Keith Downing
Keith Gordon Downing (born 23 July 1965) is an English former footballer and football manager who is an assistant coach at EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers. He made the vast majority of his appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Keith Gordon Downing | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Oldbury, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Blackburn Rovers (assistant coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Chelsea | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1984 | Mile Oak Rovers | ||
| 1984–1987 | Notts County | 23 | (1) |
| 1987–1993 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 191 | (8) |
| 1993–1994 | Birmingham City | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Stoke City | 16 | (0) |
| 1995 | Cardiff City | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–1999 | Hereford United | 45 | (0) |
| Total | 280 | (9) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Cheltenham Town | ||
| 2013–2014 | West Bromwich Albion (caretaker) | ||
| 2015–2016 | England U20 | ||
| 2016–2020 | England U19 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
A former Chelsea youth team player, he moved from Mile Oak Rovers into the English Football League with Notts County in 1984. Three years later he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers. He spent six years with Wolves, winning the Football League Trophy in 1988 and successive Fourth Division and Third Division titles in 1987–88 and 1988–89. He joined Birmingham City in 1993, before moving on to Stoke City the following year. In 1995, he joined Hereford United via Cardiff City, and retired in 1999.
Downing went on to become a coach and also spent September 2007 to November 2008 as Cheltenham Town manager, and served West Bromwich Albion as caretaker manager for a brief spell in the 2013–14 Premier League season. He was appointed England U20 head coach in July 2015 and then took up the same role at the England U19's 13 months later, whom he led to the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship title.