following the resignation of Dennis Wise.^[4] Two of his most high-profile findings at Leeds United were Robert Snodgrass in Scotland and Luciano Becchio in the Spanish second division.

Sexual harassment, homophobia and racism allegations

In July 2013, Williams was dismissed by Leeds for gross misconduct after emailing pornographic images of women to a number of colleagues, including a female receptionist.^[5]

Williams has been accused of making homophobic comments to former Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux. "He would wander up to me before training and say: 'Come on, poof, get your boots on'", Le Saux wrote in his 2007 autobiography.^[6]

In 2018, Williams, along with Chelsea manager Graham Rix, was accused of racism and physical assault by multiple trainees who were of school-age at the time. Both denied the allegations. After a seven-month investigation, the police decided there was insufficient evidence to take any action.^[6] However, after four former youth players sued Chelsea FC, the club agreed on 7 February 2022 to settle out of court with a total of eight former youth players paid damages up to six figure amounts.^[7]

Related Research Articles

Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1905, the team play their home games at Stamford Bridge. It won its first major honour, the League championship, in 1955. The club won the FA Cup for the first time in 1970, their first European honour, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1971, and became the third English club to win the Club World Cup in 2022.

Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is an assistant coach for the England national team.

Dennis Frank Wise is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He is best known for having spent the majority of his career at Chelsea, from 1990 to 2001.

The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive association football in England.

Raymond Colin Wilkins was an English football player and coach.

Graeme Pierre Le Saux is an English former professional footballer and television pundit.

Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United.

Graham Cyril Rix is an English former professional football player who later became a coach and manager. He is the former manager of Fareham Town.

Jody Steven Morris is an English professional football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of EFL League Two club Swindon Town.

Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer who most recently managed Greece. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his career with short spells at Grenoble and River Plate. He then spent seven years at Real Zaragoza, with whom he won the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1997, Poyet moved to Chelsea on a free transfer and helped the club win the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2001, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur, where he saw out the remainder of his career. He was also part of the Uruguay side which won the 1995 Copa América.

Nathan Blake is a Welsh former professional footballer, pundit and television presenter.

Shaun Peter Derry is an English former professional footballer and manager. He previously managed Notts County and Cambridge United, and played for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers among other clubs. Derry was known for his hard-tackling and aggressive midfield style, and was primarily a defensive midfielder but could also play at right-back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)</span> Scottish footballer and manager

Steve Evans is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of EFL League One club Rotherham United.

Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football and play their home games at Elland Road.

Graham Stephen Potter is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently manager of Premier League club Chelsea.

The 2001–02 season was Chelsea's 88th competitive season, 10th consecutive season in the Premier League and 96th year as a club.

The Arsenal F.C.–Chelsea F.C. rivalry is a rivalry between London-based professional association football clubs Arsenal Football Club and Chelsea Football Club. Arsenal play their home games at the Emirates Stadium, while Chelsea play their home games at Stamford Bridge.

The rivalry between Chelsea and Leeds United is a football rivalry between London-based club Chelsea and Yorkshire-based Leeds United. The rivalry first emerged in the 1960s after a series of fiercely contested and controversial matches, when the two clubs were frequently involved in the pursuit of domestic and European honours culminating in the 1970 FA Cup final, which is regarded as one of the most physical matches in English football history.

The Chelsea F.C.–Tottenham Hotspur F.C. rivalry is a rivalry between London-based professional association football clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea play their home games at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham Hotspur play their home games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. As of May 2024, 177 games have been played between the two teams, 79 of which were won by Chelsea and 55 by Spurs.

This article documents the history of Chelsea Football Club, an English association football team based in Fulham, West London. For a general overview of the club, see Chelsea F.C.

References

↑ "Williams leaves Stamford Bridge". BBC Sport. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
↑ Holt, Sarah (25 July 2006). "Scouting mission". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
↑ Hay, Phil (1 August 2006). "Whites appoint ex-Blue Williams". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
↑ Phillips, Michael (30 January 2008). "McAllister era cheered but jeers for the Wise reign". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
↑ United entitled to sack employee over obscene emails ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
1 2 Taylor, Daniel (12 January 2018). "Graham Rix and Gwyn Williams accused of racism and bullying while at Chelsea". The Guardian.
↑ "Chelsea pay damages after racism claims". BBC Sport. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

This biographical article related to Welsh association football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Williams leaves Stamford Bridge". BBC Sport. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2007.

[2] Holt, Sarah (25 July 2006). "Scouting mission". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 September 2007.

[3] Hay, Phil (1 August 2006). "Whites appoint ex-Blue Williams". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.

[4] Phillips, Michael (30 January 2008). "McAllister era cheered but jeers for the Wise reign". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2013.

[5] United entitled to sack employee over obscene emails ^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[GuardianRacism-6] 1 2 Taylor, Daniel (12 January 2018). "Graham Rix and Gwyn Williams accused of racism and bullying while at Chelsea". The Guardian.

[7] "Chelsea pay damages after racism claims". BBC Sport. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]