THE LOWDOWN

Bostonians hold their sports teams to a very high standard. To compete against some of America’s successful franchises could be seen as a terrible weight to burden however for New England Revolution they see it as a competitive advantage. Cathal Conlon is todays guest on “The Lowdown”. As MLS has continually grown to become a league of choice there have been changing expectations to contend with. With the Apple TV deal, 2024 Copa America and a 2026 World Cup all on the horizon listen to how Cathal's role as Vice President has evolved since taking the helm. Furthermore we discuss a range of topics from fan identity, the changing sphere of players attracted to the league, MLS growth in untapped markets and so much more.Listen to find out more including;- Fan identity & Boston Sports.- MLS becoming a league of choice.- Engaging fans through the logo changing process.- Impact of Apple TV deal on MLS finances and scheduling.- What will the defining legacy of the 2026 World Cup on North American soil?Timestamps;00:00 - 04:20 - Intro04:21 - 07:03 - Boston Sports07:04 - 14:55 - MLS14:56 - 22:31 - New Markets22:32 - 26:17 - Growth26:18 - 34:15 - Future34:16 - 36:42 - Advice

From appointing Mauricio Pochettino to signing Virgil Van Dijk and working alongside Ryan Reynolds it’s fair to say Les Reed has seen it all in football. Being one of few coaches to coach all underage England teams before managing Charlton in the Premier League he was well versed in understanding the organisational ebbs and flows of a top flight sports group prior to making the jump to the Sporting Director role. Here Les takes us through the journey of helping bring Southampton from League One to a regular top 10 side in the Premier League. A journey built on personality and credibility, Les is now passing on the lessons of his top flight experience to the Hollywood custodians at Wrexham.Listen to find out more including;- The evolution of the Sporting Director role.- Changing recruitment strategy at Southampton.- The art and science of succession planning.- Inside Mauricio Pochettino's interview process.- "Turning potential into excellence".- Inside the Wrexham boardroom.Timestamps;00:00 - 27:14 - Sporting Director27:15 - 47:39 - Southampton47:40 - 1:01:43 - Van Dijk & Mane1:01:44 - 1:16:30 - Pochettino1:16:31 - 1:27:16 - Wrexham1:27:17 - 1:29:21 - Advice

Growing up on a small island off the coast of mainland Colombia, Carlos Ortiz had a dream to travel and explore the world. Utilizing football as a tool to connect with and empower others Carlos realized that dream and more. Retaining that childhood sense of curiosity Carlos embarked on a journey that has yet to run it's course. Fortunately for us he took some time out to share some of the gold he has collected of that expedition. Carlos' story is a lesson to all of us involved in football, not to take a single day for granted and take care of the child within who fell in love with the game.Listen to find out more including;- How visualization played such a prominent role in Carlos' playing career.- Playing experiences in South Korea, US, Costa Rica, Australia and Greece.- Why did Carlos leave a playing career to transition into coaching?- The biggest area for growth in developing professional footballers?- How Carlos advises aspiring coaches and players to deal with the inevitable highs and lows of a career in the game?Timestamps;00:00 - 05:00 - Intro05:01 - 12:01 - Perspective12:02 - 19:16 - South Korea19:17 - 26:04 - US & Costa Rica26:05 - 36:27 - Coaching36:28 - 45:19 - Journaling45:20 - 50:19 - Austin FC50:20 - 1:01:50 - Sports Psychology1:01:51 - 1:04:53 - Advice

Following eight years leading the "personal" side of professional and academy football, both male and female, at Brighton & Hove Albion, Sue Parris now works mainly with elite athletes, and their support networks, facilitating their emotional and mental health development. Recently she co authored a paper alongside Paul Mortimer called "The Boy in the Man’s Mask" which is the analysis of a collection of voices from inside the football Academy environment, U18s, U23s and staff, who shared their experiences with through face-to-face interviews. The results of which were intriguing to say the least.What we discussed included;- Unique characteristics of young footballers in comparison to their sporting peers.- Is there a misunderstanding of what development means in academy environments?- The fear and anxiety which young players feel living in the future.- At what level does the prevention work need to be done?- Should the role of coach be redefined?- What is the side of football which comes to threaten to destroy what we love?Timestamps;00:00 - 12:23 - Research12:24 - 22:03 - "Fear in Football"22:04 - 26:56 - Coaching Cultures26:57 - 36:17 - Unheard Voices36:18 - 45:05 - Pre-Care45:06 - 52:07 - Future52:08 - 54:26 - AdviceSue's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-parris-b2120666/

"Those who look for the road don't get lost" is an old Finnish proverb. Having worked in different regions including South Africa, USA, Qatar and Scandinavia Jyri Nieminen has used football as a vehicle to lean into different cultures, unpacking another layer of himself each time in the process. Jyri's holistic view of the world has informed his views of the game and the goalkeeping position within it. Now responsible as head of goalkeeping for New York Red Bulls Jyri takes us through this unique and specialist position.Listen to find out more including;- Turning back on playing for a coaching career.- A deep period of introspection in Buenos Aries.- Acclimatizing into different cultures.- Keeping identity in the work.- Where Jyri sees the goalkeeping position evolving?Timestamps;00:00 - 03:55 - Intro03:56 - 09:56 - Curiosity09:57 - 17:58 - Acclimatization17:59 - 25:54 - Coaching25:55 - 31:37 - Modern Game31:38 - 37:46 - Evolution37:47 - 46:47 - Growth46:48 - 48:45 - Advice

Stuart Lancaster is the senior coach of Leinster Rugby. Here he lifts the lid behind the day to day in their high performance environment. With an insatiable appetite for growth and development learn here how Stuart balances growth with performance. Amid the background of a relentless elite sporting calendar Stuart reflects on his career to date with a special emphasis on the last seven seasons at Leinster. Here Stuart takes us through the art of good leadership, sustaining a high performance culture. understanding the peaks and troughs of the "performance clock" among so much more. Listen to find out more including; - What does a typical day look like? - The process of getting to player led ownership. - Balancing growth with performance. - Learning from different sports and industries. - Biggest challenge facing leaders today? - Managing the "performance clock" of elite level sport. Timestamps; 00:00 - 06:35 - Day to Day 06:36 - 14:17 -" Performance Clock" 14:18 - 20:48 - Culture 20:49 - 31:40 - Reflection 31:41 - 33:48 - Advice

“What is football?”Marcel Lucassen is the technical director of the UAE FA. Marcel is a firm advocate that better players need better coaches and it is within this lens Marcel views the game. In this episode we speak about coaching and how it has evolved through the lens of his experience in the game. Marcel's evolution as a coach has coincided with him taking top leadership positions at the likes of the DFB, KNVB and Arsenal. Here he takes us through how he has successfully managed to instigate change and ignite new processes within a host of different cultures.Listen to find out more including;- How early moments of intrigue led him down the coaching path?- Innovating and achieving buyin amongst staff.- Coaching the individual player within the team context.- What is football?- Why do football coaches need constant evolvement.- Leading change at the DFB and raising awareness at Arsenal.Timestamps;00:00 - 09:24 - Intro09:25 - 19:00 - Evolving19:01 - 28:07 - What is Football?28:08 - 42:30 - German Football42:31 - 52:14 - Leadership52:15 - 1:12:48 - The next evolution

This Sunday, December 18th a date with destiny beckons for Didier Deschamps' French side and Lionel Scaloni's Argentine squad as they compete in the 22nd FIFA World Cup Final. Liam Tharme joins me to preview this titanic clash. Among what we discussed included;- Standout trends from this World Cup.- Responding to Jorge Valdano & Juanma Lillo criticisms of the modern game.- The reinvention of Antoine Griezmann.- Lionel Messi and a date with destiny.- A case for the immortalisation of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Scaloni post Sunday.- Where the game will be won and lost tactically?- Our team, young player and player of the tournament.Liam's Twitter;https://twitter.com/LiamTharmeCoach?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Andre Zanotta is the Chief Soccer Officer & Technical Director of FC Dallas. Having just come off the back of their best finish to a season since 2016 Andre joined me to speak about his own and the club's journey to date. Protecting the long term vision of a club amid the relentless grind of modern day football is no mean feat however it is something which Andre has become accustomed to in his role as Technical Director. Join us as we converse about the insides of Neymar's world breaking transfer, building a high performance unit destined for continental success and the realities of living inside the pressure cooker of two of Brazil's biggest clubs. In the never ending pursuit of continuous growth and learning Andre is certainly playing the infinite game.Listen to find out more including;- The realities of being a top flight sporting director.- Managing expectations in the short and long term.- Inside Neymar's record breaking transfer to Barcelona.- How Gremio built a team destined for success?- How FC Dallas protect their player development pathways?Timestamps;00:00 - 02:46 - Intro02:47 - 12:42 - The Role12:43 - 22:49 - Santos22:50 - 28:53 - Neymar Transfer28:54 - 32:45 - Gremio32:46 - 44:11 - High Performance44:12 - 1:02:52 - Pathways1:02:53 - 1:06:23 - Advice

"Vision as a doorway to performance"Okkulo use the eyes as the doorway to improve an athlete's economy of movement. Having the vision the turn the marginal gains of athletes into exceptional gains, CEO & Founder Mel O'Connor offers us insight into their work. Learn more as to how Okkulo was shaped in and outside of the lab over a 20 year period with innovation and a willingness to succeed at the forefront. Already operating amid a range of sports including football, basketball, cricket, Mel and I spoke about the technology's functionality and where he sees technology and sport intersecting in the future. Listen to find out more including;- How it took 20 years for Mel to realize his calling.- Teambuilding at the speed of change.- The relentless pursuit of overcoming obstacles.- How the technology impacts performance ?- What has been the major hurdle in entering the football industry?- Taking on feedback and working in tandem with clubs.Timestamps;00:00 - 05:50 - Intro05:51 - 11:27 - Vision11:28 - 16:52 - Exceptional Gains16:53 - 26:40 - Innovation26:41 - 29:26 - AdviceOkkulo YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@okkuloltd1973Okkulo Website; https://www.okkulo.com/