December 24, 2024
By Harry Mottram: It’s the news all Romans’ fans have been waiting for: the appointment of a new manager for Bath City FC. Following the departure of Jerry Gill the club have moved to appoint Darren Way to the dug-out with the mission to secure the team’s place in the league and to climb away from the drop zone. Lee Kendall had been keeping the position warm after Gill’s exit but now the club have a permanent replacement in the form of the one-time Yeovil manager and Swansea City’s ‘hard tackling’ mid field player.
The 45-year-old was born in 1979 – a year after Bath won the Southern League for the second time when the club was managed by Brian Godfrey. Darren’s footballing career began in the 1998-99 season with Norwich but after two years with no appearances he moved to Yeovil Town where for six years he made over 200 appearances scoring 26 goals. Swansea then came calling – a club where he consolidated his career as a midfield general but was plagued by injuries. Another spell at Yeovil was to follow but his playing career ended in 2008 when he was seriously injured in a car crash.
However, his stay at the Somerset club was extended when he was appointed first team coach before eventually becoming the manager in 2015. After a poor run in in 2019 the Glovers sacked him when relegation beckoned. Born in Pymouth he returned to Devon to be the under 18s manager for Plymouth Argyle in 2020. His next move was to Fleetwood Town as assistant manager – from which club he has now left for Twerton Park.
Bath City FC issued this statement on December 23rd, 2024: “After a thorough selection process which attracted a large number of quality candidates, Bath City are delighted to announce the appointment of Darren Way as their Men’s Football Manager.
“Darren joins with a wealth of relevant experience, connections and contacts from his time with Yeovil, Plymouth and Fleetwood. Having worked extensively developing and bringing through many younger players, as well as managing experienced professionals, we are confident he will be able to make a quick and positive impact to help Bath City back up the league this season and to higher levels in years to come.”
Darren said; “I’m really excited to be joining Bath City, a club with a proud footballing history and a great reputation. I’ve been to Twerton Park a number of times during this process and know that this is a very special club with a fantastic supporter base. I can’t wait to start working with the players, Lee and all the support staff to help this team and this club reach their potential this season but also to realise our shared ambition of promotion in seasons to come.”
The club’s statement continued: “We would also like to say thank you to Lee Kendall for stepping up to lead the squad in the interim and making so many positive improvements, and to Elliot Frear, Kieran Parselle and other senior players who helped with that process. And we are delighted that Lee will be staying on as Assistant Manager to Darren, keeping his skills and knowledge with us as well.
“We look forward to welcoming Darren to Twerton Park and expect him to be alongside Lee for the Chippenham game.”
The fans will want to know will he be a success. When he was Yeovil manager, he took them from the relegation zone to a position of safety in League Two – but was sacked after a bad start to the 2019 season – although that is the fate of many managers – a mix of success and failure. Described by the media as a ‘hard tackling centre midfielder’ when he began his career – which saw him represent England as schoolboy level – his range of experience is clearly what gave him the nod at Twerton Park.
Bath Voice Monthly Newspaper is distributed free to thousands of homes and some supermarkets – distributed from the first of the month. Harry Mottram is the News Editor
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Harry Mottram is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Telegram, TikTok and Email:harryfmottram@gmail.com
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