Townend- An Englishman's tale

This is the story of how I went from non-league gaffer to a household Premier League name

TOWNEND RETIRES

International football supremo Josh Townend has finally retired from football at the age of 46. The Yorkshire man starred for his country 67 times scoring 22 goals in an international career that saw him participate in Italia 90 as well as the 1998 and 2002 World Cups in France and Japan/Korea.

In club football, he was renowned for a career at boyhood club Leeds United that spanned from 1982 to 2006 during an era that saw the club win the old second and first division titles in 1990 and 1992 as well as the FA Community Shield also in 1992. In addition to this success, he was also a part of David O’Leary’s Leeds side that reached the Semi-Finals of the Champion’s League in 2001. He gave up football to become a part time coach at Leeds after their playoff misery in 2006 as he moved to play football part time at Farsley Celtic before their extinction in 2009. He then became a part of the newly formed Farsley FC side until hanging up his boots all together this morning.

He has recently expressed an interest to take up a managerial role in the Blue Square Premier League after his part time coaching contract at Leeds United expired at the end of last season.

TOWNEND TAKES LUTON JOB



Ex-Leeds United coach and winger Josh Townend has become the new manager at Luton Town. This comes as no surprise as he had previously declared an interest to take the reins at a Blue Square Premier club. He is now faced with the task of getting the club promoted. He is unlikely to last the season if this is not achieved

JULY 2011-JANUARY 2012

So far, so good. Luton boss Josh Townend seems to be doing exactly what was expected of him so far as the club sit pretty at the top of the table 4 points ahead of second-placed Fleetwood Town. His signature of Argentine striker Damian Casalinuovo seems to have captured the Luton fans' imagination as he leads the goalscoring charts in the BSP with 17 goals from 20 games. The fans will be hoping he can carry this form into the second half of the season as the club seem to be staring at automatic promotion and the Blue Square Premier title, and having held Sunderland to a draw in the FA Cup, hopes are high for the next 4 months.

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JANUARY-MAY 2012

Townend's Luton appear to have taken a bit of a bump after their success in the first half of the season. However, they rallied through in large part thanks to Damian Casalinuovo whose 34 league goals (39 in all competitions) helped Luton on their way to a league title thus achieving automatic promotion. They also turned Kenilworth Road into a fortress, finishing with the best home record in the league having lost just 3 games, drawn as many with 17 wins to their name. They met all expectations in the league despite falling short in the FA Trophy and have a lot to thank their rookie boss Josh Townend. Despite him expressing interest in the managerial role of his favourite club Leeds United, fans wil be hoping he will extend his stay and help them in their push for back to back promotions. Whatever happens, Townend can rest in the knowledge that he's had one hell of a first season in the world of management.

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TOWNEND RESIGNS

Luton Town manager Josh Townend has resigned. There has been a lot of rumours that he wants a bigger challenge elsewhere and this move only serves to confirm that. Speaking at a press conference today, Josh Townend said:

"I would like to thank the players, the board and above all the fans for all they have given me in the last year at the club. It really has been an unforgetable experience and there will always be a place in my heart for this club. I wanted to leave early so that I could continue to pursue my ambitions in the managerial world and so that a replacement could be appointed with enough time to deal in the transfer window. I wish the club all the best for the future"

TOWNEND TAKES CHARGE AT DARLINGTON



In a shock move, ex-Luton boss Josh Townend has taken up the vacant managerial role at Darlington. The North Yorkshire club (albeit closer to home) have been struggling in the bottom half of the Blue Square Premier and it remains to be seen if this is what he meant by a bigger challenge.

He admitted that he perhaps regretted leaving Luton Town but reiterated that he was happy to have found a club like Darlington.

TOWNEND BRINGS IN FRESH FACES



Darlington boss Josh Townend has moved quickly to sign two players for free before the free transfer window slams shut.

He signed ex-Tottenham goalkeeper Oscar Jansson who was on loan at Luton under Townend last season. He also brought in ex-Manchester United youngster Tom Lawrence.

NOVEMBER 2011-JANUARY 2012

There have been no drastic improvements in the team's league position, however there has been an improvement in form. Under Townend, the Quakers have lost just 1 in 7 games in all competitions, picking up 9 points from a possible 18 in the league.

The two new signings appear to have bedded in well but there is still a lot of string to be unraveled in this epic tale.

NB it's also worth noting that Townend is only signed on until the end of the year, and despite the improvements made since his arrival, there is speculation that he just wishes to see the contract out before moving elsewhere

liking your story mate, keep up the good form at darlington!

cheers pal

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

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With the opening of the January transfer window, Townend appears keen to sign more of his ex-players from Luton. This time, he's made a move to bring in Luton winger Robbie Willmott (pictured above) on loan until the end of the season. In his first 3 games he's already bagged 2 goals as well as gaining an average rating of 7.5. It seems to be a wing partnership that's working well with fellow new signing Tom Lawrence who since his arrival has netted 3 times in 9 games with an average rating of 7. Goalkeeper Oscar Jansson has also made an immediate impact, conceding just 10 times in the last 11 games keepiing 4 clean sheets.

So far, the future seems bright for this trio.

JANUARY-MAY 2012

Its been a progressive season for Townend's Darlington. A team that were threatened by relegation at the time of Townend's arrival in Novermbber, have been turned into a good solid mid table side that could have even made it to the playoffs had it not been for a brief dip in form which saw them go 5 games without a win. Undoubtedly they will have new signing Tom Lawrence to thank for all this, whose vision and terrifying presence in front of goal have givn the Quakers fans much to shout about. Townend's contract is up at the end of the season, and after the dramatic improvement he brought to Darlington's season, its anyone's guess where he'll be headed next.

Watch this space for more...

TOWNEND JOINS BARI

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In what may be seen as another surprising move, Josh Townend has moved to recently promoted Serie A side Bari. Pundits alike are at loss to explain why he has moved to a country where he doesn't even speak the language and it remains to be seen just how successful he can be.

TOWNEND STUNS BARI WITH WEST BROM SWITCH



Josh Townend has left AS Bari in a state of shock this evening. Just 30 hours after taking on the job at Bari, Townend accepted a contract offer believed to be worth around £7 million at recently relegated Championship club West Brom. However, it is only the manner of the move that makes for an element of shock as more people would have expected him to stay in England and join West Brom in the first place, rather than make a move overseas to join Bari. The pressure will now be on for Townend to deliver promotion, so soon after taking on the task of keeping Bari in Serie A.