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#lessonsfromsport Two managers were sacked from their positions at top flight English football clubs this week, both for the same reason but under very different circumstances. Gary O’Neill lost his job as Wolves manager, having done very well the previous season to steer the club away from relegation. However, instead of kicking on and supporting him, the club allowed key players to leave, weakening the playing squad and effectively pulling the rug from under the manager. Without the resources required, the team has struggled and O’Neill has gone. Meanwhile, having guided Southampton back to the top tier with attractive, attacking football, Russell Martin created an identity which he hoped would allow his team to thrive at a higher level. What he failed to do was adapt when it quickly became apparent his strategy wasn’t working. As the landscape changed and competition became tougher, he continued to stubbornly set his team up the same way. Now he too has gone. Managers can only operate effectively if they are supported with the resources to do the job, but they have to also have the awareness to recognise when things aren’t working and be willing to adapt. #resultsbusiness #adaptability #strategy #resources

This is the Current State of England’s Test Team 1. Ben Duckett 2. - 3. - 4. Joe Root 5. Harry Brook 6. Ben Stokes 7. Jamie Smith+ 8. Gus Atkinson 9. - 10.- 11. - Bowling Lineup 1. - 2. Gus Atkinson 3. Gus Atkinson - 4. - 5. - Of the 16 Positions in a Test Lineup, England have covered 7. That in my opinion is problematic against the Better Teams. One could say that it’s unfair to leave out Archer and Wood. My response to that is, I just witnessed Archer bowl in the 80s during a T20 Match. Two, can Mark Wood be a primary option if there’s uncertainty around Ben Stokes ability to bowl? Can Wood be 1 of 4 Bowlers? #EnglandCricket Sportsology Group Twenty First Group

The winning goal from mine and Jonathan Stow's Chorley Football Club's U16s in our Junior Premier League 1-0 win over Burscough Football Club's U16s. Watching it back reinforces to us that the principles we are preaching are being replicated on the pitch. We are not coaching one set playing style but developing collaborative problem solvers who look to make the best possible decision based on scenarios they find themselves in. I frequently find myself asking players “what does the situation require?", and reminding them that “no scenario is ever the exact same". At the start of the clip, we look to play out though quickly realise the potential press Burscough have. The decision is to bypass this with a long ball. "Here (Playing in England) you have to control second balls. Without that, you cannot survive" - Pep Guardiola Therefore our problem to solve now is ‘how to control the second ball?’ No outcome in football is ever set in stone. Problem solving and decisions must expect multiple outcomes. What if the second ball drops back into midfield from our first contact or Burscough’s? We had proactive players overloading the zone around where the first contact is, anticipating the second ball. What if we win the first contact but its flicked in behind? Again, proactivity through thinking, ‘what if’, we have a runner in behind. Ultimately, a goal which originated from great decision to bypass a press, collaborative problem solving to anticipate the second ball, winning a flick on, and finished off by a glimmer of individual brilliance. #Development #Football #Youth #JPL

So is the AFL - Australian Football League Brownlow awash First we need to look at those who are looking at the pleather of stats that have now overtaken the modern game. Perhaps those voices that are stats obsessed haven’t come up through the ranks themselves and learned every trick in the book to be noticed. Whether that’s for an umpires attention for a league mail medal, to first time recruitment from representative into state level systems like SANFL @Tac @vfl or @afl academy. - or the attention to win a #Brownlow. As someone who has lived and trained that pathway my whole life I can’t speak to playing any top level matches, but I can speak to the above and putting yourself in the best position for attention to be memorable where it matters. That being said, I do favour my time at Princess Park, whether in the lower levels or match sims with blokes I was watching on tv years earlier. Yes even the 400 metre straight sprints out the back, and the 12 x 220m sprints. Unless the fundamental components of the medal and how it’s awarded are changed to be a stat based medal, maybe let’s not shit on what it’s been and always been. Who had the attention at the right impactful moments of a match, in the eyes of the umpires and their opinion. As stated earlier this is no different from how many of us first got recruited. How many of us first got noticed. Il leave it with this, if this medal were to change to being stats based, what’s the allowance on junktime possessions to lift the overarching possession number?? Likely those will say disposal effectiveness. Okay. But then how many at what level of effectiveness is that measure? See how this is again, reaching into opinion and interpretation? #Brownlow #AFL #VFL #Football #Footy

Today, the U11 Hendon United Red football team had their biggest win yet—14-nil in the Watford Friendly Football League. It’s our fourth back-to-back win, and we remain unbeaten this season. But the victory wasn’t without its challenges. With 4 subs for a 9-aside game, rotating players fairly became tricky. 4 kids cried today, and 2 parents complained about subbing and starting squads. Balancing fairness, discipline, and keeping everyone happy was tough. In the past, we’d discipline kids for being late or wearing the wrong kit. Today, one of our best players didn’t have the right kit, but we let him play. My co-manager said, "We aren't disciplinarians. We need to field the strongest team." But I wonder, does this hurt team morale? It made me think about managing software teams. Like in football, we have star players and rock stars who don’t always follow the rules. Do we hold them to the same standards, or is the focus on delivering results above all else? Is it worth sacrificing team morale for the sake of results—whether on the field or in a software project?

What a night to go down and see my local football club Portsmouth Football Club get promoted after so many years. I love the dynamic of football clubs being a manager myself. This particular manager was not given the best reception as it was his first role as a football manager and he had been actually playing a previously. But what a turn around he has had. From seen as the cheap option to get in to winning the league the next season! Incredible atmosphere and the desire of the team to come back not once but twice in the game to win. All supporting each other all along from forwards defending corners to defenders scoring from corners! #teamwork #management

Angus Bell’s comments highlight a deeper issue that extends beyond the Wallabies’ current performance. The disappointment and frustration are valid, but they are the byproduct of a systemic failure that has spanned a generation. This isn’t solely about the players on the field today; they are the products of a broken system that has failed to address red flags in our development pathways, performance models, and the overall health of the rugby ecosystem. For years, there has been a glaring disregard for the structural integrity of the pathway, from grassroots to the elite level. Instead of strategic, long-term investments in talent development, the focus has been on short-term fixes, leading to a gap in the quality of players graduating to the national team. This mishandling by the governing bodies has left current players without the necessary foundation to consistently perform at the highest level. The demand for immediate results, as Bell mentioned, is understandable, but we must recognize that true, sustained success requires generational reform. We can’t expect players to find “form” and turn things around in an environment that hasn’t nurtured their development properly. The current Wallabies team is bearing the brunt of years of mismanagement, and until we address the core issues within our rugby system—developing a unified vision for performance and reforming the pathways—results will continue to be sporadic.

"I could probably put the under-18 team out there and they wouldn't concede six goals, so I'm very disappointed, angry, frustrated and the next 24-48 hours are not going to be very nice for the players” - Wayne Rooney after the latest heavy defeat for his Plymouth Argyle team Highly decorated player as he was, I wonder if Rooney the manager might benefit from Deci and Ryan’s 1985 Self-Determination Theory of Motivation…! According to this, high motivation comes from feeling: 1. COMPETENT – feeling effective and capable 2. RELATEDNESS – feeling close, connected to, and valued by others 3. AUTONOMY – feeling willingly engaged in behaviours Tough job though football management is, I’m not convinced the words above will make the Plymouth players feel any more capable, valued, or willingly engaged in their next match… …what does anyone else think?? https://lnkd.in/e59Fswbp P.S. If you’d like to discuss how I apply this theory in market research (it’s not only useful for judging football managers!) please get in touch.

Fools They say that only fools step in where angels fear to tread. There is more than enough people who think I am a fool to encourage my second comment on this mess. The simple principle is that changes in governance must have the informed consent of those governed. It’s one aspect of why I don’t much like the term “governance” - it implies separation and control. What rugby needs is informed, committed and insightful leadership. That can only come from within. It is some kind of hierarchy and elite nonsense that this can be achieved by “independence”. Seeking out people with no involvement, experience or commitment to lead anything defies logic and emotion in equal measure. Frankly this whole debate is misguided. If we selected All Black teams like this I could even get a run. But not even I think that is a good idea.

More big announcements soon!