Marc Skinner


Marc Skinner is an English professional football coach. Currently the head coach of Orlando Pride in NWSL, he previously managed Birmingham City and was also involved with their youth set-up prior. He holds a UEFA A Licence.

Coaching career

Club

Solihull College

Formerly a teacher, Skinner was football academy manager at Solihull College which opened a ladies-only academy and regional talent hub linked to professional team Birmingham City in 2013.

Birmingham City

Skinner had held various roles at Birmingham City since 2006 including technical director, reserve team head coach and first-team goalkeeping coach. In December 2016, he was promoted to the position of head coach of the first team. Upon the appointment he said "Since I found out I haven’t stopped smiling, this club is deep in my heart. I am extremely proud to lead this fantastic team and I am hoping to continue the success there already been in the past." The FA WSL was in the middle of a switch to the traditional autumn-to-spring calendar and, as a result, Skinner's first campaign was the shortened 8-game Spring Series from February–May 2017 where Birmingham finished 7th. The team also made the FA Cup final. The Blues improved to a 5th-place finish in the 2017–18 season.
Upon his departure in January 2019, Skinner's Birmingham side sat 4th in the WSL table. He was credited with turning around the Blues’ style of play - creating a well-organized and defensively sound system while implementing a dominant attacking style on a small budget compared to Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea who were above them.

Orlando Pride

On 14 January 2019, Skinner was announced as head coach of Orlando Pride, a team he called "one of the biggest clubs in the world." He is the team's second ever head coach following the departure of Tom Sermanni at the end of 2018. After a difficult start having failed to win any of his opening nine games, Skinner earned his first win as Orlando head coach on 22 June in a 2–1 victory over Sky Blue FC.

Managerial statistics

All competitive games are included.

Personal life

Skinner is in a long-term relationship with former England international defender Laura Bassett having met while both coaching for Birmingham's U-14s team. Their daughter, Saede, was born in December 2018.