Episode #76 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Genius Sports, is with US Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker.

Matt has been in role for almost three years and is responsible for setting the Federation’s sporting vision and performance strategy across all 27 national teams.

2026 is going to be a huge year for both Matt and US Soccer, with the opening of a new national training centre in Georgia and hosting a home World Cup. 

Before joining US Soccer, the proud Welshman was Head of Coaching and Development for the English Football Association and Director of Football for Southampton. I spoke to him about his career, about his current role and about his ambitions for this summer and beyond.

We hope you enjoy this episode and if you do, please give us a follow via your preferred podcast provider. 

SHOW NOTES =>

01:57: Opening of the new National Training Centre.

06:48: Big year ahead, with a home men's World Cup in the summer.

08:30: Almost three years in post now - reflections so far.

13:07: Pay to play in United States/ what is being done to make football more accessible for all. 

16:18: Academy system in US compared to in England.

17:37: Composition of the senior squads - mostly based in Europe or at home?

19:13: Is this summer's World Cup key to growing the game in US?

20:52: What would constitute success for US at the World Cup?

23:10: How impressed have you been by Mauricio Pochettino? 

24:42: Was it hard to land Pochettino and Emma Hayes?

25:54: US Women winning the Olympics just 10 weeks after Hayes had been appointed

27:37: Do the two Head Coaches - and others within the Federation - provide challenge for you?

28:58: How Hayes keeps him "on his toes."

29:44: Will Pochettino get longer with his players than eg Thomas Tuchel in run-up to World Cup. 

31:18: Personal journey - starting his career at Cardiff City. Influence of Gavin Tait.

34:26: Joining Southampton as Academy Manager in 2006.

37:41: Pochettino developing young players at Southampton.

39:20: Joining Football Association as Head of Coaching and Player Development in 2013.

41:05: Three mentors: Dan Ashworth, Dave Reddin and Kirk Vallis.

44:04: Benefits of hiring people from outside football/ having diversity of ideas and experience.

46:10: Returning to Southampton as Director of Football in 2019.

50:49: Joining US Soccer as their second ever Sporting Director in 2023.

52:23: Confidence had been "rock bottom" after Southampton.

54:16: Difficulty of sticking to a long-term plan at a club.

56:02: One of first things he did was reappoint Gregg Berhalter as Men’s Head Coach through to the 2026 World Cup. A year later he was sacked after early exit in Copa America.

57:25: Ambitions for the future - return to grassroots coaching.

Our guest on Episode #75 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Teamworks, is Merijn Zeeman.

Merijn is the General Manager of AZ Alkmaar - a team that regularly compete at the top of the Eredivisie, despite having a budget that's dwarfed by their bigger rivals.

Prior to joining AZ, Merijn was the Sporting Director at Dutch cycling outfit Team Visma, helping them create history by winning all three Grand Tours in 2023.

In this episode, Merijn told us about the lessons he has taken from cycling into football, about how AZ have managed to outsmart the opposition and about their recent collaboration with Teamworks and Luke Bornn.

We hope you enjoy this episode and if you do, please follow us via your preferred podcast provider.

SHOW NOTES =>

02:18: Big clubs in Holland have a budget 4 to 5x that of AZ.

03:30: Started at AZ in December 2024. Came in from cycling, where he was Sporting Director. Spent 10 years there. 

05:08: How Team Visma were transformed from also-rans to winners of three Grand Tours in one season. Culture had been bad/ still had one of lowest budgets.

08:55: How they transformed the culture. "It is not logical to expect a group of people will work good together."

14:22: Bringing in influences from outside cycling and why.

17:51: Move into football with AZ. How it came about.

19:07: General Manager role - not one we hear about often in UK football. What does it involve?

21:54: What makes AZ special and even unique as a club? Average finish of 3.8 in the Eredivisie in last 10 years.

26:27: Was the transition from cycling to football difficult? Originally from Alkmaar, which helped. Relationship with Dave Brailsford and also Erik ten Hag, who invited him to watch training at Manchester United.

29:33: How club use data. Influence of Billy Beane and Luke Bornn. Team Visma used data to overcome one outstanding rival rider. Use of Teamworks Intelligence and how it has helped. "One of the ambitions is that in maybe five years we can win games because we understand the game better through data than any other team." 

35:06: Big thing has been making data more accessible to the coaches at the club. 

36:48: How AZ use Teamworks Intelligence. Big thing is merging event and tracking data. Previously the club had tried to develop their own model. 

39:23: Using objective data to counter biases in decision-making. "For a lot of coaches it is about opinions or visions, not about objective information. It is very hard to progress if you don't have objective information."

42:25: How Team Visma used data to usurp a dominant rival rider. Taking this lesson into football.

45:35: What are the club's ambitions for the future?

Our guest on Episode #74 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Teamworks, is Jamie Hamilton.

Jamie is a UEFA A Licence coach and has become one of the most important thinkers in football coaching, with his work on positionism and relationism.

This has struck a chord with coaches, players and fans, at all levels of the game, and is influencing a change of approach.

SHOW NOTES =>

01:50: Jamie's background - as a coach and writer.

04:06: How he first became interested in the concept of positionism. Influence of Pep Guardiola. Desire of positionists to turn chaos into order. Inspiration of Fernando Diniz at Fluminense. 

19:20: Guardiola's teams becoming more controlled and ordered in the last five years. Finding Premier League teams more formulaic and less inspirational than they could be with the players available.

20:29: Coaches putting players into slots in pre-designed systems, rather than evaluating who you have, as people and players, and making the best of them.

31:38: Head Coach as a "top-down controller", thus constraining freedom. Enzo Maresca has said that there IS freedom - by virtue of the player receiving the ball having time and not being under pressure. But this is a certain definition of freedom and very different to the definition that a relational coach like Carlo Ancelotti would use. He gives his players freedom to move where they please too.

35:30: Defences are getting more attuned in how to combat positional systems. Becoming more physical, utilising man-to-man marking more. The inherent predictability of positional systems is being countered. So where now? This is where relational football can come in. 

42:12: Coaches are worried about what happens when they lose the ball if they don't use positional systems. This isn't necessarily true though.

46:55: Teams have started using man-to-man pressing systems to combat positionalism, eg Bournemouth. This has led to teams hitting long balls into space with a classic number 9 chasing. Set pieces have also come more and more to the fore. There have been some creative solutions, eg Kane dropping very deep for Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund, but the most interesting solutions have tended to be outside the Premier League.

53:50: Bayern Assistant Rene Maric has said (on this podcast) that "tactics don't exist." Need for players to think in the moment.

56:52: Definition of relationism in layman's language. Positionism is zonal, inspired by handball. Relationism is non-zonal with exponents like Diniz, Ancelotti and Scaloni.

1:05:32: Need to let players play and not over coach. Good example of Messi and Suarez. Ability to let go and to be surprised. 

Our guest on Episode #73 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Teamworks, is Rob Mackenzie.

Rob is the Head of Scouting at Tottenham and has worked for the Europa League champions for two years. 

Prior to Spurs, he was Head of Recruitment at Aston Villa and at Leuven in Belgium, and Head of Technical Scouting at Leicester City, helping to lay the foundations for their Premier League triumph. 

In this episode Rob gave us the inside track on Tottenham's scouting operation and gave insights into his two decades in the game. 

SHOW NOTES =>

02:40: What does Head of Scouting role involve? Who is in your team?

10:17: Squad building is a continual process. Importance of long-term strategy and alignment. Working to a game model.

18:47: How involved is Thomas Frank in the scouting process?

22:58: Was there a change in strategy in terms of the players you signed this summer?

26:25: How do you scout character? Example of Mohammed Kudus.

32:34: How important is athleticism and physicality when scouting/ selecting players? 

37:34: How important is robustness/ availability.

42:50: Does a player's financials form part of the scouting picture (ie their wages/ what the potential transfer fee might be)?

46:06: Getting into football with Leicester City/ how Riyad Mahrez was 'discovered'.

58:07: Why it's getting harder to discover hidden gems. Example of signing Jhon Duran at Aston Villa.

1:01:04: Signing Lucas Bergvall, a "true generational talent."

Our guest on Episode #72 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Teamworks, is Manchester United and England goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

Tom is playing his 21st season as a professional and is a member of United's new five-man leadership team, along with Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mozraoui.

In this Episode he told us what it's like behind the scenes at United, about establishing himself at Burnley under Sean Dyche, about his experiences with England and his ambitions for the future.

SHOW NOTES =>

01:30: What the non-internationals do during the international break.

02:28: Thoughts on new Carrington training ground. 

03:16: Can facilities be too nice and spoil players?

04:19: Being part of the new leadership team at the club.

05:11: Being inspired - but not weighed down - by the past.

06:35: What's the culture like behind the scenes?

07:49: Staying focused on the long-term plan.

08:54: First impressions of new goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

09:23: Does he coach the other keepers?

09:49: Joining United as an 11-year-old.

11:43: Influence of Sir Alex Ferguson.

12:37: His six loans as a United player. Positive experience and 'real' football.

15:21: Returning to United in 2021. Has it gone as planned?

18:12: Finding a home at Burnley (2013 to 2019). Playing under Sean Dyche. Defensive detail and organisation. Goalkeeper factory under Billy Mercer and Craig Mawson. 

23:36: Evolution of role of the goalkeeper. 

26:40: Which goalkeepers do you admire?

27:45: How long will you carry on playing?

28:37: What do you plan to do when you finish playing?

30:35: Going to the Euros with England as a training goalkeeper.

32:45: Thoughts on the Sporting Director role. Have done the UEFA Football Management Course.

34:01: Sean Dyche or Sir Alex Ferguson as a hybrid manager-Sporting Director. 

35:06: Hopes for the rest of the season with Man Utd. Optimistic?

35:49: Looking ahead to appearance at TGG Live 2025 at Old Trafford on October 8th. 

Our guest on Episode #71 of the TGG Podcast is Nick Montgomery, Ange Postecoglou's Assistant at Nottingham Forest.

The duo worked together at Tottenham last season, helping the North London side win their first piece of silverware in 17 years, when they claimed the Europa League.

Montgomery has worked in football for almost three decades, as a player, coach and manager, and in England, Scotland and Australia.

This episode was recorded a day before Montgomery joined Forest, but he talked about what it’s like to work with Postecoglou, about their struggles and triumphs last season and why some of the narratives about the Australian are incorrect. 

SHOW NOTES =>

01:50: What he's been doing since Spurs sacking

04:44: Winning the Europa League

06:26: Why so many injuries?

09:30: Injuries gave young players an opportunity. What is was like to work with Archie Gray & Lucas Bergval. Why it's a younger game now.

14:54: Set pieces - Tottenham didn't neglect them. We're much better at them than people gave them credit for. Whether you need a dedicated Set Piece Coach or not.

24:41: Narrative about Postecoglou's style of play. Why you need a big squad to rotate. Difference between principles, philosophies and tactics.

30:16: Career as a player. Working with Neil Warnock. How he treated everyone differently. Game was more aggressive and macho when he was playing. Doesn't know why apprentices cleaning the pros' boots has gone out of the game. Dangers of social media. Example of Brennan Johnson coming off Instagram.

39:24: Moving to Australia as a player with Central Coast Mariners. Player to Academy Manager to Head Coach. Winning first league title for the club. 

41:37: How he got to know Postecoglou. 

43:27: Merits of taking your own staff to a club v having a new staff, as Postecoglou has. 

45:08: Joining Hibernian as Manager. Why tenure only lasted one season. 

49:13: Can Postecoglou achieve big things as a Manager in future?

51:47: When Postecoglou said he always wins things in his second season. How was that for the players and staff?

55:14: Ambitions for rest of his career. 

Our guest on Episode #70 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Teamworks Intelligence, is Simon Wilson.

Simon is the Chief Executive of Stockport County and one of the most experienced football leaders in the UK.

At Southampton, he was only the second full-time performance analyst in the country, before joining Manchester City in 2006.

His time there coincided with the new ownership of Sheikh Mansour and a period of complete transformation. Simon played a key role in this, first as Head of Analysis, then Strategy and Performance Manager and finally as Director of Football Services for the entire City Football Group.

In this latter role, Simon designed, built and delivered the club's global multi-club operation. 

After a short spell as Chief Football Officer at Sunderland, Simon joined Stockport County in 2020 and has masterminded their climb through the divisions. In February 2025, he was promoted from Director of Football to Chief Executive.

In this Episode, Simon told us about his career journey, about his pivotal work at Manchester City and about Stockport's seven-year plan.

SHOW NOTES =>

02:27: Reflections on Stockport's summer transfer window.

03:21: Getting over last season's play-off semi-final defeat.

05:06: The club's seven-year plan.

07:45: What it's like working with Stockport owner Mark Stott.

08:53: How does the new squad compare to last season's?

09:45: The strength of this season's League One.

11:39: Simon discusses his time working at Sunderland.

16:24: How did Simon first get involved in football?

19:51: His first jobs with clubs - first at Preston and then Southampton.

21:19: Being only the second full-time Performance Analyst in the UK.

22:14: Working with Sir Clive Woodward.

23:25: Joining Manchester City.

25:27: Sheikh Mansour taking over at City.

29:08: Simon Pearce and Brian Marwood's involvement at the Etihad.

31:35: Becoming Director of Football Services for the City Football Group.

36:01: The difference between an entertainment club and a talent club in the multi-club model.

36:57: Are smaller clubs in a multi-club model servicing the bigger clubs?

39:44: Players moving between clubs in the group.

40:19: Economies of scale and sharing of data between the group's clubs.

41:47: Why Simon left Manchester City.

43:38: The current state of the game.

45:54: Moving from Sporting Director to CEO - how it's going.

47:13: What does the future hold for Simon?

Our guest on Episode #69 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Teamworks, is Luke Bornn. 

Luke has been one of the leading figures in sports analytics for more than a decade. After working as an Assistant Professor at Harvard University, he became Head of Analytics at Roma and then with the Sacramento Kings.

In 2020 he co-founded Zelus Analytics, a sports intelligence platform providing data-driven insights to top teams, including Toulouse & AZ Alkmaar.

In 2024, Zelus was acquired by Teamworks and became Teamworks Intelligence. Luke spoke about what he's been doing since we last spoke on the pod in 2021, about his groundbreaking work with Toulouse and about the future of sports analytics.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode and if you do, please give us a follow via your preferred podcast provider.

SHOW NOTES =>

02:21: What's been happening since you were last on the pod (in July 2021?)

04:36: What was your day-to-day involvement with Toulouse FC? What was the influence of data? Focusing on what matters.

11:31: Why data can help you to make better decisions. Why it's difficult to make long-term assessments in football.

15:31: Why English football overstates the importance of the Head Coach and why it's difficult to identify the coaches who genuinely make a difference.

18:55: Why Toulouse chose NOT to have a defined style of play. Benefits of 'zagging when others are zigging.'

24:50: Involvement with AZ Alkmaar. Why they are the best-run club in Europe over the course of the last decade. How they 'placed strategic bets' and won. 'Making the main thing the main thing.' How 10 to 15 decisions a season drive 95% of the value.

31:06: Role of Billy Beane, star of Moneyball and investor in Zelus Analytics.

31:52: Sale of Zelus to Teamworks and how they can add value for clubs.

36:25: Why clubs need to decide what they want from analytics. Should ultimately be about making better decisions. Importance of being aligned and why performance and analytics shouldn't be separate departments. 'If you're not improving decisions, you're not doing anything.' 

40:04: Teamworks Intelligence and what it can bring to clubs/ federations.

42:30: Future of analytics - and for Luke personally. 

Tracking data has transformed the way clubs analyse the game.

This cornucopia of information is shaped and analysed by data scientists to create valuable insights for coaches, managers, Heads of Recruitment, Sporting Directors and more.

But how much do you know about tracking data? Ie what it is, how it's collected, how it's analysed (and by whom), and how different departments and personnel use it?

This episode of the TGG Podcast sets out to answer those questions and more. 

Our guests are:

Michael D'Auria: The Executive Vice President of Partnerships, Sports and Technology for Genius Sports, the official tracking data provider for the Premier League. Michael has been at the cutting edge of tracking data provision for more than a decade, having previously been Chief Commercial Officer for Second Spectrum.

Dominic Jordan: Chief Data Officer for Twelve Football and the former Director of Data at Manchester United. Dominic 'builds great teams to help great companies become leaner, greener and better equipped to succeed in a data-rich world.'

SHOW NOTES =>

MICHAEL D’AURIA

02:03: Michael defines tracking data.

06:00: Relaying the data to teams and users after matches.

07:17: How tracking data revolutionised data science.

08:20: The origins of tracking data.

08:50: The first time football started to use it.

09:23: Capturing the data at Premier League & Championship matches.

11:56: Positioning tracking cameras inside a stadium.

12:40: Methods of passing data to coaching staff during a match.

14:05: A club data scientist’s job on a matchday.

14:45: The software used to present the live data.

16:00: What managers and coaches see on their tablets during a game.

18:53: Liverpool’s use of data over the years.

19:48: Tracking data’s ways of assessing a player.

22:34: Hopes for sharing data between worldwide leagues.

24:10: Mesh tracking explained.

30:05: Liverpool’s views on early tracking data.

31:24: The future of data science staff at football clubs.

32:32: Does use of data lead to success?

DOMINIC JORDAN

37:13: The difference between event data and tracking data.

38:58: Rise in the number of data staff at clubs.

42:04: Different kinds of tracking.

44:55: How clubs use tracking data.

49:02: Getting tracking data to clubs during a match.

51:07: Tracking data workflows.

56:49: Managers’ views on the use of data.

Our guest on Episode #67 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Genius Sports, is Andrew Nestor.

Andrew is the Sporting Director of West Brom, working under new owner Shilen Patel. When the duo arrived in February 2024, the club's finances were in a "perilous" position.

Since then, they have focused on rejuvenating the squad, while being mindful of profit and sustainability rules. 

Speaking the morning after West Brom's last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Bristol City, Nestor told us about his role as Sporting Director, his strategy at the Championship club and how he cut his teeth in football as owner, CEO and General Manager of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the US.

SHOW NOTES =>

03:35: Andrew's thoughts on Baggies manager Tony Mowbray and the squad.

04:35: How he has found his role so far.

06:02: First impressions of West Brom on arriving at the club.

07:23: The Baggies were known as being innovative before Andrew's arrival - was that the situation he found?

08:16: How he worked on changing the squad, which was the oldest, based on minutes played, and fifth highest-paid in Championship.

10:00: The part the club's Academy plays in Andrew's strategy and extending the stays of younger players.

11:40: His thoughts on West Brom's style of play and how to adapt it.

15:16: Bringing in a data team to support the club's scouting process.

18:40: Planning for life in either the Championship or the Premier League at the same time.

19:25: Why Tony Mowbray was appointed as head coach.

23:57: Keeping a long-term vision for the club despite external pressure.

25:08: Carlos Corberan's departure.

26:52: Andrew's first off-the-field job in football with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

29:05: His career outside the game before that.

29:41: Success at Tampa Bay and working with Paul Mariner and Paul Dalglish.

31:39: Meeting WBA chairman Shilen Patel for the first time.

32:23: Leaving Tampa Bay to go to Bologna.

34:44: How Andrew and Shilen ended up joining West Brom.

35:42: Shilen's involvement with the club.

36:32: Andrew's first experience of being a Sporting Director.

37:33: His wide remit at The Hawthorns.

39:06: Working closely with Ian Pearce.

39:54: The club's financial situation, largely affected by the loss of parachute payments.

41:52: What are the Baggies' short and medium-term prospects?

43:56: Reflections on the January transfer window.

46:07: Where Andrew bases himself.