BACK OF THE NET AND BEYOND

In this chat I spoke to former footballer Steve Guinan. Steve’s a former teammate of mine and has previously played for Nottingham Forest, Cheltenham Town and many more. He explained that mid-way through his career he started putting things in place in order to help his transition. He ventured in to coaching and also attended Uni. He now works for the Football Association helping footballers trans...

Listen to Rhodri Jones talk about his thoughts on transitioning from sport to another career and the transferable skills that athletes tend to have. Rhodri played for Manchester Utd but sadly had to retire from football in his early twenties, the surgeon said he ‘had knees of a 50 year old retired athlete’. After retiring he suffered bouts of depression but has managed to work in the media and has...

Great catch up with my long time friend Dave Pearson. Dave used to play for Coventry City as a youngster. He openly talks open his struggles with rejection during his time playing football which led to bouts of depression. He made the transition away from football at a young age and embarked on a career in the PT industry. He’s now a successful PT coach with a more holistic approach and is in the...

Nice to catch up with Nick Blackman who is currently playing professional football. Nick is a former teammate of mine and has carved out a career in the Championship and abroad, most recently for Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was good to hear that although he is without a club at the moment he's got high hopes of securing a deal wherever that may be. He has considered life after football, and so far has in...

Loved the catch up with former footballer and ex teammate Frank Sinclair. Frank is a former Chelsea, Leicester City and Burnley defender. He also played for the Jamaica national team. Frank spoke candidly about his retirement process and how he transitioned away from football. Whilst playing Frank invested in a few buy-to-let properties which demonstrates how shrewd he was with his money. Most rec...

A chat with Olympic, World and European medalist Marilyn Okoro. Marilyn is a former GB track and field athlete who has recently retired. I enjoyed discussing how she has coped with the transition. She is now doing great things in many different sectors. It's safe to say that Marilyn is keeping herself busy as she encounters the world of public speaking, being a life coach, charity work, media work...

From child football prodigy to attempting suicide. Meet Matty Turner, the former professional footballer who was on the verge of making his debut for Nottingham Forest aged 16, fast forward a few years and his career was cut short through injury and he was now living with a cocaine and alcohol addiction. Not long after he secured a role in a top pharmaceuticals firm and was named salesman of the y...

An episode with former teammate and goalkeeper Nathan Abbey who previously played for Luton, Chesterfield and Brentford. Nathan is now successfully running his own company called Enca Wheels. Him and his team provide a range of services from new and used cars, repairs and car finance. We spoke about how he transitioned away from football to become the owner of Enca Wheels. It was great to catch up...

A conversation with Dave Raven who is a former Liverpool, Carlisle, Inverness and England youth international footballer. Dave currently plays for Marine and is preparing for his transition away from football by playing part-time and coaching at Ellesmere College. He’s got ambitions to coach or manage in football. We spoke about how he’s coped with previously navigating different job roles to make...

It was great to catch up with my old mate Simon Rea. who previously played for Birmingham City and Peterborough Utd. Listen to how he coped with his transition from football and how he achieved some impressive qualifications post career. He now runs a successful football coaching business called Evolve 4 Football where he coaches people of all ages.

A conversation with former England international Anthony Gardner. Anthony previously played football for Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday. It was great to hear how he has transitioned away from football after he struggled initially. He now works for a sports and lifestyle agency called Two Touch Agency which is designed to look after young athletes. It was good to hear that this c...

During this episode I spoke to Stephen Cooke who is a former footballer who played for Manchester United, Aston Villa and Bournemouth. Stephen was a child prodigy and was regarded as one of the best young players around at one point. Making his debut at 17 for Aston Villa and was tipped for great things. Although his career was hampered by injuries he still managed to perform at a decent level. He...

Another episode where I speak to Nathan Lamey who is a former Wolves and Cambridge United footballer. Nathan is now the owner of a successful boxing company called Urban Boxing Studios which caters for all ages and backgrounds. It was very interesting to hear about Nathan's transition away from football and how he coped with having to leave Wolves with high expectations at such a young age. He sha...

It was nice to catch up with my former F.A. National School room mate Daniel Slatter. Daniel is a former Chelsea youth player and played for a number of years for teams lower down in the football pyramid. He is now a qualified electrician and football manager at Stanway Rovers. It was great to hear his retirement story and how he transitioned away from football.

Really insightful conversation with former Coventry City and Stoke City defender Marcus Hall. Marcus had a very successful, long career within the game where he played mostly at Premier League and Championship level. He has now transitioned away from football and is working within children's social care in the recruitment industry, as an Executive Consultant for a company called Hampton's Resourci...

Had a great chat with Coventry City legend Gary McSheffrey. Gary is a former professional footballer who used to also play for Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest to name a few. During this podcast we discussed how Gary coped with his transition away from football and the turn of events that lead to him coaching unexpectedly. We also touched on his career which started with him making his debut...

It’s been around 20 years since I last spoke to Kevin Nicholson, so it was good to catch up. Kevin is a former footballer who previously played for Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County and Torquay Utd. We discussed his transition away from football and the different aspects of retirement that he found difficult. We also spoke about the highs and lows of his career. Kevin is now Head of Coaching at Ex...

Enjoyed catching up with former teammate Derek Asamoah. Derek previously played for various clubs such as Nice, Lokomotiv Sofia and Shrewsbury Town. He was also a Ghanaian international. Here you’ll listen to his transition away from football, his thoughts on retirement in football and what more can be done to assist players. We also discussed his career which spanned across the UK and abroad. Der...

Nice to catch up with former teammate Lee Fowler. Lee previously played for Coventry City, Huddersfield Town and was a Wales U21 international. It was great to hear about his philosophy on football and management. He has implemented a great mindset at Radcliffe F.C. where he is the manager; his team are doing great things on and off the pitch. We reflected on his career and how he transitioned awa...

Really enjoyed catching up with former teammate Guy Branston. Guy is now doing great things at his local club Leicester City where he deals with player loans and their development. He is very much involved on and off the field with these players, ensuring that they are equipped to deal with things on the pitch and also their wellbeing off it. During this podcast we spoke about his career, his ment...

Loved chatting to Leon Constantine about his career and how he transitioned away from playing professional football. Leon had a good career and played for some top clubs such as Leeds United, Brentford and Millwall. We spoke about the highs and lows of his career, how he dealt with some serious injuries, what he thinks needs to be done to aid players dealing with eventual retirement and much more....

The last time I spoke to Mickey was when we were both mid-teens, so it was great to catch up with my old roomy. Mickey shared his story about how he fell out of football at the age of 19 after being released by Derby County. As part of his transition process he had a four year stint at Loughborough University. He then secured a job in recruitment after graduating and hasn’t looked back since. Mick...

Had a great chat recently with Karl George who is an accountant by trade but is also the Director at the Governance Forum. It was great to speak to Karl about the journey he followed which allowed him to create The Effective Board Member Programmes which have been delivered across the world in partnership with organisations including the The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), The Footbal...

It was great to catch up with former teammate and ex-professional footballer Courtney Pitt. Courtney previously played for the likes of Chelsea, Portsmouth and Luton Town. He is now a football coach where he coaches kids that have fallen out of academies. He is also studying at the moment. During this podcast we spoke about his time learning the ropes at Chelsea in the academy, his move to Portsmo...

I recently had a conversation with Stuart Robson who is a former professional speedway racer. During this podcast we spoke about life as a speedway racer. Stuart had a long and successful career in the UK representing the likes of Coventry Bees and Newcastle Diamonds to name a few. He mentioned that during his career he thought it would be wise to learn a trade and went to college to study plumbin...