Bolton Wanderers is delighted to announce the appointment of Myles Smith as our new Women’s Team Manager.
The UEFA licensed coach will start his role at Wanderers on Monday 1st July, bringing with him close to a decade of footballing experience in both coaching and managerial roles.
Having started out in youth development and as Head Coach of the Reserves at West Ham United Women, Smith was then appointed Women’s Academy Director at the Hammers, implementing all philosophies and coaching standards throughout the youth programme.
Four further years in the Academy setup followed, before making the step up to First Team Assistant Coach at West Ham in the Women’s Super League.
Helping the club to the FA Women’s Cup Final in his opening season at first team level, Myles would become a vital part of the backroom staff as West Ham continued to develop and cement themselves as a WSL side.
A move north would follow for Smith to Manchester United Women, working as a Scout and Talent Identification, working closely with the Technical Director in identifying and recruiting players for the Red Devils.
Smith has then spent the last year as Assistant Coach at Al-Ittihad Women in Saudi Arabia, broadening his coaching portfolio after years of working within the British game.
With a breadth of experience across a number of roles in a footballing setup, Smith now makes the step into this role fully equipped to take the challenge on.
In addition to this we are also delighted to confirm Carl Halliwell will remain part of the Women’s coaching team as Assistant Coach, working closely with Myles. Carl has played a pivotal role at Wanderers via Bolton Wanderers in the Community, managing our Girls’ Youth programme, Reserves and First Team over the last few years.
Myles Smith said: “I’m absolutely delighted to join, in what is an exciting project for the Football Club.
“This is a massive club and with the men’s team making great strides to continually progress, it’s now time for us to start that same path with the women’s team.
“I’ve had a few different roles in my career which I think will stand me in good stead to take this head on. I’ve only seen positive things around the place since accepting the role, so I can’t wait to get going.
“The potential that the women’s team has is enormous, and that’s what excites me. I’ve got no doubt the club will help steer this part of the football club up the leagues and into a successful side and I’m looking forward to working with Carl Halliwell and all the players in achieving our goals.”
Neil Hart, Chief Executive Officer at Bolton Wanderers, says: “After a thorough recruitment process which attracted over 180 applicants, we are absolutely delighted to welcome Myles to the club. He will have our full support as we begin the process of progressing Bolton Wanderers Women.
“This is an extremely exciting project in the infancy of its journey, and Myles demonstrated throughout the process that he has the necessary skills to lead the women’s side in its inaugural season as we (the club) lead its operations and future developments. We are also delighted that Carl Halliwell will be staying on as Assistant Coach. Carl is a brilliant person who has been in and around the Youth and Women’s Team at Wanderers for a number of years now.
“I’m also delighted to confirm that from the 2024/25 season, Wanderers Women will play their home matches at the Skuna Stadium, the home of Atherton Collieries and we’d like to extend our thanks to Paul Gregory and the team down at the Colls for working with us to establish this partnership. The 1,500-capacity stadium will provide ample opportunity for Wanderers’ fans to support the women’s team, with all fixtures communicated across club channels once released.”
Bolton Wanderers can also confirm the launch of new digital branding for Bolton Wanderers Women, to be present across all digital platforms supporting the women’s side with specific social media channels, as well as a dedicated section on the club website for supporters to keep up-to-date with all things Bolton Wanderers Women.
A brand-new women’s playing kit range will also be launched in the coming weeks so there is much to look forward to - watch this space!