Anthony John Carss (born 31 March 1976) is an English football coach and former professional player, who currently works for Aston Villa Academy as Emerging Talent Programme Manager.

Tony Carss
Personal information
Full name Anthony John Carss[1]
Date of birth (1976-03-31) 31 March 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth Alnwick, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Aston Villa U21s
Youth career
000–1994 Bradford City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Blackburn Rovers 0 (0)
1995–1997 Darlington 57 (2)
1997–1998 Cardiff City 42 (1)
1999–2000 Chesterfield 35 (1)
2000 Carlisle United 7 (0)
2000–2003 Oldham Athletic 75 (5)
2003–2006 Huddersfield Town 80 (3)
Managerial career
2006–2017 Huddersfield Town U18s
2017 Huddersfield Town Academy (Head of Coaching)
2017–2022 Blackburn Rovers Academy (Head of Coaching)
2022–2023 Aston Villa U21s
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Carss started his career with Blackburn Rovers,[2] and went on to Darlington, Cardiff City, Chesterfield, Oldham Athletic and Huddersfield Town.

After retiring from playing in 2006, Carss has also coached at Huddersfield Town Academy and Blackburn Rovers F.C. Academy.[3]

Career

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Playing career

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Carss signed his first professional contract with Blackburn Rovers in 1994, after finishing an apprenticeship with Bradford City. However, his playing career was punctuated by injury, and he left Blackburn having never played a league game.[4] After spells at Darlington, Cardiff City, Chesterfield, Carlisle United and Oldham Athletic – in 2003 Carss joined Huddersfield Town, winning promotion via the Division Three play off final in 2004.[5] And scoring a goal that some have said was one of the best goals in Huddersfield's history in a league game against Torquay United on 11 October 2003.[6]

Coaching career

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After being released by Huddersfield, Carss called an end to his playing career, expressing a desire to one day become a coach. However, he initially retrained to become a sports journalist, stating that his goal was still to try to transition into coaching, but that this was another way to stay in the football industry.[7] He graduated from Staffordshire University with a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting in summer of 2008.[8]

At the same time, Carss worked as a coach for Huddersfield Town U18s. In 2017, Carss moved to Blackburn Rovers to take the role as their Head of Coaching.[4] In June 2018, Carss achieved his UEFA Pro Licence, graduating alongside Nemanja Vidić, David James and Nicky Butt.[9]

On 14 June 2022, Blackburn Rovers announced that Carss would leave his role later in that month, in order to take up a role at a Premier League club, which was later announced to be the role of Aston Villa Under-21s manager.[10][11]

On 20 July 2023, after the appointment of Iñigo Idiakez as U21 Coach at Aston Villa, Carss was moved to the new role of Emerging Talent Programme Manager.[12]

Honours

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As a player

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Darlington

Huddersfield Town

References

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  1. ^ a b Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 82. ISBN 1-85291-651-6.
  2. ^ "I'll get myself". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 6 May 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Tony Carss LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Tony Carss Q&A: We speak to Rovers' new Head of Academy Coaching". Blackburn Rovers FC. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. ^ Chicken, Steven (28 May 2022). "Huddersfield Town's rich history in play-off finals". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. ^ Wheat-Bowen, Elliott (6 September 2016). "Are these the 3 best Huddersfield Town goals of all-time?". Football League World. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. ^ WalesOnline (18 November 2006). "Carss is looking to write his own news headlines". WalesOnline. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Hats off to our super students". Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  9. ^ "PRO LICENCE GRADUATION SEES NICKY BUTT, DAVID JAMES AND NEMANJA VIDIC COMPLETE COURSE". The Football Association. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Carss to leave Rovers role". Blackburn Rovers FC. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Villa appoint three Academy coaches". Aston Villa Football Club. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Aston Villa appoint Inigo Idiakez as U21s coach". Aston Villa Football Club. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
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