Training Ground Guru Podcast

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: Toulouse's title win. Righting wrongs. 09:11: Establishing an identity at the club when he arrived. 23:25: Why Toulouse have a Head of Strategy and Culture. Importance of showing vulnerability and admitting mistakes. 37:08: Use of data. Input of Zelus Analytics. Why being data and culture driven is 'the perfect balance'. 50:10: Involvement with Red Bird and why those chose to buy Toulouse. 55:32: Being a pioneer of the Sporting Director role. Early mistrust. Mentor to Michael Edwards etc. 1:05:46: Sacking at Tottenham. Learning from mistakes. Not to be 'big-headed' again!

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 BRUNNSCHWEILER - background on his playing and career journey. Youth player at Southampton/ cricket career/ UK Coaching/ back to Saints. 09:23: Learning from top performing organisations in sport, business and the military. Floyd Woodrow and the SAS. 19:10: Technical Development department - what it is, what it does and what his role entails. 26:32: Learning Lab - how it came about, what it does, PhD projects 37:02: Importance of developing relationships; why we over-index on technical skills and under-index on human skills 44:15: DR ANDREW WILSON - career journey 46:15: What is ecological learning? Origins. 1:03:52: Why ecological learning 'radically alters the role of the coach' 1:15:55: Scanning. PhD projects in the Learning Lab 1:27:34: Is the Learning Lab unique in football?

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 some of the leadership lessons learned from legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.  For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru

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 cut above. For more information, visit trainingground.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru => SHOW NOTES: 01:35: Back at Malmö. Why the club is special. 06:37: 'Grandma coaching' - anyone can spot the best player in youth football; spotting the late developers is the key. 12:54: Why Malmö are so good at producing players. 15:50: Andreas's personal journey and career. 20:17: Individual Development Coach. How he got the job at Brentford (and then Arsenal) and what it involved. 28:55: How he came to get a job at Arsenal. Why Mikel Arteta is special. 33:06: Set piece coach. Work at Arsenal. Leading change. 43:26: Still in touch with Arteta and his staff. 'Sky is the limit' for them.

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 Chile came about/ 12 intense months to start. 5:04: StatDNA at Arsenal and use of data in football. 9:44: Ben Brereton Diaz - how he came to play for Chile and why he's become such an important player. 14:29: Why he left Arsenal after 24 years. "There was not a good feeling between myself and some people at the hierarchy." 18:29: Background/ career as a player and coach. 24:52: How he came to scout for Arsenal/ working with Arsene Wenger. 28:07: Discovering Cesc Fabregas. 35:51: How to scout character. 40:22: Why South America is the Continent with the most talent. 42:40: Ambitions for the future. 

Phil Giles, Director of Football for Brentford talks about their first season in the Premier League, use of specialist coaches, and reopening their Academy. They discuss the importance of mathematics in football, evaluating team performance, club's innovation with limited resources, decision making based on probabilities, and the financial situation of Brentford football club. They also explore the impact of COVID on spending and capitalizing on player performance.

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.guru or follow us on Twitter @ground_guru      

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 us on Twitter @ground_guru

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 Twitter @ground_guru