Introduction
In this short ‘book’ I describe
my ups and downs at QPR as an Academy Football Coach.
When I left QPR I was overwhelmed
by the level of support I got in communications from players, parents and
coaches. It truly is a great club and overall I learned a lot and it enhanced
my football career without any doubt. But it was mixed with a series of events
that is perhaps a sign of the sickness that exists in our game. There can never
be any doubt that whatever job you do, whatever club you’re at, it will never
be perfect. There will always be the moaners as well. The ones that are never
happy. I ran a business and learned that some people are just never happy. But
at QPR something very unique was happening. You can do business comparisons but
ultimately it’s a football club. A football club with heritage, image,
reputation and people. It was in my view that these have been damaged and I
tried to communicate that to the people that run the club. It’s easy to say
nothing, do what football people call ‘play the game’. But I can’t do it. I
can’t pretend things are ok when they are not. I think the impact is bigger and
people should know. Football and money are a dangerous combination because they
are high on the list of what most people love and love can bring out the worst
in some people.
Table of Contents
1-Luton Town to QPR
2-The 1st season
3-The ethos
4-A new start, new investment a new era
5-Aug 2012 The identity and another new Academy
Manager
6-Transition in to EPPP
7-Players with ‘Parents’ at the club & Beckham
8-Standard of players
9-Feb 2013 to Resignation
10-A year on 2014/15
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| Luton Town Academy Coach |
I happened to
be driving through Holland on my way back from Germany when the car phone rang.
“Hi Tony, its Steve Gallen, QPR, how are ya? Is now a good time to talk?” It
must have been, because at the end of the conversation I had reached Belgium
and a new phone network. I completely hit it off with Steve, of course I knew
who he was, he’s someone that is so highly regarded in football. “Tony, I’d like
you to come and work at Queens Park Rangers, we will suit your personality and I’ve
heard great things about you”.
In football
there is no better feeling than feeling wanted. I’d had 8 great years coaching
at Luton working up from the community department. But, with things becoming
difficult due to the vulnerable position I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
So I went to meet Steve. I got there and went to the old office at Harlington.
Immediately there was a great feeling. A great relationship with the scholars
was clear as they came into the office having completed their chores and tasks.
One of them was of course Raheem and straight away Steve being Steve, was quick
to introduce him to me. I sensed a well-grounded, respectful lad, of course I
never knew what he would become. “Tone, let’s go for a coffee, Kev Coffee?
Birchy, Coffee? We jumped into the van and nipped over to Starbucks.
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| With the LTFC Squad before Wembley 2009 |
After a short
conversation there and no doubt some banter. I knew this was the club for me.
It wasn’t just the banter. It was Steve, when he talks football, its common
sense, simple and all focused on the players. I’d been at Luton for many years
and coached at every level starting in community football. I’d travelled over
Europe with academy teams. I travelled with the first team in the football
league and got to work with them in the JPT final at Wembley which certainly
was the highlight. I’d learnt so much at Luton and was grateful to those who
gave me opportunities and great memories there. I worked hard for the players
and have seen some of them develop into good young footballers. But things
change and I needed to progress. Football is a small world and like Luton, QPR
had an excellent reputation at youth level. So with no talk of money and roles,
I gave Steve my word that I was coming.
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| Joined QPR |
QPR’s first
team were in the championship and Neil Warnock was the manager. Of course we
would see him in passing but of course we never had anything to do with him. I
was initially asked to work with the U14’s and helped Kevin Gallen. Of course I
knew Kevin from Luton so that was an easy transition. For those that have come
into contact with Kevin they will have experienced the bright enthusiastic
bubbly guy that certainly likes a laugh. That was a great thing about training.
It was something I always looked forward to. You couldn’t wait to get to work. But
I always sensed that perhaps few people knew the other side to him. The
dressing room is the so called home for banter, yet for Kevin, what I could
see, was the opposite for him. This was work, the place where he transformed
into this focused no nonsense individual. Maybe that’s his downfall? Because there
are many people that can bluff people with their public persona and steely
focus in front of senior influential people. But Kevin only knows how to be
himself and transforms when and where it matters. In the dressing room, on the
training ground and on the pitch. Only people that know him can empathise with
that.
When he was at
Luton I recalled he had been sent to train with the youngsters. He was training
and was gobsmacked at the lack of application from the young lads. I guess that
they too were mistaken by the character that lit the lounge and canteen up with
laughter making it a great place to be and thought that was an approach they
could bring to the training pitch. They were very mistaken and they were told
in no uncertain terms. He gave them a speech which should be given to every
single young player. He told them that this was 2/3 hours of a day that was
hard work and application compared to most peoples 8-10 hours. So if you can’t
dedicate yourself properly to that then you’ve got no chance. They soon livened
up.
Of course I
wasn’t surprised. I’d seen Kevin in a dressing room before. We were in the Blue
Square Conference and things were not going to plan. Luton were away to
Cambridge United and it was eventful to say the least. I was aware that as well
as fireworks on the pitch there was some ruffled feathers in the stands. Even
our non-playing lads were getting some grief in the stands so everyone was a
bit pumped. Luton went in at half time 2-0 down with some dubious decisions and
we had a man sent off for arguing about them. After Mick had delivered his half
time plans and motivation (great man by the way) the lads do what they do,
their own time. With emotions boiling over you could sense this could be a
difficult second half. Kevin stepped in and the room fell silent. He kept it
very simple. “Look lads, all you’ve got to do is do your jobs, I’m up top, I’ll
do the job of two people. So, what have you got to complain about? If you all
come back in here having done your jobs 100% well be fine” I didn’t let on but
I was gobsmacked. No one had an answer to that. I guess inside they thought,
well if he’s saying he’ll do two peoples job, what excuse have I got? They
returned for the second half full of inspiration and ran out 4-3 winners with
Kevin scoring twice.
You see, not
many people see this side of Kevin. Working with him then in a development
environment at QPR was also a learning curve. No, at that time he didn’t have
his badges but was starting. To me I could tell he felt he was home. I could
see the relationship with everyone and clearly the staff loved him. He
motivated everyone around him. He put smiles on people’s faces and most of all,
he was the guy at that level that had the most playing experience yet he had no
ego and would talk to everyone. The gateman, the grounds man, the cook, the kit
lady Dee were all treated the same as everyone else and he would speak to them
all. Dee the kit lady had actually been there when Kevin was a young player and
she would recall to me stories of him around the training ground and it was
great to see their relaxed open relationship.
In football
terms, Kevin was fantastic. He might not have had the top badges at that time
but he had the memories and he’s intelligent and so open to learning. I would
stand on the side of the pitch and occasionally I would think, I’m not sure
here, I’m trying to work out where things were going a bit wrong. Kevin would
spot it instantly and I learned so much from that. He also had an amazing
relationship with the lads and knew how to develop and challenge players as
individuals. He of course also had little bits of high quality advice for
strikers and midfielders that just don’t exist in the handbook. Not all ex pros
make good coaches but for me, after 8 years in pro football I was happy to
admit that I was still learning.
I’d recalled
playing QPR’s youth when I was Luton. Luton were of course strong as they have
always been. A great history for producing players but playing QPR was always a
challenge. The problem was that whatever you seemingly threw at them they could
cope with it. Most of all, they could play and they could play in tight areas,
quickly. So when I ended up working there I was fascinated about their training
methods and how they approached development. We would have in-service days and
Steve Gallen would lead it. All the suggested sessions were delightful and
realistic drills relative to the real game. They ensured that players also
developed technically and could handle the ball in all situations. There was
also competition, something I think too many are scared of. But it was fun and
light hearted when required. There was a great sense of player centric
development as well. We were very aware that we were there for the players. I
recall Steve making comments about words in games that could be deemed critical
and we were reminded about the power of confidence.
QPR at that time
was clearly a challenging environment top down, actually I wasn’t sure the club
really, truly valued the academy but Steve was like the protector. He would
take the flack and then smile at the staff and players like nothing was wrong.
I recall there being a whole issue over a missing KitKat from the canteen. Academy
staff would have restricted access to certain areas, sometimes, no areas and
getting the kit washed seemed like you was asking the club to rotate Loftus
Road ninety degrees. I know that some clubs like to segregate the 1st
team and that’s fine. I’d seen that abroad in Germany. Chelsea have a separate
building, Blackburn have a site down the road but QPR didn’t have another site.
Even so, it didn’t matter because under Steve, you wanted to be there. Football
was great, we were learning, we were working with genuine talent and we felt
valued and rewarded. Another example of Steve’s approach was evident when
Raheem had returned after his sale to Liverpool. The scholars were all walking,
down the road toward the main building. Steve was outside and could see one of
the players had his earrings in. “Take your earrings out, your still at QPR and
in our tracksuit”, with that, a casually dressed Raheem reached for his ears to
take his out. “No, no, not you Raheem, you can do what you like now” Steve said
jovially. But this showed the level of respect Raheem had for him.
There could be
no doubt that Steve was firefighting. He covered it well and would never
mention it but some things were obvious. None more so than the facilities. The
main 3G pitch had lighting that was so poor in winter you could barely see the
ball and the other playing surface was a short pile hockey pitch of which you
would have a third of a pitch and it was so slippy in the cold. But despite
that Steve has been successful in bringing through players. None more so than
Raheem Stirling, one of Europe’s top targets. But also he has players now
playing or played in many teams. Michael Harriman, Michael Doughty, Bruno Andrade,
Frankie Sutherland, Max Ahmer, Mo Sherrif, Tafarri Moore, Liam O’Brian, Dean
Parrot, Antonio German, Jamie Sandless-White, Michael Petrasso came in late and
Reece Cox is now in the 21’s. So despite juggling balls on a roller-coaster,
clearly Steve was doing something right. I also believe that at that time QPR
had one scout Terry O’Sullivan and the club would not, or could not approve a
true budget for a scouting team. Despite that Terry was also instrumental in
securing the services of many of those players. This of course a difficult task
when you consider the regions competition and clubs with great facilities in
comparison. So why did they come to QPR? Because it was a great place to be and
had good people. There were good standards, we were expected to look
professional, prepare properly, deliver quality sessions and be sure to have
plenty of enthusiasm. “Help them” Steve would say and “Always get caught being
yourself” A phrase I will never forget, in other words, don’t pretend.
I remember
Matt Jackson on talksport was asked how he gets players to Wigan when you
consider the competition around him in the North West with huge clubs on his
doorstep. His simple answer was “People, were good people”. I think QPR is, or
was like that.
QPR had been
promoted to the Premier League and with it came a new chairman. Soon
afterwards, there was a new 1st team manager Mark Hughes. We heard
there was going to be change and investment in the academy. Quite frankly this
was fantastic news. It excited every one. We were invited to a meeting with the
new chairman and he was really inspirational with his words. So down to earth.
Later he walked over to the training pitches and spoke to the players. It
struck me that he was more keen to do this than talk to all the adults trying
to grab his attention. This sat really well with me. This was a working class
guy that come good and I loved that he wanted to get out in the cold and see
the young academy players. As things began to change we also heard about the
changes afoot with EPPP being implemented. This all sounded fantastic. Imagine
the excitement at being at a club with such grounded people, great football
heritage and now investment and positive change. I was invited in to help
advise on certain aspects of technology that were required as part of the audit
tool on EPPP and I was really excited about where things were heading.
We were asked
to attend another meeting. This was non-negotiable, everyone had to be there,
there was to be some kind of announcement. There were new people around. We
were introduced to a new structure. A guy called Shaun Hallett was introduced
as the Academy Manager and Mike Rigg was Technical Director. I had never heard
of either of them. The tone of this presentation was in complete stark contrast
to the one delivered by the chairman and put everyone on the back foot. This
guy in jeans and tweed jacket seemed to have little to smile about wanted to immediately
intimidate everyone. The other, Shaun Hallett looked suarve in his open top
shirt. He said about his senior background and described his success in making
things happen, but he wasn’t from a football background. Mike Rigg got a
flipchart out and began his speech which we would later hear repeated several
times. These guys were not interested in anyone’s experience, advice or
feedback. They were not interested in QPR’s heritage, history or success
stories. They were going to deliver a strategy and this was how it’s going to
happen. In that presentation I was amazed to hear Mike Riggs description of his
background. He gloated that he and his people were responsible for turning Man
City around. He described them as a Palace where inside lived a “dysfunctional
family”. He claimed that he had managed to fix that and this enabled them to
win the league. Some staff member nudged me and said, yeah he also managed to
spend nearly £300m in the process. In that meeting we were clearly told some
home truths. “Change is going to happen, you will support it and get behind it.
If you don’t like it, there’s the door. For everyone of you there are a
thousand other people that would jump in your place. You either get on the bus,
or get off, it’s your choice”
I remember
thinking, hang on pal, you don’t even know us and your throwing threats around.
There are good coaches sitting around in this room. I would argue not easy to
replace. It was a very naive tactic in my opinion and I for one don’t take
kindly to bullying. This guy had attempted to put everyone on the back foot in
one swoop. This wasn’t the ‘QPR Way’ I thought. We was also introduced to
another guy Glyn Hodges, of course I had heard of him. He would be taking care
of football and coaching. All these people would begin to form part of a new
team to take the Academy forward. Immediately I thought, hang on, with all the
years of firefighting it would have been nice if Steve would have been given
the chance to benefit from running it with proper investment.
The next few
months was nothing short of turmoil. Steve had disappeared as he had been told
he was now solely responsible for the 18’s. Shaun was now in charge. We never
really knew what was going on. Very quickly, this had become a very strange
place to be. It seemed to me that these people didn’t really know the
youth/academy process. Much of that was held together by the football
administrator Alan Jacket. On one occasion we turned up to training and on the
way to the pitch were told Glyn Hodges is coming to watch training. That for me
wasn’t a problem. In all clubs the bosses want to see what’s happening of
course. But then another guy was told he had to coach, Paul Bruce. Paul was a
great guy. Great people’s person. A great coach. Probably too nice though. I
was coaching next to him and he said to me “Tone, I’ve been told I’ve got to
coach but it wasn’t my session, he got told to deliver someone else’s session
and was given the trialist. All coaches will know that is the worst scenario.
Although I can of course do things off the cuff. I like to Plan. Poor Paul was
sold down the river. His session broke up and didn’t go down well. Paul was
later sent an email by the club to tell him he was getting let go. I was devastated,
I know he’s a great coach and person. He was close to players in that Raheem
era and you could see the way they went to him. He was there ‘go to’ guy. Yet I
felt he had been royally stitched up and not even told face to face or furthermore,
not even a phone call.
The rest of
that year was horrible and myself and another QPR coach went to share our
concerns with Glyn Hodges. We felt that we should tell him to his face. To be
fair, he did attempt to appease us at this point. However I later thought this
was the wrong move. It seemed every time we arrived at training we would get
called into the office and we would get told things that were wrong. But it
would never come back from the horse’s mouth. Fear factor was running through
the club, it wasn’t nice anymore. We began to feel like we were being attacked
and coaches would come to me complaining about so many things. I always said to
them “Guys, just remember why we’re here, what would Steve say? Just grit your
teeth and don’t rise to the comments. They are trying to destabilise things but
let’s just do our jobs, were here to coach for the kids”. So that’s what we
did. I remember one guy wanted to quit 3 times that year. What keeps you going
though is the players. Once on the pitch we would forget what was going on in
the building. We did feel that the guys did seem to lack real experience in
handling young developing players. Mainly by the way they communicated with
them. Or some cases, they just didn’t, at all.
I do feel
that’s its perfectly plausible and understandable that in some cases certain
coaches could be in breach of contracts, not coach at the required level, not
maintain records as required etc. So in some cases that needs addressing. Even
at times people need to change. But this wasn’t the situation here and people
were not getting treated equally.
We had
returned to training and we instantly felt on the back foot again like we had
before. But now there would be further twists. With the new manager in place
the summer had brought much improvement to the training ground in terms of 1st
teams facility. Glyn Hodges has a personal relationship with Mark Hughes so
actually that should have been of benefit to the Academy. A little in to the
return we were hit with some new news. Kevin Gallen had been sacked overnight
by email. We were totally gobsmacked. I recall sitting in a back room dressing
room with Steve Quashie and Terry O’Sullivan. It was like a bereavement. QPR
didn’t feel like QPR anymore. It felt like these guys were determined to remove
its identity. Kevin didn’t even get a chance to say cheerio to the lads. Many
were so close to him. We didn’t even have a story from them. Just, “erm, he’s
gone”.
The next
training session I dragged myself through the gate. I really felt that was it.
Terry O’Sullivan stopped me walking across the field. “Tone, you ok”? The
motivation was gone, I was thinking, what am I going to tell all these players?
“I dont think they realise what Kevin means to them”. I said to Terry “its gone
Terry, the soul has gone” For the first time in my football life, this felt
like a job and a Job I didn’t like anymore.
As I had done
to others many times I was talked out of leaving. I thought again about Steve
and what he would want. I thought about the players I had helped and that
depended on me.
The next twist
came with the appearance of Richard Allen. Another person I had not heard of. We
were told he had come from Spurs and that he was head of recruitment. He was
someone close to Mike Rigg and he brought him in. Within a short time there was
some disagreement and we were aware of an atmosphere between these guys. I understand
a falling out had happened with Mike Rigg, Glyn Hodges and Shaun Hallett. They
would be glaring at each other across the room, mumbling under their breath or
sit behind a desk with a face like thunder. You would turn up for work happy
and within 10 minutes you could feel the atmosphere and it was depressing. The
ironic thing was that this was now the “Dysfunctional Family”. The outcome of this was that Shaun then
disappeared and Richard Allen was announced another, Head of Academy. These
became a tight three and later a tight four with Nick Dawes added to mix as
18’s assistant coach. On the ground, I was a mere U14 lead coach and simply got
on with my job. Despite the challenges and hurdles we tried to get on with the
Job of coaching and developing players.
The usual QPR
challenges had increased as always due to the shared site. A new barrier was
installed further down the car park and we had to wait for Caroline (1st
team secretary) to leave before any of the academy staff were allowed in. So
the top car park would be jam packed, we would sit up there embarrassed as
staff with all the parents not allowed in till 5.30PM. On one match day the
actual front gate was shut and security said we couldn’t come in. I said, “its
ok, I work here”. He nervously said, “I know, but she has told me the academy
staff are not allowed in”. We had to throw our boots, balls and kit over the
fence as we had a game. On another occasion we were completely banned from the
whole building and had to get changed in the next field in a Sunday league
adult dressing room. That day we played Southampton. Who also were sent there
to get changed. This was so embarrassing, a great academy like Southampton and
the kids were walking up the main road to get changed. They had to then walk
through groups of smoking taxi drivers to the dressing room whilst the parents
went in the grubby café for a cup of tea. I changed in the toilet into training
kit and made my way back across the adjacent field and through trees back to
the training ground to do the warm up. One of the Phase Lead coaches stopped
me, he thought he’d been handed the reins of Microsoft and tried to ‘manage’
everyone. I’ve managed many people and put myself on man-management courses.
So, I knew that he was severely lacking the skills required, he was miles out
of his depth. What an ‘A’ licence doesn’t give you is automatic man-management
skills. He tried to be busy to impress the bosses. “Where’s your match day
tracksuit”? He said, I replied “It’s in the dressing room where there are naked
adults walking around and drawings of a Penis with a sex message underneath it,
that the kids pointed out to me when I arrived”. “Why don’t you challenge the
real issues instead of trying to look busy in front of the bosses” However
despite all the issues, we would go upstairs, say hello to Dee and the cook, Alan
the Administrator and the cleaner. I loved the laughs we had. But gradually it
seemed any type of communication up there was frowned upon. We were increasingly rejected by the new group
of management and any form of communication was a struggle. “Hello” was a push.
Richard Allen
set about bringing in his own staff. In fact, the staff at the academy had
grown on a massive scale. He brought in a head of recruitment. Someone that
didn’t work there all the time and evidently had been running a boys club Crown
and Manor in north London. He was never formally introduced, he just appeared
and at one point was walking around the pitches and we didn’t even know who he
was. Just a guy in casual clothes and a ruck sack but he was always talking to
Richard so we guessed he had that autonomy. He never wore QPR clothes.
Something Richard later boasted was something good about him. I wasn’t so sure.
I like the idea of professionalism. More staff arrived, one was unconnected to
Richard but seven new coaches and a whole team of scouts under Frank were
quickly and gradually integrated in different roles in the academy. They mostly
had links to working with the crown and manor boys club in north London or
Spurs. New people are great but what happened next was a clear divide in staff.
I remember being asked to go to a meeting and a table of people were completely
new yet they were never introduced. Richard sat with them and they talked and
whispered throughout the meeting. Why they were never introduced I don’t know.
Terry O’Sullivan was moved into a lesser role and eventually out of the club.
I was really
fortunate to be buddied up with a great lad Stephen McCarthy. He works at the
club in the community and is a really smashing guy. He was an excellent coach
and a great person. Great with the kids to. I also loved that he was ‘QPR’. He
knew all the surrounding area and many of the players that came in. I made it
clear to him that to me the titled ‘Lead Coach’ meant nothing. Perhaps only
that I’ll take the flack for anything that was wrong. But it doesn’t mean he’s
here to watch me coach and be my ‘GoFor’ or the ‘BBC’ man. I see that role of
one of responsibility to help the assistant coach learn. Its not a threat to
me. I want to see him progress. We agreed that we would alternate sessions.
That was great because he is a very good coach and very grounded. I actually
learned a lot from him to. Later I had another good coach Dean who is young and
enthusiastic and so keen to progress. I good lad, hes now moved on. Actually
that poor lad was another one that spent a long time preparing for another job
that was clearly already assigned to someone else. Another good candidate who
was another coach applied but he had his interview moved onto a day that he
already said he could not do. Anyway, relationships like this were a great
distraction from the traps and banana skins that were be set for us.
Money was being
spent on advertisement boards and booklets. Actually I have to commend the
investment in medical and S&C. To me that was class! We were also going
through the transition to EPPP and these people I felt had interpreted it
badly. They weren’t player centric. To me they were too ruthless. Richard Allen
was unapproachable, there were clicky gangs, people felt nervous. There was
serious doubt about the integrity of the whole thing. Most of all, I was
uncomfortable about the way these guys handled the players. To me that lacked
experience in that department and most of all empathy. These are young human
beings not puppy greyhounds. I cringed at the way some of the players were
treated and spoken to.
We had a big
meeting about everything academy. Everyone was there. Including the now brave
faced Steve. Who by the way never said one negative word about any person or
what had happened to him. In that
meeting they spoke about how they were going to recruit players and how to handle
real talent. I remember thinking, hang on, Fitz is in the room and he coached
Raheem Stirling. Steve is in the room and he coached him more than anyone and
overseen his development. At the time if you went on the Premier League youth
website Raheem was the image you were presented with. The flagship example. They
never once asked them two guys to stand up. Ask them what they thought, did
they have anything they could share that we could learn from? It’s like they’re
scared to admit that before all this money, something great happened, before
you got here under difficult ownership, the club had success. Instead we are
now being presented to by people who, with respect, have a fraction or no
experience. Later an email was circulated saying we are going to ‘smash the
perception that QPR only recruits posh players from Surrey’. This was a
ludicrous statement. Raheem and probably 90% of the original players were not
‘Posh kids from Surrey’. Even so, if there was a ‘posh kid from surrey’, that
was class, should he not be recruited? These attacks were unjustified and
continued through the year. I was accused of not giving trialist a chance, was
another example. In response I wrote a correspondence to Richard Allen. This
was an absolute insult to me. I always want to give people a chance, but also
want to give the lads already there the best chance. I felt this was more about
making way for lads that affect the percentage of players brought in to make
the reports look better. For me, I’ve got too much integrity for that. This
formed one of the biggest issues I had. How can you sleep at night signing a
player who you know will not make the grade? You’re taking him out of school,
giving him a dream, his parents and family are over the moon. But you know he won’t
make it, but it makes your numbers look better and bonuses start flowing.
For me I will
not bend on this. If I was in charge of an academy I would be clear. When I
look a player in the eye and tell him were signing him, it will be because I
think he has a genuine chance. I’m taking you out of school which has a
lifetime impact on you. When I look the parents in the eye it’s because I
genuinely think he has a chance and I will care for him and be honest with him.
We owe that to you the parents. I certainly won’t do it to meet my performance
targets and my bonus. If I don’t meet them, I’ll explain to the chairman, ‘that’s
because I want a player for the first team’. Not a short term fix by way of a
spreadsheets and percentages. I can’t live with myself by bluffing you to keep
my salary because I might destroy people’s lives in the process. If a player
signs for me he’ll have earned it. If the chairman can’t live with that, sack
me. Yet this club now seems to be jumping in with both feet with players who for
me, are not at the level required.
Whilst the
club embarked on EPPP it seemed that it had become obsessed with the data
instead of the pitch. I’m actually behind many of the EPPP principles but at
QPR it had focussed all around the data entry. But the quality on the pitch was
failing. Both players and the coaching. The players coming in and signed (not
all) but many were in my view unfairly signed. I say unfairly because of the
effect long term. The coaching had also declined. We had a ‘skills coach’ who
was meant to do a session on Saturdays. He would turn up late, take random
players un prepared, then I’d watch and he was doing passing and receiving. I’d
think, this guy is making it up as he goes along. They began to squeeze more
and more hours in to the lads to meet EPPP requirements for level 2 but
everyone and the players are part-time. The players were tired and they no
longer had smiles on their faces. We had put in a new philosophy but I think
the players were confused. There didn’t seem to be any consistency. For
example, a player (now signed at another club U18) was told to improve his
range of pass in a 6 week report meeting. It was all too ‘sideways and
backwards’. The next week I watched him train as two age groups got together
and played a game. He hit a 40 yard raking diagonal pass that the other full
back missed and his winger brought down with his chest. If Paul Scholes hit
that pass the MOTD team would be raving about it. The game was immediately
stopped and he had strips tore off him. “That pass was too risky, the full back
could have got that”. This was also a
lad accused of having anger issues, is it any wonder?
I was now
dreading coming to training. The ego on people was now off the scale. Some
staff just refused to talk to you. They actually didn’t even talk to the
players. I walked upstairs to the restaurant before training on one occasion
and Glyn Hodges and Richard Allen were sitting on the sofa. As I walked around
the corner, instead of saying Hi, they both got up and walked off. This was a regular
thing I experienced. Another coach who was sitting there and seen what
happened. He said to me, “Did that really just happen”? I said to him. “Don’t
worry, I’m used to it now”. I just smiled. One thing I always tried to do was
smile through it and laugh. In some ways it gave me comfort to know that
whatever they chucked at me I could still smile and be happy. That also helped
put me in the right frame of mind for coaching. There is nothing worse than
watching a coach that’s had a bad day taking his or her mood on to the pitch. I
see that in teachers as well and its such an ugly unfair appearance.
But every time
I turned up for work they would find a way to have a dig. It was becoming a
real drain. It wasn’t “Hello” or “How are you”. It was “Right, this is a
problem, we need to look at”. The thing is, we as coaches were trying our best
to accommodate change. Mainly under the EPPP transition. We were all working
now seven days a week with the extra reporting and sessions. We were not
offered any extra money but we were also not offered any thanks. I felt that we
were steamrolling ahead and not considering the wellbeing of the players in the
process. This was clear to me on many occasions. One lad was training on the
‘hockey’ pitch. A surface we were never satisfied with, especially for a ‘level
2’ academy. We always feared injury and one evening it happened. A lad went
down with a what we thought could be a broken ankle. As coaches we all steamed
into action. Coaches from various age groups quickly rallied and we called for
medical. We catered for the surrounding areas, helped the medical team and
ensured the safe swift care of the boy. The next coaching session we were
called upstairs to a meeting before training. Something that had become a
constant drain as we knew this was a moan time before we even got on to the
pitch. The subject of the lad’s injury was the topic. We were told that Richard
Allen was not happy that he didn’t know till later. I said to the so called
Phase lead coach “If you think I’m going to call the head of academy before I
call for medical help or an ambulance you can forget it. He’s more concerned
about being embarrassed and losing face than the welfare of the child? At no
point in this meeting have you actually said how the lad is, or what we did was
good or what could we have done better”. These examples were mounting and we
were completely disillusioned. To be an Academy coach you must have enjoyment
your-self. You have to love what you do because lets be fair, this job with new
EPPP requirements had become a £1.74 per hour job. So, you have to love what
you do, yet we were under constant attack. We were only ever communicated to in
a negative way. At the time I wasn’t sure whether this was vindictive or simply
naivety in management of people from these new staff who simply lacked leadership
experience.
Having said
that, you don’t need experience to just be civil and polite to people. If I
ignore someone I am really conscious of doing that and makes me extremely
uneasy, I can’t do it. Yet these people had it down to a tee. Or perhaps it was
just the way they are as personalities? Myself and another Coach again decided
that we would approach them. We asked for a meeting to discuss issues and we
met Richard Allen and Glyn Hodges. I was actually surprised at Richard Allen.
He listened and actually said he was also learning and would try to change. He
acknowledged my remarks about scouts being at games and no-one knows who they
are. Glyn didn’t really speak, I had the feeling he actually just wanted to
throw me out the window. The EPPP was looming so a piece of me thought that
Richard was simply buying time and didn’t need a mass walk out. Either way, in
my mind, I always thought about what Steve would want. Although we didn’t have
contact with him anymore he would want us to do what’s best for the players and
QPR. Not for these people or even ourselves. I then bumped into Marc Bircham in
the car park and he echoed my thoughts. “Tell all the coaches to forget what
these guys are doing and get them to pull together for QPR”. So, I cascaded a
message around the staff. “C’mon guys, let’s do everything we can to get the
club through the audit”. My view was there are so many issues at the club that
could be uncovered. What I don’t want, is the club failing the EPPP on my
behalf. Despite what they were doing to us I won’t let them pin that on me. So
I set about spending every spare minute I had making sure all the PMA (Premier
League Data and record system) was up to date and that all our coaching and
records were tip top. On the day of the audit I had planned everything
perfectly. The match preparation was spot on. In the game I ensured the
auditors listened to my team talk to ensure they heard me deliver the clubs
‘philosophy’. All the coaches did the same, we all pulled together for QPR. In
fact the strange thing was, on that day everything was professional. It was
like living with an abusive family that had guests. Because all these people
that had completely disregarded us and bullied us were now smiling, laughing
and talking to us. Someone asked me how it went. I said, “Yes it was great, but
why can’t it be like this every week”? I just don’t know why these people could
not be straight with people, be nice. I had run companies before and I know
that being nice to people gets you so much more in return. These guys were
seemingly disregarding anyone that was a previous member of staff. We never got
any formal feedback after EPPP audit. No thanks either.
I’ve been to
many clubs training grounds over the years and I pick up on everything. For
example I remember being in reception at Carrington and seeing first-hand the
level of respect Ryan Giggs had for the receptionist. So, it’s not all about
scale, size and structure. Clearly some clubs clearly have a people philosophy
as well as a playing philosophy.
On match days
in the Academy every club has a ‘host’. Someone who shows people where to go,
gets people tea etc. QPR have a guy called Steve Bacon. (I renamed him Mr Bacon
to show respect) He is a lifetime fan of the club. When we travelled abroad to
tournaments he would ask me to bring back any programs for him and I always
did. He’s also someone that had undergone major surgery and a top man. I
ensured all my players shook his hand and said hello to him. Also the kit lady
Dee, “say hello to her, this lady washes all your grubby kits, don’t ignore her”.
After a game I would make sure we would clean the dressing room, why should we
leave it all for him to sort out? Because it’s his job? Hang on, show this guy
some respect. When you get off the bus, say thanks to the driver, yes he’s
doing a job, but he’s a human being. This guy Mr Bacon would trudge across 3
pitches in wind and rain just to get someone a cup of tea. I seen him there in
this rubbish old QPR jacket that didn’t even zip up. I asked him “Mr Bacon, where’s
your new jacket”? “Its ok Tone, I asked but they said no, they haven’t got
any”. I was shocked, hang on, there is a container 50 yards over there which is
stacked to the roof with kit. Including jackets, even last seasons. Why not
give the guy a comfortable jacket. He’s served the club so well. We should put
people like him in front of all the staff, players and parents and give him a
thank you card a signed shirt and a round of applause. No, no longer at QPR. We
don’t even keep him warm and ignore him. This isn’t football as I know it. I
said I would bring him something from home but then I think Terry O’Sullivan
had heard and gave him his own Jacket.
My lad was a
signed player at QPR but believe me he was not shown any favours. I never asked
for any either. In fact in the end I asked for him to be released as I knew
that despite all the positive comments from people, he was regular skipper and
I’d had top football people say good things. But I knew he would never stand a
chance here because of who he was. I also wanted him to get a proper education
then come back to football at a club that doesn’t have the politics and issues.
I wasn’t the only person to have a son at the club. There were several key
people. Without talking about players individually, some I would say had a
chance, some perhaps didn’t but, these players have all in some way been
targeted by this management team. What I never understood is, why could they
not show these people respect? If you’ve got Gerry Francis around, I think, if
you’ve got an issue, you ask him to come into the office and you speak to him
face to face about his boy. Surely he deserves that? Instead they deliberately
set about getting all these players out. But there is a ‘way’. I think this was
fear. Fear of these peoples calibre that were walking around and in some cases
like Gerry Francis, an absolute legend as a QPR player/manager and someone
connected with proper football people at the highest level. Was that why they
targeted Kevin Gallen as well? To me, like Kevin, I wanted to learn from Gerry.
To me he was a lovely approachable guy. Again, no ego. I can only learn from
this guy. I would call him and he never once rejected my call. He also never
tried to ‘interfere’. He would always be in the background but I knew I could
approach him whenever I wanted and he was always a delight to speak to. Yet
others ignored him and in my view handled the situation with his son
appallingly. Marc Bircham had two lads there and of course Marc is a big
character. Again, not handled well and not shown the respect he deserved. At
every training session we had Dennis Wise there watching. Again I was amazed.
Have we asked this guy to get involved? Maybe would he even talk to the kids?
But to me he was just rejected. I can only think this was fear of who he was.
To me it was the opposite. Again he was approachable, always polite, smiling
and happy to talk football. Often he would share some views about development
and what he felt would help. I enjoyed picking his brain. When I was at Luton I
used to sit on the bus opposite Dimitri Kharine. As well as stories about his
pregnant hamster he also occasionally came out with words of wisdom. Especially
sitting on the bench. He might be a goalkeeper but he would spot things. He was
always peeling an orange and whilst doing that he would nudge me and just say
“That’s a problem”. He’d spot things.
I don’t see
why people see that as a threat. When I was in business I wanted to surround my
self with the highest calibre people as possible. I didn’t see that as a threat
to my position. Also, these people, me included never asked for any special
favours. I didn’t need any, my lad could have gone elsewhere but as I was at
QPR it was of course convenient and he had been exposed to Steve Gallen’s
training. But football is about opinions, if genuine, the least we could expect
would be people to be straight with you? I think we all deserved that.
I was told
David Beckham’s son was coming in. People might not believe me but I really
wasn’t bothered. The guy that rang me was like a star struck school kid but to
me, he’s just another player. I was asked by a reporter in the street who
stopped my car if I was his coach. I read the script. “Look, the answer is yes,
but that is as far as it goes. The only people I will talk about Brooklyn to
will be the club officials and his parents. That’s no different to the rest of
the lads in my squad”. But seeing the change of behaviour in people makes me
cringe. I don’t know what it is in me that doesn’t really do the star thing.
Brooklyn to me was just another player and I tried to integrate him and make
him feel relaxed about playing and training with us. Plus Ive got kids his age,
I take responsibility for the affect we have on all the kids and have empathy
for their emotions. Maybe that’s the parent in me. Occasionally his Dad would
turn up to watch. To me, a humble polite guy. Why wouldn’t he be I guess. I
actually was really gutted though on one occasion when it turned into a bit of
a circus. I think that lacked class. I think I would have got each coach to
speak to the players about the situation. My lads were guided by the way I
treated Brooklyn and therefore they did the same. But seeing QPR lads in kit
rush around David for photos and autographs disappointed me. Maybe that’s me
being harsh. But a football training ground should be a leveller for stars and
we are taking these players down that road. They should be happy in the company
of former top players and household names. Maybe show him the respect he
deserves, offer to shake his hand and say hi. I’d seen that behaviour in
Germanys in academies. Maybe then he could have walked across the pitch and
shared some wisdom.
Later in this
episode I’d turned up to training as normal. When I arrived I was told I had to
go upstairs. “Why”? I was told I had to catch up on the PMA system as they
needed it done by the next day. I was not convinced by this but as always I
just did as I was told. Although, why not tell me that earlier because I’ve
wasted 2 hours on the road getting here and that could be 2 hours extra working
I could have had at home. I text my coaching partner Dean and asked if he was
here and to pop and see me so I can talk about the session only for him to
appear upstairs. “What are you doing here? Who’s coaching and looking after the
kids?” He told me he also had been sent upstairs to do PMA. I was shocked and
asked well who’s coaching? He said Glyn and other senior staff were taking it.
This was a surprise as this had never happened before. I looked out the window
and could see the senior guys now delivering a high tempo session next to the
car park. Within 10’ I recognised one of the cars facing the session. David
Beckham’s.
I would never
speak openly about individual players but overall the standard was pretty good.
I had however tried to bring a player in. A lad that had broken goal scoring
records in local football. But it was blocked, he has now signed elsewhere. Yet
other players being brought in were in my view, overall not at the level
required. That’s not to say never, but most should be at a development centre
stepping stone being prepared. But I was being forced to play players and I had
no control. I was worried for some of the existing players because I felt some
were far better but like the staff, they seemed to be squeezed out to get
numbers in that looks better on a report. Under my direction we had gone to
level 1 academies West Ham and Spurs and won. (Spurs may have fielded many
younger players) Of course that is not the main development criteria. But at 14
upwards its reality. There is nothing wrong in my view with wanting to win. This
is going to be your livelihood and one which is dependent on results. We weren’t
smashing the ball up the pitch. We had played well in tight areas and won
against two excellent academies. Later and not long before I gave up, we went
to Arsenal. In this game my hand was forced. I was told I had to bring and play
certain trialist despite me saying openly they were not ready. Also, Arsenal
was not the place for their first game. I went and did as I was asked and tried
as always to set up professionally. I’d noticed a group of people behind the
goal. These were a group of the new scouts. To me, why were they there? Surely
on a Sunday morning they should be out scouting? The jigsaw started to come
together and I could see why I was told to bring these players. It was a
complete disaster. We were miles off that level and conceded 24 goals. In 18
years coaching I have never been so humiliated and my heart went out to the
guys. Registered and non-registered. They were completely destroyed. This
wasn’t because we were trying to play out from the back so a development
learning objective or some other key learning experience. We had destroyed the
confidence of those boys and we engineered it. We set them up for failure. The
year before I had matched Arsenal and they scored late on to win 2-1 and the
year before that at 14’s was a 4-2 win and a draw. We now were on a level of a
grass roots result. A cricket score you expect if Man Utd played a Sunday team.
During the game Arsenal were also ruthless, they never let up and the coach was
still pushing right to the end. Is he wrong? After the game Nick Dawes spoke to
the lads. “I know we got beat lads, but look how far we’ve come”. These lads
might be 14 but they are not stupid. He should have apologised for exposing
them to that situation. What could they have possibly gained from it?
At the earlier
Spurs game I was accused of not taking trialist to the game. However, I told
this massive group of players that we would decide on the Saturday morning who
to take. Several of the trialist had not turned up and made no contact. What
does it tell you about a player if he knows he could potential play spurs at
that great facility yet doesn’t turn up on the Saturday and doesn’t call or
text? There was no way I was going to chase them. Yet I was told I was wrong
and I wasn’t happy about that. These were low standards and messages to send to
players. I always like to set good standards and the lads must show the drive
and hunger. Being a top athlete isn’t a stroll. Im also very sympathetic to
background issues and restrictions. This wasn’t the case here.
Since then it
is my opinion that the lads are so low on confidence overall and I’m not
convinced players are signed with the right motive. I think this can be seen in
the current 18’s squad. Those poor guys are now paying the price of this
episode. What surprised me with that was how they were selected. Steve Gallen
has something like 5 wins in 7 seasons at youth alliance level with many
players now earning a living. He has since gone on to get the 21’s doing well
when you consider what they are up against. But last year I seen Steve and
tripped him by asking about his involvement in selecting the scholars. It’s to
my knowledge that Steve was not asked one question about his opinion of who should
be signed. I find that absolutely shocking that you could have that experience
on the payroll and not deem his opinion of value. But coaches with 1 year
experience, recent community coaches, skills coaches and guys from a community
boys club are asked. If I was in charge, yes I have my view, but I would
embrace all the knowledge I had at my disposal.
I wrote to the
management team. I asked to meet them about the comment made to me about not
integrating trialist. This was such an insult. Ask any coach that worked with
me what I did to make them feel welcome in a nerve racking environment. I also
had no incentive not to welcome them. This was more about them wanting me to
just agree about certain players in order for them to sign them. I will never
do that. I have to be honest. But I know my place, I would of course work my
hardest with whatever players are standing in front of me. We had one lad train
with us and that night the floodlights failed. In that short time they had seen
enough and took him upstairs and signed him. I questioned it and was told. Yes,
but it makes the numbers look better in an audit. We are taking this lad out of
school? Giving him a dream, to make numbers look better for us? That doesn’t
sit well with me and I wrote to the club and told them. I was also concerned
about the way in which we were releasing players. Not a nice process and some
parents of course get confrontational and at times we get it wrong. I accept
that. But this was always something I took seriously. Shattering a young
person’s dreams is not something I enjoy one bit. Now the process was being
disregarded. This was a rare occasion where you won’t find me laughing and
joking but ironically, others were. I wondered if they actually cared. Some
even seem to enjoy it, like it was an expression of power.
I wrote again
to the club in March 2013. It was again fed back to me that the recruitment guy
had a meeting with foundation coaches and made detrimental comments about the
U14’s. This was an ongoing thing but I was convinced they were trying to get me
out of the club to make way for others. I also asked for commitment about next
season as of course, I could start to look for a new club.
I’d returned in
the summer of 2013 and things were worse than ever. It was clear now that my
son was now being targeted by the club. Richard Allen had never spoken two
words to him so he was also ignored. So we asked for him to be released. On
this occasion they agreed instantly. After that he played for QPR, skipper
again. He walked off the pitch late on
having been subbed and went to shake the coaches’ hand and the coach turned his
back on him. If he had spat at an opponent, kicked someone in the face or told
the Ref to F*ck off, I could understand that. But instead he had run his heart
out as always. That was the final straw. I then resigned on November 17th.
I couldn’t take the childish behaviour anymore. I told them that if they had
just released my lad in the professional way as they just didn’t want him that
would have been fine. Instead they kept him on and tortured him to get to me.
He was in the top 4 physically, had lots of positive comments from ex pros, including
a superstar in Europe. He attended every training session and applied himself,
he always gave everything and that was other people talking. Yet his coach
never said “well done” in one whole year! The only conclusion was that he was
targeted to affect his Dad. Yet what did his dad do wrong? What did so many of
the staff do wrong? I told them not to hang my resignation on the ‘disgruntled
parent’ hook. I had already asked my lad to be released twice. Also, we wanted
him to go back to school. The other peg to go for would be ‘doesn’t like
change’. This would be ridiculous. I work in change. I wanted things to be
better. Better people and better facilities. If I was a taxi driver with a
Vauxhall Chevette would I turn down the offer of a new Mercedes? Of course not,
but the downside would be this Mercedes would contain some of the biggest Ego’s
you could come across and every time your backs turned they will be filing the
brake pipes. In that scenario I would tell you to keep your Mercedes. I
detailed in my letter that I was unhappy with the way they disregarded the
impact they were having on children’s lives. If I was in charge my first
question on the evaluation should be “Did I make the kids smile tonight”? What
I could see was children that had become miserable and under so much pressure
it was uncomfortable to watch and I didn’t want to be part of it anymore. Near
the end I watched a 16s game against Bristol Rovers. QPR had 12 staff in or
around the dugout. Bristol had 3 and were the better team and ran out winners. I’d
seen the same group go to Brentford, they were set up for failure. I really felt
for the guys, they were devoid of all confidence and belief.
The next day
after resigning I wrote a separate email to the chairman. I told the chairman
what was happening. I even told him that after Kevin Gallens treatment he had
re-applied for another job. He got asked to come to an interview and deliver a
session. Someone else also came and he was also excellent. The lads coached
told me and said they were both excellent. After that he was told he didn’t get
the job, it was awarded to Nick Dawes, who never delivered a demo session. I
don’t think he had an interview either. So why put Kevin through it? Or the
other guy? They later said he didn’t have an A licence, well don’t you cross
that off the list before you bring him in and humiliate him for a job already
clearly assigned to someone else? Is that the way you treat your former
servants? Was Nikki Butt treated like that at Man Utd? Is that the way to treat
anybody?
I heard back
from the Chief Executive Philip Beard who requested to meet me. I had a three
page document with bullet points of what had gone on. I didn’t need them. The
meeting went well and I truly believed that he was going to act on it. I
suggested he speak to staff. Ask them how things are. Tell them there is no
retribution. He thanked me and asked me to meet Richard Allen. That was
arranged and I again went to Loftus Road and I told Richard to his face with
Mark Donnely. Again, that meeting went well and I was convinced that things
would get better for the players and staff. I’d sacrificed myself but maybe the
young lads would now get a better chance. I also met separately with HR and
told her very openly about what was going on.
However as we
approach nearly a year later things have been still very strained. I have wrote
a lot about EPPP and the affects but I guess much of this was the way QPR
interpreted it. A lot of people have been very badly treated, good people as
well. I wrote to the Chairman again in April to tell him how frustrated I was
that nothing has really changed, possibly got worse. I actually believed I
could solve issues for QPR. I would rid the club of ego and bullshit. Go back
to the core values of QPR but with added facilities and structure. I’d make
sure players ‘wanted’ to come to QPR because as well as great facilities, we
have great people. I believe firmly that you can have a modern club, modern
facilities, modern thinking, work within EPPP guidelines but also players and
staff that can also enjoy the process. My vision would be to imagine players
desperate to get to training because they love it. Staff desperate to get there
because it’s so rewarding. I offered to
speak to him privately but he never replied.
Since then I
see Richard Allen is moving to the FA to join Mike Rigg. To me that is like the
abuser’s joining the social services or the police. This perhaps is systematic
of our games downfall. This is the organisation telling us all how to do it.
Glyn Hodges has re-joined Mark Hughes and Nick Dawes has left to head back
north. So it’s time to sift through the wreckage I guess and look for
survivors.
If it were me
I would start my process of hiring with good people. That is the core of
everything and the greatest thing about kids is, like animals they are rubbish
at lies. When you try to be nice to them just because people are watching, you
can see it in their eyes. Just like a dog, if he doesn’t like you, you’ll know
about it. This was evident at QPR in that spell.
10-A year on 2014/15
Now I see again
QPR have took another massive swing to another set of leaders. The good thing I
can see is that these are ‘football people’. I don’t know Les Ferdinand from
Adam so of course I have no view of him but I have certainly heard great things
about his colleague Chris Ramsay. I sincerely hope these guys set about re
instating a player centric Academy and I’m sure they will spot the bluffers and
move them on, saving QPR from yet another whirlwind. The first of its kind to
reach a youth level.
From the chairman’s
perspective, I hope he realises that PowerPoint
and Posters don’t produce players.
Good People do and some of them are, and were right under his nose at a fraction of the cost. I can only
judge things based on what I have seen and to me the Chairman was a good man.
Mostly in football these guys have a thankless task. Only one team can win the
league and the rest fight for the scraps & survival. I genuinely believe
that Mr Fernandes has good intentions but he won’t like me saying that many
believe (me included) that he has had his pants pulled down. It’s time for him
to wade through the arse kissers and look for real solid good ‘people’ that can
properly cement the future of QPR. They might be the guys at the back of the
room, not up front. I think he and the club also need to place a great deal
more importance on individuals that are coaching in the academy. Maybe the
whole of football does? Let’s face it, a phase lead coaches salary is
ridiculously low and in some clubs you can clearly see that you get what you
pay for. A part-time coach is on less than the minimum wage. That can’t be
right? The most important asset of a football club is its players. Unless you
simply decide to throw money away, you simply go buy them but for a club like
QPR a free spending chairman is no longer the solution with the FFP rules. So
to me that means the academy players must be high on the list of the most
important assets of the club? Who is closest to them? Who has most contact with
them? Who therefore has the most influence on their development? So, surely you
would take care who you afford this responsibility to. You would then reward
them and make them feel valued. I certainly don’t think that means anyone of a
thousand people could just jump into the role. Its not McDonalds or a factory
floor pressing buttons.
The FA
I’m now doing
a bit of coaching and scouting for someone that has recognised my abilities in
the past. I know there are great clubs out there and also great people. I’ve
experienced both ends of the spectrum. Like most, football is my passion. A
football pitch is where I’m most at home. But the game sometimes frustrates me.
Top down and bottom up. I see all these variations of courses the FA deliver,
many great ones but what good are they if the guy who sits at the front writing
notes all the way through then is the guy shouting abuse at a player? It’s like
getting your driving licence. That doesn’t automatically make you a good driver
and many abuse the roads and disregard safety.
As a governing body the FA needs to start
leading by example. Pound for pound it has to be one of the globes most underperforming
organisations. Yes, its taken strides in grass roots recently and many courses
are valuable. It’s trying to combat bottom up issues and to me those changes
look good. But top down it’s a disaster. We have no synergy or consistency. I
listen to many debates about the problems and then we talk about Germany, how
they do it, before it was Spain and Tikka Takka. Before that it was Brazil.
The FA needs
to be more humble, a failing schools leaders don’t go round other schools
advising. The achieving schools leaders do. If putting an England badge on your
chest makes you think you’re at the pinnacle of your career and everyone
admires you than your wrong. But it does mean you’ve got responsibility. You’re
working for our governing body top
down and you should lead by example. So please, hoof your Ego over the hedge
and roll your sleeves up. I’ve met some great people in the FA like Rob Munroe,
a real guy, real knowledge, real personality, no ego. We need more of him.
To me football
is simple. I see Scotland doing better at the moment and I think, have they
instantly improved the development process? Have the players they had suddenly
got better? Or do they have an enjoyable environment with togetherness and
confidence? That’s what Gordon Strachan brings. ‘It’s ok to enjoy football and
your surrounding’s at any level’ that’s why I would take the young crop to the
Euro’s. Let them practice 3/4/5 games together and get to know each other
better. Elsewhere, further down in the FA I would set about internal
presentations about EGO. What does it look like and how can we rid it from our
development game. I would go to clubs at all levels, with a BLANK presentation
and ask them all what they think of the FA and fill it in. Let them guide the
future of the FA. After all, like the BBC or the NHS. TheFA is the Peoples. It
should be called, The PEOPLES FA. It belongs to the football community. I would
embark on clear and balanced recruitment policies to ensure we have the right
values attached to the right talent. I would look at the coaching certificates
and investigate in depth why the cost is somewhere near 10 times the cost of
the same qualification elsewhere in Western Europe. Finally, I would pat Nick
Levett on the back and ensure he has a good team to advance development of
grass roots but assist in supporting people from all backgrounds to participate
in football. 3G pitches look great. The kids with no money can benefit from
rebound practice off the 12’ fence. They need access to them.
My criteria
for any coach delivering football or fiitball for us is simple. Knowledge, yes
we need knowledge, quality learning and development. But every session remember
our 4xE’s.
Enjoyment, Enthusiasm, Empathy and Energy.
That is the cornerstone to simply enable the
knowledge to be shared and delivered.
Tony McCool
@antmccool7
To make football ‘calmer and safer’. I don’t think
any person would argue with that being something that should be under constant
ongoing review. 
