Rob Edwards

Aston Villa

Edwards was born in Telford, Shropshire. He started his career as an apprentice at Aston Villa, and worked his way up to his first-team debut on 28 December 2002, in a 1–0 home win over Middlesbrough. In January 2003, after playing in three consecutive matches at right-back he signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract with the club. Edwards went on to make nine appearances in total for Villa, all during 2002–03. He was sent on loan to First Division club Crystal Palace in November 2003, where he spent one month, playing six games and scoring one goal in a 1–1 draw with Coventry City. Edwards then joined fellow First Division club Derby County on loan in January 2004, where he stayed until the end of the season. He played ten games for the club, scoring a goal in a 2–1 home win over Gillingham on 17 January.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In May 2004, Edwards was told by Aston Villa manager David O'Leary that he could leave the club. Edwards made the short journey across the West Midlands and joined Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers that July in a three-year deal for £150,000. After five games in August, he suffered an ankle injury and did not return until February 2005. Edwards gained more playing time in the 2005–06 campaign and he played the majority of the following season under new manager Mick McCarthy but suffered knee ligament damage in April 2007. that kept him out of the season's end as the team made the play-offs. He again suffered…

Edwards represented England at youth level, but not in a UEFA-recognised game, so qualified for Wales as his parents are both Welsh. He made his debut for Wales before he left Aston Villa, on 29 March 2003, in a 4–0 European Championship qualifying victory over Azerbaijan.

Early years

On 11 October 2013, Edwards announced that he had retired from professional football at the age of 30. He did his coaching badges with the Football Association of Wales. He became Under-18s coach at Wolves, and his first season in charge (2014–15) was considered very successful by local newspaper Express & Star. He was promoted to help Head Coach Kenny Jackett for the final two months of the season, and then to the role of full-time First Team Coach during the summer of 2015. On 25 October 2016 Edwards was appointed interim head coach at Wolves following the sacking of Walter Zenga. He took charge of two games – a 1–1 draw at Blackburn Rovers, followed by a 2–3 defeat to Derby – before Paul Lambert took charge. Edwards remained at the club in the role of first team coach until the conclusion of the season when he departed alongside Lambert. On 28 June 2017, Edwards was named as the new manager of his hometown club AFC Telford United. The club finished in 14th place in the National League North, 10 points outside the play-offs. Edwards left by mutual consent at the end of the season. Edwards was appointed as the head coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers U23 on 20 July 2018. In his first season in charge, he led them to promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1, the highest level of youth football, for the first time in their history. In October 2019, Edwards left Wolves to take up a 'prestigious role' with The Football Association working as a coach with the…

Edwards is the cousin of fellow coach Sean Parrish.