TOWNEND READY TO STEP INTO MANAGEMENT
Ex-Leeds United and Nottingham Forest midfielder Josh Townend has admitted that he is ready to step into management. The 40-year-old began his career at Leeds in 1992 where he spent six years before moving to Fulham. At the age of 26, Townend then moved to Manchester City before spells at Ipswich Town from 2003, West Brom from 2005 and Nottingham Forest from 2007 before he hung up his boots in the summer of 2011.
Townend has since had coaching roles at Curzon Ashton, Guiseley, Harrogate Town and Bradford City. He is also an ex-England international, making his debut in a World Cup qualifier in 1997 before making appearances at Euro 2000, World Cup 2002 and Euro 2004. He retired from international football in 2006.
Townend is currently residing in Leeds, where he was born in 1975 and grew up before he left when he was transferred to Ispwich Town, aged 28.
Go get 'em, Josh! Will be following.
Cheers tenthreeleader, it’s great to have you on board once again. After an extended absence from this site, I’d like to think the title is quite fitting if I do say so myself!
Curriculum Vitae
Name: Josh Townend
Date of birth: 19/06/1975
Work experience
July 1985- August 2001: Leeds United (Central Midfielder)
I was signed into the youth setup aged 10, before I broke into the first team aged 17. I was a central midfielder who in time, replaced Gary McAllister who had won the Division One title three months before my debut. I was a regular in the David O’Leary side of 1999/00 that qualified for the Champions League as well as the side that went to the semi-final of that competition the year after. During this time, I made my England debut in 1997 and despite missing out on the 23-man squad at the 1998 World Cup, I attended my first international competition at Euro 2000.
August 2001- July 2003: Manchester City (Central Midfielder)
I left Elland Road in the summer of 2001, aged 26 to help Manchester City win promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking. We won the league title before achieving a respectable 9th place, in a season that started with a return to my boyhood club. In the summer of 2002- after achieving promotion- my career highlight came as I went to play for my country at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
July 2003- June 2005: Ipswich Town (Central Midfielder)
In the summer of 2003, I went to help Ipswich Town in their push for promotion. Unfortunately, we suffered play-off heartache in both seasons, finishing 5th in 2004 and 3rd in 2005. There were of course some positives, first and foremost the actual achievement of finishing so high in the table. I also played in what eventually transpired to be my final international tournament, as I travelled to Portugal with the England squad to compete in Euro 2004.
June 2005- June 2007: West Bromwich Albion (Central Midfielder)
After play-off heartache in 2005 with Ipswich, I earned a transfer up a division to play for West Bromwich Albion, who had survived on the last day of the season. The 2005/06 season was a low-point in my career, as we were relegated and I missed out on the 23-man squad that went to Germany for the 2006 World Cup and subsequently retired from international football. I bounced back the following year, captaining the side to the Championship Play-Off Final.
June 2007- May 2011: Nottingham Forest (Central Midfielder)
My contract ran out at West Brom, with the club deciding to let it run due to my ageing. As a result, I went to Nottingham Forest for free. I was made captain and we won promotion to the Championship in my first season. Despite turning 34 in the 2008/09 season, I sensationally became the club’s top goalscorer, finishing the season with 21 goals as we avoided relegation in the club’s first season back in the Championship. I remained at the club until my contract ran out in the summer of 2011, on the back of two play-off campaigns. I retired after my contract expired.
July 2011- June 2012: Curzon Ashton (Youth Head Coach)
After having started earning my coaching badges when I moved to Nottingham Forest, I took up an opportunity to coach the under 18s at Curzon Ashton, just outside Manchester. During this time, I gained my UEFA C Licence, as I not only coached the youngsters, I ran training and delegated sessions out to other youth coaches, as well as giving the first team manager my advice on youngsters that should be playing in the first team.
July 2012- June 2013: Guiseley (First team coach)
In the summer of 2012, I opted to return home to Leeds where I took up a senior coaching role at non-league side Guiseley. I was part of a coaching team that trained the players that achieved a 2nd place finish in the Conference North. I also gained my UEFA B Licence during this time.
July 2013- June 2014: Harrogate Town (First team coach)
In the summer of 2013, I made a move to another Leeds-based team when I took up a coaching role at Harrogate Town. This was an opportunity for me to broaden my coaching experience, although UEFA ruled that I couldn’t study for my A Licence until I worked for a professional club. The players, coached by myself and two coaches that I was given charge of, achieved a respectable 9th place in the Conference North.
July 2014- June 2015: Bradford City (First team coach)
I moved to Bradford City in 2014 so that I could study for my A Licence. I did so successfully, and was a part of a coaching side at a club that beat local rivals Leeds in the Capital One Cup before pulling off an upset at Chelsea in the FA Cup. I left the club to begin the search for a managerial role.
When I was happy with my CV, I sent it in an email to the address on the job advert. Question is, where am I going?
The November rain poured down as I stepped out of the station. I headed off towards St Mary’s Street on my way to the nearby Novotel. I walked up the road by the side of the hotel, and had to go all the way around to get to the entrance.
As I entered, there was a young-ish looking woman at the desk with brown hair tied in a bun who turned her head towards me. I approached the desk, now feeling slightly nervous.
“Room for Townend?” I said.
“Room 51, can I just confirm your date of birth?” the woman replied.
“19th February 1975”
She handed me the key card and said “3rd floor”
I saw out of my peripheral vision that the man working alongside her had recognised me and was staring- not in a way that made me uncomfortable- with a smile. He piped up and said “Here for the football interview?”
“Yes, I am” I replied.
“I’m a massive fan of the club” he said. “Been going to games ever since I was knee-height”
I felt slightly more comfortable being in the presence of a fan, and I gave him my business card that had my number on it and told him “If I get the job, give me a bell and I’ll sort you out with tickets”. I’ve always been a firm believer of good-will gestures from football clubs to their fans, and thought it would be nice for the first fan I met to be invited along to my first match in charge. Of course, I had to get the job first.
Although I was amongst the favourites for the job, I wasn’t considered by the bookies to be the number one candidate for the job. That position was taken up by Oscar Garcia, whose latest spell in management had been at Watford, cut short after just three games due to severe illness. His place was taken by Slavisa Jokanovic, who fired the Hornets up to the Premier League as Champions. It was nice to see that the big man was well again, and looking to get back into the game.
Once I had unpacked my things, I went downstairs to the events room on the first floor. There, I was met by an interviewer who was probably no taller than about 5’8. He wore a black blazer, a white shirt and a blue and white tie. He shook my hand firmly and said “Take a seat, Mr Townend. I’m delighted you could make it down”
“It’s great to be here” I replied.
“Right, let’s get down to business. At this club, we see squad harmony as essential to success on the pitch. Is this something you’d feel comfortable in maintaining?”
“Absolutely” I said. “I’m a firm believer of the notion that a happy team is a successful team, and I’d be perfectly capable of resolving any rifts in the side, should they arise. I remember during my time at Curzon Ashton, I had to get a load of teenagers to get their heads together and play football. If I can handle that, this should be no problem!”
The interviewer let out a wry smile. “Would you need to make any changes to the backroom staff here?”
“Not at first no” was my instant reply.
“Do you have any philosophies in mind for the club?” he asked.
I didn’t need to think about this one. I’ve always a massive fan of youth development, and thought it would be great if the club could bring through some of its own talent. “Youth development has always been a big one for me, so I’d love the opportunity to blood the club’s own youngsters into the squad”
“Should you be hired; the expectation would be to stop the club from being relegated. How do you feel about this?”
“Well I’ve had a look at the league table and the club is in 19th. I believe this club has a squad that is more than capable of staying up”
“You will be trusted with a £1m transfer budget. Are you comfortable with that?”
“With £1m, I can bring in some real quality to keep this club in the division” I replied.
“What requests do you have for the board, should we hire you?”
I thought about it, and decided to make a few requests tailored around the youth development vision I have for the club. “I would like the youth facilities to be improved as well as the youth coaching”
The interviewer thought for a while before he said “The youth coaching is a fair request and we can do that, but the youth facilities would be too expensive. Is that ok?”
I nodded “Yes, that’s fine”
“Well, that’s all we need. I will be in touch within the next week”
The British weather never ceases to amaze me. Our wettest months tend to come in the summer, whilst our warmest months come towards the end of the year.
One Tuesday night in November was no different. There I was, sat with the central heating on anticipating a cold night, before I was forced to turn it off again as it was giving me the sweats. Speculation raged on before my very eyes on Sky Sports News, when one story caught my eye.
It was speculation about where I was heading. Presumably, someone had caught wind of my career plans and I was suddenly linked to a spread of clubs in the Championship and League One. I was flattered to see my name linked to Leeds United, the club I’ve supported since my dad first took me, age 3.
It was in the midst of my mental reminiscing that I felt my phone buzz. I didn’t recognise the number on the screen, although I did recognise the area code. I had a good feeling about this. 02920 was an area code I wasn’t expecting until at least the end of the week. I took the call and put the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Hi is this Josh Townend?” asked the voice on the other end.
“It is” I replied, “who’s calling please?”
“This is Vincent Tan of Cardiff City Football Club; I’m calling with regards to your interview. We’d like to offer you the job if you would like to come down and discuss terms”
This was the news I had been hoping for when I saw the number. “I would be honoured, sir. Thank you very much, I’ll be down at 12 o’clock tomorrow”
I instantly turned off the TV and headed upstairs to pack my things. I rang up St David’s Hotel on Cardiff Bay to book a week-long stay so that I had somewhere to live until I found somewhere permanent. I made sure I was in bed as soon as I was all packed up; it takes 4 hours to get to Cardiff from Leeds so I had to be out of the door by 8am.
Smoothly written. Great to have you back - keep going!
My first stop was the aptly named Cardiff City Stadium. It’s a new-build that’s seen further redevelopment since it was opened in 2009. The Main Stand is a two-tiered affair, while the rest were all one-tiered stands and equal in size.
It’s the stand opposite the Main Stand that has been redeveloped, with a smaller second tier added to it, rising above the rest of the ground and giving the ground a similar look to Elland Road on the inside.
What the Cardiff City Stadium is missing that Elland Road has is history. The 2013/14 was the only season of Premier League action at the ground since the Bluebirds moved into their new home. They went up as champions the season before and the 2012/13 Championship title remains the sole piece of silverware at the new ground.
That’s what I’m here to change. We’ll have to start out with baby steps- we have a relegation battle on our hands first- but it’s nothing this club isn’t capable of. We can follow the example of our Welsh rivals, Swansea City, who in the past decade have risen from League Two to the Premier League with a League Cup title being achieved along the way.
It’s not just the club that I find an attractive prospect either. I’ve been down to Cardiff multiple times as a player and have spent a couple of weeks down there recently. Its people are friendly and the surrounding area is stunning. I was never fortunate enough to make it to the Millenium Stadium in the Play-Offs- I lost out twice in the semi-final with Ipswich- but I did get the chance to play at Wembley in the 2007 Final against Derby.
When I arrived at the ground, my car was swamped by journalists, photographers and cameramen. I could barely open my door for all the press in the way, firing questions such as “are you the new manager of Cardiff City?”, “will Joe Mason be leaving in January?”, “how could you do this when you claim to be a Leeds fan?” .
The questions were utter shite, particularly the last one. Cardiff/Leeds is a one-way rivalry which Leeds fans couldn’t care less about. I was looking forward to just getting my head down and cracking on with the task at hand.
I met Vincent Tan at the reception in the Main Stand and proceeded to the boardroom. It looked almost like the club had a backup plan in case Mr Tan wasn’t there to show me through, as the boardroom was signposted all the way from the reception before we eventually encountered large glass double doors with the club’s emblem printed across them and the word ‘BOARDROOM’ in large capitals above the doors.
At the other end of the room was a set of curtains covering large windows (laws in the UK require that alcoholic drinks are not to be consumed in view of a sporting event). Owing to there being no football game on (that we were aware of), Mr Tan opened the curtains on the best view in the stadium.
Behind the windows were three rows of padded seating. The box was located at the back of the Main Stand’s lower tier, in line with the touchline. I couldn’t help but think that the directors would have a hard time sympathising with me if things weren’t going our way, given they have a nice cosy seat with first class waiting service at each game.
I couldn’t wait to get started. The initial deal was £9,750 per week until June 2018. This immediately brought out the OCD in me.
“I hate to be a pain” I began, “But can we round my weekly pay up to £10,000 per week, just so that we have a round number?”
Mr Tan laughed a little. We bonded briefly over OCD for round numbers, before he nodded and agreed to give me the £250 pay rise my OCD so craved.
Call him what you want, but Vincent Tan was very understanding of my desperate need to head to training once the paperwork was signed. He even let me skip the customary photoshoot for the club’s website, instead arranging for a statement to be put out and any picture of me they could find from elsewhere.
The club’s training ground is just across the car park from the Grange Stand, where the away fans are housed in one corner. Luckily for me, that meant I only had to walk over to see the players to lay out my expectations.
Although my first task wasn’t to meet the players, it was to see the players who my assistant, Scott Young had told me were unhappy about their lack of first team football. Those players were Kagisho Dikgacoi, Gabriel Tamas, Sean Morrison and Stuart O’Keefe. I called each of them into my office one-by-one, and explained to each of them that this was their chance to impress and earn their place in the first team. For whatever reason, this seemed like an unreasonable suggestion to the first three, however Stuart O’Keefe was happy to put a shift in and earn his place.
Once these meetings were out of the way, I asked Scott Young to call my players into the dressing room so I could have a word with all of them.
“Right lads, you are where you are in the league for a reason. You’ve not been good enough. I don’t buy ‘poor man management’ excuses, you play for the club, not the manager. I don’t give a fuck if you love me to bits or hate my guts, you play for the club. Those who fail to do so will be out of the door quicker than you can say ‘Cymru’. I’m calling on you to get your shit together, start performing and pull this club away from danger. Any questions?”
After a brief silence, centre-back Ben Turner piped up and shouted “Come on boys, he’s right. We’re 18th for a reason and it’s not fucking good enough. Let’s get our heads together and kick on!”
That fired them up. Before I knew it, I was patting them out of the door, ready to get their heads down, concentrate and as my catchphrase would come to be known, ‘play for the club’.
Owing to an impulse buy of a new laptop (didn't see it coming), I'll be leaving this story behind. I'll be experimenting for a while on the game before publishing a new story to take the place of this one.
