The Imps have suffered a big blow as assistant head coach Chris Cohen has joined Stoke City.
Cohen had two spells with the Imps, the first helping out Tom Shaw after Mark Kennedy’s sacking. A few weeks later, he joined on a permanent deal, adding experience to our coaching staff. After Cohen joined, the Imps went on an astounding run of just two defeats, almost breaking into the top six.
However, as a former assistant in the Premier League, it was always going to be difficult to keep hold of him, and he now moves to Stoke, just as Mike Garrity left us for QPR, another Championship club. Director of football Jez George said: “Chris is someone of the highest calibre who leaves with the respect and thanks of everyone at the club. He contributed hugely last season in supporting Michael and Tom but, even more importantly, in supporting and helping the players.
“We always had the understanding that Chris would look at options in the Championship or higher if we were not promoted, so he absolutely leaves with our best wishes. He is always welcome at the LNER Stadium and we wish him well with his next role.”
This feels like a big blow to the side. When we spoke to Logan, the analyst, at the end of last season, he covered how Cohen’s arrival coincided with a real push forward on the stats analysis side, with the former Forest man often spending the first half of the game watching from a different angle, before being on the bench for the second half. The proof is in results, and whilst he won’t have been solely responsible for the improved form, having talent like that backstage will almost certainly have been a huge benfit to Michael Skubala.
Now, there’s a caveat here that I think makes Cohen’s departure a bit different from that of Neil McDonald (Peter Jackson’s assistant) or Mike Garrity (Mark Kennedy’s assistant). They were both great assistants who left, after which we saw a downturn in form. However, I think Michale is a great coach in his own right, a man who will often be out on the training pitch himself, delivering his message. His ideas are also solid, and whilst losing Cohen is a blow, I don’t think it will fundamentally change what we do.
What it does mean is we’re now going to be searching for a new member of staff to join Michael and Tom Shaw. That is the big job facing the recruitment team now, but given that we’re still in the summer break, it feels like a decent time to have to search, rather than us being shorthanded in the middle of the season, as we were when Garrity and Mcdoanld left.
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