Forest Green Rovers have named Southampton's B team boss David Horseman as their new head coach.

He takes over from Hannah Dingley, the first woman to manage a professional men's team in England, who has been in interim charge since 5 July.

Last season, Horseman was also Saints first-team coach under Ruben Selles.

"I'm grateful to Hannah for holding the fort for the club while we went through the complete recruitment process," said owner/chairman Dale Vince.

"Although she did not get the top job this time, it's undoubtedly been a valuable experience and a big step on her career path."

Dingley, who has a Uefa Pro Licence and initiated the club's girls academy which launched in 2021, took charge of the club's first pre-season fixture against non-league Melksham Town and a trip to Ireland.

She will also oversee this week's friendlies against Coventry City and Everton Under-21s, with Horseman and assistant Louis Carey taking up their roles on Thursday.


First female to manage a professional men's team says she wants to see more women in clubs
Previous Rovers boss Duncan Ferguson left the club the day before Dingley was appointed as caretaker, following the team's relegation to League Two.

Vince said Horseman had stood out from over 100 applicants to succeed Ferguson.

"We're delighted to have David join as our head coach, he brings a wealth of experience and a modern approach to the game which matches our own," he said.

Horseman enjoyed success last season as Southampton won the Premier League 2 Division Two title, beating Leeds United Under-21s to top spot on goal difference.

"Louis and I have been lucky to be involved for a long time in professional football and study from some elite coaches which we will bring some ideas with us," he said.

"The supporters can look forward to seeing a team with energy and aggression and one that they can be proud of."

Contract details for Horseman and Carey - who is Bristol City's record appearances maker - have not been disclosed by the club.

York City have signed Ayr United striker Dipo Akinyemi for an undisclosed fee.

The 26-year-old scored 24 goals in 46 games for the Scottish Championship side last season.

The Minstermen have not revealed the length of contract the former Dulwich Hamlet and Welling man has signed.

"I spoke to [head of recruitment] Dave Stockdale and there's a lot of ambition in the club at the moment," Akinyemi told the club website.

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Leeds United defender Robin Koch has joined Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan.

The 26-year-old German made 77 appearances in all competitions for Leeds after joining in 2020 from Freiburg.

The Germany international's contract with Leeds will expire at the end of next season and he will become a free agent when his loan ends.

Leeds will reportedly receive a loan fee from Frankfurt.

Koch, quoted on Frankfurt's website, said: "I've matured a lot in the last three seasons at Leeds in what is perhaps the strongest league in the world - as a footballer but also as a person.

"I want to prove that again in the Bundesliga. I am convinced that we can have a strong season."

His departure comes two days after Daniel Farke was announced as Leeds' new manager on a four-year deal.

Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in 2022-23 after a campaign that saw them sack two managers, Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia, with Sam Allardyce unable to keep them up.

Barnsley have appointed ex-Sheffield United defender Neill Collins as their new head coach on a two-year deal.

The 39-year-old Scot takes over at Oakwell after four years in charge of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USA.

Collins replaces Michael Duff, who left to take over at Championship side Swansea City in June.

Duff led the Tykes to fourth in League One last season, but they were beaten by South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off final.

Collins, who also had spells as a player with Dumbarton, Sunderland and Wolves, will manage USL Championship side Tampa for the final time on Saturday before coming to England.

The Rowdies are third in the Eastern Conference with 31 points from 17 games so far this year, and owner Stuart Sternberg said they would "say farewell with a mixture of pride and sadness".

Collins on Roy Keane, Joe Cole & managing in Florida
"I am absolutely thrilled to be stepping back into the English Football League and even more so to be joining a club of this stature," Collins told the Barnsley website.

"I am fortunate to be working with a squad that just achieved a play-off final but understand there is a lot of work to be done if we want to replicate that success and go a step further.

"I can't wait to get started and work on getting this club back to where it belongs."

Collins spent five years with Sheffield United before leaving to join Tampa in March 2016.

The former centre-back retired from playing to become the club's manager in May 2018, and was named the league's coach of the year in 2021.

He is the Tykes' fifth managerial appointment since October 2020, with the club starting the season at home to Port Vale on Saturday, 5 August.

Neill Collins
Collins has won 98 of his 175 matches in charge of Tampa after taking over in May 2018
Analysis - Big step up but Collins working from solid base
BBC Radio Sheffield's Adam Oxley

As soon as Josh Windass scored his 123rd-minute play-off final winner at Wembley to send Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship and keep Barnsley in League One, everyone connected with the Reds feared that Michael Duff would be on his way.

And so it proved, as Swansea came calling for the man who had turned Barnsley into a promotion-challenging team from the shell of a relegated side he inherited less than 12 months previously.

Replacing Duff was always going to be a difficult job, but players, coaches and even chief executives are like a revolving door at Oakwell, with mixed success over recent years.

Collins is well-respected locally from his five years and 200-plus appearances at Bramall Lane - the 39-year-old Scot initially left the Blades to join Tampa in the USA as a player, before being promoted to manager in 2018.

He has been successful in the United Soccer League Championship, but clearly taking over an aspiring League One club in England will be a big step up.

It's no doubt a left-field appointment by Barnsley, but such appointments have worked before, with at-the-time-unknown head coaches like Daniel Stendel, Gerhard Struber and new Watford boss Valerien Ismael all enjoying relative success.

The Reds will expect another tilt at promotion and, with a lot of the same players still at the club, Collins has a good base to work from.

Leeds United have appointed former Norwich City boss Daniel Farke as their manager on a four-year deal.

The 46-year-old German spent four years with the Canaries and twice led them to promotion to the Premier League.

Farke spent last season with Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach but was sacked after they finished 10th.

Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in 2022-23 after a campaign that saw them sack two managers, with Sam Allardyce then unable to keep them up.

"I feel humble at this time, I know the responsibility to fulfil all the expectations and I want to repay the trust shown," Farke told the club website.

"The most important thing is to create a togetherness and unity within this club again and, from today onwards, I will work on it with my staff and players, and I trust our supporters will be there when we need them. I can't wait for the first game of the season."

Listen to BBC Radio Leeds' first interview with Farke
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Farke was appointed manager at Carrow Road in June 2017 after a spell as head coach of Borussia Dortmund reserves, and guided the Canaries to the second-tier title in his second full season in charge.

They finished bottom of the Premier League the following campaign but Farke led them straight back up, once again as champions.

After a poor start to the 2021-22 campaign he was sacked in November - hours after their first win of the top-flight season, at Brentford.

Farke subsequently had a brief spell in charge of Russian side Krasnodar, but left without managing a game because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and then took over at Monchengladbach on a three-year deal last summer.

Leeds start the Championship season at home to Cardiff on Sunday, 6 August.

The job at hand as Leeds look to bounce back
Leeds United head coach Sam Allardyce
Leeds' three-year stay in the Premier League came to an end in May as they lost 4-1 at home to Tottenham on the final day and finished 19th
The Whites have turned to a man who has won promotion in two of his three seasons managing in English football's second tier as they look to avoid another lengthy spell outside the top flight.

Marcelo Bielsa ended their 16-year exile from the Premier League in 2020 as champions, and the legendary Argentine then led them to a ninth-placed finish in 2020-21.

However, they struggled the following season and Bielsa was replaced by Jesse Marsch in February, and Leeds survived relegation thanks to a final-day win at Brentford.

After a summer which saw influential players Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips depart for Barcelona and Manchester City respectively, they made an encouraging start last season with seven points from their first three league games.

They were unable to keep this going and Marsch was sacked on 5 February and eventually replaced by former Watford boss Javi Gracia on a deal until the end of the season.

The Spaniard won three of his first six league matches but after a run of four defeats in five he was sacked with four games remaining, as the board gambled on veteran Allardyce to try to help them away from danger.

It was not to be, though, as Leeds won just one point from those four matches and were relegated on the last day after a dismal 4-1 home defeat by Tottenham.

Analysis
Adam Pope, BBC Radio Leeds

Daniel Farke cut a genial figure when close up sitting around a table interviewing him as the new Leeds United manager for the first time.

He has a humility infused with a deep confidence and candid realism.

He knows what it takes to ensure promotion from the Championship - the toughest of all leagues he says - but you soon realise that having done that twice with Norwich City, the challenge Farke has set himself and the club is to become established in the Premier League.

Over the course of the four-year deal he has signed at Elland Road, the 46-year-old must feel he will have tools - which he admits were missing at Carrow Road - to go up and stay up in the top flight.

The club did not need selling to the German, who revealed the only convincing he required was that "all of the key people were on the same page - the owners, the board and all the people in the sporting department".

The San Francisco 49ers Enterprises takeover is not yet ratified by the English Football League, but Farke can see enough of the picture to take on the role regardless.

With enough trust established in those above him, Farke is eager to do the same with his charges - starting with appealing to their "heads and hearts" to recreate a winning mentality.

Forest Green Rovers have named Hannah Dingley as their new caretaker boss, making her the first woman to manage a professional men's team in English football.

The League Two side sacked Duncan Ferguson on Tuesday after just six months in charge.

Forest Green announced Dingley, the club's academy head, would be put in caretaker charge of the first team.

Her first match in charge will be a friendly at Melksham Town on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old said: "I'm really excited for this next step of my career. Pre-season has just begun, and the full season kicks off very soon.

Forest Green's trailblazing academy manager Dingley on encouraging women into coaching
"It's an exciting time in football. I am grateful for the opportunity to step up and lead such a progressive and forward-thinking club."

She first joined the club in 2019 to take charge of the academy and remains the only woman to manage a men's English Football League academy.

Dingley, who was born and raised in Carmarthenshire, also initiated the club's girls academy which launched in 2021.

She has a Uefa Pro Licence and previously worked at Burton Albion

"Hannah was the natural choice for us to be first team interim head coach - she's done a fantastic job leading our academy and is well aligned with the values of the club," club chairman Dale Vince said

"It's perhaps telling for the men's game that in making this appointment on merit, we'll break new ground - and Hannah will be the first female head coach in English [men's] football."

'More than capable of coaching at a men's level'
Dingley spoke to BBC Points West in March about breaking down barriers in the sport.

"You've got a responsibility as the first to open the doors for others and to encourage others," she said.

"You always say if you don't see it, you're probably not going to be it. The fact that I do this I hope it encourages more females to come into coaching, into football, into different roles. I feel a great responsibility to talk about that."

She said at the time that she did not think it would be long until a woman took charge of a men's professional team.

"It will come in sooner than you think," Dingley said. "The success that the Lionesses are having, that Emma Hayes is having at Chelsea.

"There are others, really good female coaches out there who I have more than faith in would be more than capable of coaching at a men's level."

Opening day fixtures
Saturday, 5 August

Aldershot Town v Oxford City

Altrincham v Dagenham & Redbridge

Barnet v Hartlepool United

Chesterfield v Dorking Wanderers

FC Halifax Town v Bromley

Gateshead v Boreham Wood

Kidderminster Harriers v Woking

Maidenhead United v AFC Fylde

Rochdale v Ebbsfleet United

Solihull Moors v Eastleigh

Southend United v Oldham Athletic

Wealdstone v York City

Over and out.

Tom Whelan gets a two-year deal at Boreham Wood. Good luck to him. I liked him, but I don't think we'd have played him much this season.

Got a bit too involved in trying to run the game, but I suppose that what public school does for you.

Loving the new away shirts .......

Especially the red and blue, lime green is different but I like it.

Saw them on newsnow West Brom, £55 is a lot of money in the current financial crisis, why can't football clubs price shirts more realistically.
I know clubs of our size can't compete with the big money clubs and have to raise revenue somehow but the fans, the real fans, are the ones that are hurting.

Here's hoping for a successful new season but fearing the worst unless we get a change of ownership.

CoyB