Russell Penn

Born in Dudley, West Midlands into a sporting family (his father was a footballer with Halesowen Town and his younger brother Mike became a rugby union professional), Penn began his career at Birmingham City in their youth system in July 2001. He joined the youth system at Kidderminster Harriers in March 2002, and appeared in one youth team match against Wellington on 7 March before joining Scunthorpe United's youth system in July 2002. He returned to Kidderminster Harriers on a free transfer in the summer of 2005; he had a short spell on loan at Alvechurch before breaking into the Kidderminster team. Penn joined newly promoted League Two club Burton Albion on 9 July 2009 on a two-year contract, for an undisclosed fee thought to be a club record. He scored his first goal for Burton on 15 August 2009 in a 5–2 win over Morecambe. Penn signed for League Two club Cheltenham Town on 23 May 2011 on a two-year contract, after he rejected a new contract with Burton. He scored his first goal for Cheltenham in an FA Cup second-round match away at Luton Town in December 2011, followed quickly by his second goal a week later in a home League Two match against Southend United. On 7 January 2013, Penn turned in a man of the match performance and scored the home team's goal (his third for Cheltenham) in a 5–1 FA Cup third-round defeat at the hands of Premier League team Everton.[1] Following the departure of club captain Alan Bennett in the January 2013 transfer window, Penn was named the…

In November 2019 he served as caretaker manager of Kidderminster for two matches, before being replaced by James Shan, for whom he worked as assistant. When Shan departed to Solihull Moors on 11 February 2020, Penn was made manager of the club. Penn was awarded the National League North Manager of the Month award for November 2021 after three league wins from three as well as success in the FA Cup and FA Trophy. Penn won the award again for January 2022 after winning more points than anyone else across the course of the month as well as defeating Championship side Reading in the FA Cup third round. On 5 February 2022, Penn saw his side take the lead against Premier League side West Ham United before a 91st-minute equaliser from Declan Rice took the game to extra time where Jarrod Bowen scored in the last minute to avoid a massive shock. During the same season, Penn's Harriers side were in the mix for promotion for much of the season, however the team's form dipped during the last couple of months which saw the team's title hopes fade before being beaten 2-1 by Boston United in the Playoffs. The 22/23 season saw Penn's Harriers squad injury hit for sizeable parts of the campaign as they struggled for consistency. Penn bolstered his squad mid season, signing the likes of Christian Dibble, Kyle Morison and Joe Leesley. Harriers form improved greatly, Penn's side then won their last 6 league games, including beating Kettering Town 3-0 on the final day of the season, finishing in…

Penn was capped eight times by England C, scoring one goal, from 2007 to 2009. Having been a regular member of the team for two years, he was named the England C Player of the Year for 2009.

As of end of 2018–19 season