Marvin Bartley

Marvin Clement Bartley (born 4 July 1986) is an English professional football coach and former player, who is the manager of Scottish League One club Queen of the South.

Early in his career, Bartley played for English non-league clubs Burnham, Hayes, Didcot Town and Hampton & Richmond Borough.

Bartley then joined the Hayes Football Education Development Opportunity (FEDO) program to help develop his skills, of which he graduated from in 2004.

He then joined Southern Football League side Burnham where he played alongside his two brothers, Mark and Michael.

He made his début for Burnham on 21 August 2004, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Evesham United.

His final appearance came in a 3–2 defeat to Sutton Coldfield Town on 30 October.

He made a total of eight appearances for the Blues, without scoring.

Bartley then made a swift return to his former club, Conference South side Hayes during the season along with his brother Mark.

He finished the season as a first-team regular making a total of eight appearances for Hayes in the 2004–05 season as they finished mid-table.

His début came on 12 February 2005, in a 3–2 away win over Sutton United.

In May 2005, he signed a new two-year contract to stay at the club.

His first appearance of the 2005–06 season was on 13 August 2005, in a 1–0 win over newly promoted Eastleigh.

His first career goal came on 10 September, when he scored the second in a 2–0 victory over Bishop's Stortford.

His second goal came on 12 November, when he scored the winner in a 2–1 away win at Carshalton Athletic.

His final goal of the season and for Hayes came on 11 February 2006, when he scored the leveller in a 1–1 draw with Bognor Regis Town.

Bartley remained a first team regular during the season making a total of 40 appearances, scoring three goals as they narrowly avoided relegation.

His first game of the 2006–07 season came on 12 August 2006, in a 3–1 defeat to Histon.

His final appearance for Hayes was on 12 September, when he came on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat to Bognor Regis Town.

In September 2006, Bartley joined Southern League side Didcot Town.

He scored on his début, coming off the bench to score the second in a 2–2 draw with Windsor & Eton on 24 September.

Bartley made a total of two appearances for Didcot before signing for Isthmian League side Hampton & Richmond Borough on a free transfer in October 2006.

His début came on 17 October, in a 2–2 draw away at Heybridge Swifts.

He broke into the professional leagues in 2007 with AFC Bournemouth, where he made over 100 Football League appearances.

He remained a first-team regular and on 24 April 2007 he made his final appearance for Hampton in the reverse fixture to Heybridge, which again finished 2–2.

He made a total of 27 appearances for the Beavers as they were crowned champions and gained promotion to the Conference South.

Bartley was close to joining Football League Two side Milton Keynes Dons after spending a week on trial, until manager Martin Allen departed for Leicester City.

In the summer of 2007, Bartley joined Football League One side AFC Bournemouth on a two-week trial, playing in pre-season friendlies against Hamworthy United, Weymouth and Southampton.

On 23 July, he signed a one-year professional contract after the successful trial, becoming the fourth new arrival.

Prior to joining Bournemouth he had been combining his semi-professional career with installing double glazing for The Splash Group in Reading.

He made his début for the Cherries on 1 December 2007, in the FA Cup second round defeat away to Millwall, coming on as a late substitute for Jo Kuffour.

His league début came a week later where he again featured as a substitute, coming on for Jem Karacan in a 3–1 defeat to Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.

Soon after Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe moved to Burnley in 2011, Bartley followed Howe to Turf Moor.

Bartley fell out of favour at Burnley after Howe returned to Bournemouth in October 2012.

He initially moved on loan to Leyton Orient, then joined Orient on a permanent basis after he was released by Burnley in January 2014.

Bartley left Orient in the summer of 2015 and signed for Scottish club Hibernian.

He helped Hibernian win the Scottish Cup in 2016 and promotion in 2017.

After his contract with Hibernian expired in May 2019, Bartley signed for Livingston.

He started coaching with Livingston and retired from playing in 2022.

He was appointed manager of Queen of the South in January 2023.

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Bartley started his career with his hometown club, Reading, playing in the youth setup before being released as a teenager.