West Ham United Women are delighted to announce that Danielle Bowman has joined the Club as first-team coach.
Bowman (née Buet) recently retired from professional football, calling time on an illustrious 15-year career that saw her play for Arsenal, Chelsea and Notts County, before finishing up as Captain of Brighton & Hove Albion, where she made 46 appearances over five seasons.
The 33-year-old also earned nine caps for England and was part of Hope Powell's squad at Women's Euro 2009.
And she will now make the transition into coaching, becoming the first appointment to Paul Konchesky’s backroom team ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Bowman began her career at the age of 17 with Arsenal, before moving across the capital to Chelsea in 2007 and scored a brace on her Blues debut, going on to spend seven years playing for the WSL1 club.
She then joined Notts County Ladies, where she would spend two seasons before moving back down south to join the Seagulls, reuniting her with former England manager Powell.
And Bowman is looking forward to getting out on the grass, where she will look to pass on her knowledge and experience of the game to the West Ham squad.
“It’s an exciting opportunity,” she told whufc.com. “I’ve been doing a little bit of coaching over the last couple of years. It’s a new challenge for me and I’m really looking forward to getting started.
“I like the vison that the Club has and where it wants to be in the future, and this is the right move at the right time for me.
“As I’ve gotten a little older, I’ve always tried to help where I can – that happened a lot last season when I was on the side-lines due to injury. It’s a great opportunity to do more of that, but in a controlled manner."
Konchesky is delighted to add someone of Bowman’s experience within the Women’s game to his coaching team.
“If you look at Dani’s background, then you know that she’s going to bring a wealth of knowledge to the Club,” said the Hammers manager.
“She’s played with a wealth of talent during her career that has only just come to an end – she’s played for her country and in big matches, which is experience that she will be able to pass onto our group.
“She will be able to pass on things that the other coaches might not be able to, because of the knowledge that she has of playing at the highest level in the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL).
“We hope that she will have a massive impact on and off the pitch for the team and I’m delighted to add her to my coaching team.”
Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Danielle to the Club, and we wish her every success in her new role.
The Club would like to thank first-team coach Brian Tompkins and performance analyst Sidney Kavanagh, who both depart. We would like to thank them for their efforts last season, and wish the pair the very best of luck for the future.
The Irons return for pre-season testing on Monday 11 July – as they prepare for what is shaping up to be another exciting WSL campaign.
