Ben Garner
Ben Garner (born 19 May 1980) is an English professional football coach who is currently head coach of League Two club Swindon Town. Whilst completing the UEFA Pro Licence in 2014, he was mentored by then Chelsea manager José Mourinho. Previously, Garner was the assistant head coach at West Bromwich Albion. and first team coach at Crystal Palace. Before managing Bristol Rovers, he was assistant head coach at ATK in the Indian Super League. Garner began coaching at a young age following a serious injury with the original motivation to coach being he didn't feel young players  were being coached well enough technically and tactically. Garner was also inspired by Terry Venables who "stood out from anything I had experienced previously". Career. Crystal Palace. Garner began his professional coaching career at Crystal Palace in 2005 where he spent the next seven years as youth coach at the Academy. Initially appointed as head coach of the under-11 team, he progressed through the age groups to become head coach of the under-18 team. Garner set-up a full-time school programme in 2011. On 4 July 2012 Oasis Academy Shirley Park were crowned under-15 national champions with Garner stating  'they have won the cup by controlling games with possession football". Players he coached on this programme included Aaron Wan-Bissaka. A number of players progressed through the Academy during this period including Victor Moses, Nathaniel Clyne, Wilfried Zaha, Sean Scannell, Jonny Williams, and John Bostock. He was promoted to first team coach in the 2012–13 season by manager Ian Holloway. Palace finished the season in 5th place and after beating rivals Brighton in the play-off semi-final progressed to Wembley on 27 May 2013 where they were promoted to the Premier League as play-off winners beating Watford  1–0 after extra time. Garner remained in his role as first team coach for the next two seasons working under Holloway, Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock, and Alan Pardew. Palace retained their Premier League status for the first time in the club’s history in 2013–14 finishing in 11th place with then manager Tony Pulis earning the LMA Manager of the Year award. Palace went one better in 2014–15 finishing in 10th place. Garner left Crystal Palace on 7 July 2015 by mutual consent. Former Crystal Palace player Peter Ramage spoke of his disappointment at Garner leaving the club. Chairman Stephen  Parish predicated a bright future in the game for the local-born coach. West Bromwich Albion. He was appointed as first team coach at West Bromwich Albion on 9 October 2015, where he was reunited with former manager Tony Pulis. On 26 September 2016, West Bromwich Albion promoted Garner to assistant head coach. At the end of the 2016–17 season West Bromwich Albion finished in 10th place. In January 2017, he was linked to the vacant manager's job at Nottingham Forest. Pulis has stated that Garner has the potential to become a manager in the future. Albion finished the  2016–17 season in 10th position in the Premier League. Throughout his time at the club, Garner took charge of several fixtures including EFL trophy games, pre-season matches and the international friendly against Delhi Dynamos. Garner departed West Bromwich Albion in December 2017. In 2018 Garner was reported to have turned down the opportunity to become manager of Bradford City due to a lack of assurances over control of the team. And in December 2018 former Bristol Rovers, Southampton, Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion and England player Rickie Lambert described Garner as "very organised, but imaginative, and had a great understanding  of players" when suggesting him as the ideal candidate for the manager job at Bristol Rovers. ATK. On 16 January 2019 he was appointed as assistant head coach under Steve Coppell for the rest of the season at Indian Super League club ATK. Bristol Rovers. After Graham Coughlan’s departure from Bristol Rovers in December 2019, Garner was again interviewed for the vacancy and was appointed on 23 December 2019. In January 2020, Garner was granted extended leave from the club. Following a 2-1 victory away at Lincoln City on 10 October 2020, Garner was named Manager of the  Week by the EFL and the Football League paper. On 14 October 2020 the development of Cian Harries and other young players was highlighted as part of the big picture being built at Bristol Rovers. Harries himself spoke in glowing terms of Garner on 17 October 2020 regarding how hard he was working to develop his game and how much time he dedicates to each player. Similarly, on 25 October 2020 David Tutonda enthused about his manager stating "he's a phenomenal person. He's a top, top coach, his attention to detail is unreal and he sees things that  we don't see. He's a class act all around". On 14 November 2020, Garner was relieved of his duties with the club following a 4–1 home defeat to Fleetwood Town. Swindon Town. On 21 July 2021, Garner was appointed head coach of Swindon Town by new owner Clem Morfuni.