Thetownend.com

EXCLUSIVE: DENNIS Wise has made his first signing as Swindon Town manager bringing in former teammate David Tuttle as the club's new Head of Youth, writes ANDY CRYER.

On his appointment last month, Wise promised to look at the club from top to bottom' and his first move is to bring former Millwall teammate Tuttle in to review the youth set-up.

The appointment throws into doubt Ian Woan's position at the County Ground, having been Head of Youth for the Wiltshire outfit since being apointed by Andy King back in September 2004.

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Woan is due to meet with Tuttle and chief executive Mark Devlin in the next few days to discuss his future as Wise's promised revolution starts to take shape.

Devlin said: "Myself and Dave Tuttle completed the talks late over the weekend and he has been appointed to assess the youth set-up.

"Hopefully he will start in his role over the next couple of days and when he comes on board we will meet the people involved with the youth at the moment and discuss their positions with them.

"Dennis Wise knows him from Millwall and has talked very encouragingly about him so we believe it is another exciting appointment."


Looks like Woan may be leaving. Tis a shame imo, as hes done a goodjo with the youths

I suppose the fact that the wee man has made a youth development  officer his first appointment demonstrates that he appreciates the importance of bringing the kids though which is great. Only time will tell of course.

I got the impression Woany was doing quite well so hopefully he can stay on but I can't see it somehow.

Yes i agree Woany seemed to be doing ok and looked like he knew what he was doing. I'd like to see him working him Tuttle if the finances allow. Unfortunately we all know that the introduction of  new managers usually means wholesale changes in most depts.

 :o

It's also to be expected that a Manager will bring in his own backroom staff and structure.  Woan was pretty handy at the McDonalds run though before away games.

hopefully woan does stay, just because he is ian woan.

Good point well made 8)

he's no alan reeves is he?

No, he was a better player for a start.

I thought Woan had already left anyway. Shame to see him go but hopefully the new guy will be good.

Are you forgetting something ? Who is Reserve Team manager ? Maybe Woan has been promoted to that role ?

NMH

Our beter managers like Macari Ardiles and Hoddle, tended to make the judgement that it was important at youth reserve level to keeep on fellas who knew the terrain and had built up contacts down the years.

 Maybe appoint a right hand man and that's enough.....the crap managers like McMahon, T*dd  got rid of good fellas and brought in their own placemen.

 You have been warned, this is not a good sign.

This isn't the same as McMahon sacking Swindon legends such as Trollope and Rowland. Really who cares so much to lose Woany? I liked him as a player (he left us too soon though!) but Tuttle has a little bit more experience that could make a difference. Woan is still doing his badges.

Tuttle was a highly respected coach at Millwall... The players were disappointed that he left them. I think it's a good move.

If this Wise/Poyet thing goes tits up... £10 says Tuttle will be our next manager ;)

Its my understanding that Millwall fell apart under Tuttle who was reviled by their fans...which takes a bit of doing.

  I'm quite happy to be proved wrong as I'm not a Millwall expert.

I read this http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/millwall/4932020.stm and is the only basis to my point.  :oops:

woan could still stay at the club in the same capacity as before according to radio swindon

fuck it, hes only what 39?.....on the pitch!!!

Poyet - Wise - P.Smith - Woan

Oldest midfield in football  :D

Tuttle prior to being appointed manager was actually chief scout at Millwall so it will be interesting to see how he gets on.

I know a lot of emphasis is placed on the Youth team set-up as being vital to the club’s future but with the exception of the last 12 months how many have actually made the progress from youth to first team set-up and how much potential has been creamed off by Premiership clubs before they have even kicked a ball in anger?  In that respect maybe having a scout in charge rather than an experienced coach maybe no bad thing. The sooner we spot talent the better in terms of getting some money back.

Going back a few years we had Jimmy Fraiser as a development officer before he joined Chelski and Viv Busby as coach.  After Woan was promoted to first team coach Iffy took on the role of coach as well as development officer and the position has never really been filled.  

Hopefully we’ll a return to that sort of set-up where there is someone who can built up a portfolio of contacts and sniff out talent before anyone even gets close.  I don’t think it necessarily has to be a highly paid position, in fact someone like Fraiser, an ex-trainee and only 27 when he departed would be ideal.  The key is knowing the local area, as Reg says building up local contacts and ensuring anyone who can kick a ball with an ounce of talent is sent our way first by local teams and schools.

Point is Dazzza,  the cheapo local system of fellas doing it for love as much as money, is the only way to go.  Our youth set up is funded by 20K form the club....the rest comes form a variety of grant sources, some of which are looking dodgy for the immediate future.

 Still that nice man Mr Mike said Dennis could have the club as his toy, to play about with so I suppose we're stuck with it for now.

Comes down to funding I suppose it does say on the press release Tuttle’s coming in to assess the current set-up but whether that means he has any budget scope to do anything with it is another question.

Other interesting part was that there maybe a chance  for Woan to stay on as part of the new set-up, which if anything is an indicator that there’s some potential for at least some expansion on the current budget.

i think its a good move

 Why?

just think it is. for somebody who has managed a championship team before to be in charge of the kids can only be a good thing

On the other hand Reg, maybe, just maybe Tuttle will do a really good job. Just a thought.  

Our youth system has hardly been a conveyor belt of talent for the last 20+ years has it?

I think you should at least wait until a ball has been kicked before you start slagging off all and sundry.

 The last crop of decent players we produced like Fitzroy Simpson, Nicky Summerbee, and Steve Mildenhall were all John Trollope products...the rot set in with Mcmahon's charges, who although doing  some good things, failed to find a single decent player...despite apparently spreading the net further afield.

 

  Somebody's got to do it  :twisted:

so bring back trollope?

  Well Trolly's getting on a bit now....having an ex player who's been around the club and district for a while strikes me as the best way forward...somebody like paul Bodin would have been good.

What about the current crop of Busby babes?  

Not much to brag about but probably better than they have been for a few years and that's not forgetting the cream that's been skimmed off that crop alread.