He has now joined Pompey's academy department and will coach the under-14's side. Pompey academy manager Andy Awford told portsmouthfc.co.uk... 'Lee has a great football background, who knows the club well from his time here as a player. He's a welcome addition'. ************************************************************************************************* Just seen this on the official PFC site:- Pompey's academy department have made several new appointments. Former Blues stars Lee Bradbury and Mark Chamberlain will coach the under-14 and under-13 sides respectively, while Michael Harris has been brought in to take charge of the under-12s. Current academy coach Mark Kelly will combine his current role with a new post as head of academy recruitment. And Adrian Cooke has joined the academy as a strength and conditioning coach. The appointments ensure Pompey are compliant with the new Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). Academy manager Andy Awford said: "I'm delighted to be able to make these appointments. They bring us into line with the staffing levels required under the EPPP, but we have been low on staff numbers ever since the club went into administration, so we need these extra bodies. "I'd like to thank all of the existing academy staff for going the extra mile during what has been a difficult time at Portsmouth Football Club. "Lee has a great football background, who knows the club well from his time here as a players. He's a welcome addition. "Mark Chamberlain is another who previously played for Pompey and has previously coached kids here as part of the academy and community departments. He's also coached for Southampton's academy and has a wealth of experience of youth football. "I've known Michael for about 20 years. He always wanted to be a player but never quite made it and turned his attention to coaching. "He's been working as the first team coach at Salisbury, but I spoke to him and liked what he had to offer. He's an innovative young coach. "Mark Kelly's already been with us for a few years as a coach and will now also be in charge of academy recruitment. That's the role previously filled by Dave Hurst – who I'd like to thank for all the work he did during my time at the club. "We have needed a new strength and conditioning coach ever since Paul Stretch left to join Millwall. Paul was made part-time when the club entered administration, so I couldn't blame him for wanting to take up a full-time post elsewhere. "But Adrian comes in and is a young, enthusiastic and fully qualified indivudual who's worked previously at Cardiff and Bristol City. "The current situation at the club means we can't compete with other sides in certain areas, but we certainly can in terms of what our staff can offer. "We're confident we can create an environment where young players will want to stay at Pompey for years to come."
This is another clear indication that Birch is confident that the club will be bought out of admin don't you think? He wouldn't be allowing recruitment along these lines if he had doubts or expected to go down the liquidation route.
Certainly looks promising Apart from Lee Bradbury, it's really great to see Mark Chamberlain back at F.P., especially with his younger son Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain already at the Academy. PUP
Thank woops The lack of news and apparent progress on the takeover by either side is starting to get frustrating so it's nice to read something positive for a change.
