Explained: New Reading assistant manager Scott Marshall

Scott Marshall returned to the Reading dugout last week, this time as assistant manager to Noel Hunt.

Reading FC is experiencing a summer of transition, with new owners, two new permanent signings confirmed, three loans, several departures, and even coaching staff changes. Goalkeeping coach Tony Warner has left for Wigan Athletic and been replaced internally by Rob Shay. In addition, assistant manager Nigel Gibbs stepped up to join Ryan Mason at West Bromwich Albion.

Reading were formerly highly linked to Richard Beale, who was the manager of West Brom’s under-21 team. However, he looks to have accepted a position at Aston Villa instead, which makes a lot of sense given that he has never worked outside of Birmingham before. Fun tidbit for geography buffs: Reading is not close to Birmingham.

However, Reading acted quickly to find a substitute for the replacement: Scott Marshall.

Is the name familiar to you? This is not his first term in the Reading parish. As always, I shall retrieve the deerstalker hat, polish the magnifying lens, and bring you, dear reader, the latest addition to Noel Hunt’s coaching squad.

Who is he?

Scott Marshall, a 52-year-old former defender, made a few Premier League outings for Arsenal and Southampton before making the most of his time at Brentford. At the end of his career, he also played for Wycombe Wanderers, who are sort of neighbours, before retiring in 2004.

Though he did not have the most prolific footballing career (it must have been difficult to get past Tony Adams, Steve Bould, and Martin Keown in the Arsenal defence), he retired with a decent record. Indeed, Adams recruited him to Wycombe Wanderers as a player during his time as manager, demonstrating how well regarded he is within football circles.

Marshall spent time after retirement working in Oman for the Arsenal Soccer School, where he first refined his craft. Marshall’s first official coaching position occurred in 2006, when he joined Paul Lambert at Wycombe Wanderers as a junior coach. Following that, he was given the opportunity to return to Brentford (the club where he had the most consistent playing success), this time as a young coach.

This is presumably when he started to build his coaching credentials, which led to a move to Norwich City in 2011, when he took over the under-21s. Marshall did not stay in this position long, as Lambert approached him again a year later to bring him to Villa in 2012, giving Marshall his first taste of first-team coaching.

Marshall also served as Villa’s caretaker manager following Lambert’s resignation, and he left shortly thereafter in 2015. Then, a football club called *checks notes* Reading approached him and offered him the opportunity to coach the then-under-23 team (now the under-21s) in 2017.

Marshall, the right-thinking man that he is, accepted the offer. This resulted in his second stint as caretaker manager, taking over the first team after Paul Clement (remember him?) left.

Marshall departed Reading in 2018 and worked as an assistant manager for Charlton Athletic, Colchester United, and Swindon Town. He most recently served as QPR’s professional development phase coach. All of this adds up to a significant corpus of work in a variety of roles at various clubs over the last 20 years or so.

What can we expect from him?

Why him, basically. That’s a relatively relevant topic because, in recent years, practically every coaching hire has come from within: the aforementioned Shay, Harrison Gilkes, and Mikele Leigertwood. Even Nigel Gibbs, an outsider hire last season, had previously worked for Reading.

So, why Marshall? And, yes, I am aware that he had past experience at Reading.

Well, I believe there are three major aspects at play here, as well as a secondary one.

First and foremost, he has approximately 20 years of coaching expertise. This is notable because Hunt and Leigertwood are both in the early stages of their coaching careers, having started in 2018 and around 2016. Marshall’s experience will compliment our two current first-team coaches. It’s also worth mentioning that Marshall appears to be well-regarded as a coach, with his services in great demand for several years.

Second, Marshall has spent a significant amount of time coaching youth football. And, as you know, dear reader, we have a youthful squad and a history of elevating players through our academy program. This knowledge of cultivating new talent will be critical for a developing squad.

Third, he has extensive expertise working on this level of the pyramid. He understands the challenges of League One football, and the astute among you will notice that much of the summer’s recruitment this year has focused on people who have proven themselves competitive in League One and have a high enough ceiling to step up to a higher level in the right environment. Marshall’s experience will be extremely valuable to a developing squad.

Finally, he has previous experience with us. I don’t think that’s the be-all and end-all, but it’s nice to know he knows our aspirations for the club, and I anticipate him to collaborate closely with Peter Scott and Harrison Gilkes, who lead the under-21 and under-18 squads, respectively.

Has he worked with Hunt before?

Seemingly not, and the same can be said of Leigertwood. However, Hunt is familiar with Marshall’s reputation, having said:

“Bringing Scott back to Reading is a huge boost for us. He’s not only an excellent coach with a strong tactical mind, but he’s also someone who knows this club inside out and connects naturally with players and staff.

“His experience across the game – both in youth development and at first-team level – adds real depth to our coaching team. I’m really looking forward to working closely with him as we push to make this season a successful one.”

It’s also worth remembering that Marshall would not be joining the club without Hunt’s approval, so despite the fact that they’ve never worked together before, this is a positive signal of Hunt’s belief in Marshall’s suitability for us.

Side note: Marshall was part of the coaching staff while Gibbs was here. That’s most likely a coincidence, but I can’t help but envision Marshall speaking with Gibbs before agreeing to the transfer.

Welcome back to Reading, Scott!