Chris Kiwomya
Quick Facts
Biography
Christopher Mark "Chris" Kiwomya (born 2 December 1969 in Huddersfield) is an English former professional footballer of Ugandan descent and was the manager of Football League One side Notts County. On 27 October 2013 Kiwomya left Notts County by mutual consent.
He played as a forward from 1987 until 2002 notably in the Premier League for Ipswich Town and Arsenal. He also played in the Football League for Queens Park Rangers, as well as playing abroad for Le Havre, Selangor and AaB. He also played for the England U21 team, and after retiring began coaching at former club Ipswich.
Playing career
He was at Ipswich Town as a trainee and played over 250 games, and was the club's top scorer in the 1991–92 season in which Ipswich were promoted from the old Second Division. In total he scored over 50 goals for the East Anglian club, working in partnership with Jason Dozzell. Whilst at Ipswich he played for England U21s, preventing him playing for the Uganda national team, which he qualified for through his parentage.
He signed for Arsenal in a £1.25million deal in February 1995, as one of George Graham's last signings for the club, along with John Hartson. He made his debut against Everton on 14 January 1995 and was rarely out of the side that campaign, but failed to make a lasting impression at Arsenal; although he scored three goals in 17 appearances in 1994–95, he did not play for the club again after that season. Graham had been sacked in February for a highly publicised "bungs" incident, and Stewart Houston had remained in charge until the appointment of Bruce Rioch after the end of the season. The acquisition of Dennis Bergkamp, as well as competition from the likes of Ian Wright and Hartson, left Kiwomya way down the pecking order.
He spent 1996–97 on loan at Le Havre AC of France, making 7 appearances without scoring. He also spent time with Selangor FA in the Malaysian league scoring the winning goal in the Malaysia Cup Final in December 1997. In August 1998, more than three years after his last game for Arsenal, he finally left Highbury on a free transfer and signed for QPR in Division One. He played for QPR for three seasons, scoring 30 times in almost 100 appearances before joining AaB Aalborg in Denmark in 2001, on a free transfer, but cancelled his contract by mutual consent due to injury and subsequently called time on his professional football career.
Coaching career
In July 2008 he was appointed as reserve team development coach at Ipswich Town. He left the position in May 2011.
He was appointed Development Squad Manager at Notts County.
Managerial career
Kiwomya was appointed Caretaker Manager at Notts County on 3 February 2013 following the sacking of Keith Curle. On 23 February 2013 Kiwomya was appointed manager until the end of the 2012–2013 season. On 27 March 2013, he was appointed full-time manager on a three-year deal.
On 27 October 2013 Kiwomya left Notts County by mutual consent.
Managerial statistics
- As of 26 October 2013
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
Notts County | 3 February 2013 | 27 October 2013 | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 26.47 | |
Total | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 26.47 |
Personal life
His nephew is Alex Kiwomya, the son of his brother Andy Kiwomya.