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Tom Greaves appointed new Manager at FC United

Tom Greaves appointed new Manager at FC UnitedWe are delighted to announce that Tom Greaves has been appointed the new Manager of FC United - Joining Greaves will be Jack Doyle as Assistant Manager and Tom Conroy as First Team Coach.




Photograph copyright Russ Hart

Tom Greaves (32) took over as caretaker player/manager on 25th October 2017 following the departure of Karl Marginson, FC United’s one and only manager since the club was formed in 2005.

Since taking temporary charge, assisted by Doyle, Conroy, Luke Podmore (FCs Women’s Team Manager) and Paul Chapman (goalkeeping coach), FC United have won 4 and lost 2. Making some immediate changes, Greaves first brought in some of our talented young players (the average age of the team in our recent fixture against Telford was 22), and secondly he changed the formation to play two-up-top and play with wing backs, leading to a more exciting style of football.


Photograph copyright Mark Lee
Pictured left to right: Luke Podmore, Paul Chapman, Tom Greaves, Jack Doyle, Tom Conroy

Having been given the opportunity to look after first team affairs over the last month, Tommy, Jack and Tom have made no secret of their desire to take on the role on a permanent basis and are all relishing the challenge ahead.

"The idea of going into management, once my playing career was over, is something I’ve had in my mind for quite a while," explained Greaves. "This has come much sooner than I expected, but with Tom and Jack and all the backroom staff, I’m lucky to have a fantastic team alongside me. I’ve enjoyed the experience so far, and it’s definitely given me a taste for more."

"My approach to football is pretty simple."
added Greaves, "I want to see good, attacking football - I know how important that is to the supporters at the club. Above all, I want to see hard work out there, playing for the badge. In my eyes there no excuse for any player to not got out there and give it their all. The fans will back the players to the hilt, so long as they knew they were out there giving 110%."

"I’m under no illusion of the difficult task ahead. We are in a relegation battle, and we’re in for a real fight over the coming months. The division is tight enough that going on a good run can really catapult us up the league, but I’m conscious we’ve got a tough December that could send us the other way. But I’m confident we’ll get out of the situation we’re in."

"The attitude of the lads in the dressing room has been second to none. I’ve been left a squad of really talented players. What stands out to me is how dedicated they all are. We’re taking one game at a time at the moment, and that’s meant we’ve changed things up with tactics from game to game. That the lads have all been willing to adapt to the changes, without complaints, is a testament to their attitude."


Following the departure of Karl Marginson last month, FC United was inundated with applications for the vacant role, though FC’s CEO Damian Chadwick and the FC United Board vowed to take their time over this important appointment. Following a two week period of interviews, the decision was made to appoint Greaves as the next FC United Manager, together with Doyle as Assistant Manager and Conroy as first team coach. All of the roles are on a part-time basis and will be reviewed at the end of the season.

FC United CEO Damian Chadwick said "We’ve been really impressed with Tommy over the past 4 weeks since he took temporary charge. Naturally there were concerns over his football managerial experience having never managed before, but of what we have seen so far, of what Tommy conveyed in his interviews and also knowing the quality of Jack Doyle and Tom Conroy, we have no doubts that we have made the right decision."

"What struck me the most though was the respect and trust that every player had for Tommy, Jack and Tom. From their very first training session the players have been right behind them. We’ve got a talented young squad more than capable of keeping us in this league, but I’ll be supporting Tommy as much as I can should we need to bring in new players to strengthen the team further."

"Tommy is popular figure amongst the FC faithful, evident at Stockport a couple of weeks ago - despite being 4-1 down a long rendition of ’Tommy Greaves Red and White Army’ rang out from the FC United support. I know every single one of them will get behind him and the lads as we approach a crucial point in the season with some tough games ahead."

Greaves’ task got even harder at the weekend following the departure of leading goalscorer Jason Gilchrist, who signed for Southport for a record club fee. Speaking to FCUM Radio after Saturday’s disappointing 1-0 defeat away at Gainsborough, Greaves highlighted the need to bring in a replacement goalscorer at the earliest convenience, as only himself and Connor McCarthy are now the club’s only two recognised forwards.

On behalf of everyone at FC United we’d like to welcome Tom Greaves as the club’s second ever Manager, and to say a huge congratulations to Jack Doyle and Tom Conroy who have worked hard behind the scenes, developing their coaching skills, at the club for a number of years.

FC United have a break from league action on Saturday with an away trip to Marine in the FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round. Greaves incidentally netted a hat-trick for FC United away at Marine back in February 2013, a month after joining the Reds.

’Tommy’s Terriers’, as the team is now being referred to by its supporters, return to league action at Broadhurst Park against second placed Harrograte Town on Saturday 2nd December ko 3pm. Admission is £10 Adults, £6 Concessions and £3 u/18s.

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More About Tom Greaves, Jack Doyle and Tom Conroy

Tom Greaves, born 23rd April 1985, joined FC United in January 2013 and has gone on to make 245 appearances for the club, scoring goals just for fun so it seems; 98 goals in total (one goal behind Rory Patterson’s Club goalscoring record of 99).

Prior to playing for FC United, Greaves had 3 spells at Bradford Park Avenue in between playing for Ossett Town, Bridlington and Garforth. For most FC United fans, their first memory of Tom Greaves was his 119th extra-time winner for Bradford PA against FC in the Northern Premier League Play-off Final in 2012 which denied FC promotion to the Conference North.

Outside of FC United, Tom Greaves together with his brother James set up Fisical Sports Coaching, which currently employ 15 fully qualified staff all working throughout the West Yorkshire area. Fisical Sports is now involved in over 25 pre-school and primary schools providing children from the ages of 2 to 15 with specialised sports coaching.

Tom Greaves has accumulated a vast amount of coaching experience having spent several years studying at Notre Dame Sports College and continuing his coaching education by successfully completing his FA Level 1, FA Level 2, FA Youth Award Level 3, Module 1 and 2. Tom has also achieved his Level 1 Handball qualification and The FA Coaching Disabled Footballers Award. Tom’s coaching experiences have been heightened by his time playing semi-professional football.

Jack Doyle (27) (previously known as Jack Dickenson) has been involved with community coaching at FC United for over 5 years. Jack is currently our Academy and Senior Community Coach. In December 2016, Jack enrolled to do his UEFA B licence, which he is currently undertaking.

Tom Conroy (32), was appointed as Community Sports Development Officer at FC United in July 2016. Tom is currently responsible for the planning, delivery and management of sports participation programmes, as well as working closely with various community and sporting organisations.

Tom Conroy is a highly experienced sports development officer, most recently employed as a tutor for Hopwood Hall College. He graduated with an honours degree in Sports Development from Salford University in 2010 and is a UEFA B Licence coach with over 10 years’ experience of working in schools, colleges, centre of excellence and academy. He was head coach of the girls centre of excellence for Lancashire FA as well as academy coach for Manchester City and centre of excellence coach for Oldham Athletic.



First Posted ~ 08:52 Tue 21 Nov 2017
News ID ~ 7684
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021