David Webb appointed first team manager of York City

York City Football Club are delighted to confirm the appointment of David Webb as our new first team manager. Webb – who has experience of different high-level roles at several Premier League and European clubs – will take charge of the team from Monday with his first game being next weekend’s trip to Woking.

York City Football Club are delighted to confirm the appointment of David Webb as our new first team manager.

Webb – who has experience of different high-level roles at several Premier League and European clubs – will take charge of the team from Monday with his first game being next weekend’s trip to Woking.

Michael Morton joins from Leeds United’s academy to become Webb’s assistant manager.

Webb started in professional football as an academy coach with the likes of AFC Wimbledon, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham Hotspur. At Crystal Palace he was noted for the discovery of Wilfried Zaha, and talent identification has been a skill that he has been credited with throughout his career.

Following a spell with Millwall as their head of academy coaching, Webb transitioned to off field roles in talent identification, recruitment, and analysis with Southampton, AFC Bournemouth, and a return to Tottenham.

At Bournemouth Webb was the Head of First Team Recruitment supporting Eddie Howe during the Cherries’ promotion to the Premier League and he played a key role in several important signings such as now-England star Callum Wilson.

Mauricio Pochettino, who previously worked with Webb at Southampton, brought him into his backroom team at Tottenham Hotspur as Head of Elite Identification and Player Development.

The UEFA ‘A’ licensed coach worked as a consultant for Hoffenheim and Real Betis before joining Östersund FK as Technical Director in 2019, a role which also saw him assist with coaching.

Like former Östersund manager Graham Potter, Webb supplemented his coaching development with higher education and has an honours degree in Sports Science and a master’s degree in Sports Psychology.

His most recent position was Head of Football Operations at Huddersfield Town which he left in 2020.

Joining Webb’s management team at York City, fellow UEFA ‘A’ licensed coach Michael Morton leaves his role as Youth Development Phase Lead at Leeds United which he has held since 2018.

Morton started his coaching career with the Whites in 2005 before making the move to Manchester City working in academy coaching and talent identification.

A young but vastly experienced coach, he continued to work in youth development as head of i2i academy during a spell in which the York-based academy produced nine professional footballers. During this time, he got a taste of senior first team management at Tadcaster Albion.

On the appointments, York City chairman Glen Henderson said: “I am incredibly pleased to welcome David and Michael to the club as our new first team management team.

“The key to this appointment was finding someone who aligns with our long-term vision for the club, and David was the standout candidate from the start.

“He is talented and experienced across all aspects of managing a football club, from first team management, player development, scouting, coaching, motivation, and with an excellent understanding of how the football business works.

“He brings with him a talented coach in Michael, who has a track history of playing a key part in the development of top-class footballers.”