The Lowdown

My guest today needs no introduction. Stephen Constantine is a familiar name in coaching circles with a coaching career spanning over 20 years having coached five different countries and numerous clubs on four different continents. As he returns home briefly from his call to adventure he joined me to discuss his career in detail. With countless lessons ranging from team building to adapting to new...

There are few who know how challenging the role of Sporting Director is better than Mike Rigg. Having worked the role at a number of clubs including Man City, Fulham, QPR and Burnley, Mike is now educating the next generation of the perils and prospects involved alongside his colleagues at the Association of Sporting Directors. Fit & alignment in finding the right job, being able to link the b...

We have a special episode for you this week to preview the 2021/22 Champions League Final between Liverpool & Real Madrid. A date of destiny as Liverpool's quest for a historic treble meets the “last dance” of Real Madrid. Something has to give. Hoffenheim academy coach; Christian Dobrick joined me to dissect where the game will be won & lost. Listen to find out more including; - How Jurge...

The name Sean O'Shea is synonymous with Dubai Football. Beginning in the academy scene as many coaches Sean quickly climbed through the ranks, becoming head of football at NAS working under Sheikh Hamdan. Soon Sean was hosting training camps for the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid whilst also privately coaching the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Luke Shaw. Becoming assistant coach at AIK,...

There has been a lot of debate surrounding the recent changes by UEFA to FFP and their reformatting of the Champions League. With so much noise and little certainty who better is there than Alex Phillips, former head of governance and compliance at UEFA to give us the inside scoop on what these changes actually mean. Being part of several projects that include the creation of the Deloitte rich lis...

Karan Tejwani is the author of the new book; “Glorious Reinvention; The Rebirth of Ajax Amsterdam.” Karan tells the story of how Ajax rediscovered their mojo to compete again with Europe's best. In November 2010, after Ajax's 2-0 loss in the Champions League group stage to Real Madrid, Johan Cruyff wrote a newspaper column criticising his former club. He believed the side were poorly run, had lost...

“Making something beautiful out of the simple.” Where the path seemed unclear to others to Johnathan McKinstry it seemed plain and obvious. Being a youth football coach in Northern Ireland, role models were few and far between so John became his own. Turning a perceived disadvantage into an advantage, combined with an insatiable desire to learn has led to John scaling the highest mountains of the...

“Strategy in the absence of culture gets you nowhere.” A must listen for all coaches steeped in youth development. Tom Byer's journey into the football world is a familiar one for many a coach. Unsatisfied with what football had to teach him in his formative years he embarked upon a journey to find experts within their field. What ensued has been over 40 years of learning, growth and constantly it...

Fresh from World Cup qualification I was delighted to be joined by the leadership & team dynamics coach of the USMNT; Travis Thomas. How can improvisation help professional sports teams? Travis has cross pollinated his love of improv and team sports over the past 20 years to serve a wide range of sports and corporations all over the US. Here we unpack how he is faring in his current challenge...

As Chelsea travel to Madrid in the hope of overcoming a two goal deficit in their Champions League Quarter Final tie, Stamford Chidge of the award winning Chelsea Fancast joined me to speak all things Chelsea. In these 40 minutes we unpack Chelsea's historical past, tumultuous present and uncertain future. Approaching the business end of the season and in the midst of a protracted takeover there i...

Germany has launched new regulations that will transform the way youth football is played in the country. The emphasis will be on a fun and a player-centred approach, with Ronny Zimmermann, DFB Vice President responsible for children’s and youth football, saying: “We need to think like children, not like adults. Only children who develop fun and joy in the game will stay in football.” One man who...

Germany has recently launched new regulations that will transform the way football is played in the country. The emphasis will be on fun and a player-centred approach, with Ronny Zimmermann, DFB Vice President responsible for children’s and youth football, saying: “We need to think like children, not like adults. Only children who develop fun and joy in the game will stay in football.” Some of the...

“Create the podcast you want to listen to. “ For a long time coaching has existed within it's own silo. With the modern head coach resembling something akin to a CEO it's clear that what got us this far isn't good enough to move us forward. Looking beyond the coaching badges there is an acute understanding of organisational dynamics required to operate at this level of elite sport. Throw on top a...

On March 10th Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government thereby effectively freezing Chelsea FC as one of his largest commercial assets. Ultimately an unprecedented move in the football world latent with more questions than answers. In an attempt to make some order of the ensuing chaos Matt Slater of The Athletic joined me to breakdown what this actually means in practice. All very sobe...

“You are not there to tell people what to do, you are not an expert in sports science, in video analysis, your job is to recruit those best people for the role. “ With a lot of uncertainty over the role of Sporting Director, Chris Casper of Salford City joined me recently to clarify the job, it's function and how it's evolved. Graduating from the “Class of'92“. Chris has taken the best principles...

“The greatest good for the greatest number of people, If there is any meaning in discussing fair play and codes of conduct in sports, then it is time to show Russia the red card.“ Yesterday February 24th was a dark day for humanity. Amidst the backdrop of current affairs Professor Kenneth Cortsen and I recorded a podcast regarding the growing commercialization of the once beautiful game. In this h...

South London rightly generates a lot of clamour in recognition of the players it produces but what about it's coaches? Harry Watling joined me this week as we dove in deep into the secrets behind the rise of one of the UK's top coaching exports. At 31 Harry was appointed as the head coach of USL team; Hartford Athletic, in the process becoming the league's youngest. Coaching at prestigious academi...

“Purposeful work won't find you, you have to go and find it” I am proud to have had the good fortune of learning from one of the best I have come to know within the football industry over this past year. David Cosgrave & the guys at The Leadership Bunker have drastically expedited my learning curve and enabled me to reflect and make sense of my journey to date and how I arrived here. Therefore...

“Bet on yourself” , was Brian Walsh's simple advice to me in response to examining his success to date. Arriving in the US nearly 20 years on a college scholarship Brian has continued to fulfill that promise to himself rising through the ranks to launch and spearhead youth programmes at NY Cosmos and now NYCFC. Leveraging critical thinking, navigating change successfully and being prepared to go a...

It would not be an understatement to say Jonathan Harding authored one of my favourite football books to date in “Mensch” which appraised the story of the German coaching revolution and the person behind the coach. However as Jonathan explains here once he began to scratch an itch he discovered the longing for plenty of coaches to discover a connection that runs deeper than just winning or losing....

Doug Lemov is the author of 'Teach Like a Champion' & 'The Coach's Guide to Teaching'. Doug has a track record of going into underprivileged schools and turning them around. How he did so and why this can help sporting organisations and their coaches is what we delve into during the blockbuster conversation. During our talk Doug gives the lowdown on a range of subjects varying from performance...

Omar Chaudhuri is the Chief Intelligence Officer of the Twenty First Group. The Twenty First Group provides ground-breaking sports intelligence to drive sporting success and unlock commercial value. Omar gave me the lowdown on his story to date. From beginning a blog in his bedroom to sharing the boardroom with some of the sporting world's most powerful stakeholders, Omar has a unique perspective...

Little under two months ago, our guest today Chris Docherty took the helm as Sporting Director of FC Akron; a second division team in Russia, at the tender age of 29. Despite his whirlwind start to life in Russia, Chris was kind enough to share some time with me to speak about his intriguing career arc to date. What followed was a fascinating yet intricate conversation on multiple subjects ranging...

From working as a volunteer coach to now being the academy director of one of the world's most productive youth systems, James Gow has been on a journey. Working in the performance analysis department at Liverpool James learned the value of standards and small details working day in day out with some of the world's leading coaches and players. Yet despite this his sense of adventure appealed and J...

“Be authentic, don't conform” Sally Needham's career has been a never ending quest as to how to better understand the how & why behind kid's behaviour. After honing her craft as a coach & coach educator within the FA for 13 years Sally left to pursue her area of passion in the psychological and social aspects of the game through the lens of neuroscience. She has certainly got lost in the l...