Ashley Westwood (footballer, born 1976)
Ashley Michael Westwood (born 31 August 1976) is an English football manager and former professional player who is the head coach of the Afghanistan national team.
|
Westwood in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ashley Michael Westwood | ||
| Date of birth | 31 August 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Afghanistan (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Manchester United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1998 | Crewe Alexandra | 96 | (9) |
| 1998–2000 | Bradford City | 24 | (2) |
| 2000 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2000–2003 | Sheffield Wednesday | 77 | (4) |
| 2003–2006 | Northampton Town | 31 | (2) |
| 2006–2008 | Chester City | 21 | (3) |
| 2007 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2007 | → Port Vale (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2008 | Stevenage Borough | 20 | (2) |
| 2008–2010 | Wrexham | 61 | (3) |
| 2010–2011 | Kettering Town | 12 | (0) |
| 2011 | Crewe Alexandra | 6 | (0) |
| 2011 | Northampton Town | 17 | (1) |
| 2012 | Kettering Town | 9 | (1) |
| 2012 | Lincoln City | 0 | (0) |
| 2012 | Portsmouth | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 403 | (28) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012 | Kettering Town (player-manager) | ||
| 2013–2016 | Bengaluru FC | ||
| 2016–2017 | Penang FA | ||
| 2018 | ATK (interim) | ||
| 2021–2022 | RoundGlass Punjab | ||
| 2023– | Afghanistan | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
A graduate of the Manchester United Academy, the defender signed with Crewe Alexandra in 1995. Three years later he moved on to Bradford City. Winning promotion to the Premier League with the Bantams, he transferred to Sheffield Wednesday in 2000. He moved on to Northampton Town in 2003, where he stayed for three years. Signing with Chester City in 2006, he was loaned to Swindon Town and Port Vale in 2007, before joining Wrexham via Stevenage Borough the following year.
He spent the 2010–11 season with Kettering Town, before returning to Crewe Alexandra for a brief spell in 2011. Later in the year, he re-joined another former club, Northampton Town. In December 2011 he was released from the Cobblers after his contract was not renewed. He was appointed player-caretaker manager at Kettering Town the following month, before returning just to playing duties with Lincoln City in May 2012. Two months later he became a player-coach at Portsmouth, before becoming a full-time coach at Blackpool in November 2012. In his 18-year playing career, he scored 34 goals in 468 competitive appearances in the Football League and Conference. He was promoted four times with four clubs.
He began his full-time management career with Indian club Bengaluru FC in 2013 and led them to two I-League titles (2013–14 and 2015–16) in three seasons, as well as the Indian Federation Cup in 2015. He was appointed head coach at Malaysia Super League club Penang FA in November 2016 but lasted just five months in the role. He was appointed as director of football at ATK in July 2017 and took over as head coach on an interim basis in January 2018. He was appointed as RoundGlass Punjab head coach in July 2021. He became head coach of the Afghanistan national team in November 2023.