Banbury United excite fans after appointing former Champions League assistant Simon Hollyhead as their new first team manager.
Simon Hollyhead, a seasoned football coach with a UEFA Pro-license, has been chosen with an ambitious project launched.
The club’s project has successfully attracted the former Assistant Manager of Champions League team Malmรถ FC back to team management, even after rejecting opportunities in the Football League.
The Puritans are hoping to get themselves back in the 6th tier, having finished the 2023/24 National League North season in 22nd and relegated after picking up 38 points from 46 games.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ ๐ด๐ก
๐๐น-๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต.
Experiencedโฆ pic.twitter.com/n7BoWL8oYd
โ Banbury United FC (@BanburyUnitedFC) May 12, 2024
CLUB STATEMENT:
Ex-Champions League side Assistant Manager is hungry to lead our project
Experienced football coach and UEFA Pro-license holder, Simon Hollyhead, has been appointed as Banbury Unitedโs new First Team Manager. The Banbury United project has enticed the former Assistant Manager at Champions League side, Malmรถ FC, to return to team management, despite having turned down Football League opportunities.
Simon, who lives in nearby Warwick, was recruited by ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City manager, Roland Nilsson, to be his assistant at Malmรถ between 2010 and 2014. He went on to hold Assistant Manager positions at primary national football league clubs, SK Brann FC in Norway, and Odense FC in Denmark. In 2018, he was Assistant Manager at Stevenage FC where, by the time he departed, he had helped elevate the team into the League 2 play-off position.
In addition to holding a UEFA Pro-license, Simon is a member of the League Managersโ Association, from which he has a Diploma in Football Management. He is also a Judicial Services Panel Member at the FA. Simon will lead Banbury United around his role as Head of Elite Sport at Northampton Academy, United Learning Trust, where he has been responsible for maximising the performance of exceptionally talented young athletes for the last three years.
โI have been in and around all levels of the UK football pyramid since returning to the UK in 2021, including some consultancy to Step 2 and Step 3 teams,โ said Simon Hollyhead. โI decided to prioritise my family at weekends after they dutifully followed me around Scandinavia for seven years. I have been approached for a return to management on several occasions, but the right project has never quite reared its head. When I saw the vacancy at Banbury United, I thought: this is it! I have thought of nothing else for three weeks!
โMy enthusiasm is heavily based on feedback from the due diligence Iโve conducted on Banbury United, having spoken with various contacts, including ex-players of the Club. I also watched the last home game and was very impressed with the Clubโs heritage and community feel. Work started yesterday, with player recruitment. I am looking forward to getting the right character of player in and taking the team on a journey to a goal of Banbury United playing at its highest ever level in 2031, its centenary year.โ
Wayne Farrell, Chairman of Banbury United FC said, โThe quality of candidates for this role was absolutely outstanding. Along with his top-level football management credentials and incredibly deep knowledge and experience, Simon presented an exceedingly thorough multi-year plan for Banbury United. He unanimously impressed the recruitment panel with his team and player connections that are relevant to this level, his strategy for recruitment and player management, and match strategy.โ
โIt’s hard not to say how lucky we feel attracting a manager of Simonโs calibre. Our 2024-25 season signings have got off to a great start!โ
Further announcements regarding Simon Hollyheadโs management team and players will be made in due course. Club members will be invited to a “Meet the Manager” evening shortly.
As mentioned, Banbury United excite fans after appointing the former Champions League assistant as new manager…
@IanHugh15450914: it reads well, let’s hope it plays well. Good luck Simon
@ch4zf1: This seems like a successful appointment on the face of it. Fingers crossed
@CaptainBoffin: Welcome to the Puritans Simon
@UTPN1931: Itโll be impressive if this can pay off ๐๐
@dangreasby: weโre cooking something
@AlanReason1: Excellent news Simon.
@SpencerReds: This quote gets me so excited โI am looking forward to getting the right character of player in and taking the team on a journey to a goal of Banbury United playing at its highest ever level in 2031, its centenary year.โ Great appointment it seems โค๏ธ๐
@2_punter: Hmmm, a 7 year project! Let’s see how that plays out, all the best though!
@SpencerReds:
As a fellow teacher my yr 7 team played his team last year.
1) my team was 1-0 down & he said to me I really hope your team score next as my players will learn so much more than winning comfortably & that changed my outlook on school games.
2) heโs out mastered classed me (shock)
@joeofthemiller: Welcome Simon! Hereโs to a very exciting future!!
@_HVN_06: This looks like a quality appointment tbh. Welcome on board Simon
@steelematt16: Hope this plans out well, fan base at this club deserve something good. Welcome Simon โค๏ธ๐

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