Training Ground Guru Podcast

Our guest on Episode #79 of the TGG Podcast is Joe Newton. Joe was part of Thomas Frank's inner circle at both Brentford and Tottenham and is a new breed of analyst. After starting as a youth player at Tranmere and Wrexham, he got a degree and Masters in performance analysis and secured a job at the New Saints in Wales. His big break came when he was appointed first-team analyst at Brentford, where he forged a close relationship with Frank and helped the club gain promotion to the Premier League. After that came a brief and turbulent spell at Tottenham, which ended in the sack in February 2026. Joe told us about his progression in the game, about what makes Brentford special, why things went wrong at Tottenham and about his special relationship with Frank. In this episode we also have an interview with Adam Ridgewell, who worked for Southampton for five years before becoming Account Manager with Genius Sports. Adam told us how clubs like Brentford are using Genius Sports' tracking data and Performance Studio to gain an edge in the game.

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.

Our guest on Episode #65 of the TGG Podcast is Robbie Savage. As a player, Robbie made 346 Premier League appearances and captained four clubs. After retiring, he became a household name as a TV and radio pundit and appeared on Strictly in 2011. Now he's pursuing a different career, as a Manager, with Macclesfield in the Northern Premier League. Robbie told us why he'd turned to coaching, about his approach to leadership and about his lofty ambitions as a Manager. SHOW NOTES => 02:07: Wishing he'd gone into coaching earlier. How move from Director of Football came about. 06:44: Coaching badges? Starts A Licence next year and then hopefully Pro. Need your badges. Sees coaching as a vocation and ambition to reach the top. 10:58: Engaging with fans. Pitching in. Change in relationship with players when you become Manager. Treat them like he would treat his son. 13:40: Change in man management since he was a player. Becoming less visibly emotional. Calmer. Use of video analysis. Macclesfield expected to win every week. 18:43: Style of play. Preferred formation. Players win matches, not tactics. 24:40: Behaviour on the touchline? Setting the mood or calm and composed? Heart rate going high in technical area. 27:55: Change in style of play in non-league. Guardiola influence. Wants his team to get the ball forward quickly when possible. Not keen on playing out from the back. 32:36: Assistant wears a GoPro because of abuse from fans. Doesn't get paid at the moment. Could change when they go full-time. 38:15: Approach has changed on 606 phone-in. More understanding of Managers. Important to have consistency of messaging as a pundit or Manager. Has had offers as a Manager at bigger clubs. 44:15: Released at Manchester United. Make or break. Coached a team at Macclesfield made up of players who had been released and had great success. Callum West went to Burnley and now at Barnsley. 49:21: Do the Academies prepare players well enough? James Edmondson from Blackburn. Difference between Academy and senior football. Strength of the pyramid. 54:16: Different than he seemed as a player. Pantomime character. More than 350 Premier League games and captained four clubs. Keeps a book about all matches and what the Managers said.

Our guest on Episode #63 of the TGG Podcast is Danny Röhl. Danny led Sheffield Wednesday to one of English football's great escapes last season. When he took over in October, the club were seven points adrift of safety with no wins in 10. By the end of the campaign they were three points clear of relegation. In this episode Danny told us how that remarkable metamorphosis was achieved and charted his meteoric rise as a coach, from RB Leipzig to Southampton, Bayern Munich, Germany and now Sheffield Wednesday, as a manager in his own right. SHOW NOTES => 02:11: Currently in Leipzig. Family have stayed there while he worked in Sheffield. About to work for ITV as a pundit at the Euros. 05:04: Now looking ahead to next season. Had offers from other clubs but journey not finished at Sheffield Wednesday. Need to improve the club and the squad. 08:15: Reflections on his first season in charge. Wanted an increase in intensity, while being mindful of injuries. Was always positive and believed in the players - something he learnt from Hansi Flick. 13:15: How did he win the players over so quickly? Laid out a plan for how they could be successful: pressing, counterpressing and improving ball possession. Developing players off the pitch as well as on it. "A good coach can change a game; a great coach can change a life." 19:07: Having different personalities and qualities in coaching team. He sets the plan and strategy for the week, but they get ownership of their area. 21:34: Influence of RB Leipzig on his playing philosophy. How this developed during his career. "I am not a manager to cross my fingers and wait." 27:20: Has principles and habits, but decision-making is down to the players and he builds this into his training sessions. Risk and reward in the final third. 29:17: Why did you take the Sheffield Wednesday job? Potential. 32:03: Start of coaching career at RB Leipzig as a coach-analyst. Why this dual role is important. "You cannot be just a tactical engineer on the laptop." 38:51: 6-0 defeat by Ipswich in March - took the decision to be proactive and take risks. 40:16: Ambitions for the future. 42:12: Is the owner fully behind the project? "We dream of the Premier League."

Here is Part 2 of our interview with Bayern Munich Head of Coach Development & Playing Philosophy Rene Maric. In this second half, Rene told us how he kickstarted his career with the tactics blog Spielverlagerung, about coaching Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund, and about his brief spell as assistant at Leeds United. SHOW NOTES => 01:44: Reaction to announcement last night (February 21st) that Thomas Tuchel would be stepping down as Bayern Munich manager at the end of the season. 03:44: Start of his relationship with Tuchel, via his Spielverlagerung blog. 11:11: Meeting Marco Rose - a pivotal relationship in his career. Approach to social media and content creation nowadays. 18:24: Experiencing the Red Bull philosophy at RB Salzburg. 24:50: Onto first-team staff at Salzburg at 23; then onto Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund. 27:15: Being one of the 'laptop coaches'. "It would be pretty stupid nowadays if you don't use a laptop." 28:03: Working with stars like Dominik Szoboszlai, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland. 36:08: Joining Leeds United in July 2022. 38:06: Jesse Marsch seemed a great fit after Marcelo Bielsa. Why didn't it work out? 43:36: Ambitions for the future? 45:50: 'Tactics don't exist, you have decisions of players.' 50:03: What type of Head Coach would you be?

Our guest on Episode #60 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Radhi Jaidi. Radhi is a true legend of Tunisian football, having played 105 times for his country and won every trophy there was to win at club level there. Fans in England will know him best from his time at Bolton Wanderers, where he played under Sam Allardyce and helped them qualify for Europe. Since 2018 he's been a coach, working with Southampton U23s, Hartford Athletic in the USL, Esperance in Tunisia and now Cercle Brugge in Belgium, where he's assistant. Radhi told me about his tough upbringing, his best memories from Bolton and his experiences and ambitions as a coach. SHOW NOTES => 02:05: Working as assistant at Cercle Brugge since 2023. Second spell at the club. 04:30: Same ownership as Monaco. How this impacts what happens at Cercle. Recently had a training camp in Monaco. 07:48: Why he chose Cercle. Background in youth development. Balance between development and results. 13:17: Importance of relationship building. 15:26: Duties as assistant manager. Main duties are as defensive coach, especially with the centre-backs. 16:45: Growing up in Tunisia. 21:26: Rare in having gone direct from Africa to the Premier League. 34:09: 15 different nationalities at one stage but gelled together. Importance of Tuesday team meal and being fined for missing his first one! 43:00: Childhood. Father died when Radhi was 11 and he had to grow up fast. 44:43: Are young players too pampered today? 50:30: Differences between the generations. Generation of young players have a big problem with distraction. Malcolm Frame, psychologist at Southampton, had a good mnemonic, the 4 As: Accept, Assess, Adapt, Apply. Generations and environment might change, but core values shouldn't. 55:31: Ambitions for the future - "the ultimate is to succeed with a European team as a Head Coach. I still have the ambition, the desire, the energy, the obsession to make it." Unconscious bias. "The day I get the opportunity I am going to explode." 57:53: Importance of his Muslim faith.

Our guest on Episode #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.

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.