Chelsea appoint Wimbledon youth program architect Mark Robinson as U23 head coach

When he was a tour guide at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fan and former Fulham youth prospect Mark Robinson probably wouldn’t have imagined that two decades later, he would be turning up at the club as our new Development Squad (i.e. under-23) head coach. But as confirmed by Chelsea today, that’s precisely what Robinson’s doing, having been appointed to the position to replace Andy Myers, who’s moving over to the Loan Player department.

Robinson was most recently the (first-team) manager at AFC Wimbledon, but he worked his way up to that position over the past 18 years, starting with coaching the U9s and developing a highly respected and successful youth program along the way. While things ended in a somewhat sour fashion there, as they suffered relegation from League One (third tier), he now has a chance to come back “home” and do some good work in our Academy.

Meanwhile, as also announced earlier today, Andy Myers has moved into the loan player department, which has seen a couple coaching departures this season (Paulo Ferreira, Christophe Lollichon). Myers had been in charge of the U23s for the past three years, so it was just about time for him to rotate out, having overseen plenty of success on the pitch and also in terms of setting up players for success in senior football along the way.

Good work, Andy, and welcome, Mark! Let’s maintain the levels of excellence we expect and are used to!