Episode 16
Episode 15
In this episode, we dive deep into the world of football and explore the many responsibilities that players have. From their dedication to training to their role in defending the team’s colors, we uncover the key elements that make them valuable assets on the pitch. We also highlight the significance of players taking individual responsibility and making a difference in the game. Tune in to gain a better understanding of the different aspects of being a football player and the impact they have on a team’s success.
Episode 14
Episode 13
Player Discipline is not far from a fan’s lips, but what do they really know about what goes on behind closed doors at a club? Gus gives us the inside track of how a new manager introduces discipline and rules when they arrive at a club. We learn how a manager deals with this with their players and how they deal with the media.
In this episode, we reference player disciplinary issues at Man City made public in December 2021.
Episode 12
Free kicks win matches, how does a manager work on the training ground to utilise the opportunity a dead ball gives a team. We discover the ABCs of the perfect crossed free kick, the work taken on the training ground. From delivery of the ball into the box and the importance of the timing from the targets in the box, we understand the work the set piece coaches are now doing on the training ground working with their squads and player characteristics.
Episode 11
Episode 10
We’ve learnt that player characteristics play an important role in create a team’s identity, but what are these characteristics, what is needed from players to help a team to create and work within their identity? Understanding the different playing field between clubs from those with big budgets to those with small and whether a manager adapts his team identity to the players he has or, players needing to adapt their game to a teams’ identity.
In this episode, we reference to the work of Guardiola at his clubs, the Spurs of Conte, and Tuchel’s Chelsea at the time they lost 3-0 against Leeds.
Episode 9
In this episode, we learn that fans should not discuss systems anymore. Gus explains it is about how a team plays the game within various formations and with different ideas before and during games. What is the best formation to play in English football today and its link to various team identities and player characteristics, the importance of offensive and defensive transitions, and the evolution of the game into the data world and how this impacts managers’ work.
Episode 8
There is a lot of talk in modern football about a team‘s identity, but what exactly is it? In this episode, we talk differently about identity. First, we speculate if the managers of today – Conte, Simeone, Pep and Gus – would be able to play in the teams they coach today, considering their skills when they were footballers. Secondly, we speak about the identity that comes from our countries and how these characteristics impact the ways coaches manage national teams.
This episode was recorded at the time that Gus had recently been appointed as the Greek National Coach.
Episode 7
What is the difference between the team identities of Manchester City and Liverpool. In this episode we learn what these are and how it they were achieved. For one team, it takes time, a lot of money and specific player characteristics to create the identity to allow them to play in a certain way. For the other club it is the understanding of the system and having the right players to allow them to play in a certain way.
We reference to the game played between Manchester City and Liverpool on the 10th of April 2022
Episode 6
Each coach has an identity and needs to imprint this on their teams. Gus explains, how important it is to each team to have a team identity and how coaches use this identity to win football matches. We learn the differences in creating identity between club football and international football. We also ask whether Pep, Simeone, Conte and Gus as players have the right characteristics to fit into their own teams and under their coaching identity.
In this episode we reference the Newcastle v Man City in august 2022
Episode 5
How important are captains in the modern game? In this episode, we look at the ins and outs of captaincy and the importance of the role of the fans, the manager, and the club. We learn how a manager picks his captains and what it is to be the captain on the pitch.
In this episode, we reference the change of captain at Arsenal due to disciplinary issues in December 2021.
Episode 4
Does your club manager have a plan B? When things are not happening for your team on the pitch do you tear up everything you worked on during training? In this Episode, Gus gives us an insight into planning the tactical ins and outs of a game, while explaining the true meaning of Plan A and Plan B in the modern game. We look at the differences between a manager’s team identities and how player characteristics influence games and a manager’s decisions on a match day.
Available from the 20th of February 2023
Episode 3
In this second part we look at two of the most successful managers in the game, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger and their roles as managers at their clubs and the role of a modern coach and their relationship with the Director of Football.
Episode 2
In this Episode, Steven asks Gus the big question, “Are you a Coach or a Manager?” With the introduction of more football directors in the British game, Gus explains the difference and gives personal insights from his career where at different times he was either seen as a Manager or a Coach, giving an insight into the time he was close to signing Liverpool Captain Virgil Van Dijk for Brighton Hove Albion.
In this episode, we reference the 2022 January transfer, with the press reporting tension between Antonio Conte and Spurs about signings. Rafa Benitez (who looks like Mariano) was promoted from coach to manager, only to be sacked later in the same season. While Marcelo Bielsa was happy with his squad and asked Leeds not to sell his players.
Episode 1
We talk football, with an emphasis on learning. In this episode we aim to close the gap between football fans and the football manager, by answering the questions the fans would like to know. We look into different situations managers finds themselves in and how fans and football professionals view the game through a different lens.
In this episode we reference the 3-2 Hotspur victory against Leicester City in January 2022, with Steven Bergwijn scoring two late goals in injury time.
