A lot of people think; “Wow you work in football!” but what does the reality actually look like? Recently I had the pleasure to sit down with Chris Rush as he reflected upon his 15 years working in professional football at clubs such as Middlesbrough, Manchester City and most recently Blackburn. The interview focuses on the realities working as support staff in the professional game and the circumstances surrounding his recent departure from Blackburn. We discussed topics such as;

- Working as support staff in football

- What did the weekly routine look like?

- When does a passion become a profession?

- Can universities do a better job at raising awareness among students?

- Cultural reform

Pacey Performance Survey; https://www.strengthofscience.com/pacey-performance-academy-performance-staff-survey/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:17 - 15 years in football

03:18 - 11:30 - Reasons for leaving professional football

11:31 - 15:15 - Pacey Performance Survey

15:16 - 17:35 - Is it just football?

17:36 - 19:38 - What does a typical week look like?

19:39 - 26:36 - Can universities do better?

26:37 - 31:04 - Reforms

31:05 - 35:30 - What's next for Chris?

Interview with Valencia Academy Director; Sean Bai covering all topics on youth development including;

- Integrating ideas from other industries into football

- Sean's advice to growing academies

- Behind the scenes into the organizational change at Valencia

- Building a culture during Covid

- Their process in identifying and developing a youth player

- Academies as an immune system to FFP & European Super League

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:59 - Sean's role at Valencia

08:00 - 15:32 - Individual first Player second

15:33 - 23:07 - What does the support network around a player look like?

23:08 - 35:25 - Building a culture during Covid

35:26 - 42:34 - Recruitment

42:35 - 47:52 - Pathway to Pro

47:53 - 55:07 - FFP & European Super League

55:08 - 57:18 - Sean's version of success

Interview with UEFA A Candidate and Recruitment & Performance Analysis Consultant

at MRKT Insights; Chris Summersell on all things Tottenham Hotspur including;

- Growing up with Spurs

- The Pochettino years

- Should we cut Mourinho some slack?

- What tactical tweaks he would make

- Who Spurs should be targeting in this summer's transfer window?

- What constitutes success at Spurs?

Chris' Twitter; https://twitter.com/ChrisSummersell

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:47 - Ginola, Gascoigne & White Hart Lane

07:48 - 12:56 - Mourinho

12:57 - 19:13 - Pochettino

19:14 - 25:56 - Demands of the modern day coach

25:57 - 30:41 - Spurs 20/21

30:42 - 41:28 - Proposed changes & Transfer window

41:29 - 48:04 - With or without Mourinho?

48:05 - 53:40 - What is success for Spurs?

Interview with Ben Lyttleton, author of 'Twelve Yards: The Art & Psychology of the Perfect Penalty' & ‘Edge: What Business Can Learn from Football’ covering all topics including;

- Football as a tool for education & self-improvement

- How to measure success?

- The next frontier of talent development

- Tuchel, Deschamps & developing the individual

- How Lionel Messi can improve at penalties?

- Resilience going forward

Ben's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-lyttleton-053a981/

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

Twelveyards substack; https://twelveyards.substack.com/

Football School; https://www.footballschool.co/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 08:25 - Football as a tool

08:26 - 10:10 - Next frontier of talent development

10:11 - 20:48 - Cohesion, measuring success & Tuchel

20:49 - 26:50 - Deschamps & developing the individual

26:51 - 38:18 - Red Bull, Liverpool & defining talent

38:19 - 46:31 - Penalties

46:32 - 51:10 - Football School

51:11 - 57:15 - Resilience

Interview with Andrei Angelescu of UEFA & the Romanian Football Federation on all things fan engagement and TV rights in football including;

- The commercialisation of today's fan

- 2021 trends

- Premier League TV Rights

- La Liga's international growth strategy

- European Super League

- Challenges in staging the 2020 Euro's

Andrei's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreiangelescu/

Mihai Neşu Foundation; https://www.mihainesufoundation.com/ro/

“Rendez-vous” Newsletter; https://mailchi.mp/fffce7b7c5d8/discover-the-digital-trends-of-10066329

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:54 - Fan Engagement

07:55 - 10:07 - 2021 Trends

10:08 - 18:29 - TV Rights

18:30 - 20:40 - La Liga

20:41 - 25:20 - European Super League

25:21 - 32:46 - Mihai Neşu Foundation

32:47 - 34:27 - Euro 2020

34:28 - 39:52 - Romanian Football Federation & “Rendez-Vous”

Interview with Jasmine Baba on all things German Football including;

- Finding a niche within the industry

- Women in football

- Joachim Low & German football's equivalent of musical chairs

- Covid's effect on tactics

- Julian Nagelsmann's next move

- Gladbach & Arsene Wenger?!

- Which German grounds Jasmine is most looking forward to visiting

Jasmine's Twitter; https://twitter.com/_jasminebaba?lang=en

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:00 - Influences & Finding a niche

07:01 - 11:29 - Women in Football

11:30 - 15:03 - German Football

15:04 - 18:34 - Tactical Trends

18:35 - 22:02 - Bayern Munich & Flick

22:03 - 27:17 - RB Leipzig & Nagelsmann

27:18 - 34:15 - Borussia Dortmund & Rose

34:16 - 37:35 - Gladbach & Wenger?!

37:36 - 39:36 - German national team

39:37 - 41:32 - Best of the rest

41:33 - 45:30 - German football weekends

Interview with David Mooney of the “Blue Moon Podcast” & The Athletic's “Why Always Us?” on all things including;

- The Kevin Keegan years

- Maine Road & Binliner's

- The 2008 Takeover

- Pep Guardiola

- That 21 game winning run

- How do City win the Champions League?

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

Blue Moon Podcast; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/blue-moon-podcast-a-manchester-city-https://open.spotify.com/show/3nm5sbmhmOxTD1Q0WydCHk

Why Always Us? Podcast: https://theathletic.com/podcast/159-why-always-us/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 09:07 - Maine Road & Binliner's

09:08 - 16:29 - 2008 Takeover

16:30 - 22:25 - Pep Guardiola

22:26 - 28:39 - Man City this season

28:40 - 33:59 - City's best midfield?

34:00 - 44:40 - Striker issues & Raheem Sterling

44:41 - 50:14 - Champions League woes

50:15 - 53:30 - Guardiola's dynasty

Interview with Smarterscout's Dan Altman on football data's revolution covering topics such as;

- The origins of Smarterscout

- Moving from economics to football

- What we can do v What we can implement

- Differences between roster building in the Premier League & MLS

- Insight into Wayne Rooney's move to DC United

- Rise of US private equity firms in European football

Smarterscout Twitter; https://twitter.com/smarterscout?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Dan's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/altmandaniel/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:27 - Smarterscout

03:28 - 11:01 - Growth of data within football

11:02 - 14:10 - City Football Group, D.C United & Swansea City

14:11 - 17:18 - Premier League & MLS Roster Building

17:19 - 20:13 - Inside Wayne Rooney's move to DC

20:14 - 25:29 - Translating data into practice

25:30 - 28:02 - Rise of US Private Equity firms in European football

28:03 - 30:22 - Future of data within football

Interview and reflections with Lee Johnson on a coaching journey spanning four different continents covering topics such as;

- Societal differences

- Adapting to different cultures

- “Shoulders of Giants”

- What it was like to coach Chelsea's golden generation

- Flying 95 times in one year

- Learning to enjoy the moment

Lee's Twitter; https://twitter.com/leejohnson80?lang=en

Lee's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-johnson-714a7b50/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 06:31 - Reflections over the past year

06:32 - 15:08 - Societal differences

15:09 - 19:37 - Theory v Practice

19:38 - 30:46 - Chelsea

30:47 - 34:45 - Rwanda

34:46 - 41:24 - India

41:25 - 45:21 - Enjoying the moment

45:22 - 52:34 - Coaching pathways

52:35 - 56:13 - Lee's advice for me

Interview with Oakland S.C Technical Director; Benno Nagel on all things U.S Soccer including;

- Oakland

- “Seeing is believing”

- How to establish a soccer club

- Building an authentic culture

- U.S Development Pathways

- 2026 World Cup & Legacy

Benno's Twitter; https://twitter.com/benno_nagel?lang=en

Benno's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/benno-nagel-78073b122/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:29 - Oakland & Development Pathways

07:30 - 11:20 - Cultivating a passion

11:21 - 21:21 - Oakland Roots

21:22 - 32:41 - Identity & Building a club from scratch

32:42 - 34:22 - Oakland S.C

34:23 - 41:24 - U.S Youth Development

41:25 - 47:32 - 2026 World Cup & Legacy