James Bittner
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James Mark Bittner (born 2 February 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. He is the goalkeeping coach at
Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...
.


Career

Bittner signed for Fulham in 2000 from Swindon Town by then manager
Jean Tigana Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former football player and manager. A central midfielder, he was renowned as one of the best midfielders in the world during the 1980s. He spent his entire playing career in France, and made 5 ...
and spent two years at the club. After spending time at
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
and
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
he signed for
Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
, playing 42 times for the club. This was then followed by two injury-plagued years at
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
and
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
. After recovering from a long-term shoulder injury Bittner then joined Salisbury City in 2007. He played 86 games in three seasons at the club. He was loaned out to
Chippenham Town Chippenham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of and play their games at Hardenhuish Park. History The club states it was established in 1873,
for a month in September 2007 for a month after recovering from a broken finger. Bittner joined
Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...
in 2010 and was awarded with the Supporters Player of the Season trophy for his performances in his first season at
The New Lawn The New Lawn, also known as The Bolt New Lawn for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. It has been the home stadium of National League club Forest Green Rovers since 2006. During the 2007–08 season the ...
. In May 2011, Bittner signed a new contract until the summer of 2013. He stated after signing the new contract: "I had a couple of offers but there was no chance of me leaving. The club is financially sound now and with the gaffer (
Dave Hockaday David Hockaday (born 9 November 1957) is an English professional footballer who is currently Head of Male Football at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has previously worked as a manager at Leeds United, Forest Green Rovers, Kiddermi ...
) and the chairman (
Dale Vince Dale Vince (born 29 August 1961) is a British green energy business magnate, industrialist. A former New Age traveller, he is the owner of the electricity company Ecotricity. Born in Norfolk, he founded the Renewable Energy Company in 1995 and l ...
) on board – the future is really bright." Manager Hockaday added: "James is as good as there is in the league and I am delighted to have him on board." Bittner left for
Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
in 2012, making 42 appearances, before joining Newport County on a short-term contract. After leaving Newport, he returned to
Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
for a second spell as player coach. Bittner signed for
Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...
in July 2014 as second-choice goalkeeper behind Luke McCormick. Bittner made his
Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...
debut on 24 January 2015, replacing the injured McCormick at half time. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. In July 2015 Bittner signed a new player/coach contract with Plymouth Argyle after agreeing to take the role of the club's new goalkeeper coach under new manager
Derek Adams Derek Watt Adams (born 25 June 1975) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is the manager of National League football club Morecambe. Adams became manager of Ross County in 2007, winning promotion from the Scottish Second Divisio ...
. On 16 June 2016, Bittner re-joined Newport County as goalkeeper player/coach under manager
Warren Feeney Warren James Feeney (born 17 January 1981) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional Association football, footballer who manages club Weymouth F.C., Weymouth. As a player he was a Forward (association football), forward who ...
. When Feeney and his assistant manager Andy Todd were sacked on 28 September 2016, Bittner and fellow first team coach Sean McCarthy were named joint caretaker managers. Their only matches in charge were a 2–1 home defeat against Swansea City Under-23s in the
EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...
fixture on 4 October and a League Two 0–0 draw versus Colchester United on 8 October.
Graham Westley Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English professional football manager and former professional footballer. Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curtailed due to injury whilst playing for ...
was appointed team manager effective from 10 October 2016 with
Dino Maamria Noureddine "Dino" Maamria (born 18 February 1974) is a Tunisian football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently manager of Burton Albion. Maamria started his playing career with AS Marsa of Tunisia. He left th ...
his assistant manager and Mccarthy released by the club. Bittner made his debut for Newport County on 22 October versus Plymouth Argyle replacing Joe Day in the 36th minute when Day was sent off. Plymouth won the match 3–1 In June 2017 Bittner signed a one-year contract extension and he was released by Newport at the end of the 2017–18 season.


Coaching career

In July 2018 Bittner joined
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
as their under-23 goalkeeping coach. In October 2019 he was appointed the first-team goalkeeper coach of Reading. He then left the club in July 2022 after some changes were made to the coaching staff. Bittner then joined
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...
as first team goalkeeper coach. On 2 July 2024, Bittner followed former Cheltenham Town manager
Darrell Clarke Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played in the English Football League. He is the head coach of club Bristol Rovers ...
to
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 ...
, joining the first-team coaching staff. On 6 February 2025, Bittner joined fellow League One side
Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...
as goalkeeping coach.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bittner, James 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Devizes English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Fulham F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Woking F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players Chippenham Town F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players English Football League players England men's semi-pro international footballers English football managers Newport County A.F.C. managers English Football League managers Plymouth Argyle F.C. non-playing staff Newport County A.F.C. non-playing staff Reading F.C. non-playing staff Cheltenham Town F.C. non-playing staff Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff Bristol Rovers F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century English sportsmen