Matt Weston

This article is about the football coach. For the skeleton racer, see Matt Weston (skeleton racer). For the fictional CIA agent, see Safe House (2012 film) § Cast.

Matt Weston
Personal information
Full name Matthew Weston
Date of birth (1975-11-05) 5 November 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Salford, England
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
 Dayton Dutch Lions (Head Coach)
Youth career
1986–1990 Manchester United
1986–1990 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Ipswich Town 0 (0)
1995 → Stockport County (loan) 0 (0)
1996–1999 Leigh RMI
2005 FC United of Manchester 0 (0)
Total 0 (0)
Managerial career
2010 SUNY Purchase Women's Team
2010–2011 F.C. New York
2012 Ocala Stampede
2013 VSI Tampa Bay FC
2014 Dayton Dutch Lions
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Matt Weston (born 5 November 1975) is an English football coach/manager. He was the former head coach of FC New York and VSI Tampa Bay FC in the USL Professional League and technical director of Premier Development League team Ocala Stampede. He is now head coach of the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL Pro.

Playing career

Weston began his career in the youth academy of Manchester United, where he played for four years without making it into the first-team squad. Weston was a member of the club's 'School Of Excellence' which boasted some of the country's finest talent (Fergie's Fledglings).

Weston moved to Ipswich Town in 1990, where he played for five years in the youth and reserve teams, including a 5-month loan stint with Stockport County.[1] He had later stints with semi-pro clubs Leigh RMI and FC United of Manchester.[2] His identical twin brother Kenny was also on Ipswich's books without breaking through to the first team[3] and also moved on to coaching abroad, in his case in Australia.[4]

Upon arriving in the United States in 2006, Weston became a player development officer for Major League Soccer. He then moved on to work as the assistant coach at the University of Bridgeport in 2008 before setting up his own business, Weston Pro Soccer. He also runs a soccer scholarship recruitment business called Weston Pro Scholarship Specialists.[1] He is the former coaching director for CFC (Connecticut Football Club) and was the head coach of CFC's Elite Women's College Showcase Team, as well as the head coach at SUNY Purchase and has also set up a Premier Soccer Program in Connecticut.[5]

Weston's first foray into professional coaching was with USL Pro club F.C. New York in 2010.[1] He resigned in May 2011 – a year after he began with his assistant coach former Arsenal striker Paul Shaw taking over as interim head coach. In March 2012 Weston was announced as technical director/head coach for USL Premier Development League club Ocala Stampede. The Florida-based PDL club won the South East conference in the club's inaugural season, qualifying for the US Open Cup in 2013. They were eventually defeated in the Southern Conference semi-final by Austin Aztec. Weston was then headhunted by VSI, being named as head coach of new USL Pro franchise VSI Tampa Bay FC on 21 November 2012. Weston took the new franchise to the top of the USL Pro standings in late April but departed the club shortly after. VSI Tampa Bay FC failed to make the USL Pro playoffs in 2013.[6][7] Weston rejoined Ocala Stampede of the Premier Development League as the club's Technical Director in 2014. He helped lead Ocala to the USL PDL National Semifinals. He was hired as head coach of the Dayton Dutch Lions on 7 August 2014.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ex-Man Utd, Ipswich player Weston takes charge of FC New York". Tribal Football. 2010.
  2. ^ Matt Weston, Pride of Anglia: Tim's Player A-Z
  3. ^ Kenny Weston, Pride of Anglia: Tim's Player A-Z
  4. ^ Identical Weston twins find football success after Ipswich. Elvin King, East Anglian Daily Times, 15 February 2011
  5. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/matt-weston/27/331/3b [self-published source]
  6. ^ "Weston joins VSI Tampa Bay FC". Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  7. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  8. ^ "Dutch Lions Appoint Weston As Coach". United Soccer Leagues (USL). 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.