CITY HERO WALTERS TAKES OVER AFTER MARTIN EXITS
Day of upheaval as technical director departs
JON Walters has joined Stoke City as new interim technical director on a day of significant change that saw Ricky Martin’s 15-month reign come to an end.
Martin was given a huge remit for overseeing a major reset at Stoke after joining from West Ham in November 2022.
He was brought in to fill a role identified by then manager Alex Neil – who had worked with him at Norwich.
There have been major changes during that time and a huge turnaround of personnel as the club came through the worst constraints of financial fair play, which had been such an albatross for the previous three years.
But a new-look squad has not been able to change the club’s fortunes and they head into the final 13 games of the season fighting for their lives in the Championship.
Neil had already paid for poor results in December but there has been increasing anger and frustration among supporters.
Walters has maintained close connections since he left as a player in 2017 and was actually due to be at the bet365 Stadium tonight, taking part in the annual Big Sleep Out to raise money to tackle homelessness in the city.
Instead, he will be tasked with helping to steady the ship and a sounding board for Schumacher in the first instance.
Stoke have been clear that his arrival is on an interim basis but he will be in charge until further notice.
Joint-chairman John Coates said in a statement: “Ricky has worked tirelessly in his attempts to bring success to Stoke City, and I am appreciative of his hard work and dedication.
“With results on the field having fallen significantly short of our ambitions during the current season to date, we believe it is essential to take-on a new direction. We will run a full and robust recruitment process with immediate effect.
“Jonathan is ideally suited to the interim role and I’m thankful to him for stepping in to support Stoke City, a club I know is close to his heart, at this time.”
Now aged 40, Walters has a varied CV after retiring from playing due to injury in 2019.
He has coached in Stoke’s academy and for the Republic of Ireland’s youth teams, he has worked in the media, been on the short list to become the PFA’S new chief executive and took on the role of technical director at Fleetwood Town and their sister club Waterford in December 2022.
He has been a consultant for the Premier League over the last 18 months and sat on the board of trustees at The Players Foundation, which offers advice and funding for vocational courses for former and current footballers.
He said recently: “I haven’t stopped furthering and educating myself in a variety of areas (since retiring as a player). I have achieved my UEFA B and UEFA A licence, I have worked in a Premier League Category One academy as a part-time and full-time coach, I have spent time working for major media broadcasters.
“I applied for the PFA chief executive and came extremely close whilst learning a lot going through that process.
“I have spent a year working with Republic of Ireland under-19s, scouting, coaching, analysing, mentoring and taking a squad to the Elite European Qualifiers.
“Every experience I’ve had has been different and I’ve worked with some fantastic people over that period of time, always educating myself along the way and following a path to where I ultimately see myself.”