You have outlined some top managers that have influenced you over the years, but are there any others that you specifically admire?
In my opinion, back in the sixties, Bill Shankly was the first manager to introduce psychology into the game. Not only did he motivate his players with that 'invincibility' campaign, but also the fans and the entire city of Liverpool. His team talks were also legendary where he would undermine the qualities of each individual opposition player and then convince his team that they were far superior in every department.
What can you say about Jock Stein, a man who put together a team of young men from the Glasgow area and later went onto become champions of Europe in 1967. I think that says it all really.
Brian Clough had his own unique way of motivating players and for turning ordinary players into European champions. Back in those days it wasn't about how much money you had to spend on transfers, but how good you were as a coach, and he certainly came out on top.
Sir Bobby Robson not only achieved great things in England with a small club like Ipswich Town, but also proved himself as a top manager in many other parts of the world, not least of all at PSV, where the fans today still claim him to be their best manager of all time.
In modern times, you can't go past Sir Alex Ferguson who has won everything in the game. What fascinates me most about him is his man-management qualities when it comes to dealing with the multi-millionaire, power crazy, and petulant (sometimes childish) stars of today. Player power is something that a lot of managers now struggle to cope with and they could learn a lot from Sir Alex; start off as you mean to go on, show them who is boss, and maintain that standard throughout. Ask David Beckham and others if reputations count for anything at Old Trafford ? He also insists that players dress smartly at all times, no jeans are allowed, and more recently, he has also banned youth players at the club from wearing fancy coloured boots. When they have reached the grade and proved themselves, then fine, but until that day, he won't have any jumped up young kids strutting around Old Trafford.
There are obviously lots of other managers that I admire, but one in particular sticks in mind. Many years ago I spent the day with Dario Gradi at Crewe. In the morning he was training with the first team; in the afternoon it was paperwork, watching match videos, and telephone calls; at 5pm it was with the physio and injured players; at 7pm in the evening he was out on the astro pitch in monsoon conditions working with the under 13 team; and at 9pm he was talking to the parents of the young youth players. And that was a typical day. Not just your normal first team manager, but also a director at the club, technical skill coach, match analyst, youth coach, motivator to all the young kids, and also involved with a lot of the local community work. That is my kind of coach, because it is the way that I like to work. I remember on one occasion when I was recovering from a trapped nerve in my back, instead of cancelling a session, I put my crutches in the back seat of the car and left three hours earlier in order to get there on time (I had to stop and rest every 15 minutes). Having barked out orders from the sidelines for nearly an hour, frustration got the better of me and it was agreed that I could play the final practice match in goal. Being the boss I changed the rules very slightly, whereby a goalkeeper could now use his crutches to stop the ball. I thought I had an outstanding game, so awarded myself man of the match. Now, that's the advantage of being the boss - you won't see that in the premiership!

Steve McLaren is now working in Holland, I understand you have met him as well?
I met him way back in the days when he was assistant manager to Jim Smith at Derby County and he welcomed me to a couple of his training sessions. Steve is a typical foreign style coach where he is constantly looking for new ideas, not scared to introduce unusual methods, and likes to vary his approach depending on circumstances. In my opinion, the perfect example of a modern day SSD coach as he likes to work with individual players, both youth and senior on technical skill elements, as well as good analytic team skills. He is not a shouter or screamer, he is a thinker. Just look at his track record after he left Derby; worked very closely with a few relatively unknown players at that time, Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, and Neville, and then went onto manage Middlesborough where he brought through more young players into the first eleven than any other club in the premiership. I think the England job came too early for him, but he has certainly proved himself at Twente because the unique Dutch culture and style was the perfect match for his approach to management. I can see Steve returning to the English game in the near future, but to continue this recent success, the right choice of club is imperative.

What advice would you give any young coaches today?
Use your coaching courses solely as a basic framework, not as a bible. Having a coaching qualification doesn't make you a coach, it just gives you a licence to undertake an apprenticeship. It takes years of experience to fully understand the real complexities; working with different attitudes, different characters, different motivational needs, and dealing with different levels of pressure. What works with one group of players may not work with others, so always be flexible and adaptable. Yes, by all means, learn from others, but never attempt to copy them, because each individual has their own set of unique inherited characteristics. You have to develop your own strengths and management style.

THE FUTURE

Many of the top continental clubs have experienced people behind the scenes helping and supporting the manager plus overseeing the academy structure, so you don't have to go into management. Have you never considered that as an option?
It has taken me many years to create the ideal situation that I currently have; I'm my own boss, I call all the shots, I select the hours that I work, and I can already do most of the jobs that you suggest - see the young faces of kids taking up football for the first time, watching them develop, working with older academy youths and senior players on technical skill enhancement, and working with clubs and individual coaches in an advisory capacity. Why would I want to give all that up? Okay, it will never make me the next Richard Branson, but I love what I do, and sometimes that is the most important thing in life. Yes, I have had offers in the past, but it has got to be 100% right. On one particular occasion I have to admit that I was very close to being swayed when the words "money was no object" were pushed in my direction. You would be a fool not to go away and consider that, but later on, the decision was, no. They had a terrific manager, fabulous academy, great coaches, and a wonderful family atmosphere around the club, but I was unsure about the upper echelons, the ones who controlled the financial purse. In the past, they had shown a tendency towards short-term policies and instant success instead of focussing on a good long-term solid plan. Without a full proper infrastructure in place you just can't achieve that overnight. I may have been able to produce giant steps towards that objective, but I would have needed a bit more time to produce miracles. I tossed and turned for a few months wondering if I had made a big mistake, but thankfully, I was eventually proven right, when two key members of their management team later left the club with exactly the same thoughts as me.
Yes, there are a few clubs that I would serious consider, and it may surprise you that most of them would not be regarded as the top clubs in England. It's about having the right balance between ambition and resources; having the right chairman; having the right manager; and a modern futuristic approach. If we are all in it together then it can be achieved; if you have a weak link or a doubter then it will fail.
As for a specific role, I don't want to work in an academy environment 24/7 and I don't want to be first team manager. Instead, I think I would be more suited to a general floating position similar to that of a Technical Director of Development that they now have on the continent. This is not to be confused with a Director of Football, who, under the English interpretation, has in the past, undermined managers and in some cases created instability within the management structure. Managers come and go but a Technical Director of Development is the permanent link between the academy and senior players - maintaining continuity throughout the club. In the main, he spends mornings as a senior player technical skill coach, the afternoons working with the scholars in the academy, evenings working with the younger kids, Saturday mornings watching the academy teams, Saturday afternoons involved with the senior team, and Sunday mornings watching the kids playing in the local leagues. In between that he is overseeing scouting missions (both at junior and senior level), doing administrative duties, and working closely with sports psychologists, physiotherapists and fitness trainers on player assessments. Although the academies in England are producing a number of very talented kids we tend to lose an awful lot of them through the transitional period (age 16 to 20 - from academy to professional level), so this is also a vital role that needs to be covered more professionally. The manager runs the first team, the academy manager runs the academy, and the Technical Director of Development floats between the two set-ups. A bit like what Dario Gradi used to do but on steroids.
When you consider that the current Barcelona team (European champions) have no less than 7 home grown players in their first eleven, all of whom have been guided by a Technical Director of Development, then it clearly shows that the system works. A modern dimension that British clubs must implement in the future.
And finally, before you ask, no, I will not reconsider any of the offers that I've had to return to Holland. As much as I love the country and its people, I am now settled back in the UK and that is where I belong.

And finally . . . you told me that your latest book 'Kicking Into the Future 2010' will be your last, so what do you hope to achieve from it?
I expect the same response as the original Grass Roots Report 1995. A mixture of support and total rejection, depending on which source it comes from. If it sparks debate and re-opens the question on youth development in the UK, then I have succeeded. Those totally dedicated to youth development will support change; those responsible for making the ultimate decisions will deny ever seeing the book and then later implement some aspects of it as their own ideas; and most club chairmen will totally ignore it altogether because they have so much money swishing around in the premier league that they find it a lot easier to just buy a cheap foreign player than spend years developing a young British kid. Remember, chairmen and managers are in the business of winning football matches, it is a business, not a charity. British kids have no God given right to be allocated professional careers, but if we have the right structure in place (a proper grass roots foundation with an external development level and specially trained junior and youth development coaches) then it can be achieved.
Yes, we have moved forward an awful lot over the years, but what we did yesterday is now history. Change is a continuous process, so we have to keep the good and bin the failures before we can move forward onto the next level. For the last 15 years we have been playing the reactive game when it comes to development, but if we want to become more proactive in future, then all the relevant parties concerned need to work closer together. At the moment the Premier League run the academies, the Football League run the centres of excellence, and the FA run the coaching courses and the local leagues, where is the continuity? We need a new single body, Youth Football Association, which will be a separate entity in its own right and hold ultimate responsibility for all youth development procedures. Some say that it will never happen, but so far we have had 70% of the original Grass Roots Report 1995 implemented. Maybe, just maybe, we can eventually KICK INTO THE FUTURE with even more success.
If you improve the feedline into the academies - then you improve the standard of proactive coaching within the academies - which in turn leads to better quality young players entering the game at professional level - and you end up with a much higher percentage of talented young British players throughout our league structure.
At present, the standard of kids entering our academies is just not good enough and the average standard of our professional players is woeful. It is time to stop all the talking and start doing something about it. It's time for change.
Have we got the raw young talent in the UK to compete with the best continental kids - yes.
Have we got our development strategy right - we are 60% of the way there.
Have we got the right people working with our talented kids - we are 70% of the way there.
Have we got the right people working with our young talented senior players - no.
Kicking Into The Future 2010 is all about filling those missing gaps.

- THE END -