Robert David Hughes (born 1 February 1978) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender. He is currently a Professional Development Phase (U21) Coach with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

after having held the position of Head of Academy Coaching at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Playing career

Born in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, Hughes began his career at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, where he played seven times during the 1996/97 season as a replacement for the injured Steve Staunton. He suffered with minor injuries over the next few years and made just one professional appearance in the following two years, playing in a 1–0 defeat to

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

on 28 March 1999 while on loan to League One side

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. Finding his chances at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

limited on his return he joined Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer, making his debut in a 4–1 defeat to Exeter City. He spent two years as a regular first-team choice and, in February 2001, he signed for

for a fee of £450,000, £225,000 of which was given to Aston Villa due to a sell on clause, and went straight into the Bluebirds side but injuries struck again and after failing to regain his place in the side he was released in 2003 and subsequently retired.

Coaching career

Hughes was appointed the manager of

Barry Town Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Y Barri) is a semi-professional association football team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during ...

in 2003. After a short spell in charge he moved into an assistant manager role alongside

Colin Addison Colin Addison (born 18 May 1940) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Born in Taunton, Somerset, Addison started his playing career with York City before moving to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield United. His man ...

who took over as manager in February 2004. However Addison left the club after just six months in charge and Hughes was re-instated as manager for a short time before he resigned in December 2004, along with the majority of the first-team squad, due to ongoing financial problems at the club. In 2005, Hughes took a coaching role at Welsh Premier League side

Port Talbot Town Port Talbot Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Port Talbot) is a Welsh association football, football club from Port Talbot. It was founded in 1901 as Port Talbot Athletic, one of the first clubs in the country. The club plays in the Arda ...

. He later made one appearance as a substitute for the side during the 2005–06 season. Hughes later joined English

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club Shrewsbury Town, spending two years as their head of youth development. He joined Championship side

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

as youth team coach in September 2011. He left the club in August 2014 to take up a position as Assistant Intermediate Team Manager for the

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Under-21-Under-17 sides. In December 2016, Hughes returned to

as Under-18 team manager. In July 2019, Hughes joined

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

to become their first Head of Academy Player Development. In November 2020, Hughes was appointed head of Academy Coaching at

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Welsh Premier profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, David 1978 births Living people Footballers from Wrexham Welsh men's footballers Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Wales men's B international footballers Men's association football defenders Aston Villa F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Cymru Premier players Welsh football managers Watford F.C. non-playing staff Shrewsbury Town F.C. non-playing staff Barry Town United F.C. managers Cymru Premier managers Port Talbot Town F.C. players