Gary Karsa joined the Wanderers in September 2006 to take up the position of Youth Development Officer at the club.

Born in Islington in 1961, the young central midfielder began his playing career as a schoolboy at Arsenal before spending short spells with Chelsea and Brentford. A move to Cyprus followed, but at the age of 21, Gary decided to retire from football, citing a lack of guidance as the main reason for quitting.

He then spent seven years in the family business as a greengrocer, but returned to football at the age of 28 to take his coaching badges, as well as obtaining PGC teacher training. In 1998, Gary was appointed Football and Community Officer at Enfield, before moving to a similar role at Barnet, where he worked with Ian Culverhouse.

After a spell with Charlton Athletic as the Head of Academy Recruitment, Karsa and Culverhouse were re-united at Leyton Orient, with Gary taking the post of Head of Youth. And after Ian joined the Blues in July 2005 as Youth Team Coach, Gary followed his pal to Adams Park fourteen months later.