Les Reed (football manager) facts for kids
Reed in 2017
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 December 1952 | ||
| Place of birth | Wapping, England | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Cambridge United | 0 | (0) | |
| Watford | 0 | (0) | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 0 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Leslie Arnold Reed (born on December 12, 1952) is an English football coach and former player. He is well-known for his work in developing young football talent.
Reed managed Charlton Athletic for a short time in 2006. He also served as the technical director for the Football Association (FA) from 2002 to 2004. From 2010 to 2018, he was a key leader at Southampton, helping to develop their football programs. In 2021, Reed joined Wrexham as a football strategy advisor.
Contents
Early Life and Playing Days
Les Reed was born in Wapping, a part of London. As a young player, he was a centre forward for clubs like Cambridge United, Watford, and Wycombe Wanderers. However, he did not play in any official league matches for these teams.
Coaching and Managerial Career
Starting as a Coach
Reed began his coaching journey in non-league football. He coached teams such as Finchley and Wealdstone. In 1985, Wealdstone had a very successful year under his coaching. They won both the Football Conference (a league) and the FA Trophy (a cup competition).
In 1986, Reed joined the Football Association (FA). He worked there for nine years in different roles. He was a Regional Director of Coaching and also coached at The FA National School. At the school, he helped train future stars like Joe Cole, Sol Campbell, Nick Barmby, and Michael Owen. He even went to the 1990 World Cup in Italy with Bobby Robson's England team. This was the first of three World Cups where he would help his country.
In 1995, Reed left the FA to become assistant manager at Charlton Athletic. He worked with manager Alan Curbishley. Together, they helped Charlton get promoted to the FA Premier League in 1998. After this success, Reed became the Director of Technical Development at the FA again. He coached England's new under-15 team to win a trophy at Wembley Stadium. They beat an Argentine team that included future star Carlos Tevez.
Working with England's National Team
In 1998, Reed returned to the FA to work with the England coaching staff under manager Kevin Keegan. During the Euro 2000 tournament, Reed often answered questions from the press about England's tactics. This made some journalists wonder why a less senior coach was speaking so much.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard wrote in his book about his experience with Reed during Euro 2000. Gerrard was a young player and felt very homesick. He wished that Reed and another coach had shown more understanding and support for him during that difficult time.
In 2002, Reed became the FA's Technical Director. During this time, he wrote the FA's official coaching guide, The Official FA Guide to Basic Team Coaching. He left the FA in 2004.
Time at Charlton Athletic
After leaving the FA, Reed worked as a consultant for a while. He even helped the Northern Ireland national football team, who famously beat England during his time with them. In 2006, he returned to Charlton Athletic as assistant manager to Iain Dowie.
When Dowie was sacked on November 14, 2006, Reed was promoted to manager. His time as manager was very short, lasting only six weeks. During this period, Charlton won only one game. They were also knocked out of the League Cup by a lower-league team, Wycombe Wanderers. Reed's time at Charlton became well-known, and the media gave him nicknames like "Les Misérables." He was replaced by Alan Pardew on December 24, 2006.
Coaching at Fulham
In April 2007, Reed became a first-team coach at Fulham. He helped the club stay in the top league. In June 2007, he was made Director of Football at Fulham. He is remembered for bringing Chris Smalling to the club from non-league football. Smalling later moved to Manchester United for a large fee.
Helping Bishop's Stortford
On December 19, 2008, Reed became assistant manager at Bishop's Stortford. He did this as a volunteer to help his long-time friend, manager Mark Simpson. He played a part in recommending player Danny Green to another club.
Maccabiah Games Experience
Reed, who had visited Israel many times, was the head coach for Team GB at the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel. His team won the silver medal, losing to Argentina in the final. Reed said that coaching at the Maccabiah Games was one of the best moments of his coaching career.
Leadership at Southampton
On April 16, 2010, Les Reed was appointed Head of Football Development and Support at Southampton. He later became the Vice-Chairman. In this role, he oversaw four main areas: the Youth Academy (for young players), Scouting and Recruitment (finding new players), Sports Medicine and Science (player health and fitness), and Kit and Equipment Management. Reed left Southampton on November 8, 2018.
Return to the Football Association
On December 21, 2018, it was announced that Reed would return to the Football Association as their technical director. He started this role in February 2019.
Managerial Statistics
Here's a quick look at Les Reed's record as a manager:
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Charlton Athletic |  |
14 November 2006 | 24 December 2006 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12.5 |
