Training Ground Guru Podcast

Our guest on Episode #66 of the TGG Podcast is Paul Fernie.

Paul is Sporting Director of SV Darmstadt in Germany. He grew up in Hull and worked in analysis roles in England before the opportunity came to join Wiesbaden.

He progressed from Head of Recruitment to Sporting Director and led the club from promotion to Bundesliga 2.

Paul told us how the Sporting Director role works in Germany, what it was like to work under Graham Potter and Paul Mitchell and why more English staff should give it a go abroad. 

Our guest on Episode #65 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Danny Röhl.

Danny led Sheffield Wednesday to one of English football's great escapes last season. When he took over in October, the club were seven points adrift of safety with no wins in 10. By the end of the campaign they were three points clear of relegation.

In this episode Danny told us how that remarkable metamorphosis was achieved and charted his meteoric rise as a coach, from RB Leipzig to Southampton, Bayern Munich, Germany and now Sheffield Wednesday, as a manager in his own right. 

SHOW NOTES =>

02:11: Currently in Leipzig. Family have stayed there while he worked in Sheffield. About to work for ITV as a pundit at the Euros.

05:04: Now looking ahead to next season. Had offers from other clubs but journey not finished at Sheffield Wednesday. Need to improve the club and the squad.

08:15: Reflections on his first season in charge. Wanted an increase in intensity, while being mindful of injuries. Was always positive and believed in the players - something he learnt from Hansi Flick.

13:15: How did he win the players over so quickly? Laid out a plan for how they could be successful: pressing, counterpressing and improving ball possession. Developing players off the pitch as well as on it. "A good coach can change a game; a great coach can change a life."

19:07: Having different personalities and qualities in coaching team. He sets the plan and strategy for the week, but they get ownership of their area.

21:34: Influence of RB Leipzig on his playing philosophy. How this developed during his career. "I am not a manager to cross my fingers and wait." 

27:20: Has principles and habits, but decision-making is down to the players and he builds this into his training sessions. Risk and reward in the final third.

29:17: Why did you take the Sheffield Wednesday job? Potential.

32:03: Start of coaching career at RB Leipzig as a coach-analyst. Why this dual role is important. "You cannot be just a tactical engineer on the laptop."

38:51: 6-0 defeat by Ipswich in March - took the decision to be proactive and take risks. 

40:16: Ambitions for the future. 

42:12: Is the owner fully behind the project? "We dream of the Premier League."

Our guest on Episode #64 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Natasha Patel.

Natasha is Assistant Academy Director at Southampton and one of the most experienced women working in men's professional football. 

From 2011 to 2019 she was Academy Analyst and then Head of Performance Analysis at Southampton, before leaving to become Head of Performance Analysis at New York Red Bulls for the next three-and-a-half years.

Here is Part 2 of our interview with Bayern Munich Head of Coach Development and Playing Philosophy Rene Maric. In this second half, Rene told us how he kickstarted his career with the tactics blog Spielverlagerung, about coaching Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund, and about his brief spell as assistant at Leeds United. 

SHOW NOTES =>

01:44: Reaction to announcement last night (February 21st) that Thomas Tuchel would be stepping down as Bayern Munich manager at the end of the season.

03:44: Start of his relationship with Tuchel, via his Spielverlagerung blog.

11:11: Meeting Marco Rose - a pivotal relationship in his career. Approach to social media and content creation nowadays.

18:24: Experiencing the Red Bull philosophy at RB Salzburg.

24:50: Onto first-team staff at Salzburg at 23; then onto Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund. 

27:15: Being one of the 'laptop coaches'. "It would be pretty stupid nowadays if you don't use a laptop."

28:03: Working with stars like Dominik Szoboszlai, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland.

36:08: Joining Leeds United in July 2022.

38:06: Jesse Marsch seemed a great fit after Marcelo Bielsa. Why didn't it work out?

43:36: Ambitions for the future?

45:50: 'Tactics don't exist, you have decisions of players.'

50:03: What type of Head Coach would you be?

Our guest on Episode #62 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is René Marić.

The Austrian is one of the most interesting and highly-rated young coaches in European football. He made his name by founding the cult tactics blog Spielverlagerung and went on to become Assistant Manager at Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and Leeds United.

Now he's Head of Coach Development and Playing Philosophy at Bayern Munich. In Part 1 of this Episode, René told us about the 'Bayern Munich way', why the Academy is fundamental to the club, the importance of 'game insight', the relative age effect, raising the Academy entry age to 11 and liaising with manager Thomas Tuchel.

SHOW NOTES =>

02:41: Role as Head of Coaching and Playing Philosophy explained. The 'Red thread' that runs through the club.

08:36: What is the 'Bayern Munich Way' of playing?

11:55: Now the Head Coach of the U19s and Youth League team too! How has that been?

16:25: How important is the Academy at 'FC Hollywood'? 

19:42: 'Game insight' and why legend Thomas Müller and young pretender Alex Pavlović are great exponents of this.

28:38: Relative age effect and why Real Sociedad are outliers in this area.

33:28: Raising age of entry to the Academy to 11 years old.

37:00: Transition to the first team and liaising with Thomas Tuchel.

39:05: Structure of the Academy/ different age groups.

Our guest on Episode #61 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Radhi Jaidi.

Radhi is a true legend of Tunisian football, having played 105 times for his country and won every trophy there was to win at club level there.

Fans in England will know him best from his time at Bolton Wanderers, where he played under Sam Allardyce and helped them qualify for Europe. 

Since 2018 he's been a coach, working with Southampton U23s, Hartford Athletic in the USL, Esperance in Tunisia and now Cercle Brugge in Belgium, where he's assistant.

Radhi told me about his tough upbringing, his best memories from Bolton and his experiences and ambitions as a coach. 

SHOW NOTES =>

02:05: Working as assistant at Cercle Brugge since 2023. Second spell at the club.

04:30: Same ownership as Monaco. How this impacts what happens at Cercle. Recently had a training camp in Monaco.

07:48: Why he chose Cercle. Background in youth development. Balance between development and results.

13:17: Importance of relationship building.

15:26: Duties as assistant manager. Main duties are as defensive coach, especially with the centre-backs.

16:45: Growing up in Tunisia. 

21:26: Rare in having gone direct from Africa to the Premier League.

34:09: 15 different nationalities at one stage but gelled together. Importance of Tuesday team meal and being fined for missing his first one!

43:00: Childhood. Father died when Radhi was 11 and he had to grow up fast. 

44:43: Are young players too pampered today?

50:30: Differences between the generations. Generation of young players have a big problem with distraction. Malcolm Frame, psychologist at Southampton, had a good mnemonic, the 4 As: Accept, Assess, Adapt, Apply. Generations and environment might change, but core values shouldn't.

55:31: Ambitions for the future - "the ultimate is to succeed with a European team as a Head Coach. I still have the ambition, the desire, the energy, the obsession to make it." Unconscious bias. "The day I get the opportunity I am going to explode."

57:53: Importance of his Muslim faith. 

Our guest on Episode #60 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Reading manager Ruben Selles.

The highly-rated coach gained plaudits for the way he managed Southampton for the second half of last season and there were high hopes when he took over at Reading in the summer.

However, an ongoing financial crisis has plunged the very future of the club into doubt.

In this episode the Spaniard gives us insights into the challenges he and his players have faced, while also looking back on his career to date and ahead to the future. 

SHOW NOTES =>

02:07: Challenges as Reading manager. Pre-season with nine pro players.

06:48: Transfer embargo in January window. Will fight to hold onto players.

09:13: Foregoing wages in November along with Director of Football Mark Bowen. "As Simon Sinek says, leaders eat last."

10:41: Having impressive infrastructure at the club, in terms of Academy and new training ground. "Yes, but you can have an amazing house and very cheap furniture. The real thing is to build a culture inside the club and make people feel safe."

12:05: What is situation regarding ownership and potential sale?

12:58: Has the project been what was promised to you?

13:30: Started coaching at 16 and gained Pro Licence at 25. Was it an advantage starting so young? 

20:37: Travelled around the world as a young Spanish coach: to Greece, Russia, Azerbaijan, Denmark and England. 

25:09: Move to Southampton. Had been tracked by Rasmus Ankersen. Mentored by Matt Crocker. Difficult being parachuted in as an assistant rather than the Head Coach choosing you himself?

30:02: Innovative club: individual coaching/ specialist coaches/ Playbook etc. How did it work?

32:44: Taking over as Southampton Head Coach when Ralph Hassenhuttl and then Nathan Jones were sacked. 

37:48: Management is all-consuming. Impact on family. Using psychologist support for both himself and his family. "The kids were suffering."

45:53: Could you have stayed at Southampton after Russell Martin came in as manager?

48:59: Did you get offers from other clubs after leaving Southampton? And why did Reading appeal to you?

50:25: What is your playing philosophy? 

54:47: Proving he is a development manager. 

56:08: Working with young talented players. Example of Rasmus Hojlund, now Manchester United, at Copenhagen. Convinced he will become world-class. A "mentality monster."

1:00:25: Ambitions: for the rest of the season and remainder of career. 

Our guest on Episode #59 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Chris O'Loughlin.

Chris is the Sporting Director of Union Saint Gilloise, one of the most innovative and interesting clubs in the whole of Europe.

Despite having a stadium with a capacity of just 9,400, and a budget that’s dwarfed by the biggest clubs, they are top of the table in Belgium.     

Chris told us how the club scout for character and how they use data to punch way above their weight. 

SHOW NOTES=>

02:13: Background. Born in Limerick, move to Cape Town at a young age. B Licence at Larne in Northern Ireland. Break with Bibey Mutombo at Orlando Pirates.

09:25: Move to Belgium with Yannick Ferrera at Sint-Truiden.

12:09: Becoming a Sporting Director with Union Saint-Gilloise. Strong believer in culture. In his experience, clubs hadn't included considerations about culture in their decision-making, especially in terms of squad building.

14:48: History of USG. Potential in Brussels. Stadium is romantic/ 104 years old. Budget is low and has been growing step by step. About building a foundation and strategy.

17:07: Never met or had a conversation with Tony Bloom. Alex Muzio is the day to day President and now majority shareholder. Reasons why the duo chose to buy the club.

21:48: First role was to create a behavioural culture and performance culture for the club. Establishing five key values for the club. Recruiting to those values. Human being qualities they look for. People can get confused about what humility actually means. 

30:40: Example of Victor Boniface. Went deep into his social media and found how he had helped a mother in Nigeria. 'We don’t need an angel, we just need a person with a good soul.'

32:33: Creating a 'common denominator' among the players/ having something common in their spirit and soul, which creates cohesion and togetherness. Richie Barker at Charlton told him about creating a common goal. Looking for hungry, humble players.

35:47: Analytics used as a filtering system. Look for undervalued, underrated players. Don't recruit for a specific style of play.

43:54: Ambitions for the club - new stadium, focus on Academy, challenging for trophies in Belgium and qualifying for Europe regularly. 

Our guest on Episode #58 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Everton Director of Football Kevin Thelwell.

Kevin tells Simon Austin about his role at the club, their four strategic pillars, his relationship with manager Sean Dyche and much more. 

SHOW NOTES=>

01:50: Team going in the right direction.

02:44: Sporting Director role explained.

03:30: Why did Everton choose you?

04:20: Are your KPIs different to those of Marcel Brands? Huge spending to balancing the books.

07:37: Ambitions now. "Everyone wants to get Everton back to where we believe it belongs". Previously an inverse relationship between spending and improving team performance.

10:00: How did you put together the strategy? Staff working groups.

12:09: Four strategic pillars: who we are; how we play; how we support; staff development.

13:34: Learnings from previous role as Head of Sport at New York Red Bulls. "The clearer you are, the better you are and the easier it is."

14:27: Style of play. "They want to see this dogs of war piece but they also want to see this school of science bit they had in the 60s and 70s."

21:30: Is Sean Dyche the right person to develop this style? "If you look at Sean at Burnley, Sean at Everton, he has already evolved. The data tells us that, the naked eye tells us that." xG difference as the most important metric in identifying longer-term form of the team.

25:48: Style of play running through the teams, from seniors to Academy.

27:06: Was balance right between winning trophies at Academy level and developing players? Importance of loans. Example of Jarrad Branthwaite.

34:49: Recruitment - collaboration between Director of Football and manager.

38:25: Influence of the Data Insights department. Charlie Reeves. Dyche engaged. Review of team's progress using data every six to eight weeks.

42:38: Wider club challenges. Potential of 12-point deduction/ uncertainty over ownership.

Our guest on Episode #57 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Jes Buster Madsen.

Jes is Head of Research and Development for FC Copenhagen in Denmark and is leading the way in the application of cognitive neuroscience in football. 

SHOW NOTES=>

01:31: What role of Head of Research & Development involves. How he got the role. 

09:10: How he persuaded Academy Director Sune Smith-Nielsen to give him the job at FC Copenhagen.

12:37: Importance of application of ecological psychology in football. 

15:50: What does perception actually mean and what does it involve?

21:12: Importance of visual cues. "The biggest sensory system in the brain - and the one that takes up the most space by far - is the visual system."

23:27: Working memory: the ability to remember information temporarily. Pattern recognition. Implications in scanning.

26:32: Has your work impacted/ changed coaching practice at FC Copenhagen? Has it influenced and improved the players?

29:02: What is 'game intelligence'?

34:06: How you can tell a player's position from their brain scan. Importance of simplicity: "Neuroscience is complex and when something is complex, people try to find the most complex solution. I think the other way round - when something is complex, we should find the most simple solution and work from there."

37:07: Everything in the brain can be trained. The brain is neuroplastic and can change.

38:28: Future of neuroscience in football.