The Lowdown

The year John Stones had the most amount of successful dribbles in a Champions League Final since Lionel Messi, 2023 was a year for the ages.

From Gateshead to Nice the universal search for control took on a new level and has appeared in many shapes and forms.

Box midfields, hybrid pressing are on the menu today as we go through some of the tactical innovations and setups which have caught our eye.

Liam Tharme joins me to dissect the past year and cast an eye as to what maybe on the horizon for 2024.

Listen to find out more including;

- Roberto De Zerbi and the principles of play in his Brighton side.

- The many different iterations of the box midfield.

- Manchester City's evolution out of possession on their way to a historic treble.

- Hybrid pressing and why it is more important than ever?

- Girona, Nice, Leverkusen - the year of the underdog?

- What to keep an eye out for in 2024?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 05:49 - Brighton

05:50 - 12:46 - Box Midfield

12:47 - 16:51 - Clash of Styles

16:52 - 21:59 - Man City

22:00 - 28:56 - Hybrid Pressing

28:57 - 35:05 - Nice

35:06 - 37:11 - Leverkusen

37:12 - 44:07 - 2024

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

Meeting Frazer pitch side in Philadelphia last summer it was clear that he has been on a special journey with an upward trajectory evidenced further since which is showing no signs of slowing down.

Going through the ages and stages of development, Frazer has left no stone unturned in his quest to better himself as an individual. Luckily for us some of those lessons cascaded into coaching and today he joins us to reflect and share anecdotes regarding some of the key experiences from his journey to date.

From an all encompassing apprenticeship in Scotland to becoming the First Team Coach of a top European side it has been some ride for the Scotsman. Some special experiences at Right to Dream in Ghana and Philadelphia Union in the USA have only served to reinforce Frazer's faith in the long term development process.

Listen to find out more including;

- The importance of working every age group throughout your coaching journey.

- How soft skills may not get you in but certainly ensure you stay there?

- Why joining Right to Dream was the best decision he has ever made?

- The invisible benefits of residential academies?

- Knowing the person before developing the player.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 04:45 - Intro

04:46 - 07:54 - Ages & Stages

07:55 - 10:46 - Attributes

10:47 - 22:17 - Right to Dream

22:18 - 27:01 - Philadelphia Union

27:02 - 31:22 - Standard Liege

31:23 - 34:18 - Pathways

34:19 - 36:40 - Advice

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

"The future of football is going faster and faster, scanning becomes so important..."

For those who are curious, life often serves the best returns. What was a deficiency in Karl Aksum's playing career became a topic of fascination for the newly turned coach in his early days.Studying thousands of game situations Karl soon became inspired to put pen to paper on some groundbreaking research on visual perception in elite football.

Collaborating with clubs such as Ajax and Southampton, organisations such as UEFA and under the mentorship of Arsene Wenger Karl was soon able to translate into actionable tangible insights serving not only his coaching but the wider football community.

As someone who is not against departing from popular convention this is an insightful and inspiring listen on what the future of football could look like.

Listen to find out more including;

- The difference between looking and seeing when it comes to scanning?

- How visiting Arsenal and Arsene Wenger helped Karl iterate upon his studies in scanning ?

- What huge differences Karl noticed between the U17 and U19 age groups in his studies?

- The everyday impact on Karl’s training from his research.

- How colours and movements change how Karl trains?

- Why coaches need to fall out of love with rondos ?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 01:47 - Intro

01:48 - 07:24 - Scanning

07:25 - 12:49 - Training Methodology

12:50 - 20:18 - PhD

20:19 - 33:40 - Results

33:41 - 39:35 - Rondos

39:36 - 44:49 - Relationism

44:50 - 48:53 - Evolution

48:54 - 51:25 - Advice

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

"The football we want, the football we need."

This Tuesday December 12th and Wednesday December 13th World Football Summit (WFS) will run their annual Asian event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

WFS see themselves as "a community of leaders who share knowledge and ideas to drive the evolution of the industry both business and values". At the heart of this is co-founder Jan Alessie who alongside Marian Otamendi have ran events all over the world since 2016. What begun as a think tank is now one of the largest yearly football exhibitions, Nonetheless with fewer industries containing a bigger voice than football there is an acknowledgement that "with a strong voice comes a strong responsibility."

Listen to find out more including;

- The advantages of not coming from a football background.

- Internationalising WFS and the challenges which ensued.

- Why the demand for long form content in football outstrips the supply?

- WFS' growth strategy and how Jan foresees future events evolving.

- What can people look forward to in Jeddah?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 04:42 - Intro

04:43 - 07:39 - Origins

07:40 - 13:14 - Long Form Content

13:15 - 19:17 - Win-win Partnerships

19:18 - 23:21 - Jeddah

23:22 - 24:47 - Advice

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

"All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town". - Leonard Tolstoy

Today's guest is one of football's expert storytellers. Throughout time Guillem Balague has shared the stories of many of football's greats, expertly sharing insights and humanizing the person behind the performer.

So it was about time I figured to turn the tables on Guillem and ask him to share his story.What was originally meant to be a conversation about Lionel Messi turned into an intimate story about Guillem's move to Liverpool as a young student, the early days of Revista De La Liga, the emotions which sustain his love for the game and so much more.

The first of five big episodes recorded in Miami and one which is not to be missed.

Listen to find out more including;

- The inspiration behind taking over at Biggleswade? 

- The story as to how Revista De La Liga came to life?

- His relationship with David Beckham alongside unique insight into the early days at Real Madrid.

- How Guillem broke the news of Messi moving to Inter Miami.

- Behind the scenes of Argentina's World Cup Win and how Messi evolved as a leader in Qatar.

- Who does Messi turn to in his lowest moments?

- How breaking the Fernando Torres move to Chelsea changed Guillem's relationship with social media forever?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 09:00 - UK Early Days

09:01 - 14:07 - Emotion

14:08 - 19:48 - Biggleswade

19:49 - 30:48 - Revista De La Liga

30:49 - 36:42 - Beckham

36:43 - 1:01:30 - Messi

1:01:31 - 1:06:30 - Social Media

1:06:31 - 1:08:21 - Advice

Guillem's Book; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Messi-must-read-biography-champion-Balagues/dp/1399619136/ref=asc_df_1399619136/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=658789276035&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4549027146112015269&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006524&hvtargid=pla-2197207796556&psc=1&mcid=68ef9cc52c083a86941091bee9d2d85a&th=1&psc=1

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

"Football is conquering the world at an unstoppable speed and at the moment there is a dysfunction between the audience and practice in some countries." - Arsene Wenger.

The man who's role it is to minimize that gap is today's guest; Matthew Clement who is also the FIFA Training Centre Manager. From the conceptualisation of a new football language to overseeing the development of FIFA's new competency framework it has been an eventful time in charge for Matthew. A combination of the most ardent fan's passion and the curiosity and drive of a top coach, Matthew strikes me as the perfect fit to "oversee the strategic development of technology and content for FIFA's global education".

Reminiscing about the last male and female World Cup's in the last year, modern trends with respect to playing styles, unique age profiles and how youth development is being challenged to evolve, it is clearly an exciting time to be playing a part in the development of the World's game.

Listen to find out more including;

- Moving from the path of specialist to the generalist and why it proved to be the fitting apprenticeship?

- Taking the call from Arsene Wenger to join FIFA.

- What a healthy relationship looks like between technology and coaching?

- Where Arsene Wenger thinks the future of football is going to develop?

- Understanding how coaches can make better decisions and FIFA's plans to enhance the psychological development of coaches.

- Excitement internally over the impending Club World Cup and a potential matchup between Diniz' Fluminense and Guardiola's Man City.

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

"Football is not just about a result, it is a way of living."

On December 2nd Juan Roman Riquelme will run against Andres Ibarra for the Boca Juniors presidency. Today's guest Gustav Salvestrini is a Boca Socio and member also of Ibarra's party. Ibarra's campaign push centres around the need to commercialise Boca, modernise revenue structures and return Boca to one of the top 5 clubs in World Football.

Listen to find out more including;

- The cultural significance of Boca Juniors within the community.

- What distinguishes Argentine football from the rest of world football?

- How club elections are ran in Argentina?

- "Passion y Gestion" and plans to revolutionalise Boca from a new stadium to it's internationalisation.

- How the recent appointment of Javier Milei as President may potentially impact the Boca elections?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 02:17 - Intro

02:18 - 07:07 - Boca Juniors

07:08 - 11:19 - Elections

11:20 - 17:15 - "Passion y Gestion"

17:16 - 22:51 - Milei

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

“You want to be a builder...”

Mark Cartwright is the Sporting Director of Huddersfield Town. Mapping out his pathway from player to agent and now the current day, he joined us to distill some of his most pertinent learnings to date.

Navigating change, working across every facet of the organisation Mark has learned to adapt and evolve quickly across his time at Stoke City, USL and now Huddersfield. Learn as how to Mark built out his own pathway, how he continually humbles himself, principles for winning in the boardroom and how he envisages his field changing.

Listen to find out more including;

- How comparable are the skillsets of Agent & Sporting Director?

- Embarking upon a career path that did not even exist.

- "You don't have to be an expert in every field but you have to have knowledge."

- Modernising Stoke City's recruitment process and what "Premier League ready" looks like?

- Mark's process for identifying and navigating bottlenecks.

- Influencing thought process at the USL with 40+ clubs to manage.

- How will the modern Sporting Director have to evolve their skillset?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 02:54 - Intro

02:55 - 07:07 - Agent

07:08 - 10:20 - Gaining an edge

10:21 - 14:20 - Stoke City

14:21 - 19:36 - Evaluate & Adapt

19:37 - 32:28 - USL

32:29 - 35:31 - Huddersfield Town

35:32 - 38:00 - Evolution

38:01 - 40:39 - Advice

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

David Garcia is the founder of "It's Just a Sport".

One's coaching journey will pull and drag you a thousand different ways. In many a different direction and amid a war of attention what football stands out most to you? Furthermore how do you create a methodology and bring this to life? After a while searching down the path less trodden David Garcia has alchemised plenty of lessons inspiring thousands of coaches. In his current work as an "experience architect" David is passionate about how we as coaches can gather tools to be our best selves in front of players.

Via a period of studying positional play in Spain and a few other adventures in between we learn here about the moment where it all clicked for David along his coaching journey. Furthermore we unpack as how David came to be so passionate about coach development, the broader tangible impact a game model has, how technology and youth development can work hand in hand and so much more.

Listen to find out more including;

- Why he created "It's just a sport"?  

- Authenticity of self in light of the growing "homogenisation" of football.

- Why the new wave of rule breaking coaches will emerge from those who delve deeper into enhancing connections between players and game model?

- Play as a form of transcending oneself.

- Coach burnout and how to stave off it's threat?

- Integrating technology which enhances the game experience of young players.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:18 - Intro

03:19 - 06:23 - Coaching

06:24 - 10:38 - Community & Curiosity

10:39 - 17:36 - Positional Play

17:37 - 25:47 - Game Model

25:48 - 30:50 - Authenticity

30:51 - 37:07 - Character Development

37:08 - 43:07 - Coach Wellbeing

43:08 - 51:57 - Evolution

51:58 - 54:53 - Advice

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

It's Just a Sport; https://www.itsjustasport.com/

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: [email protected]

"Take care of the game and the business will take care of itself."I for one cannot wait to attend this year's SoccerEx in Miami. To preview this year's offering, CEO Patrick McCreanor joined the show. From it's debut event in Wembley right through to a landmark 50th convention in it's adopted city of Miami SoccerEx has cemented itself as the world's largest football business event. As over 600 clubs from all around the world embark on the Magic City we chart through the rise of one of football's most prestigious brands.Listen to find out more including;- The origins of SoccerEx.- What makes Miami the full package as a host city?- Post 2026 what does football in North America look and feel like?- The efforts taken to grow the brand and modernise it's existing offering.- Who is on the agenda for 2023? And what panels and discussions can we look forward to?Timestamps;00:00 - 01:32 - Intro01:33 - 03:43 - Origins03:44 - 05:20 - Miami05:21 - 10:28 - Legacy10:29 - 15:38 - Evolution15:39 - 18:41 - The Agenda18:42 - 19:42 - AdviceSoccerEx; https://soccerex.com/Patrick's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-mccreanor-24a16058/Get in touch;Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/lang=enYouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPodEmail: [email protected]