Our guest on this episode 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. Ro…

Our guest on Episode #66 of the TGG Podcast is Paul Fernie. Paul is Sporting Director of SV Darmstadt in Germany. He grew up in Hull and worked in analysis roles in England before the opportunity came to join Wiesbaden. He progressed from Head of Recruitment to Sporting Director and led the club from promotion to Bundesliga 2. Paul told us how the …

Our guest on Episode #65 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, 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 episo…

Our guest on Episode #64 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Natasha Patel. Natasha is Assistant Academy Director at Southampton and one of the most experienced women working in men's professional football. From 2011 to 2019 she was Academy Analyst and then Head of Performance Analysis at Southampton, before leaving to become Head of P…

Here is Part 2 of our interview with Bayern Munich Head of Coach Development and 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 N…

Our guest on Episode #62 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is René Marić. The Austrian is one of the most interesting and highly-rated young coaches in European football. He made his name by founding the cult tactics blog Spielverlagerung and went on to become Assistant Manager at Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Do…

Our guest on Episode #61 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 th…

Our guest on Episode #60 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Reading manager Ruben Selles. The highly-rated coach gained plaudits for the way he managed Southampton for the second half of last season and there were high hopes when he took over at Reading in the summer. However, an ongoing financial crisis has plunged the very future of…

Our guest on Episode #59 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 tab…

Our guest on Episode #58 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Everton Director of Football Kevin Thelwell. Kevin tells Simon Austin about his role at the club, their four strategic pillars, his relationship with manager Sean Dyche and much more. SHOW NOTES=> 01:50: Team going in the right direction. 02:44: Sporting Director role explain…

Our guest on Episode #57 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 h…

Our guest on Episode #56 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Mark Leyland. Mark is one of the foremost analysts in this country and has become much more than that. He started his career in the Academy at Everton and went on to work for Burnley, Liverpool and Newcastle. Mark is one of the few backroom staff to be name-checked by manager…

Our guest on Episode #55 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Sarah Rudd. For almost a decade, Sarah was Vice President of Analytics for StatDNA and Arsenal, making her one of the most senior women in the whole of European football. She's now founded her own analytics company, SRC FTBL, along with husband Ravi Ramineni. In this episode,…

Episode #54 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is with Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders. The Dutchman sat down with Simon Austin at the AXA Training Centre for an exclusive interview. In Part 2, he looked back on his career, gave insights into his time with Liverpool and reflected on his special relationship with Jurgen Klopp. This has b…

Episode #53 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is with Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders. The Dutchman sat down with Simon Austin at the AXA Training Centre for an exclusive interview. In Part 1, he reflected on pre-season, looked ahead to the 2023/24 campaign and gave insights into his coaching methods. This has been an interview we've w…

Episode #52 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Hudl, features two guests: Bolton manager Ian Evatt and his Sporting Director Chris Markham. Simon Austin sat down with the duo at the club’s Toughsheet Community Stadium ahead of the new season. It’s rare to get a manager and Sporting Director speaking together like this, so we h…

Our guest on Episode #51 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Conor Nestor. Conor is the new coach of Hyderabad in the Indian Super League. He arrives from Svay Rieng in Cambodia, who he led to the 2019 league title. The Irishman told us about his fascinating career journey and about how he has used analysis to gain an advantage.…

Our guest on Episode #50 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Des Ryan. Des is Director of Coaching and Performance at Setanta College and was Head of Sports Medicine and Athletic Development at Arsenal Academy from 2013 to 2021. During his time with the Gunners he helped to develop 'Strong Young Gunners' like Bukayo Sa…

Our guest on Episode #49 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Pedro Marques, the Technical Director of Benfica's Academy. There's a strong case for saying that Benfica have the top Academy in Europe. They are the reigning UEFA Youth League champions (having beaten RB Salzburg 6-0 in the 2022 final), have the most profitable Academy in E…

Our guest on Episode #48 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Norwich City Sporting Director Stuart Webber. SHOW NOTES => 02:04: Rebuilding Norwich's training ground. Appeal of Sporting Director job was producing something sustainable at a club. 08:03: Premier League is the hardest league in the world. Even Brentford an…

Our guest on Episode #47 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Tom Vernon, the founder and Group CEO of Right to Dream Group. => SHOW NOTES: 02:12: What is Right to Dream and its philosophy? 04:46: Start of Right to Dream in 1999. Changing the 'extractive mindset'. Setting up the only residential girls' Academy in Ghana. 12:23: Moving in…

Our guest on Episode #46 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Professor David Sumpter, who has worked with top teams including Ajax, Barcelona and England. => SHOW NOTES: 02:06: How he got started in computer programming/ mathematics and then football. 05:45: Studying behaviour of birds and fish and how this relates to football. Need to…

In the first instalment of a new series called TGG Extra, Justin Cochrane gives his tips for current and aspiring coaches.Kirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Our guest on Episode #45 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Justin Cochrane. Justin has been first-team coach and Head of Coaching at Brentford since the summer. He was previously Head of Player and Coach Development at Manchester United and has also worked for the Football Association and Tottenham. => SHOW NOTES: 01:23: What does yo…

Our guest on Episode #44 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Sally Needham. Sally is the Human Development and Performance Culture Lead at Sheffield United Academy. => SHOW NOTES: 01:57: What is human development? 07:21: Mindfulness room. 16:02: Influence of neuroscience. 26:22: Strengthening the window of tolerance. 28:06: Professiona…

Our guest on Episode #43 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Rui Faria. Rui was Jose Mourinho's assistant for 17 years, during which time they achieved huge levels of success. They won at least one trophy a season in that time, including league titles in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, as well as two Champions Leagues. In this pod …

On Episode #42 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, we were joined by Sean Dyche. Dyche was manager of Burnley for nine-and-a-half years and transformed their fortunes both on and off the pitch. When he first arrived at the club, in October 2012, they were 14th in the Championship. What followed during his tenure was seven seasons in the P…

Episode #41 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is with Steven Reid. The former midfielder played in the Premier League for Blackburn, West Brom and Burnley and won 23 caps for the Republic of Ireland. Since retiring from playing he has forged a successful career in coaching, working at first-team level with Reading, Crystal Palace, West …

Episode #40 of the TGG Podcast is with Damien Comolli, the Chairman and Sporting Director at Toulouse, last season's champions of Ligue 2 in France. Damien is the former Director of Football at Fenerbahce, Tottenham, Liverpool and St Etienne. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru => SHOW NOTES: 01:25: …

For this episode we go inside Southampton's innovative new Learning Lab with two of its leadership team - Head of Technical Development Iain Brunnschweiler and Dr Andrew Wilson, a Reader in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru => SHOW NOTES: 01:15: IAIN BRUNNSCH…

In our first episode in front of a live audience, we spoke to Australia assistant and former Manchester United first-team coach Rene Meulensteen at Batch Bottlestore and Deli in Altrincham. Rene told Simon Austin and Josh Schneider-Weiler about his coaching journey, his one-on-one skills work with the likes of Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo and…

Welcome to the first episode of season 4 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Hudl. Our guest is Andreas Georgson, Sports Director for Swedish champions Malmö. He told Josh Schneider-Weiler how the Sky Blues are aiming to outdo richer European rivals in Europe, about his work with Brentford and Arsenal, and why Mikel Arteta is a…

Our guest on Episode #36 of the TGG Podcast was Francis Cagigao, the Director of Football for Chile. He told Josh Schneider-Weiler about his current role and his 24 years with Arsenal, where he was Head of International Scouting. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru => SHOW NOTES: 0:37: How job with C…

Our guest on Episode #35 of the TGG Podcast was Phil Giles, the Director of Football for Brentford. He told Simon Austin about the club's first season in the Premier League, their use of specialist coaches and why they might reopen their Academy. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru…

Mariela Nisotaki is Norwich City's Head of Emerging Talent and the only female scout on the circuit in the UK. In Episode #34 of the TGG Podcast, Nisotaki tells Simon Austin how she balances data and human eyes, about Norwich's ambitions and what it's like to be a female pioneer in football recruitment. For more information, visit trainingground.gu…

Chris Ramsey is one of the foremost coach educators in the UK. In Episode #33 of the TGG Podcast, he tells Josh Schneider-Weiler about his role as QPR's Technical Director and Head of Coaching, about his four decades in the game and why diversity is important. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru…

Gregg Broughton is the Academy Manager of Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt, having held the same role with Luton Town and Norwich City. In Episode #32 of the TGG Podcast, Gregg explains how the club do things differently when it comes to youth development - and how living in the moment is key. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow…

Owen Eastwood is one of the most in-demand performance coaches in world sport. He's worked with Harlequins Rugby, South Africa Cricket and, for the last five years, England football. In Episode #31 of the TGG Podcast, he explains what he does and how it's rooted in ancient cultures. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Tw…

In this episode, Luke Bornn tells us about his experiences in football and gives insights into the future of data science in the sport. Luke is a former Professor of Statistics at Harvard University, Head of Analytics at AS Roma and Vice President of Strategy and Analytics at the Sacramento Kings. Now he's the founder and chief scientist at Zelus A…

In this episode, Dave Alred gives us his guide to performing under pressure. The performance coach has a CV that's hard to match. He's worked with sports as diverse as cricket, golf and rugby union, and with stars including Jonny Wilkinson, Francesco Molinari and even Gareth Southgate. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on …

MK Dons manager Russell Martin tells TGG about the importance of people and purpose, why he won't change his beliefs on style of play and the importance of buddhism to his philosophy. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Rangers first-team coach Michael Beale tells TGG about working with Steven Gerrard, winning the Scottish title for the first time in a decade and his own managerial ambitions. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Chelsea Women's manager Emma Hayes talks about her team's quest for the quadruple this season, outlines her leadership philosophy and gives her thoughts on working in the men's game. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Laurence Stewart, the Head of Recruitment and Development at Monaco, tells TGG about his work with the resurgent French club. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Former England rugby coach Brian Ashton, who now works for the Premier League as an educator and mentor, tells TGG about the lessons he has learned during five decades in coaching. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Marijn Beuker, the Sport Development Director at AZ Alkmaar, explains how the club manages to punch above its weight in the Dutch Eredivisie by doing things differently. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Liverpool legend and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher tells TGG how he analyses matches, gives insight on his use of tech and shares his thoughts on the current Premier League season. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Under-16s coach Dan Micciche reveals what goes on inside the Arsenal Academy, including their four pillars, how they encourage players to take responsibility and what it's like to work under Per Mertesacker. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Brighton Technical Director Dan Ashworth explains what he does in his role, reveals the long-term ambitions of the club and reflects on his six years with England. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru

Everton assistant Davide Ancelotti talks about what it's like to work alongside his famous father, how impressed he has been with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and about his own managerial ambitions. For more information visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guruKirjoittanut Training Ground Guru