Training Ground Guru Podcast

Chris O’Loughlin: Upsetting the odds with Union Saint-Gilloise

Our guest on Episode #58 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. 
 

Kevin Thelwell: Building something to believe in at Everton

Our guest on Episode #57 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.

Jes Buster Madsen: Neuroscience and developing decision making

Our guest on Episode #56 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.

Mark Leyland: Evolving the role of the analyst

Our guest on Episode #55 of the TGG Podcast is Mark Leyland. 
Mark is one of the foremost analysts in this country and has become much more than that. He started his career in the Academy at Everton and went on to work for Burnley, Liverpool and Newcastle.
Mark is one of the few backroom staff to be name-checked by managers. Eddie Howe described him as 'integral' and said 'we love him to bits,' while Jurgen Klopp said he had played 'a big part' in Liverpool's success.
Mark was a Post-Match Analyst for Liverpool, evolved into a Coach-Analyst at Newcastle and is now Head of Coaching Methodology for City Football Group. 
Simon Austin spoke to Mark in front of a live audience at Hudl's UK Football Conference at Loughborough University.
SHOW NOTES=>
02:14: Starting to work in football. Analysing games on VHS with Dave Raven. Intern with Everton. Early lessons.
09:45: Delivering feedback in a constructive way. Importance of relationships. Working with young players.
11:53: Elite players employing their own analysts. 
13:17: First team football with Burnley. Working with Eddie Howe and then Sean Dyche. Help of Harrison Kingston.
18:08: Working at Liverpool. Evolution of the analyst role. Elite development group and focus on individual development.
20:46: Divock Origi embracing analysis. Has his own analyst and Wyscout account.
22:05: Working in tandem with the data science department at Liverpool. Players more used to working with data now.
25:41: Working closely with the coaches at Liverpool/ spending more time on the training pitch.
28:54: Even including the ball boys in analysis at Liverpool, leading to famous winner against Barcelona in the Champions League semis.
30:31: Joining Newcastle/ how the Coach-Analyst title came about. Will it become more prevalent in future?
37:16: Switch to City Football Group/ how it came about/ pressures of being in a first-team environment and difficulty of getting a work-life balance in football.
42:09: What does Head of Coaching Methodology involve?
44:38: Personal ambitions for the future?

Sarah Rudd: Arsenal’s analytics pioneer

Our guest on Episode #54 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Sarah Rudd.
For almost a decade, Sarah was Vice President of Analytics for StatDNA and Arsenal, making her one of the most senior women in the whole of European football. She's now founded her own analytics company, SRC FTBL, along with husband Ravi Ramineni.
In this episode, Sarah told us about her work at Arsenal, her wider career and her thoughts on the future of analytics.
SHOW NOTES=>
01:40: New venture SRC FTBL along with husband Ravi Ramineni
06:25: Why it can be difficult to sustain a cutting-edge analytics department. Secrecy in the industry/ lack of sharing.
08:38: Arsenal acquisition of StatDNA in 2012. Arsene Wenger questioning but supportive. Scope of work increases post-acquisition. Work in performance sphere with Mikhail Zhilkin. Getting trust and buy-in.
17:36: Coaching change with Unai Emery. Getting the 'dosage' right. Liaison with coaching staff. 
22:06: Data v human eyes in scouting/ recruitment at Arsenal. Ben Knapper and Mark Curtis moving into scouting/ recruitment roles. 
25:16: Leaving StatDNA and Arsenal. 
26:34: Did you feel like a pioneer for women in football? Were there ever any issues because of being a woman in a male-dominated world?
32:28: Which are the top clubs for data science in the Premier League? Importance of proprietary data.
33:50: How can clubs better leverage tracking data?
36:15: Data scientists getting a break in football through Twitter. Sarah's break into football/ advice from Mike Forde. Gap between social media and club analytics.
43:15: Future of analytics and artificial intelligence/ ChatGPT.
 

Pep Lijnders: Liverpool’s intensity identity (Part 2)

Episode #53 of the TGG Podcast is with Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders.
The Dutchman sat down with Simon Austin at the AXA Training Centre for an exclusive interview. In Part 2, he looked back on his career, gave insights into his time with Liverpool and reflected on his special relationship with Jurgen Klopp.
This has been an interview we've wanted to do for a long time, so we hope you enjoy it!
SHOW NOTES=>
01:37: Starting in football and coaching in Holland.
09:11: Working with Vitor Frade at Porto.
10:15: Importance of youth at Porto. Transferring idea of the talent group to Liverpool. Academy must match standard of scouting and recruitment. Need for a unified approach and for first-team manager to be aware of club's young players. Need for an 'inside pathway'.
15:24: Move to Liverpool in 2014. Doing Pro Licence in Wales.
20:00: Progression of coaches/ analysts as well as players at Liverpool.
21:39: Moving from Academy to first team at Liverpool. Why #6 and #10 are the most 'stressed' positions.
26:17: Strong relationship with Mike Gordon/ how he offered to pay for his father's hospital treatment.
27:52: First meeting with Jurgen Klopp. Returning after season as manager of Nijmegen in Holland. Told "I feel we can conquer the world together."
33:50: Why he and Klopp work so well together.
35:08: Highlights of his time at Liverpool. So proud of Trent Alexander-Arnold. What makes Klopp so special.
 

Pep Lijnders: Liverpool’s intensity identity (Part 1)

Episode #53 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is with Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders.
The Dutchman sat down with Simon Austin at the AXA Training Centre for an exclusive interview. In Part 1, he reflected on pre-season, looked ahead to the 2023/24 campaign and gave insights into his coaching methods.
This has been an interview we've wanted to do for a long time, so we hope you enjoy it!
SHOW NOTES=>
02:03: Pre-season preparations and reflections. Camp in Germany. 
05:37: Training exercises with different colour bibs.
10:10: Counter pressing and why it’s so important for Liverpool. Makes the difference between winning and losing. "As Jurgen says, counter pressing isn't a proposal, it's a law. That's what makes us us."
12:41: Background to Trent Alexander-Arnold moving inside to midfield last season. “The big big change last year was the moment when we found balance, when we put Trent to the inside and Cody (Gakpo) went to the 9, to become the extra player. The team became compact again, together again.”
16:08: Roberto Firmino “was the one who connected everything, who made us us, who was like the soul of the team. He was the one who made even not a good build-up a good one. That’s how Sadio and Mo could be Sadio and Mo.”
19:13: “The difference between a good and top team is the quality of your top three, your piano players.”
20:30: Did team lack intensity last season? 
22:53: New season without James Milner and Jordan Henderson. By the boot room there is a clock that Milner used to police. Now Linjnders has put up a sign: “Standards are made by the ones who need to live them.”
27:12: Use of rondos. Competition and street football. Identity game. “You need to earn the right to attack more, by defending top. That principle is present in each exercise. The 30% we don’t have the ball, that’s where we should be different from all other teams in the league.”
30:32: Building street pitch at the training ground to train offensive aggression. ‘Melwood Arena.’ “You need to create exercises where they feel that the better you attack the less you have to defend and when you defend really well you can attack much more.”
35:17: Creating a set piece pitch. 
37:03: Football is about honour. You want to be the best you can be. How identity game builds on this. “I try to play with the honour of the players a lot… they train with a knife between their teeth.”

Ian Evatt & Chris Markham: Bringing Bolton back

Episode #52 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Hudl, features two guests: Bolton manager Ian Evatt and his Sporting Director Chris Markham.
Simon Austin sat down with the duo at the club’s Toughsheet Community Stadium ahead of the new season.
It’s rare to get a manager and Sporting Director speaking together like this, so we hope you enjoy it…  
SHOW NOTES =>
01:53: Having a blank canvas when they arrived at the club.
05:35: Setting a game identity, which then helps with recruitment.
09:58: Establishing this identity at Barrow, where it became known as futbol club de Barrow!
13:45: Pressing strategy and splitting the pitch into five zones.
16:00: Scouting process. Allying data and video. Chris being a data translator.
21:50: Ian seeing a big part of his role as a manager being to develop players. 'Re-recruiting players every day.' Looking for hungry players.
24:02: Scouting for character/ psychology. Young players having a problem dealing with adversity/ not being resilient. Mental health and wellbeing.
26:35: Treating people as individuals/ realising they are motivated by different things. How to give feedback. Young players want detail. B team. 
33:36: Progression of the game. Playing in Premier League with Blackpool and not doing opposition analysis/ having any out-of-possession strategy.
37:16: How a manager should behave on the touchline. 
40:16: Loans. Why big clubs want to send their players to Bolton. Difficult for big clubs to develop young centre backs. James Trafford.
48:11: Academy/ developing their own players. Having a genuine B team. 
53:09: Using Hudl and Wyscout for the B team and first team. Having an analysis culture.
54:43: Chris's work on penalties at the Football Association.
56:28: Chris: ambitions for Bolton in next few seasons.
57:17: Ian: personal ambitions. Wanting to become the first manager to take one club from League Two to the Premier League. 

Conor Nestor: Using analysis to get ahead in Asian football

Our guest on Episode #50 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Conor Nestor. 
Conor is the new coach of Hyderabad in the Indian Super League. He arrives from Svay Rieng in Cambodia, who he led to the 2019 league title.
The Irishman told us about his fascinating career journey and about how he has used analysis to gain an advantage. 

Des Ryan: Athletic development of Academy players

Our guest on Episode #50 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Des Ryan. 
Des is Director of Coaching and Performance at Setanta College and was Head of Sports Medicine and Athletic Development at Arsenal Academy from 2013 to 2021.
During his time with the Gunners he helped to develop 'Strong Young Gunners' like Bukayo Saka. 
SHOW NOTES =>
02:01: Darcy Norman praise. Always being an outsider. How move to Arsenal came about. 
07:24: Differences between athletic development in football and rugby union. 
09:41: Strong doesn't mean big. Lots of misconceptions about strength and conditioning work in football. 
13:02: Skepticism/ hesitancy about gym work when he arrived at Arsenal. In vast majority of cases the training age was low.
18:30: What athletic development looks like through the different ages in the Academy.
21:15: No truth in 'old wive's tale' that weights can hamper growth.
24:15: Strong Young Gunners philosophy at Arsenal. Four pillars. Creating the most challenging and caring environment for development in the world. 
28:06: Arriving in England and finding that players went home at 2pm. That changed so they were working full days.
29:37: Letter from Hector Bellerin to himself, now on the wall at the Academy. 
31:31: Publishing 'The Arsenal Way of Physically Developing Players.' Arrow. Speed training. Different to straight line track sprinting. Arsenal have a tradition of producing athletic players.
38:17: Bukayo Saka. 'He was a very good example of Arsenal development'
42:57: Work with Setanta College.
45:40: Looking ahead to presenting at TGG's Youth Development Webinar on June 6th.