Adam Sadler (born 9 January 1980) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach, who is a first team coach at

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Playing career

Sadler had stints in the youth academies at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

before joining Scottish club Gretna. In August 2003,

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secre ...

signed Sadler.

Coaching career

At the age of 21, Sadler entered coaching, joining Newcastle United in 2001. During his time at the club, Sadler was appointed

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

manager, helping the side to win the Northumberland Senior Cup. A short spell at

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

under

Glenn Roeder Glenn Victor Roeder (13 December 1955 – 28 February 2021) was an English professional football player and manager. As a player, Roeder played as a defender for Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County, Newcastle United, Watf ...

was followed by a return to

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

, where he was assistant manager at Blyth Spartans, Team Northumbria, and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

. Sadler later joined Plymouth Argyle, eventually becoming first team coach under manager

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...

. In August 2011, Sadler joined

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

as under-18 coach. Following two years at Manchester City, Sadler took up a coaching role at Ukrainian club Tavriya Simferopol. In 2014, Sadler joined

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

as a tactical analyst under

Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English association football, football coach (sport), manager and former professional player. He last managed EFL Championship, Championship club Bristol City F.C., Bristol City. During his playi ...

. In 2018, under the management of

Claude Puel Claude Jacques Puel (; born 2 September 1961) is a French football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He spent his entire playing career with Monaco, before becoming manager of the club, leading them to the league title in his ...

, Sadler was appointed as first-team coach. On 26 February 2019, following the sacking of Puel, Sadler and joint-caretaker manager Mike Stowell oversaw a 2–1 home win over

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. On 28 August 2021, Sadler joined the backroom staff of the Northern Ireland national team in conjunction with his coaching role at Leicester City. After the arrival of new manager Enzo Maresca, Sadler left Leicester City on 30 June 2023. Sadler was appointed first-team coach at Celtic F.C. on 31 December 2023.

Managerial statistics

References

1980 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers English men's footballers English football managers Sportspeople from North Shields Gretna F.C. players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. non-playing staff Norwich City F.C. non-playing staff Plymouth Argyle F.C. non-playing staff Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff Leicester City F.C. non-playing staff Leicester City F.C. managers English expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine English football coaches 21st-century English sportsmen Premier League managers {{England-footy-goalkeeper-1980s-stub