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Mike Kelly: First-team Coach |
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Job Title: First-team
Coach with Summer 2010 |
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Date of Birth:
18.10.1942 |
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With the Reds: 2010- |
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Former clubs:
Wimbledon, Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City, Minnesota Kicks (USA) |
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Former clubs as staff:
Plymouth Argyle |
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Birthplace:
Northampton, England |
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STAFF PROFILE
Mike Kelly reunited with Roy Hodgson at Liverpool in the summer of 2010.
The first-team coach followed the boss from Fulham to Melwood to continue a
long-standing working relationship and friendship that stretches back in excess of 40
years.
"I first crossed paths with Roy in the late 1960s," he recalls. "Roy
comes from Croydon and he, his friend Bobby Houghton and myself were members of the Surrey
Coaches Association. We'd meet once or twice a month and from there we became close
friends."
After obtaining his coaching qualifications in 1965, Mike enjoyed a playing career
that saw him represent Wimbledon, QPR and Birmingham, as well as a year-long spell in
America with Minnesota Kicks.
It was during his stint at St Andrews that Kelly became a player/coach and he would
later take up a managerial berth at Plymouth and assistant roles with Crystal Palace and
West Brom.
Specialising in training goalkeepers, Mike worked with the England and Swiss
national teams, as well as a whole multitude of domestic teams putting stoppers through
their paces.
He was the Three Lions' custodian coach for two World Cups as well as Euro 96,
while he worked alongside Hodgson for Switzerland at USA 94.
In 2007, Mike moved to Fulham in an assistant manager/first-team coach capacity
after Hodgson was appointed as the Cottagers' boss - and the pair helped the Londoners
enjoy some of the most successful seasons in their history.
"I'm like a golf bag - I've had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus," he
chuckles.
"I got the coaching buzz early in my career when I was around 19/20 years of
age. I qualified in 1965, so I was actually a qualified coach before I became a full-time
professional with Wimbledon.
"The first time I worked with Roy was in the early 1980s later at Bristol
City. After that he went to work in Scandinavia, then in 1990 he got the job as
Switzerland boss and I worked alongside him.
"Because I have worked with him over a period of time, I know how he likes to
operate. I understand how I can fit into my role without being a nuisance to him.
"It's the familiarity factor - I know the way he works, where I can step in
and where I have to step out in order to help him.
"Roy likes to work with big groups and that is difficult for one coach to do
as you've only got one pair of eyes, so it's always handy to have an aide.
"Sammy Lee is heavily involved as well and it's like a jigsaw - Roy does the
bulk of it and then Sammy and I do our bits and between the three of us it is a good
organisation."
Mike's summer switch to Liverpool is actually the second time he has worked for the
Reds.
The vastly-experienced coach was hired on a freelance basis by then-manager Graeme
Souness in the early 1990s.
"I've worked at Liverpool before for nine months as a freelance goalkeeping
coach under Graeme Souness for two or three days a week," he explains.
"I'd done some work with Graeme at Glasgow Rangers, and he invited me to come
and work at Melwood with Bruce Grobbelaar, David James and Mike Hooper as they didn't have
a goalkeeping coach at the time."
Having worked with so many of the game's top stoppers over the years, what
qualities does Mike look for in a goalkeeper?
"The main characteristics I look for in a goalkeeper are good technique,
eye-to-hand coordination, athleticism, strength and mobility," he reveals.
"Temperament is also important at a club like this. The stadium is packed out
for every game, so you have got to have a strong mentality to handle that every time you
play."
Despite having represented a whole host of clubs across Europe, Mike believes there
is something unique about Liverpool and admits the chance to follow Hodgson to Merseyside
left him thrilled.
He says: "It's a good feeling. This is a special club and when I worked here
for Graeme you could sense that. To get the opportunity to work here at a high level is
something some people will never get in their lives."
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Update 14.01.2011 |
