Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Luke Williams | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 1 May 1981||
Place of birth | London, England | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Swansea City (head coach) | ||
Youth career | |||
Years | Team | ||
Norwich City | |||
Bristol Rovers | |||
Managerial career | |||
2010–2013 | Brighton & Hove Albion U23 | ||
2015–2017 | Swindon Town | ||
2017–2019 | Bristol City U23 | ||
2022–2024 | Notts County | ||
2024– | Swansea City |
Luke Williams (born 1 May 1981) is an English professional football manager who is the head coach of Championship club Swansea City.
A former non-league footballer, Williams began his coaching career at Leyton Orient and West Ham United. He spent several years managing youth teams at Brighton & Hove Albion and Bristol City. He made his first-team managerial debut with Swindon Town in 2015 and became the assistant coach to Russell Martin at Milton Keynes Dons in 2019 and Swansea City in 2021.
Williams was appointed head coach of Notts County in 2022, leading them to Football League promotion in his first season and breaking several club records, including the most wins and points in a season. [2] In 2024, he returned to Swansea City as head coach.
Williams had a short career as a player in non-league football, and was released from Norwich City's academy as a teenager. [3] He joined Bristol Rovers as an apprentice. [4] Between ages 19 and 23, Williams had five operations in four years to correct a knee injury. [3] He undertook warehouse work and drove minibuses to earn extra money. [3] Williams decided to focus on coaching, working at Leyton Orient and West Ham United, and became an FA Skills Coach. [5]
He later became a development coach at Brighton & Hove Albion, where he managed the club's under-21 and reserve sides for several years under first-team manager Gus Poyet. [6] [3] Williams's side were the first Brighton team to play at the club's Amex Stadium, which opened in 2011, as they beat Eastbourne Borough in the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup final. [7]
In 2013, Williams was appointed assistant manager to Mark Cooper at League One club Swindon Town, and helped the team reach the 2015 play-offs before losing to Preston North End in the final. [8] Following Cooper's departure, Williams worked as assistant to Lee Power and Martin Ling, before becoming caretaker manager in December 2015 after Ling's resignation. [9]
The following month, Williams was named manager until the end of the season. [10] He then signed a five-year contract as head coach after winning six of his 10 games in charge. [11] In November 2016, Tim Sherwood was named the club's director of football and began coaching the team alongside Williams. [12] [13] [14] Williams left Swindon in May 2017 by mutual agreement following the club's relegation to League Two at the end of the 2016–17 season. [15]
Following his departure, Williams became head coach of Bristol City's under-23s in 2017, [16] before becoming assistant to Russell Martin at Milton Keynes Dons in 2019 and Swansea City in 2021. [17] [18] He left the latter in 2022. [19] At both clubs, Williams assisted Martin in coaching a possession-based style of play. [20] Their MK Dons side set a new British record at the time, scoring after a 56-pass move. [20]
On 14 June 2022, Williams returned to management with National League club Notts County. [21] He was awarded the National League Manager of the Month award for October 2022, winning all six matches across the month, with the club sat top of the league. [22] Williams won the same award in March 2023 as County remained unbeaten throughout the month. [23]
In his first season with the club, Notts County earned a club record-breaking 107 points, but finished second in the league behind Wrexham. [2] [24] County scored 117 goals throughout the campaign and set a new club record unbeaten run in the league of 25 games. [24] They also achieved the most wins in a season, with 32 wins. [2] In the play-offs, Williams led County to promotion, defeating Chesterfield on penalties in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium. [24]
Williams's side regularly dominated possession against opposition teams, losing just three of their 46 league games in his first season, while using short corners to maintain possession and increase the likelihood of scoring goals. [25] [26] Defensively, despite County conceding just 52 goals in all competitions in his first season, they conceded 49 goals in the first four months of his second season. [27] [28] Williams left County in January 2024, with the club fifth in the league and having scored 55 goals, the highest across England's top four divisions. [29]
On 5 January 2024, Williams returned to Championship club Swansea City as head coach on a three-and-a-half year contract, replacing Michael Duff. [30] [31] He was chosen by Swansea for his attacking, possession-based style of play. [30] [31] [7]
Williams took charge of his first match the following day, a 2–0 victory against Morecambe in the FA Cup, with goals from Arsenal loanee Charlie Patino and striker Jerry Yates. [32]
Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
Swindon Town | 30 December 2015 | 5 May 2017 | 75 | 20 | 22 | 33 | 26.67 | [33] |
Notts County | 14 July 2022 | 5 January 2024 | 83 | 48 | 16 | 19 | 57.83 | [33] |
Swansea City | 5 January 2024 | Present | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 40.00 | [33] |
Total | 178 | 76 | 41 | 61 | 42.70 | — |
Brighton & Hove Albion U23
Notts County
Matthew James Gill is an English professional football coach and former player who is the assistant manager of Championship club Southampton.
Russell Kenneth Alexander Martin is a professional football manager and former player who is the manager of EFL Championship club Southampton. He represented Scotland at international level.
Michael John Samuel Flynn is a Welsh professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He was most recently the manager of Swindon Town.
Alan Michael Anthony Sheehan is an Irish professional football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach at Swansea City. He played for the Republic of Ireland national under-21 team.
James John O'Brien is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Notts County. His previous clubs include Motherwell and Ross County in Scotland, and Barnsley and Coventry City in England.
Richard Paul Wellens is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL League One club Leyton Orient.
David Hockaday is an English professional footballer who is currently Head of Male Football at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has previously worked as a manager at Leeds United, Forest Green Rovers, Kidderminster Harriers and in a caretaker capacity at Coventry City.
Ryan Bernard Harley is an English former professional footballer who is currently assistant head coach of Swansea City.
The 2010–11 Football League One was the seventh season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format. It started on 7 August 2010.
Notts County are the oldest club in the Football League and the 2010–11 season was their 122nd year in The Football League. After a successful season in League Two, the club gained promotion to League One following a win against Morecambe on 17 April 2010 and were crowned as League Two champions after a 5–0 win at already relegated Darlington ten days later. Manager Steve Cotterill left the club at the end of the season, and was replaced by Craig Short. Short was sacked on 26 October 2010, and replaced by Paul Ince. Ince left the club in April 2011, and was replaced by Martin Allen.
Yaser Safa Kasim Al-Kadefaje is an Iraqi footballer who plays as a midfielder for Margate.
Michael Jordan Williams is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for EFL League Two club Milton Keynes Dons. He can play either central midfield or centre-back.
The 2015–16 Football League was the 117th season of The Football League. It began on 7 August 2015 and concluded on 30 May 2016, with the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium. The Football League was contested through three Divisions: the Championship, League One and League Two. The winners of the Championship, Burnley, and runners-up, Middlesbrough, were automatically promoted to the Premier League and on 28 May 2016 were joined by the winners of the Championship play-off, Hull City. The bottom two teams in League Two, Dagenham & Redbridge and York City, were relegated to the National League.
The 2017–18 EFL League Two is the 14th season of the Football League Two under its current title and the 25th season under its current league division format.
The 2018–19 season was Notts County's 156th season in their history and their fourth consecutive season in League Two. The club also competed in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.
Nathan Dean Joshua Wood-Gordon, known professionally as Nathan Wood, is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Swansea City.
The 2023–24 EFL League Two is the 20th season of EFL League Two under its current title and the 32nd season under its current league division format. The season began on 5 August 2023.
The 2023–24 season is the 144th competitive association football season in England.
The 2023–24 season will be the 125th season of the English Football League (EFL) and the eighth season under that name after it was renamed from The Football League in 2016. For the 11th and final season, the league is sponsored by Sky Betting & Gaming and is therefore known as the Sky Bet EFL.