Anthony Limbrick
Personal information
Date of birth (1983-04-09) 9 April 1983 (age 40)
Place of birth Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Peterborough United (Senior Professional Phase Lead Coach)
Youth career
Riverside Olympic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Riverside Olympic
Bundaberg Waves
Rochedale Rovers
2005 Northwood 2 (0)
2005–2006 Wingate & Finchley
Managerial career
2017–2018 Woking
2019 Grimsby Town (interim)
2021–2022 The New Saints
2023 Manchester 62
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Anthony Limbrick (born 9 April 1983) is an Australian professional football manager and former player who is currently Senior Professional Phase Lead Coach for EFL League One side Peterborough United within the academy.

As a player, Limbrick played at a semi-professional level for Australian sides Riverside Olympic, Bundaberg Waves and Rochedale Rovers before emigrating to England in 2005 where he featured for non-league sides Northwood and Wingate & Finchley. Since moving into coaching he has notably worked for Premier League sides Southampton and West Ham United as well as the England under-17's. He was appointed manager of Woking in 2017 before a spell as Ian Holloway's assistant manager at Grimsby Town. Limbrick is one of few notable Australian managers who have coached in the United Kingdom, others including Ange Postecoglou of Celtic and Harry Kewell, formerly of Football League sides such as Barnet.[1]

Club career

Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Limbrick later moved to Launceston, attending Riverside High School. During Limbrick's time in Tasmania, he played for Riverside Olympic, before moving to Queensland on mainland Australia, playing for Bundaberg Waves and Rochedale Rovers. Limbrick later played Non-League football in England for Northwood and Wingate & Finchley, before a broken leg ended his playing career.[2][3]

Managerial career

Youth Coaching, Woking and Grimsby Town

In 2007, Limbrick became a youth team coach at Boreham Wood. In 2007, he returned to former club Wingate & Finchley as first team coach, leaving in 2010 to join Southampton as a youth coach, working under first team managers Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman. Limbrick was later part of the coaching staff at for England under-17's and West Ham United's academy.[4]

In May 2017, Limbrick was appointed manager of National League club Woking, leading the club to the FA Cup second round, after beating Football League club Bury. In April 2018, after a nine-game winless run, Limbrick was sacked as manager of Woking. Ahead of the 2018–19 EFL League Two season, Limbrick was appointed assistant manager to Michael Jolley at Grimsby Town. In November 2019, following the departure of Jolley via mutual consent, Limbrick was named interim manager of Grimsby before reverting to assistant following the appointment of Ian Holloway.[4] Limbrick departed Grimsby in September 2020.[5]

The New Saints

On 2 April 2021, Limbrick was appointed manager of Cymru Premier club The New Saints following the dismissal of Scott Ruscoe.[6] On 11 April 2021, Limbrick took charge of his first Cymru Premier match, which saw The New Saints secure a 1–0 home win over Bala Town. Limbrick saw out the rest of the Cymru Premier season with seven wins, a draw and only one loss to finish second in the table and qualify for the 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.[7]

In the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Limbrick's 2021–22 side cruised through qualifying rounds 1 and 2, beating Glentoran and FK Kauno Žalgiris. However, their momentum quickly shrivelled after a penalty shootout heartbreak in the second leg of the third round against Viktoria Plzeň, despite their impressive first-leg win their European journey came to a sudden end.[1][8] Following the game, Limbrick explained, "When you play these top teams there's fine margins, we conceded late in both games and the players were dead on their feet by the end because they couldn't have done anymore."[9] Despite the European exit, The New Saints dominated the opening of The 2021–22 Cymru Premier, remaining undefeated after the first seven league fixtures.[8] Following this success in the league, Limbrick was awarded Cymru Premier Manager of the Month.[10]

On 11 March 2022, Limbrick became the first Australian manager to win a top-flight European football league after his side drew 3−3 with Penybont to seal the 2021−22 title.[11] Limbrick's side claimed the Welsh Cup with a 3–2 win over Penybont in the final.[12]

Limbrick was sacked in July 2022, due to The New Saints' disappointing performances in European competitions.[13][14][15]

Career statistics

Manager

As of match played 26 July 2022
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat. From To Record Ref.
P W D L Win %
Woking England 6 August 2017 3 April 2018 49 14 11 24 28.5 [16]
Grimsby Town (interim) England 20 November 2019 29 December 2019 9 1 4 4 12.5 [17]
The New Saints Wales 10 April 2021 4 August 2022 60 42 10 9 72.41 [18][7][19][20]
Manchester 62 Gibraltar 20 June 2023 15 December 2023 10 6 0 4 60.00
Total 128 63 24 39 49.21

Honours

Manager

The New Saints

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b Rosengarten, Jake (20 December 2021). "Meet Anthony Limbrick: Aussie has gone from coaching 5-year-olds to top of the league". Optus Sport. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Tasmanian Anthony Limbrick at home at Grimsby Town". The Examiner. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Anthony Limbrick". Northwood F.C. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Who is Anthony Limbrick? A career profile on the Grimsby Town interim manager". Grimsbylive. Grimsby Telegraph. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Assistant manager Anthony Limbrick leaves Grimsby Town". Grimsbylive. 4 September 2020.
  6. ^ "The New Saints Appoint Limbrick As New Head Coach". The New Saints F.C. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b "historical stats: wales_2021 - team 4, league table and match results in Wales - Cymru Premier 2021". SoccerSTATS.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b "'Anthony the Great': Meet the young Aussie coach wowing in Wales". FTBL. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Saints crash out on penalties in Plzen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  10. ^ a b "It's A Team Effort, As Anthony Limbrick Wins Manager Of The Month Award". TNSFC. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  11. ^ a b Rosengarten, Jake (17 March 2022). "Anthony Limbrick makes Australian football history by winning Welsh league title". Optus Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  12. ^ a b "FAW / Saints hold on in dramatic JD Welsh Cup Final Finish". www.faw.cymru. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Anthony Limbrick: Cymru Premier champions The New Saints sack head coach". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  14. ^ Owen, Twm. "TNS sack manager Anthony Limbrick". The National. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  15. ^ Judah, Nathan (28 July 2022). "TNS sack manager Anthony Limbrick". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  16. ^ "2017/18 Results | Men's First Team". Woking Football Club. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Grimsby Town Football 2019-2020 Results and Fixtures". thefishy.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  18. ^ "The New Saints statistics, league table and match results in Wales - Cymru Premier 2021/2022". SoccerSTATS.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  19. ^ UEFA.com. "og-title-uefaeuropaconferenceleague-team-stats". UEFA.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  20. ^ Jones, Jordan. "JD Welsh Cup - Fixtures and Results - 2021/2022 season". Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Congratulations, Anthony Limbrick, January's JD Cymru Premier Manager Of The Month". TNSFC. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
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