Kit Symons

Kit Symons
Personal information
Full nameChristopher Jeremiah Symons[1]
Date of birth8 March 1971[1]
Place of birthBasingstoke, England
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Playing positionDefender
Youth career
Portsmouth
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1988–1995Portsmouth160(10)
1995–1998Manchester City124(4)
1998–2001Fulham102(13)
2001–2005Crystal Palace49(0)
Total435(27)
National team
1992–2001Wales36(2)
Teams managed
2003Crystal Palace (caretaker)
2007Crystal Palace (caretaker)
2008Colchester United (caretaker)
2014Fulham (caretaker)
2014–Fulham
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Christopher Jeremiah "Kit" Symons (born 8 March 1971) is an English-born association football manager and former Welsh international footballer. Symons is currently in charge of Fulham in what is his first permanent managerial appointment following brief stints as caretaker manager for several clubs. As a professional player, he had lengthy spells at Portsmouth, Manchester City and Fulham as well as earning 36 caps for the Wales national football team.

Club playing career

Symons was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire.[1] He made more than 100 League appearances for each of his first three clubs – Portsmouth, Manchester City and Fulham. He played for Fulham until December 2001, when he was signed by Crystal Palace for £400,000, the club at which he finished his playing career after 60 senior appearances.[2][3]

International career

Symons won 36 caps for Wales, scoring twice.[4] His first appearance was against the Republic of Ireland on 19 February 1992[5] and his last appearance was on 6 October 2001 against Belarus.[6] Symons qualified to play for Wales because his father was from Cardiff.[5]

Coaching and management

He became caretaker manager at Palace, and following the subsequent appointment of Iain Dowie he combined the roles of player and assistant manager, as the club gained promotion to the Premier League.[7]

After Peter Taylor was dismissed as Palace manager on 8 October 2007, Symons was confirmed as Caretaker Manager until the appointment of Neil Warnock three days later (Palace did not play during this time). Following Warnock's appointment, Symons stepped down from his position of Assistant Manager and left the club on 15 October.[8]

Symons joined Colchester United on 16 January 2008 following Micky Adams' resignation as assistant manager the previous week.[9] He was appointed as Colchester's caretaker-manager in September 2008 after the departure of Geraint Williams.[10] He led the club to two wins in five games, in the process becoming the bookie's favourite to get the job full-time.[11] However, he left the club after Paul Lambert took over as manager.

Symons was subsequently employed by Fulham as Senior Scout and Academy Coach.[12]

In January 2012 Symons was appointed to the Wales national team coaching staff under team manager Chris Coleman [13]

On 18 September 2014, Symons was confirmed as caretaker manager of Fulham following the departure of Felix Magath.[14] On 29 October 2014, after a string of good results (5 wins in 9 games), Symons was announced as the full-time manager of Fulham.[15] Symons stated that it was "no secret this is a club that is very close to my heart and this is a job I've always really wanted to do."[16] Khan also stated that Symons' "passion for everything that Fulham represents came through loud and clear."[16]

Managerial statistics

As of 25 April 2015[17]
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Fulham 18 September 2014 Present 44 15 12 17 34.09
Total 44 15 12 17 34.09

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2004). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2004/2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 392. ISBN 9781852916602.
  2. ↑ "Kit Symons". Soccerbase. Century Comm. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Kit completes switch". Fulham Official Website. 7 December 2001. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Kit Symons Holmesdale Online
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 S4C Sgorio On this day in history: 19 February, 19 February 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Wales international line-ups 2000 to 2005 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
  7. ↑ "Kit Symons: Under-21 Coach". Academy Staff Profiles. Fulham FC. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  8. ↑ Symons leaves Crystal Palace post BBC Sport, 15 October 2007
  9. ↑ "Exclusive: Symons Is U's Number Two". Colchester United FC. 17 January 2008. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "Exclusive: Kit Takes Caretaker Role". Colchester United FC. 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Symons is favourite for U's top job". Green Un. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  12. ↑ Senior Scout and Academy coach Kit Symons discusses his return to the Club and his targets for the future… Fulham FC.com
  13. ↑ "Symons joins Wales staff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  14. ↑ "Felix Magath: Struggling Fulham sack manager after poor start". BBC Sport. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Kit Symons Appointed First Team Manager". Fulham FC. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "BBC Sport - Kit Symons: Fulham appointment a 'fantastic opportunity'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "Kit Symons Managerial statistics". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 8 November 2014.

External links