Jon-Paul Pittman

❧

Wikipedia

Jon-Paul Pittman
Pittman warming up with Wycombe Wanderers, 2014
Personal information
Full name Jon-Paul Pittman[1]
Date of birth (1986-10-24) 24 October 1986 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
 Brentford U18
(individual development coach)
Youth career
1995–1998 Aston Villa
1998–2005 Nottingham Forest
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
2006 → Hartlepool United (loan) 3 (0)
2006 → Bury (loan) 9 (1)
2007 Doncaster Rovers 0 (0)
2007–2009 Crawley Town 61 (22)
2009–2011 Wycombe Wanderers 77 (14)
2011–2013 Oxford United 30 (5)
2011 → Crawley Town (loan) 4 (1)
2013–2014 Wycombe Wanderers 10 (0)
2014–2016 Grimsby Town 59 (15)
2016–2017 Harrogate Town 28 (11)
2017–2019 Torquay United 19 (3)
2018–2019 → Truro City (loan) 17 (3)
Total 317 (75)
International career
2008 England C 1 (0)
Managerial career
2025 Brentford U18 (interim)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jon-Paul Pittman (born 24 October 1986) is an English football coach and former professional player who works as Individual Development Coach at Brentford.[2]

Coaching career

A graduate of the Premier League’s Professional Player to Coach Scheme, he has worked in academy and professional development roles at Exeter City, Forest Green Rovers and Brentford. Pittman’s position at Brentford centres on player-specific performance and progression within the Professional Development Phase, extending a club philosophy of individualised learning first established at senior level under Steven Pressley and, earlier, through Thomas Frank’s integration of the B Team and first team structures.[3][4]

After retiring through injury in 2019, Pittman gained his UEFA A Licence and the FA Advanced Youth Award before joining Exeter City’s academy staff in 2020. His involvement in the Professional Player to Coach Scheme—a joint initiative by the PFA, Premier League and EFL—was profiled by both the league and the club.[5][6]

He later joined Forest Green Rovers as Professional Development Phase Coach in 2022,[7] and moved to Brentford in 2023 as Assistant Head Coach of the under-18s, working alongside Lydia Bedford.[8]

Following Bedford’s departure in January 2025,[9] he took interim charge of the team before assuming his current Individual Development Coach role for the 2025–26 season.[2]

Club career

Early career

Pittman was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and raised in England.[1] He began his footballing journey in the Aston Villa academy at the age of eight before moving to Nottingham Forest, where he spent eight years and completed his scholarship. Under manager Gary Megson, he appeared in FA Cup and Football League Trophy fixtures and gained first-team experience through loan spells with Hartlepool United and Bury. He scored his first Football League goal for Bury in August 2006 before leaving Forest later that year. A short-term deal with Doncaster Rovers followed in January 2007.[10]

Crawley Town

Released in the summer of 2007, Pittman joined Crawley Town in the Conference Premier. Over two seasons he became one of the division’s most consistent forwards, scoring 31 goals in 74 appearances across all competitions.[11]

Wycombe Wanderers (first spell)

In February 2009, Wycombe Wanderers signed Pittman for a five-figure fee.[12] He scored the winning goal on his debut at Dagenham & Redbridge and helped Wycombe secure promotion to League One. A hamstring tendon injury required surgery in 2010 but he returned to help the club achieve a second promotion in three seasons, finishing with 17 goals from 82 appearances in all competitions.

Oxford United and Crawley Town (loan)

In May 2011, Pittman signed a two-year contract after meeting with Chris Wilder and Oxford United.[13] He later rejoined Crawley Town on loan during their 2011–12 League Two title-winning campaign, scoring once in four matches.[14] Returning to Oxford, he netted against his former side in a 1–1 draw in January 2012.[15]

Return to Wycombe Wanderers

Pittman left Oxford in 2012 and re-signed for Wycombe Wanderers under manager Gareth Ainsworth.[16] He made 11 appearances during his second spell before moving on at the end of the season.

Grimsby Town

After a successful trial period, Pittman signed for Grimsby Town in July 2014, joining the club in the National League.[17] He appeared in consecutive finals at Wembley Stadium within twelve months. Pittman featured in the 2015 Conference Premier play-off final, entering as a substitute and missing a penalty in the shoot-out defeat to Bristol Rovers before returning the following season for the 2016 National League play-off final, helping Grimsby defeat Forest Green Rovers 3–1 to secure promotion back to the Football League.[18] He also played in the FA Trophy final later that season, meaning he made three appearances at Wembley within a twelve-month period — a notable milestone in the club’s modern history.[19]

Harrogate Town

Following his departure from Grimsby, Pittman joined Harrogate Town in May 2016.[20] He scored on his debut and finished the season with 11 league goals from 28 appearances in the National League North.

Torquay United and Truro City

In June 2017, Pittman signed a two-year contract with Torquay United.[21] The following season he joined Truro City on loan for 2018–19.[22] A serious patellar tendon avulsion injury suffered against Welling United in January 2019 required surgery and effectively ended his playing career.[23]

International career

England C manager Paul Fairclough called up Pittman, for whom he gained a cap against Italy in the 2007–09 International Challenge Trophy.[24]

Personal life

Pittman attended Leeds Beckett University and graduated with a master's degree in sports coaching.[25]

Career statistics

As of matches played 5 January 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nottingham Forest 2005–06[26] League One 0010001[a]020
Hartlepool United (loan) 2005–06[26] League One 30———30
Bury (loan) 2006–07[10] League Two 91—10—101
Doncaster Rovers 2006–07[10] League One 00——1[a]010
Crawley Town 2007–08[27] Conference Premier 361220—6[b]44416
2008–09[28] Conference Premier 251010—4[c]53015
Total 612230—1097431
Wycombe Wanderers 2008–09[29] League Two 173———173
2009–10[30] League One 41721101[a]24510
2010–11[31] League Two 194001000204
Total 77142120128217
Oxford United 2011–12[32] League Two 153—10—163
2012–13[33] League Two 15221101[a]0193
Total 305212010356
Crawley Town (loan) 2011–12[32] League Two 4100——41
Wycombe Wanderers 2013–14[34] League Two 100001000110
Grimsby Town 2014–15[35] Conference Premier 311020—6[d]13911
2015–16[35] National League 28541—6[e]2388
Total 591561—1237719
Harrogate Town 2016–17[35] National League North 281110—2[f]23113
Torquay United 2017–18[35] National League 17300—1[f]0183
Truro City 2018–19[35] National League South 17 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 19 5
Career total 3157515360311836796
  1. 1 2 3 4 Appearance in Football League Trophy
  2. ↑ Four appearances and two goals in FA Trophy, two appearances and two goals in Conference League Cup
  3. ↑ Two appearances and one goal in Conference League Cup, two appearances and four goals in FA Trophy,
  4. ↑ Three appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, three appearances in Conference Premier play-offs
  5. ↑ Four appearances and two goals in the FA Trophy, two appearances in the National League play-offs
  6. 1 2 Appearances in the FA Trophy

Honours

Wycombe Wanderers

Grimsby Town

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 336. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. 1 2 "Brentford Academy squads, coaching staff and pre-season updates 2025/26". Brentford FC. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  3. ↑ "Steven Pressley departs Brentford". Brentford FC. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "'To be stabbed in the back by your own chairman is unbelievable' – Thomas Frank's journey to the top". FourFourTwo. September 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  5. ↑ "Jon-Paul Pittman on PFA, Premier League and EFL programme". The PFA. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  6. ↑ "Jon-Paul Pittman: "Player to Coach Scheme will have a big impact"". Exeter City FC. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Loveridge, Ashley (9 January 2022). "Former Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest striker joins Forest Green". Stroud Times.
  8. ↑ "Lydia Bedford appointed U18 head coach". Brentford FC. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  9. ↑ "Lydia Bedford departs for Calgary Wild". Brentford FC. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2008). Non-League Club Directory 2009. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-869833-59-6.
  12. ↑ "Wycombe snap up striker Pittman". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  13. ↑ "Oxford United swoop for striker Jon-Paul Pittman". BBC Sport. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Oxford United striker Jon-Paul Pittman moves to Crawley". BBC Sport. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "Oxford Utd 1–1 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. 2 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  16. ↑ "JP's Back!". WWFC.com. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  17. ↑ "Grimsby Town snap up Jon-Paul Pittman and Craig Clay". 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Forest Green 1–3 Grimsby". BBC Sport. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  19. ↑ Alan Smith (22 May 2016). "Scott McManus strikes for Halifax to beat Grimsby in FA Trophy final". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  20. ↑ "Harrogate grab Grimsby striker Pittman". Non League Yorkshire. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  21. ↑ "Josh Gowling and Jon-Paul Pittman: Torquay United sign defender and striker". BBC Sport. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  22. ↑ "Signing: Pittman arrives on season-long loan". Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  23. ↑ "National League South: Welling United 5–3 Truro City". Falmouth Packet. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  24. ↑ "England Matches – The C Team (Semi-Professional & The National Game)". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  25. ↑ "Jon-Paul Pittman: How my playing career shapes my coaching". Brentford FC. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  26. 1 2 "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  27. ↑ Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2008). Non-League Club Directory 2009. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-869833-59-6.
  28. ↑ Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2009). Non-League Club Directory 2010. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 56–57. ISBN 978-1-869833-66-4.
    "Ebbsfleet 4–4 Crawley". BBC Sport. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  29. 1 2 "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  31. 1 2 "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  32. 1 2 "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  33. ↑ "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  34. ↑ "Games played by Jon-Paul Pittman in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 "J. Pittman". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  36. ↑ Wycombe Wanderers F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  37. ↑ Charles, Andy (15 May 2016). "Grimsby secure promotion back to Football League at Wembley". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  38. ↑ Alan Smith (22 May 2016). "Scott McManus strikes for Halifax to beat Grimsby in FA Trophy final". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2023.