Dugout watch: Swansea City
Ahead of Blues' match against Swansea City in the Sky Bet Championship, BCFC.com has charted the career of the opposition's manager.
‘Hello… are you new here?’ That question could be on both Luke Williams’ and Tony Mowbray’s lips as they lead their respective teams out for the first time in the Championship at St. Andrew’s on Saturday 13 January, kick-off 3pm. While the Blues boss takes his debut seat in the home dugout, it will feel more like a homecoming for his counterpart, though, who completes a return to the Swans technical area after departing from his role as assistant manager in February 2022. With a 2-0 victory against Morecambe in the Emirates FA Cup Third Round already under his belt, Williams will look to hit the ground running on league business.
The 42-year-old began an early coaching career after his on-field aspirations were curtailed by injury at the age of 20. Upon being released from Norwich City’s academy, Williams focused on working towards his badges at Leyton Orient and later at West Ham United, engaging with young offenders while qualifying as an FA Skills Coach.
He was picked up by Brighton & Hove Albion in 2010, managing the Under-21s and reserves sides under the guidance of Gus Poyet, during a time when the club began to ascend the pyramid. His side were the first to try out the Seagulls’ new Amex Stadium, which opened the following year, as they beat Eastbourne Borough in the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup final.
The Londoner was appointed assistant manager to Mark Cooper at Swindon Town in 2013 and the team reached the Sky Bet League One 2015 play-off final, losing to Preston North End at Wembley. Cooper left his role after the Robins missed out on promotion, but Williams continued throughout the short stints of Lee Power and Martin Ling before stepping up as caretaker manager until the end of the 2015/16 season.
After tallying six wins from his first 10 games in the hot seat, he was offered a long-term permanent deal and began work alongside the club’s Director of Football, Tim Sherwood. Following a tough sequential campaign, which saw the Wiltshire outfit drop into the fourth tier, he left the County Ground by mutual agreement.
The Englishman returned to the touchline in May 2017 to become Head Coach of Bristol City’s Under-23s, earning praise from first-team manager, Lee Johnson, for his development of young players. On the back of two years at Ashton Gate, he swapped the South West for Buckinghamshire, joining Milton Keynes Dons as assistant to Russell Martin in November 2019.
The duo controlled an attacking, possession-based operation at Stadium MK, which saw the Dons set a new British record at the time, scoring after completing a 56-pass move. The pair continued their efforts at Swansea from August 2021, producing a variety of eye-catching results during Williams’ inaugural spell in South Wales before departing due to personal reasons the following February.
Williams’ most highly-commended role in management came at Notts County, who last season performed in the Vanarama National League. He was awarded the Manager of the Month award for October 2022 as a result of winning all their fixtures to sit top of the table. He repeated the accolade in March, again remaining unbeaten throughout the calendar month. They tabled a club record-breaking 107 points last term, but still finished second in the league behind Hollywood-led Wrexham.
His Nottinghamshire side netted 117 goals across the campaign while setting further club records, going 25 domestic games unbeaten and achieving their most wins in a season, with 32. Williams led County back to the English Football League via play-off promotion courtesy of a 4-3 penalty shootout triumph over Chesterfield at Wembley Stadium last May. Upon his departure from Meadow Lane a week ago, the Magpies had scored 55 goals, the highest across England’s top four divisions, and sat fifth in Sky Bet League Two.
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