Wikipedia

Will Still

This article is about the professional football manager. For other people, see William Still (disambiguation).

William Still (born 14 October 1992) is a Belgian-born English professional football manager. He is currently the manager of Ligue 1 side Lens. He played youth and amateur football in Belgium before beginning coaching at age 17. In 2017, aged 24, he managed Lierse in the Belgian First Division B, and also led Beerschot in the same league four years later. In Ligue 1, he has managed Reims and Lens.

Will Still
Still as Lens manager in 2024
Personal information
Full name William Still
Date of birth (1992-10-14) 14 October 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)
Team information
Current team
 Lens (manager)
Youth career
Years Team
0000 Sint-Truiden
0000 Mons
Managerial career
2017 Lierse
2021 Beerschot
2022–2024 Reims
2024– Lens

Early life

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William Still was born on 14 October 1992[1] in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium to English parents, Jane (née Bagley) and Julian Richard Still, who left the United Kingdom two years earlier. His father worked for Shell.[2] Still has two brothers, Nicolas and Edward, both also active in football.[3][4]

Growing up in the Walloon region, near Brussels, he went to a French language school and then learned Dutch by playing for Flemish football clubs. He went through Sint-Truiden and Mons youth teams, and finally played for Mons reserve team and amateur club Tempo Overijse, back then playing in the Belgian Fourth Division.[3]

Still has stated that playing the Football Manager and Championship Manager video game series helped him to decide to switch focus from playing at the age of 17, and move to England to start studying to become a coach at Myerscough College in Preston, Lancashire.[5][6]

Still is a fan of Premier League club West Ham United.[7]

Managerial career

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Early career

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Still started his career as assistant of the U14 manager of Preston North End. At that club he did an internship as part of his football studies at Myerscough College. In 2014, he became video analyst at Sint-Truiden, after successfully using a match analysis to convince manager Yannick Ferrera.[4] In 2015, the team were promoted to the Belgian First Division A, but when Ferrera switched to Standard Liège, Still followed him. That season, Standard Liège won the Belgian Cup, but in September 2016, both Ferrera and his assistants were sacked.[8]

Lierse

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In April 2017, Still started a new position at second division team Lierse, combining the video analyst job with the assignment as assistant manager of Frederik Vanderbiest.[9] In June 2017, Still returned to Standard Liège,[10] only to leave two days later as his new club did not want to fulfill the agreed upon arrangements as part of the contract negotiations.[11]

Still was able to return immediately to Lierse, where (at just 24 years of age) he was appointed caretaker manager in October due to the sacking of Vanderbiest.[12][13] Eventually, Lierse employed Still as full-time manager.[14] Still managed to guide the team to 21 points out of 27, including a seven-game winning streak. The 2–0 victory against Westerlo of 2 December 2017 became his last match as head coach however, as he did not possess the "UEFA A-level coach" degree, which is required in the Belgian First Division B to remain in charge for more than 60 days.[15] Still stayed with Lierse but became the assistant of David Colpaert, who was formerly his assistant.[16]

Beerschot

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At the end of the 2017–18 season, Lierse was declared bankrupt. Still left for Beerschot to become assistant of Stijn Vreven.[17] Under his successor, Hernán Losada, Beerschot and Still were promoted to the Belgian First Division A. After Losada left mid-January 2021 to start as head coach of D.C. United, Still became the new manager of Beerschot.[6] At the end of the 2020–21 season, despite finishing 9th, Beerschot's owners decided to hire the more experienced Peter Maes to take them into the next season.[6] The team finished last and were relegated.

Reims

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Following his departure from Beerschot, Still joined Ligue 1 team Reims as assistant to manager Óscar García. Following four months in France, Still was offered roles at two Belgian clubs and chose to return to Standard Liège. Still explained that part of the reasoning behind this was the fact that his UEFA pro licence was registered in Belgium, so he was having to drive back and forth between Belgium and Reims to attend courses, which was becoming a strain on his time.[18]

At the end of the 2021–22 season, Still returned to the Ligue 1 side as an assistant manager. After García was sacked on 13 October 2022, Still took over as caretaker manager. Following an undefeated stretch of five games, he was appointed as manager for the rest of the 2022–23 season, becoming the youngest manager in Europe's top five leagues at 30 years of age. Since he did not hold a UEFA Pro Licence, Reims was fined €25,000 for every match Still managed[19] until he started a monthly course at the National Football Centre near Brussels.[20]

He started his tenure as head coach at Reims with a 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions which ended with a 3–1 defeat against Toulouse in the Coupe de France round of 16,[21] including two draws against league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.[18] With a 1–0 win against Monaco on 12 March 2023, Still extended his unbeaten start as Reims manager to 17 matches, setting a new Ligue 1 record. He also became just the second manager to reach this mark in top-five European leagues in the 21st century, following Tito Vilanova with 18 matches at Barcelona in 2012–13.[22] A week later, his undefeated streak in Ligue 1 came to an end after a 2–1 home defeat against Marseille.[23] Reims finished the season in 11th.[24]

On 2 May 2024, shortly before the end of the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season, Still left by mutual consent. His team were in 11th, having won two of their last 14 games.[24]

Lens

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On 10 June 2024, Still signed as the new Lens manager on a three-year deal.[25]

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 14 December 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Lierse 6 October 2017 2 December 2017 9 7 1 1 16 9 +7 077.78
Beerschot 19 January 2021 30 June 2021 15 6 2 7 22 20 +2 040.00
Reims[26] 13 October 2022 2 May 2024 65 25 19 21 87 76 +11 038.46
Lens 10 June 2024 present 17 7 6 4 21 17 +4 041.18
Total 106 45 28 33 146 122 +24 042.45

Personal life

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In June 2024, Still went public on his relationship with Sky Sports reporter Emma Saunders, a Watford fan.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "W. Still: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ "How English boss Still is inspiring unbeaten Reims". BBC Sport.
  3. ^ a b De Cnodder, Kristof (16 October 2017). "Maak kennis met Will Still, de jongste trainer ooit: "Dit was eigenlijk niet de planning"" [Meet Will Still, the youngest trainer ever: "This wasn't actually planned"] (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b Schoofs, Gunter (4 August 2016). ""Coach mag 's nachts bellen"" ["Coach may call at night"] (in Dutch). Het Belang van Limburg.
  5. ^ "Football Manager to facing Messi: The extraordinary story of William Still". Extra.ie. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Kenmare, Jack (10 May 2022). "William Still Went From Managing Preston North End U14's To Facing Lionel Messi In Just 10 Years". www.sportbible.com. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  7. ^ Colman, Jonty (3 February 2023). "Stade de Reims' Will Still admits he dreams of one day managing West Ham". Football.London. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Yannick FERRERA". Drupal. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  9. ^ "William Still (ex-Standard et Saint-Trond) rebondit au Lierse, en D1B" [William Still (ex-Standard and Saint-Trond) bounces back at Lierse, in D1B] (in French). L'Avenir. 11 April 2017.
  10. ^ Guldentops, Kurt (26 June 2017). ""Doel is een periodetitel te pakken"" ["The goal is to win a period title"] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad.
  11. ^ "Videoanalist na 48 uur alweer weg bij Standard" [Video analyst left Standard after 48 hours] (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. 29 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Lierse en coach Vanderbiest zijn uit elkaar" [Lierse and coach Vanderbiest have split up] (in Dutch). Sporza. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Amper 24-jarige interim-coach Will Still leidt Pallieters naar gelijkspel tegen Tubeke: "Ik zit met een dubbel gevoel"" [Barely 24-year-old interim coach Will Still leads Pallieters to a draw against Tubize: "I have mixed feelings"] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 9 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Lierse behoudt vertrouwen in William Still als hoofdcoach" [Lierse retain confidence in William Still as head coach] (in Dutch). Gazet van Antwerpen. 11 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Jongste trainer ooit is na 21 op 21 noodgedwongen weer assistant bij Lierse" [Youngest trainer ever is forced to become an assistant at Lierse again after 21 out of 21] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 2 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Gebrek aan UEFA-diploma kost Will Still positie van hoofdtrainer: "We moeten ons aan de regels houden"" [Lack of UEFA diploma costs Will Still position as head coach: “We have to stick to the rules”]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 4 December 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Beerschot Wilrijk stelt Stijn Vreven voor als hoofdcoach, opvallende namen in technische staf" [Beerschot Wilrijk introduces Stijn Vreven as head coach, striking names in the technical staff] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 25 May 2018.
  18. ^ a b Yaffe, Simon (3 March 2023). "Will Still: The 30-year-old English boss proving a hit at Ligue 1 Reims". BBC Sport.
  19. ^ Andrews, Connor (3 February 2023). "Belgian-English boss Will Still says it's 'ridiculous' he's managing against Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at the age of 30, reveals Premier League ambition and admiration for Sir Alex Ferguson". talkSPORT.
  20. ^ Lambourne, Jake (15 March 2023). "Reims boss Will Still says Ligue 1 club are no longer paying out £22,000 fines after starting his UEFA Pro Licence course as he remains tight-lipped on West Ham speculation". talkSPORT.
  21. ^ "Coupe de France. Toulouse régale face à Reims et se qualifie pour les quarts de finale" [French Cup. Toulouse delights against Reims and qualifies for the quarter-finals] (in French). Ouest-France. 8 February 2023.
  22. ^ Segar, David (13 March 2023). "Will Still closes in on Tito Vilanova record while Folarin Balogun scores again for Reims". myKhel. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Champagne football: Reims' Still in sparkling form". Ligue 1. 30 March 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Manager Still, 31, leaves Reims by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Will Still signe pour 3 ans à Lens" [Will Still signs for 3 years in Lens] (in French). L'Équipe. 10 June 2024.
  26. ^ "William Still". Footballdatabase.eu.
  27. ^ "Emma Saunders: Tomorrowland". Instagram. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
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