Taking Note: Why Coaches Should Keep A Journal

One of the finest football books of recent years is Simon Hughes’ Secret Diary of a Liverpool Scout.  It tells the story of Geoff Twentyman who was Liverpool’s Chief Scout between 1967 and 1985, an era that was marked by the club’s unprecedented success built largely on an exceptional ability to identify talent.

What marks this book out is how it was written.  Rather than being based on the recollections of Twentyman himself (sadly, he passed away way before work on this book had started) it uses the meticulous notes that he used to take during every one of his scouting trips.

This was an extension of the practise within Liverpool’s fabled boot room of noting down different aspects of their work from training, recovery and tactical approaches in varying situations.  These dossiers eventually became the reference point whenever the club was faced with similar situations allowing them the luxury to judge whether to take a similar approach or not.

Bill Shankly took over at Liverpool in 1959 and the boot room was established shortly afterwards.  It is testament of how visionary that group of people was that the practices that they adopted are still as effective today as they were more than fifty years back.  

Essentially: every coach should be journaling regularly, documenting decisions taken and the reasoning behind them.

Never Trust Your Memory
To appreciate why that is there is the need to move away from sport and into the realm of psychology.  People act in the manner that they do because over the years their behaviour has been shaped by their own experiences.  The problem, though, is that those experiences and memories might not include all the details; they might be inherently biased.  There will be occasions when a positive result influences one’s recall of a choice or vice-versa.

Imagine if someone were to ask you to think back to a time when you missed the train and describe your experience.  The odds are that you will recall a negative experience.  This will also contaminate any future thoughts that you have and, if that same person were to ask you to imagine how you would feel the next time you missed the train then the likelihood is that you would predict a bad reaction.

All this is not conjecture but precisely what Dr Carey Morewedge and his colleagues from Harvard University found in 2005.  During their study they asked a set of people to recall the last experience of missing the train, another to recall their worst experience and another to think back three past experience.

Their findings showed that those who had been given free reign to think of one experience made the most negative prediction.  Further studies strengthened this theory that people tend to make overly positive or negative predictions if they were to rely exclusively on their memory: they fall prey to their memory bias.

This, clearly, has a number of implications in a football environment.  Let’s say that your team was thinking of bringing over a new player who has a particular character trait that might cause issues in the harmony of your squad.  If you’ve just come from a good season then you might be swayed into thinking that this too will work out well and that you’ll manage to integrate that player.

That might well turn out to be the case but, regardless, that decision was not made on the right basis.  Awareness is key to overcome any bias.  In such a circumstance, if a manager has records of previous transfers and thoughts before they were completed then he might notice instances that might be similar to his current situation.  Reading them and thinking of how they turned out would probably allow them to make a better informed decision.

It makes it harder to justify a certain decision when you have a divergent piece of evidence in front of you.

Accurate And Honest Feedback
Michael J. Mauboussin is an unikely source to find inspiration for football coaches.  He has no history with the game (as far as is public knowledge at least); he is instead the managing director and head of Global Financial Strategies at Credit Suisse and an adjunct professor of finance at the Columbia Business School.  

He has, however, also authored a number of books that look into decision making.  And it is the research that he has put into the latter that is influential

In an interview with The Motley Fool, he said, “when you’ve got a decision-making journal, it gives you accurate and honest feedback of what you were thinking at that time. And so there can be situations, by the way, you buy a stock and it goes up, but it goes up for reasons very different than what you thought was going to happen. And having that feedback in a way to almost check yourself periodically is extremely valuable. So that’s, I think, a very inexpensive; it’s actually not super time consuming, but a very, very valuable way of giving yourself essential feedback because our minds won’t do it normally.”

There might not be many parallels between those investing in stock markets and people who work in football but both have one feature in common: there are strong emotions in play which might lead one to make terrible moves unless they are fully conscious and aware of what they’re doing.  That is why Mauboussin argues over the importance of noting decisions.

It is a philosophy based on a discussion with Daniel Kahneman, one of the most brilliant men of our lifetime and who gave birth to the new science of behavioural economics.  In particular, Kahneman’s work helped to bring to light a number of biases that influence people’s actions.

“Many years ago when I first met Danny Kahneman…when I pose him the question, what is a single thing an investor can do to improve his or her performance, he said almost without hesitation, go down to a local drugstore and buy a very cheap notebook and start keeping track of your decisions.”  Mauboussin said in that same interview.

“And the specific idea is whenever you’re making a consequential decision, something going in or out of the portfolio, just take a moment to think, write down what you expect to happen, why you expect it to happen and then actually, and this is optional, but probably a great idea, is write down how you feel about the situation, both physically and even emotionally. Just, how do you feel? I feel tired. I feel good, or this stock is really draining me. Whatever you think.”

“The key to doing this is that it prevents something called hindsight bias, which is no matter what happens in the world. We tend to look back on our decision-making process, and we tilt it in a way that looks more favourable to us, right? So we have a bias to explain what has happened.”

Do It Yourself
While football is a simple game, the decisions made by those who coach or run a club are often extremely complex.  Often managers’ reactions during games are quasi-instinctive and heavily influenced not by rational thought but by past actions.  Unraveling why a decision was taken can be just as complex.

Writing is a way of facilitating that process.  The simple act of forcing yourself to put thoughts into words actually helps in giving them clarity and shape.

The journal that a coach maintains does not have to be a work of art.  To all extent and purposes it can be illegible to anyone but the person who wrote it.  There is no need for any jargon or deep, insightful thoughts.  Don’t feel under pressure to write something that is great, just write you’re your thoughts.

What there should be a modicum of organisation (so that when you want to look back to a particular decision you can find it with ease) along with clear, direct writing that avoids any vague thoughts.

Initially it might feel like an unnatural act, it can feel like pretentious rubbish.  Push past that resistance and eventually, after a few weeks you will come to appreciate just how important a tool this can be for a coach.

After all, if it was good enough for the likes of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, it should be good enough for the rest of us.

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Cowley Culture: An Inside Look At The Duo Who Have Shaken Non-League Football

by Kevin Graham

This has been a magical season for Lincoln City.  Not only did they reach the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup but they won the Football Conference National League, hitting ninety nine points and marking their return to League Two in style.  The main architects of those successes were the management team made up of brothers Danny and Nicky Cowley.  Kevin Graham had the opportunity to spend a day with them them as they went about their coaching duties.  These are his observations.

It’s not often that non-league managers become household names but Lincoln’s incredible success this season has projected Danny and Nicky Cowley’s profile into orbit.

The first time that Danny Cowley came to my attention, however, was earlier than most, specifically in February 2016 following an incident during Cowley and his Braintree Town team’s game away at one of my old clubs Guiseley. Guiseley had inadvertently scored after an uncontested drop ball should have been given back to Braintree. 

Unfortunately no action was taken at the time by Guiseley to put this right, the goal stood and the non-league world soon became aware of the injustice. Cowley’s dignified if disappointed response to the matter was lauded - the way he spoke made a big impression on me. I made a mental note and followed him on Twitter – he followed me back, something he might subsequently have regretted!

After leading Braintree to 3rd place in the Conference National despite their part time status and limited resources, the in demand Cowley brothers chose to give up their teaching jobs and joined Lincoln City on a full time basis. The rest, as they say, is history.

Lincoln hadn’t finished higher than 13th in the Conference since dropping out of the football league six years previously, and in that time had struggled to manage the financial burden of running a fulltime, ex-league club with an infrastructure to match, in a league where visitors can regularly bring less than 50 travelling fans. 

The Cowleys literally turned the whole football club around and after a season that almost unquestionably defines them as the greatest non-league side in history, Lincoln City are once again a football league club.

I contacted them in October to ask if I could go in and observe training – I’ve done this at a few clubs over the years but this time, I was hoping to get a deeper insight than just the innovation on the training ground. Given their background – Danny started in the Essex Senior League at step 5 of the non-league pyramid and juggled management with a full time teaching job and a young family – I felt if there was ever going to be someone who I could aspire to emulate, he was probably that man.

At this stage I was lucky enough to start dealing with Alan Long, Lincoln’s Community and Player Liaison Officer. Alan is Lincoln City mad and was incredibly warm, helpful and accommodating, arranging for me to visit in early December. 

One of the initiatives the Cowleys had put in place saw fans who were willing to pay for the privilege granted access every Thursday to watch the players train, have lunch with them and get to meet Danny and Nicky. This transparency highlights the confidence Danny and Nicky have in their methods. Of course, certain tactical information remains sacred but their method is not something they feel the need to hide. As they both acknowledge, they tend to borrow ideas from other coaches or resources and use them or adapt them if they see fit – there are very few new ideas on football, and the Cowleys are not visionaries as such in that sense.

I arrived on the Thursday after Lincoln has beaten Oldham 3-2 in the FA Cup at home live on BT Sport, and was met by Alan who showed myself and the three lucky, and longstanding, Imps fans around the ground, the changing rooms and the various facilities at Sincil Bank, stopping to introduce us to whoever we came across on our way. It is fair to say everyone was very bubbly, friendly and, more than anything, proud of what they saw happening at the club. “Oh I’m sure Danny will look after you” and “Danny will make sure you have a good day” – just two of the comments from staff around the stadium. 

It wasn’t the first time the foot soldiers would refer to the guy they clearly see as their general in glowing terms.

We were ushered into one of the hospitality suites where the management team proceeded to deliver a video analysis session on the Oldham game. The brothers had prepared 93 annotated clips of the game. The key messages focused on how well they played for the first hour – mixing controlled possession with targeted direct play, the need for them to recognize the fact that they largely dominated against a League One side who play possession based football and to take more belief in themselves from that, and probably most important, not to drop off and allow opposing teams to come on to them. 

At 3-0 and cruising, they naturally dropped a little deeper instead of being progressive, and this allowed Oldham back in the game. It wasn’t a fitness thing, it was a mental thing – a natural reaction for an underdog that find itself in that position. The message was clear – you guys are better than you think you are. 

We sat next to the goalkeeping coach, Jimmy Walker during the video session and he clearly lightens the mood whenever needed. A cult hero at West Ham and Walsall as a player, and still back up to goalkeeper Paul Farman at the time, it’s fair to say he is a larger than life character but one who takes his profession no less seriously.

After an hour and only 58 clips, Danny recognized that the players needed a break so he left the video session there and explained that we’d all move on to training which would start at the nearby army barracks in 45 mins. The club train at 3 different venues depending on availability – not ideal but not something anyone seemed to be too bothered by. One of Danny’s many mantras is that Lincoln City lives by a “no excuses mentality”.

Alan kindly gave me some insight into how much things had changed under the new regime as he gave me a lift to training and it was clear that the impact was about far more than just coaching. Maximising resources is clearly a strength of the Cowley brothers and Alan went into detail explaining how they had harboured links with the local university, lecturing and supporting students there in return for access to facilities and sports science resources. Just one example to underline why the Lincoln board got real value for money when they appointed the Cowleys.

They plan training in cycles, gradually increasing the physical load on players over 4 weeks before having a recovery week and then starting again. This was week 2 so the load was not too heavy. The detail and influence of the Sports Science team was clear though – the players had undertaken “prehab” exercises tailored to their individual needs in the tiny gym at the ground before heading to training. The activation session, or warm up if you like, was lead by Sports Scientist Luke Jelly and the players then went into some passing patterns.

Nicky took the lead with the organization of the session and was the guy who clearly has an obsession with cones – a habit I’m sure many coaches can identify with! The passing patterns were done in two groups, working around poles set out in a hexagon. The emphasis was on the receiving angle, quality of the first touch, and the weight and direction of the pass. Standard stuff, with some competition introduced on quality of execution, so a breakdown in the chain meant the other group got a point, requiring concentration and focus rather than physical exertion.

After 20 mins of that, the players went back to Luke and did some controlled sprints through a course not longer than 40m, building the intensity to finish with explosive acceleration. The attitude of the players, who were jovial and cracking jokes between practices but very focused on quality when engaged, was really noticeable.

They then progressed to an opposed small sided game, a version of which I use quite regularly. On a square pitch roughly 40x40, Nicky set out 4 target areas, one in each corner. The aim of the game is to keep possession but score points by receiving the ball in one of the target areas in the four corners. In teams of 6, the practice is a great all-rounder in that it requires combination play and intelligent movement off the ball, lots of spatial awareness and there are lots of transitions so lots of defensive recovery work and also opportunities for quick attacking penetration. The third group of 6 players did specific work with Luke when they were not involved.

I watched this part of the session with big Jamie McCombe, the vastly experienced centre back who is now a player coach. McCombe was used sparingly throughout the campaign and now has more than one eye on coaching – so much of this season has seen him learning his trade by working with the Cowleys. Not a bad place to learn, I’d say.

Talking to Danny during the session, he explained that both he and Nicky are always adding to their repertoire of practices and that they scour many of the same resources as I do. Diego Simeone’s sessions on defending and focus on transitions were one such example he felt really benefitted the team.

After 25 mins of the four corner game, the players came in for water and a stretch before the session finished with a conditioned game on a ¾ pitch. With a 30x40 area set out in the middle of the pitch, the idea was to achieve a set number of passes in the central area which freed up players to create an attacking overload. Danny was particularly keen to see full backs recognize the attacking transitions and deliver from wide areas. The intensity levels were quite sporadic – you could recognize the bad losers out there but there were quite a few interventions and so the tempo never really went past 75%, though the quality at times certainly did.

The session ended with a structured cool down and I joined Alan for the journey back to Sincil Bank. On reflection I probably learnt less from the training session than the other aspects of the day – it was fairly standard stuff in terms of the set up, preparation and structure. The delivery and coaching points were clear and concise, and the how, when and why of the decisions players had to make was identified or challenged. I’m quite certain it was good enough to pass a coaching practical but that’s not where the Cowleys are different. Their connection with the players and the culture they have created enables everything else they do. They are no coaching geniuses or magicians from what I could see, though that’s not to say they are not amongst the very best I’ve seen. Everything they do is impressive but what differentiates them is about more than just a coaching session.

Lunch was taken back at the ground and I watched as the players were served by the catering staff. The way players behave with others says a lot about them as people and they engaged on a level with staff who served them, and were polite with it. These details are important to me and what I saw reflected the standards the Cowleys set. I can’t help but think that the way the team stuck together and kept going when their bodies were failing them in the final games of the season was a reflection of the respect they have for each other but also the people at the club who supported them – Danny repeatedly acknowledged the role everyone at the club played. It’s one thing to say something sentimental in an interview, it’s entirely another thing to be able to show you mean it.

As I ate my food, the fact that the catering staff had been asked to get more beetroot into the players’ diet to aid recovery demonstrated another tiny example of the detail that goes into the Cowleys’ method.

The final part of the day saw us invited into their office to ask the management team some questions. Alan played a blinder for me here as he had already arranged to oversee the questions from the 3 supporters who were with me before taking them and leaving me to have a bit more time with the brothers.

I watched an interview with Danny after the Arsenal game in which he said how grateful he was to have had the opportunity to spend such a long time with Arsene Wenger in his office at The Emirates, that he learnt so much and that he will never forget that. What transpired in the next 90 mins or so for me that day left me feeling exactly the same way about the Cowley brothers.

We covered an awful lot including
- How they track players’ performance over time both in games and training, using a rating system and individuals’ self-assessment
- How they plan training, both tactical and physical periodization (and how we all felt about Raymond Verheijen’s work)
- How they analyse the opposition
- How they analyse their own team’s performance and what they look for to feed into planning training 
- The transition from part time to full time coaching
- The merits of possession based and direct football
- Playing styles as you progress up the pyramid
- Our love of non-league football and comparisons with Premier League football

Yes…I was like a kid at Christmas.

I thanked them for their time and left, popping in to see Alan on my way out.

I don’t mind admitting I was on a slight high for days after visiting Lincoln, and I left feeling like I’d been in the company of people who were destined to achieve great things. I took my own training session that evening, making reference to one or two Cowleyisms but no more. I spoke to good friends in the game about what I saw and explained why I felt they should keep an eye on them and anything they can read about them in the media.

It’s fair to say though that the 5 months since that day in December have seen Lincoln City achieve beyond even the most confident young manager’s wildest dreams. We listened to the Burnley game on the radio as I drove to our own fixture that afternoon and the sleepy village in East Yorkshire we were driving through must have had quite a shock as Joe my assistant, George my son and I all let out a collective scream as Sean Raggett’s header went over the line. We’re Middlesbrough fans in our family but George will always look out for Lincoln City from now on.

It really has been fairytale stuff. The poignant memories of Graham Taylor, the way the Cowleys have lifted and inspired a whole city and many more beyond, the money that they have earned as a club to pay off debts and then secure the club’s future, the incredible mentality to keep going and keep accumulating league victories after an unprecedented FA Cup run, being guests on Match of the Day….I could go on.
For two kids who grew up making their own dug outs in their bedroom to play Championship Manager on, who followed their beloved West Ham home and away, who played all the sports they could together in the school holidays until it was time for bed, who probably weren’t good enough to be professional footballers themselves but who had careers to be proud of in non-league football and who this time last year were throwing their heart and soul into teaching kids and making a difference to their lives…..it’s not your typical success story.

So why are they so successful?

Firstly, they outwork their opponents. These two work 80 hour weeks – they used to combine full time teaching with coaching in the Conference. So they don’t see 80 hours spent on football as work. They simply love the game. They are so hungry and so motivated because they appreciate every chance the game gives them. The sense of entitlement some managers portray as a result of having been in the professional game for 30, 40 years plus is conspicuous by it’s absence. The Cowleys’ humility is born out of their gratitude for this opportunity.

Secondly, they are incredibly organized and pay attention to so much detail. Their work ethic allows them to cover so much ground. They run a Championship set up on a Conference budget.

Third, they are intelligent guys. Their teaching career has afforded them the chance to learn about sports science, sports psychology and the science being learning and coaching.

Fourth, they treat people well. Not just their players. Everyone. Even the guy who wants some of their time to further his own learning. Their values are cast in stone, a reflection of their family’s values and worth ethic. They don’t recruit players on ability if the character is largely flawed – they want good human beings in their dressing room and around their club. The bond between the brothers is incredible and that is the starting point for the way they treat others.

Fifth, they have confidence in their own ability. They hate losing but they’ve known little of failure in 9 years since Danny became a manager. When you are used to winning as a manager, it is easier to get your players onside and bought in to your methods.

Sixth (and final – though there are probably more), they are incredibly consistent. They refer to their method all the time, they are process orientated. That’s not some attempt to sound clever – they know that if their players pay attention to every aspect of their preparation for games and repeat that process thoroughly, the results will come. They don’t change their method just because they lose a game or two, nor will it affect their core values, their work ethic or their communication. 

I must have watched 50 Danny Cowley interviews this year and when you watch them as much as I do, you could say he is pretty boring! The same responses, the same words, the same steely determination and the same polite and well-mannered rapport with the media is evident in every single interview. Their players always know where they stand because they can rely on this consistency.

Danny in particular is an outstanding leader – a role he recognizes comes naturally to him. Leadership in any organization is critical and I’ve never come across one as impressive in the game. When he speaks people listen, and everyone who listens recognizes this guy is pretty special. He’s also smart enough to realise that his interviews are an opportunity to gain more support for the club and also speak to his players to reinforce his expectations to them – put him in the Premier League tomorrow and any Chairman would be glad to have a guy with his communication skills representing his club.

This interview after the Arsenal game is particularly impressive

To those who might suggest these two are laptop coaches without enough understanding of the game, you couldn’t be more wrong. The culture of the dressing room and the way the game really works in that world fans don’t get to see is something they’ve been a part of for years – they are old school football men who embrace modern methods….in fact any methods young or old if it gives them more of a chance of success.

So it’s fair to say I’m a fan, and unashamedly so. A good pal of mine who is also a coach often ribs me about my “Cowley crush” but frankly, this isn’t some sort of passing craze. This is just a case of doing the basics incredibly well – there’s no magical mystique or science behind their approach.

Danny Cowley with author Kevin Graham's son George

Despite all that, there are aspects of their approach that mean not everyone sees them as the next incarnation of Christ in footballing terms.

Danny and Nicky are winners – and during games they are not averse to questioning the officials. Not in an abusive way, but in a way that all coaches will recognize needs to be done at times during games. I’ve witnessed a couple of managers take serious umbrage at this – nothing new and not something that is exclusive to the Cowley brothers. There are those in the game who would have you believe they are not as angelic as some would have you believe. There is indeed a fine line when it comes to seeking to gain small advantages during games – invariably those who do it well and achieve success whilst doing so are going to be maligned by their opponents. 

This will happen more and more, but I very much doubt they care what other people think because they are focused on winning. “Managing” games is part of football and these two do it incredibly well. They also expect to shake hands and move on at the end of games but some managers may not be so keen to do so. This is life, not just football!

They do hate losing – I’ve seen it up close, having watched from a couple of rows back as York came back from a goal down to beat Lincoln 2-1 in the first leg of the Trophy semi final at Bootham Crescent. Tensions ran high and Lincoln had to accept defeat. Danny, visibly annoyed, had to face the media and also an 8 year old who wanted a photo with this guy he’d seen a lot on TV recently. Of course he was obliging and friendly as he made young George’s night, consistent as always.

And what of the future? They start next season in the Football League, and they have earned the right to manage there. It is a personal milestone but not one they will dwell on for too long. I can’t see anything other than a successful first season back in the football league for Lincoln City. The club is in a great place, well set financially so able to operate on a competitive budget, with the average home gate at Sincil Bank likely to be double what it has been in recent seasons and a squad that is now well developed and familiar with the methods that the Cowleys introduced last season. 

The first couple of months of this season will have seen the players feeling their way and gradually getting used to what the new regime wanted. They should only get better as a result of hitting the ground running in late June.

It is only a matter of time though before bigger clubs come knocking. Danny has spoken of his love of working at a club where he can get the players, staff and fans well connected, where the money and profile doesn’t create a barrier between them. However, he is also ambitious and I’d guess Championship clubs have already made enquiries about their availability. I have no doubt they can go right to the top of the game, mainly because they are lifelong learners. They will never rest on their laurels and will adapt to the challenges their progress will present. 

I do think their method will have to change – managing at a big club in the Championship or Premier League requires much more delegation. At present the size of the club combined with the Cowleys’ work ethic means they can cover a lot of disciplines themselves but at a bigger club the scope and responsibilities will expand and a much larger team will be required to manage the work load. It will also be interesting to see how the brothers’ unique working relationship will adapt, but frankly I can’t see any of that being a problem. Neither, I am sure, would they.

I can’t claim to really know the Cowley brothers – they have been great to me during a time when the whole world wants a piece of them. They don’t take themselves too seriously and lack any semblance of self-importance, yet have the confidence and belief in their ability to rub shoulders with the best. They are still young, still learning and have yet to face any sustained period of failure which will inevitably happen at some stage. But the foundation of their success seems to be based on old fashioned hard work, the love of a supportive family and very good values as people. I love that.

Alan said to me when I walked into one of the executive boxes at Sincil Bank that morning, “Watch these two, we think Danny will go on to manage England one day”. I was inclined to be somewhat dismissive at the time but I now think there’s a chance Alan and the people of Lincoln could be proven right. 

After making over 200 appearances for a number of clubs in the upper reaches of the non-league pyramid - Whitby Town, Guiseley AFC and Goole AFC - Kevin Graham ended his career playing for St Martins AFC and the Guernsey's national team having returned to the Channel Islands where he had grown up.

Once that career had come to an end, he took on new roles helping out in managing Guernsey Athletic FC as well as scouting for a number of non league teams.


His most significant appointment, however, came in February of 2012 when he was appointed as manager of the Guernsey national team whom he led consecutive Muratti vase wins in 2012/2013.  He is also a tactical analyst for Evening Gazzette in Middlesborough and can be found on Twitter.

The Importance of Change for Coaches

“I like to dream,” a veteran football administrator told me in one of the first interviews that I did.  “But I know that if I stretch too much I will hurt myself.”  Reverential as I was to wisdom built on years of working in the game, this seemed to me like quite a sensible stance.  Only years later, when I had supplemented it with some experience of my own, did I come to see that the sensible option might also be the one that leads to lethargy and insignificance.

The human brain is built to identify patterns and react to them accordingly.  That is how it was at the beginning of humanity.  Eat a particular fruit and you will survive; ignore the rustling of leaves in the forest and a deadly animal will jump on you.   Those who were better skilled at identifying and following those patterns survived.  They passed their genes on to their children until humanity as a whole was wired to follow those patterns.

Our brain is still essentially the same.  That is why most of us value the familiar and dislike change.  We look for patterns and, when we don’t find them, our brains start to panic because they cannot predict what the outcome will be.  It is why we feel discomfort when we’re faced with change.

The thing is that our brains were shaped in extreme times where not being cautious could result in death (and a painful one).  It still reacts to what isn’t familiar in the same manner.  And whilst, sometimes, the sensible option is the best one there are also circumstances where change is beneficial. 

Football provides plenty of examples of this.  When Liverpool opted to replace Graeme Souness in the early nineties they decided to pick Roy Evans in his place.  Evans was an excellent coach who tried to innovate in his own right – he opted for a formation with three at the back to capitalise on his team’s attacking talent – but his main qualification for getting the job was his history at the club and as a member of the fabled boot room.  If promoting from within had worked in the past why shouldn’t it now?

Yet the face of English football was changing.  Arsene Wenger was bringing with him dietary regimes that were unheard of at other clubs whilst Chelsea were investing their new-found wealth in foreign players.   Liverpool needed to be brave and embrace the change but instead went all conservative.  There are many factors that contributed to the club’s decline and it would be grossly unfair (not to mention hugely incorrect) to pin it all on the appointment of Roy Evans.  But the appointment was emblematic of a mindset that wasn’t ready to deal with change.

This in itself was hardly surprising.   For the previous two decades, Liverpool had been the dominant force of English football so they had more to lose than most.  It is fairly easy to be brave and experiment when there is little at stake but that is often not the case with the successful.  Even if there is an element within those organisations that fully believes in looking at different ideas, it is extremely hard to convince others to get on board.

Liverpool had, essentially, forgotten the lessons from their own history because their longevity was fuelled by change and their ability to pull it off at the right moment.  Big players left and were replaced by others who didn’t have the same characteristics but, in their own way, shaped the team so that it continued to be successful.  

Crucially, Liverpool’s managers were always willing to push along this change.  They didn’t get sentimental with players: when they felt that someone was getting to a stage where he wasn’t good enough, they were quite ruthless in selling them.  However, they always had a plan in place so that when that player left they already had a replacement who pretty much knew what he had to do even if it meant tweaking other areas.  And so change came about without impacting the team.

It was the same with another of English football’s most successful managers.  Sir Alex Ferguson kept on winning partly because he had the vision to foresee changes in the game and prepare for them.  It wasn’t simply tactical brilliance that shaped his success but rather his ability to see the bigger picture, identify what was going to be a problem and then prepare so that his side effectively improved.

Even Barcelona’s modern success is founded on change: when Pep Guardiola took over he faced down the huge risk of moving on some players who had been huge for the club – the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco – because that is how his side could really develop.

What does this all mean for coaches who aren’t at a big Premier League club and are doing this purely for their love of the game?  Essentially that change should be embraced.  Change can be uncomfortable but if you try to put it off then what you’re doing is undermining your capacity for success.  Look out for what might be changing, prepare for it to make the transition as easy as possible and then carry it out.

Some words of caution though: change for change’s sake can be just as bad (to continue on the Liverpool case study: Graeme Souness tried to change too much, too soon) so always be aware of why you’re doing all this.  And be ready to fail.  Not everything will work out smoothly.  But it will be the instances where they do that will define you.

The Case For The Use of GPS In Football

Football is traditionally slow in adopting new technologies.  Analysts are still looked at with suspicion (at best) by those who believe that the only way to judge a game is by looking at what you can see on the pitch rather than at what the numbers say.  

It took years for goal line technologies to be introduced even though their benefit – as we’re seeing now – was obvious.  And, despite this, there are still those vehemently against the idea of introducing any new technological support for referees.

The same applies on the coaching side.  The idea of having proper nutrition took years to take hold.

The irony is that other sports where resources and popularity are more limited than football are much more forward in their adoption of technology.   Australian Rules Football is a very prominent case in point.  This sport that to outsiders might appear one where brawn is the only pre-requisite is also one of the earliest adopters.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS), for instance, has been in use in Aussie Rules for more than a decade.  So integrated is their used in AFL that in 2012 it was extended to measure activity in junior football.

“The key thing about this study is that it is the first time we have ever gathered information like this on kids playing football and the first time we’ve been able to quantify how our kids are experiencing sport. The study is unique and groundbreaking in that we’re getting real data about what kids do when they’re involved in junior football.”  So said at the time Associate Professor Pamm Kellett who was handling the research aimed at measuring player’s activity during games as well as how long they were on the field, the amount of exertion used and how fast they were running.  

Football is a completely different world.  At around the same time that AFL was being involved in that forward looking experiment, football was just dipping its feet into the pool.  The pioneer was David Casamichana, a Spanish coach involved with Rayo Cantabria de Santander (a semi-professional Spanish third-division team) monitoring their GPS use during training and friendly games; at the time FIFA banned their use in official games (the ban was only lifted towards the end of 2015).

Despite the limitations of the technology at the time – the GPS that he had available tracked movement every second meaning that movement that took place in a fraction of that was not measured – Casamichana’s worked proved the value of this tool.  It allowed teams to measure just how much their players ran, how often they  were involved in sprints (thanks to an accelerometer) and, ultimately their fatigue.

Based on this he found that centre backs and centre forwards are the ones that run the least distance.  Contrary to that, midfielders run most but they cover least distances in sprint.  When they do sprint, however, they top the table for high intensity.

On top of it all, his studies found that as games wear on the intensity begins to decline.

All of that might seem obvious but that is because it discounts the finer level of detail that can be obtained through GPS.  Not all midfielders play the same role within the team meaning that not all have the same characteristics.  Having that data at hand provides another tool that coaches can use to fine tune their side.

It also helps improve the quality of training.  If you know the characteristics of different positions than you can provide different preparation.  Having access to such data allows you to view the session as a whole rather than just one sprint whilst it provides you with historical baselines with which to compare a group of players or an individual coming back from injury.   

Indeed this data can be used to help prevent further athletic injury given that it is possible to gauge when an individual is getting close to his limit that provides you with the ability to stop them before they hurt themselves.

All such knowledge can be used to improve the intensity that a team can show during a game.  A team’s ability to keep on going during a match for longer than their opponents can provide a significant advantage.  

And the future will see even more extended use of GPS, in particular during games.

In an article late in 2015, Wycombe midfielder Matt Bloomfield explained the benefits that he saw from GPS.  “Every footballer is different and some of the lads pay more attention to the information given to us than others.” 

“Some lads are really interested in the feedback and check their stats first thing every Monday morning, while some aren't so interested and will only deal with the stats when told to. And then there are the lads who pretend not to care but still check when no-one is looking!”

“I'm fascinated by it all so I'm always asking for feedback and information about what I should be able to do and how far I should be running. It's all part of the competitive edge needed to build a career for yourself.”

“I'm sure that the technological advances will continue and I will always embrace them while always trying to gain that edge.”

Sadly, not everyone is like Boomfield.  Indeed, Plymouth manager Derek Adams complained when Wycombe used those devices in a game between the two sides.  "Somebody could head it and injure themselves, or somebody's finger could get caught in it,” he said. "There are a number of things that can go wrong. Somebody could get choked if they are pulled too hard.”

Admittedly, Adams also said that what he wanted was clarification and it would be wrong to label him because of this one incident.  Yet such thinking is, sadly prevalent among the football fraternity.

The Madrileno Pulling Guernsey's Strings in the Ryman League

By Kevin Graham
Guille Fernandez hit the headlines in the UK when he signed for Ryman League South team Guernsey FC back in July.  The Spaniard has been a big hit with the Channel Islanders in his first few months there and, given my more than passing interest in Guernsey football, I was keen to catch up with Guille to find out about his experience so far, and dig a little deeper into his thoughts on how English football culture compares with the Spanish football

Blueprint for Football: How have you settled into life in Guernsey?
Guille Fernandez: I’ve been very busy so I haven’t yet had the chance to really experience many parts of the island lifestyle! My family visited the island recently and it was the first time I had been able to explore the coastline and some of the historical sites of interest.

I work at a local hotel, I play and train for Guernsey FC and I also coach in the GFA’s academy.  My employer is very helpful allowing my working hours to fit around my football.

In terms of adapting to life here, my team mates, coaches and the many people involved in Guernsey FC and GFA football have really helped – they are very friendly and I am lucky to play with a group where the spirit is so strong and supportive.  It helps that the Guernsey FC environment is such a strong organisation – the coaching staff are very good, all the support staff and volunteers do a wonderful job, the club is run very professionally and has a great media presence locally too.  It is very impressive for a club that is not professional, and I have been made to feel very welcome.

BfF: Can you tell us about your background?
GF: I was born in Madrid but moved to Benidorm where I grew up from the age of two.  I grew up playing football there before moving back to Madrid to become part of Atletico Madrid’s youth system, where I stayed until I was 19.  I then played in the Divisions 4 and 5 of the league system in Spain for Villalba and Las Roczas, during which time I enjoyed three promotions as well as playing in the play offs for promotion to the 3rd Division.  This was all part time and, though we were paid, due to the financial crisis the money was not enough to live on and so I also worked as a coach as well as in the football media.

I did some coaching work for Real Madrid and that was how I came to be in Guernsey, whilst doing some coaching in the summer of 2014.

BfF: So how has your experience been of playing Ryman league football in the English non-league pyramid, and how does that compare to your time in the Spanish lower leagues?

GF: Firstly, the pitches are generally bigger and better.  In Spain, many of the pitches are small and of poor quality, so the football often adapts by being more direct and teams playing off the second ball in the opponents’ half.  The best teams did play good football and as you went up to the Third and Second divisions, the facilities were better so all teams played more of a passing style of football.

Ryman league football is ok, some teams do play good football but the game is quicker, less patient and also more aggressive when teams are out of possession –the defensive aspects and challenges are more physical.

BfF: How about the culture and behaviours you see?
GF: There is more respect in the English game.  Despite the game being more physical, the individual duels are forgotten straight away – players show respect to each other and after the games there are no problems.  Maybe the coaches are not always the same, particularly during the game from the sidelines, but the players I think are very respectful of the game compared to Spanish players.

BfF: How about Guernsey FC? How do you see their style of play and compare that with your opponents?
GF: We have good technical players, and Tony (Vance, Guernsey FC Manager) likes to play attacking, possession based football – other teams sometimes do but sometimes are more direct.

Playing for Guernsey FC is difficult sometimes though as we never have the same team for away games due to player availability and even training is affected because the players have to give up so much time from work to play the games.  If we had the same team and had more stability we are a very good footballing side.  We could develop more together with our style of passing and movement.

BfF: And how about English football in the media? How does that compare to Spain?
GF: I love Match of the Day! It is much better than what we have on terrestrial TV in Spain.  The analysts are good, I like that they stop and pick out key moments in the game, it’s great! Our (Spanish) football shows have too many analysts and they all have their own favourite teams so it is not a balanced view.  Spanish people also focus on the celebrity lives of the players too much – it should be about the game! Monday Night Football on Sky Sports is also good to watch – very detailed.

BfF: You coach kids in the GFA Academy – how is your experience of coaching in English football?
GF: Well I think in Guernsey we are lucky, and maybe have better options for kids than in England perhaps (outside professional academies).  The coaches and facilities here are very good for children.

I do think that the players should play together more though – from ages 12-16 teams in

Spain train together 3 times a week and play matches too.  Here the players train two or three times but with different groups and coaches (for instance club, school, academy and performance group).  I think a player learns and improves more from September to May if they work in a group and stay together.  The next season it can change and a different coach or team mates can help the development but not when it is changing every week.  But I know that is difficult here because we live on an island and the possibilities are not the same as they are in Madrid for example.
  
BfF: So let’s talk philosophies and playing styles – you are a central midfielder who likes to get on the ball and dictate possession and are always calm when you have the ball.  I can draw comparisons with some top Spanish players here like Xavi, but is that how you think the game should be played?
GF: For me, Pep is the man – I am a Real Madrid fan but Barca under Pep, that was something!  I think you need to ensure the team is constantly moving, that passing options are always there and that when you lose the ball you get it back quickly – press, press, press! That team was beautiful, probably the best ever for me.  Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets – so simple but so much better than the others.  Real Madrid have no footballing identity – so for me it’s all about Pep!

BfF: But nothing in this game is new, right? Guardiola’s way isn’t completely new surely?
GF: Maybe not the principles, parts of which had been used before by great teams, but put it all together his way and wow! I played the football against teams that Barca B played against but they were so good, so much better.  And he had the confidence to put Busquets straight in, replacing big players like Yaya Toure, straight from the 4th division? He knew how good he was.

And now at Bayern he is playing with two at the back – always making things better and being different.

BfF: Do you have any other coaches you admire?
GF: I liked Benitez at Liverpool – he is not the same as Pep but their pressing game under him was excellent, I mean the team with Alonso, Kuyt, Gerrard...lots of energy even if Rafa is not in the same style as Pep.

I also love Paco Jemez at Rayo (Vallecano)  – he is crazy but does things his way.  He takes a team to the Camp Nou, gets beat 6-1 but does it his way – crazy high press, very ambitious and very attacking but it works against the teams lower down and he doesn’t just park the bus against Barca and Real.  I love that!

BfF: So you wouldn’t play a deep block like maybe Mourinho’s Inter against Barca in the CL semi final a few years ago?
GF: (smiling) If I was boss? No, never.

Kevin Graham made more than 200 appearances for a number of clubs in the upper reaches of the non-league pyramid (Whitby Town, Guiseley AFC and Goole AFC).   He is now working as a coach and a football writer.  You can follow him on Twitter here.