Episodes
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
Sean Dyche: Building Burnley and beyond
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
On Episode #42 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, we were joined by Sean Dyche.
Dyche was manager of Burnley for nine-and-a-half years and transformed their fortunes both on and off the pitch.
When he first arrived at the club, in October 2012, they were 14th in the Championship. What followed during his tenure was seven seasons in the Premier League and European football for the first time in 51 years.
In this episode Dyche reflects on his time with the Clarets, gives insights into his coaching and leadership style and explains what the future could hold for him.
=> SHOW NOTES:
01:23: Life after leaving Burnley in April. Any approaches?
03:47: Start of playing career at Nottingham Forest. Influence of Brian Clough.
6:13: Are leaders born or can those skills be learnt?
9:28: Importance of clarity and simplicity. Don't load players with too much information before kick-off.
11:45: Starting to think about becoming a manager at 26. Career progression after that.
16:30: First managerial job at Watford. Being authentic. Staying tight with the players but they still know who's in charge.
18:34: First impressions of Burnley. Lack of alignment between Board and fans. Gradually get accepted.
22:45: Telling the Board "you need to put a structure in place for the longevity of the club" after Premier League promotion.
28:00: Were you similar to a Sporting Director, as you were looking at longer-term future of the club?
32:54: "Massive strides" with the Academy at Burnley. "Big believer" in the youth system.
35:55: Accusations of "Brexit football." Didn't have the scouting network to find/ sign foreign players.
39:22: Getting "put in a box". Back to front football/ Brexit football.
41:15: How he could manage differently at a different club.
51:45: Sacked at Burnley. How news was delivered and reflections.
55:28: Key thing was not recycling the team two/ three years ago. Recommended bringing new players in but didn't happen.
56:37: Backroom staff. People saying assistants were only there because they were his friends.
1:00:55: Don't put too low a limit on your goals. "Positive realities."
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
Steven Reid: The person as well as the player
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
Episode #41 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is with Steven Reid.
The former midfielder played in the Premier League for Blackburn, West Brom and Burnley and won 23 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
Since retiring from playing he has forged a successful career in coaching, working at first-team level with Reading, Crystal Palace, West Brom, Scotland and Nottingham Forest.
At the start of July, the 41-year-old announced he was leaving Forest to become a confidence, wellbeing and leadership coach.
=> SHOW NOTES:
01:32: New role as a confidence, wellbeing and leadership coach.
05:32: Coping with imposter syndrome as player and coach.
10:14: Staff can often be the ones who are forgotten.
16:54: Leaving Nottingham Forest/ grateful for understanding of Steve Cooper.
20:25: Remembering the person as well as the player and being wary of 24-hour monitoring.
27:22: Secrets of Steve Cooper's success at Nottingham Forest.
29:53: What does a first-team coach do? Difference from being an assistant.
33:56: Do top players make top coaches?
36:40: Is coaching a profession that's worth getting into?
39:09: Insights into the different managers he's played under.
44:13: Best point in his playing career/ best player he's played with.
Tuesday Jun 21, 2022
Damien Comolli: From Tou-lose to Tou-win
Tuesday Jun 21, 2022
Tuesday Jun 21, 2022
Episode #40 of the TGG Podcast is with Damien Comolli, the Chairman and Sporting Director at Toulouse, last season's champions of Ligue 2 in France.
Damien is the former Director of Football at Fenerbahce, Tottenham, Liverpool and St Etienne.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
=> SHOW NOTES:
01:25: Toulouse's title win. Righting wrongs.
09:11: Establishing an identity at the club when he arrived.
23:25: Why Toulouse have a Head of Strategy and Culture. Importance of showing vulnerability and admitting mistakes.
37:08: Use of data. Input of Zelus Analytics. Why being data and culture driven is 'the perfect balance'.
50:10: Involvement with Red Bird and why those chose to buy Toulouse.
55:32: Being a pioneer of the Sporting Director role. Early mistrust. Mentor to Michael Edwards etc.
1:05:46: Sacking at Tottenham. Learning from mistakes. Not to be 'big-headed' again!
Thursday May 26, 2022
Inside the Southampton Learning Lab
Thursday May 26, 2022
Thursday May 26, 2022
For this episode we go inside Southampton's innovative new Learning Lab with two of its leadership team - Head of Technical Development Iain Brunnschweiler and Dr Andrew Wilson, a Reader in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
=> SHOW NOTES:
01:15: IAIN BRUNNSCHWEILER - background on his playing and career journey. Youth player at Southampton/ cricket career/ UK Coaching/ back to Saints.
09:23: Learning from top performing organisations in sport, business and the military. Floyd Woodrow and the SAS.
19:10: Technical Development department - what it is, what it does and what his role entails.
26:32: Learning Lab - how it came about, what it does, PhD projects
37:02: Importance of developing relationships; why we over-index on technical skills and under-index on human skills
44:15: DR ANDREW WILSON - career journey
46:15: What is ecological learning? Origins.
1:03:52: Why ecological learning 'radically alters the role of the coach'
1:15:55: Scanning. PhD projects in the Learning Lab
1:27:34: Is the Learning Lab unique in football?
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Rene Meulensteen: Inside track on the Man Utd glory years
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Friday Apr 29, 2022
In our first episode in front of a live audience, we spoke to Australia assistant and former Manchester United first-team coach Rene Meulensteen at Batch Bottlestore and Deli in Altrincham.
Rene told Simon Austin and Josh Schneider-Weiler about his coaching journey, his one-on-one skills work with the likes of Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo and some of the leadership lessons learned from legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Andreas Georgson: The Sky Blue Way With Malmö
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Welcome to the first episode of season 4 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Hudl.
Our guest is Andreas Georgson, Sports Director for Swedish champions Malmö.
He told Josh Schneider-Weiler how the Sky Blues are aiming to outdo richer European rivals in Europe, about his work with Brentford and Arsenal, and why Mikel Arteta is a cut above.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
=> SHOW NOTES:
01:35: Back at Malmö. Why the club is special.
06:37: 'Grandma coaching' - anyone can spot the best player in youth football; spotting the late developers is the key.
12:54: Why Malmö are so good at producing players.
15:50: Andreas's personal journey and career.
20:17: Individual Development Coach. How he got the job at Brentford (and then Arsenal) and what it involved.
28:55: How he came to get a job at Arsenal. Why Mikel Arteta is special.
33:06: Set piece coach. Work at Arsenal. Leading change.
43:26: Still in touch with Arteta and his staff. 'Sky is the limit' for them.
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Francis Cagigao: Spotting talent with Arsenal and Chile
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Our guest on Episode #36 of the TGG Podcast was Francis Cagigao, the Director of Football for Chile.
He told Josh Schneider-Weiler about his current role and his 24 years with Arsenal, where he was Head of International Scouting.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
=> SHOW NOTES:
0:37: How job with Chile came about/ 12 intense months to start.
5:04: StatDNA at Arsenal and use of data in football.
9:44: Ben Brereton Diaz - how he came to play for Chile and why he's become such an important player.
14:29: Why he left Arsenal after 24 years. "There was not a good feeling between myself and some people at the hierarchy."
18:29: Background/ career as a player and coach.
24:52: How he came to scout for Arsenal/ working with Arsene Wenger.
28:07: Discovering Cesc Fabregas.
35:51: How to scout character.
40:22: Why South America is the Continent with the most talent.
42:40: Ambitions for the future.
Thursday Jan 13, 2022
Phil Giles: Staying ahead of the curve at Brentford
Thursday Jan 13, 2022
Thursday Jan 13, 2022
Our guest on Episode #35 of the TGG Podcast was Phil Giles, the Director of Football for Brentford.
He told Simon Austin about the club's first season in the Premier League, their use of specialist coaches and why they might reopen their Academy.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Mariela Nisotaki: Norwich City’s scouting pioneer
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Mariela Nisotaki is Norwich City's Head of Emerging Talent and the only female scout on the circuit in the UK.
In Episode #34 of the TGG Podcast, Nisotaki tells Simon Austin how she balances data and human eyes, about Norwich's ambitions and what it's like to be a female pioneer in football recruitment.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Chris Ramsey: Educating the educators
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Tuesday Nov 23, 2021
Chris Ramsey is one of the foremost coach educators in the UK.
In Episode #33 of the TGG Podcast, he tells Josh Schneider-Weiler about his role as QPR's Technical Director and Head of Coaching, about his four decades in the game and why diversity is important.
For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru
Training Ground Guru Podcast
Welcome to the Training Ground Guru Podcast. Each month we taking you behind the scenes in professional football, with insights from leading coaches, executives and practitioners.