Training Ground Guru Podcast

Tracking data has transformed the way clubs analyse the game.

This cornucopia of information is shaped and analysed by data scientists to create valuable insights for coaches, managers, Heads of Recruitment, Sporting Directors and more.

But how much do you know about tracking data? Ie what it is, how it's collected, how it's analysed (and by whom), and how different departments and personnel use it?

This episode of the TGG Podcast ...

Our guest on Episode #67 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Genius Sports, is Andrew Nestor.

Andrew is the Sporting Director of West Brom, working under new owner Shilen Patel. When the duo arrived in February 2024, the club's finances were in a "perilous" position.

Since then, they have focused on rejuvenating the squad, while being mindful of profit and sustainability rules. 

Speaking the morning after West Brom's last-gasp ...

It's great to be back for Season 6 of the TGG Podcast - and with a new sponsor, Genius Sports.

Our first guest of the new season is Vitor Matos, the former Head of Elite Development at Liverpool. During five seasons at Anfield, Vitor helped to nurture a new generation of talent and deliver a number of trophies.

Since leaving Liverpool at the end of last season, he has been Assistant to Pep Lijnders at Red Bull Salzburg.

In this epi...

Our guest on Episode #65 of the TGG Podcast is Robbie Savage. 

As a player, Robbie made 346 Premier League appearances and captained four clubs. After retiring, he became a household name as a TV and radio pundit and appeared on Strictly in 2011.

Now he's pursuing a different career, as a Manager, with Macclesfield in the Northern Premier League. Robbie told us why he'd turned to coaching, about his approach to leadership and about...

Our guest on Episode #64 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 Sporting Director role works in Germany, what it was like to work under Graham Potter...

Our guest on Episode #63 of the TGG Podcast is Danny Röhl.

Danny led Sheffield Wednesday to one of English football's great escapes last season. When he took over in October, the club were seven points adrift of safety with no wins in 10. By the end of the campaign they were three points clear of relegation.

In this episode Danny told us how that remarkable metamorphosis was achieved and charted his meteoric rise as a coach, from R...

Here is Part 2 of our interview with Bayern Munich Head of Coach Development & Playing Philosophy Rene Maric. In this second half, Rene told us how he kickstarted his career with the tactics blog Spielverlagerung, about coaching Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund, and about his brief spell as assistant at Leeds United. 

SHOW NOTES =>

01:44: Reaction to announcement last night (February 21st) that Thomas ...

Our guest on Episode #61 of the TGG Podcast 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 Dortmund and Leeds United.

Now he's Head of Coach Development and Playing Philosophy at Bayern Munich. In Part 1 o...

Our guest on Episode #60 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Radhi Jaidi.

Radhi is a true legend of Tunisian football, having played 105 times for his country and won every trophy there was to win at club level there.

Fans in England will know him best from his time at Bolton Wanderers, where he played under Sam Allardyce and helped them qualify for Europe. 

Since 2018 he's been a coach, working with Southampton U23s, ...

Our guest on Episode #59 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 the club into doubt.

In this episode the Spaniard gives us insights into the challen...

Our guest on Episode #58 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Chris O'Loughlin.

Chris is the Sporting Director of Union Saint Gilloise, one of the most innovative and interesting clubs in the whole of Europe.

Despite having a stadium with a capacity of just 9,400, and a budget that’s dwarfed by the biggest clubs, they are top of the table in Belgium.     

Chris told us how the club scout for character and how they use d...

Our guest on Episode #57 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 explained.

03:30: Why did Everton choose you?

04:20: Are your KPIs different to those of...

Our guest on Episode #56 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Jes Buster Madsen.

Jes is Head of Research and Development for FC Copenhagen in Denmark and is leading the way in the application of cognitive neuroscience in football. 

SHOW NOTES=>

01:31: What role of Head of Research & Development involves. How he got the role. 

09:10: How he persuaded Academy Director Sune Smith-Nielsen to give him the job at FC Co...

Our guest on Episode #55 of the TGG Podcast 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 managers. Eddie Howe described him as 'integral' and said 'we love him to bits,' while Jurgen Klopp said he had played...

Our guest on Episode #54 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, Sarah told us about her work at Arsenal, her wider career and her thoughts on the fu...

Episode #53 of the TGG Podcast 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 been an interview we've wanted to do for a long time, so we hope you enjoy it!

SHOW NOTES=>

01:37: Starting in...

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 wanted to do for a long time, so we hope you enjoy it!

SHOW NOTES=>

02:03: Pre-seas...

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 hope you enjoy it…  

SHOW NOTES =>

01:53: Having a blank canvas when they arrived a...