1 May 2015
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork City Football Club is delighted to announce that, following a review of the club’s underage structures ahead of the forthcoming National Under 17 league, a number of appointments have been made.
Having previously been joint-manager of the club’s Under 19 side as well as a brief spell as caretaker manager of the first team, Stuart Ashton will take up the newly created position of Youth Liaison Manager. This role will involve Stuart assisting the Under 19 and Under 17 management and also reporting to first team manager John Caulfield on the progress of the club’s underage teams.
Paul Bowdren, who managed the Under 19 side along Ashton, will take over as Under 17 manager, where he will be joined by goalkeeping coach Alan Mooney. Bowdren, who has been managing various underage sides at the club since 1999, said: “I am really looking forward to it. It is a new challenge and a new team, and I look forward to working with the players and the coaching staff.”
The club also welcomes back Stephen Bermingham, who last season managed Cobh Ramblers’ Under 19 side, and takes over as Under 19 manager. He told CorkCityFC.ie: “I am delighted to be confirmed as Cork City Under 19 manager. I’m really looking forward to the challenge ahead and after speaking to John (Caulfield) about the new youth structure that the club has put in place, everything looks very positive for the players in the future. John wants young players to progress through the youth set up and be ready to play in the first team. My role will be to develop the players technically, tactically, physically and mentally for the challenges of playing at the highest level with one of the top clubs in Ireland.”
Pat Lyons, Chairman of Cork City Football Club, commented: “The announcement of our new underage structures is another progression for the club. The ethos of FORAS is to promote football and offer opportunities to young players to develop, and we see this as another milestone in that regard. We have enjoyed considerable success at underage level in recent years, and we hope that today’s announcement will allow us to build on that success. We are very pleased to have retained the coaches who have been involved in our recent success, and to have added further quality to our ranks.”
“Since John Caulfield’s appointment as manager and the announcement of the forthcoming Under 17 National League by the FAI, the club has been reviewing our underage structures with a view to improving on the good work that has already been done at underage level, and we are confident that our new structures will ensure we do so. The club sees today’s announcement as a very positive development.”
Cork City manager John Caulfield said that a close relationship with local clubs and leagues is important to the club, as it continues to seek to offer young local players a path to first team football: “We have had great success at underage level in recent years, but we are always looking to move the club forward. With the introduction of the new Under 17 league, we have an opportunity now to bring players into the club at a younger age and monitor their progress. We are looking to spread that net and bring players from the city and county, and further afield. We look forward to working closely with the local clubs and leagues, who we have a very good working relationship with. We see the strength of our club as bringing young players through the underage system and I believe that this is the way forward for us as a club.”