The Lowdown

"It is in destabilization and movement and not stability and fixedness that reality finds opportunities to develop in interesting and unpredictable ways".

Argentina's recent World Cup success represented a shift in the eco system of World Football. Football after all is a cultural expression however lately the local forces in which the game emerged have been usurped by global idealism as to how the game ought to be played. "Without a vibrant, bubbling multiplicity of footballing realities interacting with each other the game becomes stagnant, mineralised in its current state, fossilised and frozen in time." The Argentine's crowning glory saw the universalization of the European positionist approach meeting "La Nuestra" (our way) of the Argentinian's and came up short.

Is this triumph of localism a one off success?

Is it happening elsewhere?

Have we reached Year Zero and the dawn of a new beginning?

Esteemed tactics writer and football coach; Jamie Hamilton joins me to discuss all the above and so much more.

Listen to find out more including;

- The issue with treating football tactics as a problem to be solved.

- Juanma Lillo and the homogenisation of football.

- How people misconstrue Total Football?

- Fluminense, Napoli and the dawn of a new era.

-Messi, Van Gaal and the altercation which encapsulates the tension between two counter schools of football.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 05:43 - Intro

05:44 - 11:42 - Theory v Practice

11:43 - 15:55 - Consumption of Football

15:56 - 23:15 - Total Football

23:16 - 31:30 - Relationist Approach

31:31 - 43:02 - La Nuestra

43:03 - 49:41 - New Age

49:42 - 58:04 - Coaching

Jamie's Twitter; https://twitter.com/stirling_j?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Jamie's Medium; https://medium.com/@stirlingj1982

Four Nations Football Consulting are a Barcelona-based international consulting company founded by experienced professionals, who hail from Europe, Middle East and Africa. Coming from different nations and cultures and through their network of contacts, collaborators and partners, they provide a wealth of international business experience and football knowledge. Today I had the pleasure to be joined by their co-founder and managing partner; Guillermo Perez. We discussed a range of topics from the current investment climate, multi-club ownership schemes to sustainability in football.

Listen to find out more including;

- How their investment advisory services work?

- The extensive market analysis and due diligence which occurs before proceeding with an investment.

- Why European clubs are specifically attractive for US investors?

- MCO's; general trends, advantages and disadvantages.

- Is Financial Fair Play dead? or does the regulation need tweaking?

-FC Barcelona and their financial levers.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:37 - Intro

03:38 - 06:37 - Investment Advisory

06:38 - 12:49 - Due Diligence

12:50 - 20:03 - MCO's

20:04 - 32:32 - FFP

32:33 - 34:17 - Advice

Website; https://www.fournations.football/

"I don't want to know everything of one thing, I want to know one thing of everything."

Jeroen Peters is today's guest on "The Lowdown". As someone who is responsible for overseeing the high performance department at FC Utrecht the job is becoming increasingly more and more cross disciplinary. As the game evolves continuously through innovation and technology there has been sometimes a disregard for the humane element of the game. The small steps to change a culture begin in house and the energy transferred amongst colleagues. Discomfort is inevitable yet there is magic going through it as a team. With a shared end in mind there is no limit to what a group can achieve.

Listen to find out more including;

- Detaching self from the bigger picture and see the nitty gritty details.

- Where you begin bringing a performance philosophy into a team?

- A performance culture invested in developing the professional and the individual.

- Why and how the process of 1% gains emanates from working together towards a shared goal?

- Why the art of good conversation looks hard on content soft on people.

- How in house departments are preparing for the next evolution of the game.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 06:12 - Intro

06:13 - 09:30 - High Performance

09:31 - 17:00 - Culture

17:01 - 23:15 - GRIT

23:16 - 33:15 - 1% gains

33:16 - 42:01 - Game demands

42:02 - 44:16 - Advice

Delighted today to share the 100th episode of “The Lowdown” with a special recording with the Academy Director of New York Red Bulls; Sean McCafferty. One of the world's leaders in youth development sharing insight regarding their work. In this conversation find out why their identity won't be a crutch as the game evolves, their methodology behind developing young players and Sean's own investment in the area which he believes lies the largest room for growth in the game.

Being an expert in patience without sacrificing the Red Bull identity of intensity.

Listen to find out more including;

- Their methodology behind youth development

- The unique competitive advantages behind the economies of scale of a multi club network.

- How they accelerated development through the professionalisation of the environment?

- What steps are they taking to ensure the programme evolves to develop more whole rounded players?

- Why we will return to player on the street?

- The next big frontier for youth development.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:54 - Intro

03:55 - 08:27 - Barca

08:28 - 12:11 - Red Bull

12:12 - 24:05 - Training model

24:06 - 32:49 - Cognitive development

32:50 - 36:47 - Game demands

36:48 - 41:40 - Old wine in new bottles

41:41 - 43:50 - Advice

Bostonians hold their sports teams to a very high standard. To compete against some of America’s successful franchises could be seen as a terrible weight to burden however for New England Revolution they see it as a competitive advantage. Cathal Conlon is todays guest on “The Lowdown”. As MLS has continually grown to become a league of choice there have been changing expectations to contend with. With the Apple TV deal, 2024 Copa America and a 2026 World Cup all on the horizon listen to how Cathal's role as Vice President has evolved since taking the helm. Furthermore we discuss a range of topics from fan identity, the changing sphere of players attracted to the league, MLS growth in untapped markets and so much more.

Listen to find out more including;

- Fan identity & Boston Sports.

- MLS becoming a league of choice.

- Engaging fans through the logo changing process.

- Impact of Apple TV deal on MLS finances and scheduling.

- What will the defining legacy of the 2026 World Cup on North American soil?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 04:20 - Intro

04:21 - 07:03 - Boston Sports

07:04 - 14:55 - MLS

14:56 - 22:31 - New Markets

22:32 - 26:17 - Growth

26:18 - 34:15 - Future

34:16 - 36:42 - Advice

From appointing Mauricio Pochettino to signing Virgil Van Dijk and working alongside Ryan Reynolds it’s fair to say Les Reed has seen it all in football. Being one of few coaches to coach all underage England teams before managing Charlton in the Premier League he was well versed in understanding the organisational ebbs and flows of a top flight sports group prior to making the jump to the Sporting Director role. Here Les takes us through the journey of helping bring Southampton from League One to a regular top 10 side in the Premier League. A journey built on personality and credibility, Les is now passing on the lessons of his top flight experience to the Hollywood custodians at Wrexham.

Listen to find out more including;

- The evolution of the Sporting Director role.

- Changing recruitment strategy at Southampton.

- The art and science of succession planning.

- Inside Mauricio Pochettino's interview process.

- "Turning potential into excellence".

- Inside the Wrexham boardroom.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 27:14 - Sporting Director

27:15 - 47:39 - Southampton

47:40 - 1:01:43 - Van Dijk & Mane

1:01:44 - 1:16:30 - Pochettino

1:16:31 - 1:27:16 - Wrexham

1:27:17 - 1:29:21 - Advice

Growing up on a small island off the coast of mainland Colombia, Carlos Ortiz had a dream to travel and explore the world. Utilizing football as a tool to connect with and empower others Carlos realized that dream and more. Retaining that childhood sense of curiosity Carlos embarked on a journey that has yet to run it's course. Fortunately for us he took some time out to share some of the gold he has collected of that expedition. Carlos' story is a lesson to all of us involved in football, not to take a single day for granted and take care of the child within who fell in love with the game.

Listen to find out more including;

- How visualization played such a prominent role in Carlos' playing career.

- Playing experiences in South Korea, US, Costa Rica, Australia and Greece.

- Why did Carlos leave a playing career to transition into coaching?

- The biggest area for growth in developing professional footballers?

- How Carlos advises aspiring coaches and players to deal with the inevitable highs and lows of a career in the game?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 05:00 - Intro

05:01 - 12:01 - Perspective

12:02 - 19:16 - South Korea

19:17 - 26:04 - US & Costa Rica

26:05 - 36:27 - Coaching

36:28 - 45:19 - Journaling

45:20 - 50:19 - Austin FC

50:20 - 1:01:50 - Sports Psychology

1:01:51 - 1:04:53 - Advice

Following eight years leading the "personal" side of professional and academy football, both male and female, at Brighton & Hove Albion, Sue Parris now works mainly with elite athletes, and their support networks, facilitating their emotional and mental health development. Recently she co authored a paper alongside Paul Mortimer called "The Boy in the Man’s Mask" which is the analysis of a collection of voices from inside the football Academy environment, U18s, U23s and staff, who shared their experiences with through face-to-face interviews. The results of which were intriguing to say the least.

What we discussed included;

- Unique characteristics of young footballers in comparison to their sporting peers.

- Is there a misunderstanding of what development means in academy environments?

- The fear and anxiety which young players feel living in the future.

- At what level does the prevention work need to be done?

- Should the role of coach be redefined?

- What is the side of football which comes to threaten to destroy what we love?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 12:23 - Research

12:24 - 22:03 - "Fear in Football"

22:04 - 26:56 - Coaching Cultures

26:57 - 36:17 - Unheard Voices

36:18 - 45:05 - Pre-Care

45:06 - 52:07 - Future

52:08 - 54:26 - Advice

Sue's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-parris-b2120666/

"Those who look for the road don't get lost" is an old Finnish proverb. Having worked in different regions including South Africa, USA, Qatar and Scandinavia Jyri Nieminen has used football as a vehicle to lean into different cultures, unpacking another layer of himself each time in the process. Jyri's holistic view of the world has informed his views of the game and the goalkeeping position within it. Now responsible as head of goalkeeping for New York Red Bulls Jyri takes us through this unique and specialist position.

Listen to find out more including;

- Turning back on playing for a coaching career.

- A deep period of introspection in Buenos Aries.

- Acclimatizing into different cultures.

- Keeping identity in the work.

- Where Jyri sees the goalkeeping position evolving?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:55 - Intro

03:56 - 09:56 - Curiosity

09:57 - 17:58 - Acclimatization

17:59 - 25:54 - Coaching

25:55 - 31:37 - Modern Game

31:38 - 37:46 - Evolution

37:47 - 46:47 - Growth

46:48 - 48:45 - Advice

Stuart Lancaster is the senior coach of Leinster Rugby. Here he lifts the lid behind the day to day in their high performance environment. With an insatiable appetite for growth and development learn here how Stuart balances growth with performance. Amid the background of a relentless elite sporting calendar Stuart reflects on his career to date with a special emphasis on the last seven seasons at Leinster. Here Stuart takes us through the art of good leadership, sustaining a high performance culture. understanding the peaks and troughs of the "performance clock" among so much more.

Listen to find out more including;

- What does a typical day look like?

- The process of getting to player led ownership.

- Balancing growth with performance.

- Learning from different sports and industries.

- Biggest challenge facing leaders today?

- Managing the "performance clock" of elite level sport.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 06:35 - Day to Day

06:36 - 14:17 -" Performance Clock"

14:18 - 20:48 - Culture

20:49 - 31:40 - Reflection

31:41 - 33:48 - Advice