Pen pics of Wolves' coaching, performance and analytics staff.
Pen pics of Wolves' coaching, performance and analytics staff.
Natasha Patel is Assistant Academy Director at Southampton and one of the most experienced women working in men's professional football. In Episode #64 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, she outlined her journey in football, how analysis has evolved and her experiences on either side of the Atlantic.
RENE MARIC is one of the most exciting young coaches in Europe. At the age of 31, he is Head of Coach Development and Playing Philosophy at Bayern Munich and has worked for Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach. He told the TGG Podcast about his coaching journey and lessons.
RADHI JAIDI became the first Tunisian to play in the Premier League when he joined Sam Allardyce's Bolton in 2004 and he remains a trailblazer as one of the only black Muslim coaches in senior European football. On Episode #61 of the TGG Podcast, Jaidi told us about his journey as a player and coach.
AS manager of League One Reading, Ruben Selles has one of the toughest jobs in the Football League. On Episode #60 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, he explained what it's like to lead the crisis club.
BELGIUM'S Union Saint-Gilloise have marked themselves out as one of the smartest and most innovative clubs in Europe. In Episode #59 of the TGG Podcast, their Sporting Director, Chris O'Loughlin, gave insights into how they are managing to upset the established order.
WOLVES Sporting Director Matt Hobbs has been handed a one-game suspension and fined £4,000 for calling referee Anthony Taylor “absolutely f****** useless” after the 2-2 Premier League draw against Newcastle United at Molineux on October 28th.
KEVIN THELWELL has been Director of Football during a tumultuous period at Everton. In Episode #58 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, Thelwell talked about what his role involves, formulating a long-term plan for the club and what the future might hold.
JES BUSTER MADSEN is Head of Research and Development at FC Copenhagen and a world leader in the application of cognitive neuroscience in football. In Episode #57 of the TGG Podcast he explained how and why brain training will be the next big growth area in football.
FOR the last decade, Mark Leyland has been one of the foremost analysts in this country - and has gone on to become even more than that. He spoke to TGG about the evolution of his role at Liverpool and Newcastle and his current job as Head of Coaching Methodology at City Football Group.
FOR almost a decade, Sarah Rudd was Vice President of Analytics for StatDNA and Arsenal, making her one of the most senior women in the Premier League. In this episode of the TGG Podcast, she told us about her work with Arsenal, her wider career and her thoughts on the future of analytics.
PROSTATE UNITED is back for a sixth season and is aiming to break the £500,000 barrier. The challenge was launched by Stephen Gilpin in November 2018 and brought together hundreds of football club staff to run, cycle or walk every day of the month.
FORMER Notts County and Forest Green Rovers manager Ian Burchnall has joined Wolves as first-team coach.
LIVERPOOL'S influential assistant Pep Lijnders was our guest on Episodes #53 and #54 of the TGG Podcast, giving in-depth insights into his work at the Anfield club.
SHAUN DERRY has left Crystal Palace to become Gary O’Neil’s assistant at Wolves. West Ham Under-21s Lead Mark Robson and Bournemouth first-team coach Tim Jenkins are also expected to move to Molineux.
MANAGER Ian Evatt and Sporting Director Chris Markham are working in tandem to try and restore Bolton Wanderers to their former glories. They outlined their approach in Episode #52 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl.
SIX staff have left Wolves along with manager Julen Lopetegui, just nine months after arriving at the Molineux club.
NEIL CUTLER has been appointed Head of Goalkeeping at Wolves after Tony Roberts left to join AC Milan.
PHIL HAYWARD has returned to Wolves as Head of High Performance as the club undergo significant change behind the scenes ahead of the new season.
WHEN Irishman Conor Nestor got an unexpected opportunity to manage Svay Rieng in Cambodia, he grabbed it with both hands. He transformed the way they operated, including a complete revamp of their analysis and recruitment. Here he explains what he did and how it helped land the Cambodian league title.
FIRST-TEAM Analyst Tom Hocking outlines how Wolves use video analysis to empower and develop their young players.
ARSENAL have a fantastic record of producing athletic Academy graduates. In Episode #50 of the TGG Podcast Des Ryan, the club's former Head of Academy Sports Medicine and Athletic Development, explains why and how.
BENFICA are the reigning UEFA Youth League champions and have the most profitable Academy in Europe. Their Technical Director Pedro Marques was our guest on Episode #49 of the TGG Podcast in association with Hudl.
OUR guest on Episode #48 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast is Norwich City's Stuart Webber, who we've often described as the 'purest' example of a Sporting Director in this country.
IN Episode #47 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, Tom Vernon tells us about the origins of Right to Dream, its objectives and what the rest of football can learn from the group.
PROFESSOR David Sumpter is a pioneer of the application of data science in football and has worked with leading teams including Ajax, Barcelona, Hammarby and England. In Episode #46 of the TGG Podcast he gives insights into his work and predictions for the future.
BRENTFORD first-team coach Justin Cochrane tells us about his coaching journey on Episode #45 of the TGG Podcast.
STEVE DAVIS has been appointed to the new role of Player Pathways Manager by Wolves, with the objective of linking the first team and Academy.
JULEN LOPETEGUI has brought seven staff with him to Wolves. This is in stark contrast to Brentford, who have been eager for their footballing intellectual property to remain in the club, rather than coming and going with the Head Coach.
WOLVES Head of Performance and Medicine Rob Chakraverty has left the club after two years. The former England national team doctor joined the club in May 2020 as Lead Doctor for the Academy before stepping up to become first-team doctor and then Head of Performance and Medicine.
MATT HOBBS has been promoted from Chief Scout and Head of Recruitment to replace Scott Sellars as Sporting Director at Wolves.
SALLY NEEDHAM is the Human Development and Performance Culture Lead at Sheffield United's Academy. On Episode #44 of the TGG Podcast she gives us the lowdown on her unique role.
RUI FARIA is the most successful number two in football history. Here he gives in-depth insights into his time working alongside Jose Mourinho.
SEAN DYCHE explains the lessons he has learned throughout his career, from being a trainee under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest to taking unfashionable Burnley into Europe for the first time in 51 years.
STEVEN REID left his role as first-team coach at Nottingham Forest earlier this summer to become a confidence, wellbeing and leadership coach. On Episode #41 of the TGG Podcast he explains the reasons why and gives insights into his two decades as a Premier League player and coach.
DAMIEN COMOLLI tells TGG about the strategies he has employed to restore Toulouse FC to the top table of French football - and how they were honed during three decades in the game.
JON HUNTER-BARRETT has been promoted to Academy Manager at Wolves, with Laura Nicholls as Head of Academy Operations.
IN April, Southampton announced that they were launching a “unique” Learning Lab that would embed a “research culture focused on modern Ecological Approaches” in their club and Academy. TGG decided to find out more by welcoming two members of the Learning Lab Board onto our podcast.
AUSTRALIA assistant Rene Meulensteen was our guest on Episode #38 of the TGG Podcast. He told us about his coaching journey from Holland to Australia via Manchester United and the lessons learned along the way in front of a live audience..
ANDREAS GEORGSON gives us insights into individual development coaching, evolving set pieces at the highest level, Malmö's youth development secrets and what it was like to work under Arteta.
THE Training Ground Guru Podcast is celebrating its third birthday. We look back on the 37 episodes we've had so far - and ahead to season four.
FOR 24 years, Francis Cagigao was one of the most important and influential figures at Arsenal. He tells TGG about his time with the North London club and about his new role, as Director of Football for Chile.
BRENTFORD'S journey to the Premier League is a story of innovation, clever use of data and investment in people. We found out more about this from their Director of Football, Phil Giles.
MARIELA NISOTAKI is the Head of Emerging Talent at Norwich City - and the only female scout on the circuit in the UK. She told us what her job involves, how she balances data with live eyes and why Norwich are an ambitious club doing things their own way.
In Episode #33 of the TGG Podcast, Chris Ramsey MBE tells us about his role at QPR, his career journey, how he develops coaches and why the game has lost a generation of black leaders.
GREGG BROUGHTON is the Academy Director at Bodø/Glimt, the small club making a big noise in European football. He was our guest on Episode #32 of the TGG Podcast.
OWEN EASTWOOD, who has worked with the England men's football team since 2016, shares insights about building an optimum environment for teams and athletes to thrive.
WOLVES have launched a dedicated Academy website that they say is the first of its kind in the Premier League and will enable them to “provide a higher level of detail and resource than any other Academy across the globe.”
LUKE BORNN, the former Head of Analytics at AS Roma, tells us about his own journey, and that of data science in football.
WOLVES have announced a big revamp of their medical and performance department, involving the hiring of six new staff and a change of roles and responsibilities for several others.
DAVE ALRED MBE shares the secrets for performing under pressure that he's used with Jonny Wilkinson, Luke Donald, Francesco Molinari and even Gareth Southgate
IN just 20 months, Russell Martin has marked himself out as one of the most interesting and original English managers in the game. He told TGG more about his approach, covering topics including Buddhism, politics, playing without fear, work-life balance and the importance of sticking to Plan A.
WOLVES manager Bruno Lage has announced his backroom team at Molineux, bringing in six new staff.
MICHAEL BEALE gives an insight into the training ground methods that helped Rangers land their first title in a decade.
WOLVES Loans Manager Seyi Olofinjana has been confirmed as the new Technical Director of Swiss side Grasshopper Zurich.
SIX backroom staff are leaving Wolves along with manager Nuno Espírito Santo following the end of the Premier League season.
CHELSEA WOMEN manager Emma Hayes on some of the key influences on her career and how they helped to shape her leadership philosophy.
FORMER Everton, Norwich and Wigan defender Matt Jackson has joined Wolves to become English football’s first Strategic Player Marketing Manager.
LAURENCE STEWART, the Head of Recruitment for AS Monaco, explains the core principles of the club's transfer strategy.
RENOWNED coach and coach educator Brian Ashton MBE tells TGG the lessons he has learned from five decades in the profession.
FOLLOWING Scott Sellars' promotion to Technical Director at the start of this year, Jonathan Hunter-Barrett and Laura Nicholls have taken over the day-to-day running of the club's Category One Academy. They told TGG how they've been getting on.
AZ ALKMAAR Sport Development Director Marijn Beuker outlines how the club outperform their budget by thinking differently.
WOLVES players and staff have commissioned a painting of club doctor Matt Perry to thank him for his work during the coronavirus pandemic.
LIVERPOOL legend and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher tells TGG how he analyses matches and aims to take fans inside the world of the manager's post-match debrief.
SCOTT SELLARS has been promoted to Technical Director by Wolves, filling a position that has been vacant at the club since Kevin Thelwell left to join New York Red Bulls last February.
WOLVES Academy Manager Scott Sellars explains why the club are advertising for a unique role for showcasing young talent for development and recruitment.
UNDER-16s lead Dan Micciche outlines the key principles of Arsenal's Academy and how they go about developing 'Strong Young Gunners.'
BRIGHTON Technical Director Dan Ashworth explains what the role involves and why he believes it’s so important.
EVERTON assistant Davide Ancelotti was the guest on episode #19 of the TGG Podcast. The 31-year-old talked about growing up with a famous father, gave insights into his role, explained why Dominic Calvert-Lewin was "the best striker we could have" and opened up about his own managerial ambitions.
MATHEW PEARSON has been promoted to the new role of Head of Performance and Analysis by Wolves.
Eddie Jones, Tom Vernon, Dave Reddin, Lorraine O'Malley and Karen Bardsley outline what they believe will be the big developments in football in the coming months and years.
LIVERPOOL Academy Manager Alex Inglethorpe takes TGG inside the club's Kirkby training centre and explains the principles that underpin one of the most successful youth programmes in English football.
DR PIPPA GRANGE, the former Head of People and Team Development for the Football Association, tells us about the differences between winning deep and shallow.
WOLVES Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo dedicated his manager of the month award for June to five members of backroom staff who had paved the way for his team to return to the training ground in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
FORMER England doctor Robin Chakraverty has been appointed to a full-time position by Wolves.
MANCHESTER UNITED Academy Manager Nick Cox lays out the key tenets of the club's youth programme, including the belief that there is a higher purpose than just producing professional footballers.
DANNY COWLEY lays out his footballing philosophy, which he described as "old-school values with new methods".
TONY STRUDWICK says building relationships is still the most important skill for any practitioner, despite the increasing influence of data and science in football.
WOLVES manager Nuno Espírito Santo has explained why he doesn't hand out fines to players, preferring instead to let them take responsibility for their own actions.
GÉRARD HOULLIER is the "most underrated" Liverpool manager. according to Jamie Carragher, but he brought the club into the 21st Century and his legacy is still felt to this day,
BLACKBURN have been one of the surprise packages of the Championship season so far - and 35-year-old Stewart Downing has been their talisman. He tells TGG about the astute management of Tony Mowbray and how it's helped prolong his career.
WOLVES Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell is leaving the club after more than 11 years to become the first Head of Sport at the New York Red Bulls.
WOLVES Head of Sports Science and Medical Phil Hayward is leaving the club after 11-and-a-half years to join LA Galaxy.
ENGLAND rugby coach Eddie Jones shares insights gleaned from three decades in coaching, ranging from the influence of Pep Guardiola to managing mavericks to tactical periodisation.
MLADEN SORMAZ, Head of Football Analytics at Leicester City; Luke Benstead, Head of Performance Analysis and Innovation for Belgium, and Ed Sulley, Director of Customer Solutions for Hudl, discuss the current state of data science in football and where it could be headed.
PAUL BALSOM, Leicester City’s highly-experienced Head of Performance Innovation, says a rare alchemy has taken the side to heady heights in the Premier League this season.
WYSCOUT founder Matteo Campodonico explains how he came up with the idea for the scouting and analysis platform, how clubs use it and why he believes Big Data will transform the way it is used.
LEEDS UNITED Sporting Director Victor Orta says the club’s recruitment policy is 70% human judgement and 30% data.
LES FERDINAND charts his journey from star player to Director of Football at QPR and laments the fact that bigger clubs are now “stockpiling” young talent.
RHYS LONG, Head of Performance Analysis and Insight for the Football Association, outlines his philosophy in the Training Ground Guru Podcast.
DAVE REDDIN, the Football Association’s Head of Team Strategy and Performance, tells the TGG Podcast that sports science is creating a generation of players with “limited physical capabilities”.
THIS month we go behind the scenes at the TGG Youth Development Conference in Manchester, with speakers Kris Van Der Haegen, Leigh Bromby and John McGuigan.
WOLVES are on course to match Liverpool’s 23-year-old record for the fewest number of players used in a Premier League season.
TGG gets a tour of Burnley's Academy, which is on the verge of going from Category 3 to 1 inside three years.
FORMER Birmingham, Derby and Stoke manager Gary Rowett is joined by his former Head of Performance, Dave Carolan, and Head of Analysis, Joe Carnall, for the first episode of the new Training Ground Guru podcast.
SCOTT SELLARS has replaced Gareth Prosser as Head of Academy by Wolves.
WOLVES Academy manager Gareth Prosser is leaving the club after a decade to lead the new body that will be auditing clubs.
FORMER Blackburn and Newcastle winger Scott Sellars tells TGG about his work at Wolves' renowned Academy.
IAN CATHRO has been reunited with mentor Nuno Espirito Santo after being appointed as first-team coach at Wolves.
FORMER Wolves player and coach Rob Edwards has rejoined the club as Under-23s boss.
SCOTT SELLARS has been promoted to Head of Academy Player Development at Wolves following an internal restructure of coaching at the club.
SPANISH side Espanyol have made an approach for Wolves European scout Miguel Rios.
MUCH of the credit for Wolves' promotion to the Premier League has understandably gone to manager Nuno Espirito Santo. But Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell, a man we seldom hear of or from, has arguably been just as important.
WOLVES have recruited Andrew Findlay from Manchester United to become their new Head of Performance Analysis.
MIGUEL RIOS, Fulham's former senior scout, has been appointed European scout by high-flying Wolves.
DARREN RYAN has been named as the permanent coach of Wolves Under-18s after holding the position for the final few months of last season..