Watford FC is delighted to confirm three new coaching appointments within the club’s Academy ahead of the 2024/25 season.

Hornets legend Lloyd Doyley returns as Under-18 Assistant Coach, supporting new Under-18 Lead Coach Matt Bevans, who has most recently served as Watford FC Women’s Interim Head Coach.

Dan Gosling – another ex-Hornet – takes up the Under-21 Assistant Coach position, working alongside former Bournemouth teammate Charlie Daniels, who has been Watford’s Under-21 Lead Coach since the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

    On the new appointments, Academy Director Richard Johnson said: “With Tom Cleverley and Armand Kavaja jumping up to the first team, it left a few positions free and I couldn’t be more pleased in terms of the calibre of coaches we’re getting in.

“I’m sure the Watford fans will also be pleased to see some popular former players returning to the club.”

Needing no introduction to supporters, Doyley came through the club’s youth ranks before making his professional debut in 2001. His 443 outings – the last of which came in 2014 – place him fifth in the club’s all-time appearance rankings.

Since hanging up his playing boots, the former right-back has been part of the coaching staff at Boreham Wood.

    Another graduate of the club’s Academy, new Under-18 Lead Coach Bevans was himself a scholar from 2010 until 2013. After leaving Watford he embarked on a playing career with the likes of Oxford United and Farnborough.

With previous experience coaching the Hornets’ Under-16s, Bevans was appointed Watford FC Women’s Assistant Coach two years ago and took caretaker charge of the Golden Girls during the closing weeks of 2023/24.

Johnson said: “The fans will remember Lloyd fondly. He was a young lad coming through when I was playing here, so to see him back involved in a coaching capacity is fantastic. He’s had some good experiences at Boreham Wood and doing his own private coaching, and to have him around the club again will give a boost to everybody. He’s a great character and a great person.

“It’s also great to have Matt back on board. He’s a very talented coach and he knows a lot of the players within the Under-18 group, so it will be a seamless transition. He did a fantastic job with the Under-16s and the women’s team and he understands the club, having come through as a Watford lad. To have that connection is fantastic for us.”

    Gosling joins the Under-21 setup having featured 37 times during two-and-a-half years at Watford. The former Everton, Newcastle United and Bournemouth midfielder left Vicarage Road in the summer of 2023 and spent part of last season in League Two with Notts County.

He now returns to the club in a coaching capacity, having called time on his playing career.

Johnson said: “We’ve supported Dan through his A Licence and he did a bit of coaching with us during the season that’s just finished, so it’s brilliant to have him back.

“He’s made the decision to retire and get involved with coaching full-time, so it’s a great coup for us. He’s played at the club and he understands the club, and we’re very lucky to have him.”

      Watch Now                    SEO Image