Playing any game well requires a range of skills and knowledge. You need to understand the rules, the actions required to succeed within those rules, and have the ability to perform those actions well. As an amateur or hobbyist you compete against people with a similar understanding and ability level Read more…
By ANDREW WATSON How much do budgets really affect a league table? Often we hear stakeholders in the game, be they fans, owners, managers, say things such as “On our budget we should…” or the famous “We have the smallest budget in the league.” This quote belonged to at least Read more…
The Sporting Director model is becoming increasingly popular in English football. Once seen as the “continental” way of doing things as football clubs have grown in size and profesionalised a lot of clubs have come to the conclusion that the role is necessary. What needs to happen before you join Read more…
Article by Tim Keech and Olivier Wicki In our previous articles we looked at how clubs could use a strategic approach to club management. Firstly by setting out a long term vision for the club, and secondly by breaking this down into individual projects and processes. This final article in Read more…
Article by Tim Keech and Olivier Wicki In our last blog we explained why clubs should undertake strategic reviews and the methodology we use to perform these. In this article we will work through this using an imaginary (fictive) club performing at Premier League level. Any similarities to the situations Read more…
The single scientist working alone who makes a world-changing discovery, the doctor who performs life saving surgery, the programmer who built a trillion dollar company. We love stories about geniuses who have performed feats nobody else could through God-given ability. I don’t think anybody who has watched Messi play football Read more…
“Imagine there were no transfer fees, it isn’t hard to do, only free transfers, and a couple of loans too” It may not have made John Lennon’s final draft but as an existential questions for football clubs go it is an important one. The 21/22 summer transfer market gave us Read more…
Multi-club ownership groups enjoy a number of advantages over single club structures. Some examples include: Recruiting high potential players earlier in their careers rather than having to wait for them to reach the club’s level. The ability to control the development of these players, and capture value increases, through intra-network Read more…
A quote I’ve recently taken to repeating at every opportunity is from legendary college football coach Bear Bryant: “Have a plan, follow the plan, you’ll be surprised at how successful you’ll be. Most people don’t have a plan, that is why it is easy to beat most folks” But what Read more…
All long-term team performance graphs are produced on FootStats Summary: Design – What do you want your club to look like in 5 years time? Align – get the people and processes in place you need to reach that point. Build – building is disruptive and messy but necessary to Read more…
