Ross Embleton (born 9 November 1981) 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 and former player who is Academy Head of Recruitment for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Playing career

Embleton played four games in all competitions for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

during the 2016–17 season.

Coaching career

Embleton worked as youth development manager at

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

, in the academy at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, at A.F.C. Bournemouth and

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 ...

, and as a first-team coach at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. He then returned to

to work as assistant manager in 2017, and had a short stint as interim head coach in November 2017 alongside

Dean Brill Dean Michael Brill (born 2 December 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and is now a coach at the academy of Tottenham Hotspur. Playing career Luton Town Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, Brill joined Luton ...

. In April 2019 he was charged by the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

with misconduct on the basis that his "language and/or behaviour towards a match official was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper". In June 2019 he became interim head coach of Leyton Orient following the death of

Justin Edinburgh Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and Association football, footballer who played as a left back. He played in the Premier League for Totten ...

. In September 2019 it was announced that Embleton would step down from his role after a permanent manager was appointed, which was expected to be "in the coming weeks", and would take up his old role as assistant head coach. On 17 October 2019 Leyton Orient announced the appointment of Carl Fletcher as head coach, with Embleton's last game in charge being the game on 19 October away to

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, before he became assistant head coach under Fletcher. That match ended with a 4–0 victory to Leyton Orient. Fletcher was sacked on 14 November 2019, after failing to win a game during his 29 days in charge, and Embleton returned as interim head coach. On 23 November 2019 he was sent off for throwing chewing gum at

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 ...

manager Mark Cooper, with Embleton later saying that Cooper made a comment about Justin Edinburgh. Cooper denied the allegations, and the Football Association decided not to investigate the matter further. On 7 January 2020, Leyton Orient announced that Embleton had been appointed head coach on a 12 month rolling contract. He was sacked on 27 February 2021 following a poor run of results. In June 2022 he was appointed Head of Recruitment at

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

. He became caretaker manager in February 2023. He departed the club in February 2024, and became Academy Head of Recruitment for

Personal life

Embleton's father, Steve, has held coaching roles at Leyton Orient.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embleton, Ross Living people 1981 births English men's footballers English football managers Real Bedford F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. non-playing staff Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff AFC Bournemouth non-playing staff Norwich City F.C. non-playing staff Swindon Town F.C. non-playing staff Leyton Orient F.C. managers English Football League managers National League (English football) managers English football coaches Men's association football players not categorized by position Colchester United F.C. non-playing staff Colchester United F.C. managers Place of birth missing (living people) West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century English sportsmen