With a number of coaching qualifications to his name already, and more planned as well as his own Sunday League team he’s well on his way.
In this interview Mark tells us about his job with the Gills, the opportunity to work with some of FIFA’s smaller nations and his ultimate ambition…to become a top level manager.
Can you explain your role as Video Analyst with Gillingham FC for us?
My primary responsibility lies with the under 16 and under 18 teams. I have to film matches from a raised platform on the side of the pitch before cutting together DVDs to aid the coaches in their post-match analysis and coaching with the players. The DVDs might be based on specific incidents or themes that the coaches have asked me to look for, such as the way centrebacks are distributing the ball, or it may be something I have spotted myself. There will also be games in which I have to film an individual player throughout a game if, for instance, he is being groomed for use in the first team squad.
My secondary responsibility lies with the first team. I generally sit in the stand for matches and keep a mental note of everything that has happened in the match. The management may then ask me to put a DVD together for similar reasons to the youth team staff. Once again, I may also produce DVDs to help put my own thoughts across.
How does video analysing help the team?
Post-match analysis, including video analysis, has become increasingly widespread over the last couple of decades in football, and indeed, in most sports. Top Premier League clubs will generally have an entire “team” of analysts, whereas the teams lower down in the leagues are only really beginning to grasp the importance of detailed analysis now. As a League Two club, Gillingham obviously cannot realistically afford to spend a huge amount of money on analysts and the equipment they ideally require, but they still understand the benefits any form of analysis can provide.
At school and university, we are told that everybody learns in a different way – whether it is through visual aids, the need to physically carry out tasks or simply by listening to instructions and information. Football is no different, and the chance to watch through video footage of a performance is invaluable for a young footballer. Being guided on your technique on the training pitch is one thing, but to be able to sit in the relative serenity of an office and judge the various aspects of your game is, of course, hugely beneficial. As with other sports such as tennis and cricket, the slightest adjustments to a technique or skill can make a huge difference.
I tend to view a match as more of a “whole” entity as my primary interest has generally been in tactics and playing systems as much as individual development, and from this point of view, a video of the match can also help to show how the various departments of the team have been performing, and how the team as a whole has maintained its shape and movement.
If you stayed with this, rather than entering coaching what would be the next step up?
Analysis and sports science are an excellent career path to take in football. After all, not everybody will have the personality or desire to become a coach. I think it is advisable to complete a sports science (or similar) degree if you wish to follow this route. I think if I viewed myself as a performance analyst in the long term, I would probably be spending a lot of my life attempting to convince Gillingham FC of the benefits involved with having a significant analysis department. I have no real awareness of what their budget as a club is, but to have two or three full-time performance analysts would give any League One or Two a huge advantage over their rivals.
The obvious progression in analysis is simply to be working at the highest level possible. I personally would look to get some coaching qualifications and experience in other sports to help widen my horizons. A willingness to work abroad is also important as a lot of developing areas around the world would probably be extremely grateful for some analysis work. My predecessor at Gillingham is now an analyst at Watford in the Championship, so there are of course immediate routes of progression in this country too. Sports science is also a huge area in sport now, and it is certainly another path for people to explore if they have any interest in a career in football or other sports.
How did you find the coaching process in England, how easy/hard are the coaching badges?
The Level One course can be completed by just about anybody, as it is a good way to take your first steps into football coaching if you have absolutely no experience. Everybody on the course will be new to coaching (or at least coaching with any structure), so there is genuinely no reason to feel intimidated by it. The Level Two course is far more technical, and can be daunting at first for inexperienced coaches, but most intelligent coaches will ultimately still pass it without too many problems.
The course initially offers a week of teaching and practicing, followed by two support days a month or so later, and then eventually the examination days a month after that. This is ample time to perfect your techniques, and also practice coaching your assigned topic for the exam (which you receive at the support days). The basic task on the level two course is to take your topic (short passing, for example) and coach a drill to demonstrate the basic technique, before developing the skill in a game-based scenario.
Do the coaching badges teach ‘the right things’? Is what we are teaching coaches affecting the development of British players?
Coaching in England is in a state of reluctant progression. Coaches and coaching instructors are moving with the right intentions but my experience is that many of them are still struggling to shake off their outdated habits and philosophies. I was impressed in some ways by the Level Two coaching course, as it does at least teach the significance of involving young players in small sided games to help develop their techniques, but in my opinion, it is still teaching coaches to use too many static drills with isolated points of focus.
I believe that the best way to coach almost anything to young players is by developing them in game situations. By “game situation”, I do not mean a genuine 11-a-side game, but rather a small sided game such as 4v4 (plus goalkeepers). This helps to give context to players, as well as more variation in coaching points. Children are going to become more complete footballers if they are experiencing as many different situations as possible, because a wider experience base will allow them to approach new situations with more context and intelligence.
This is how some of the more successful academies, such as Ajax and Barcelona, have achieved a lot of their results. Players need openness and the chance to become creative individuals.
This is perhaps why many English players are seen as being slightly one dimensional. They have been brought up learning in a very linear and defined manner, and as a result, they struggle to process their thoughts in a pressurised environment.
Tell us about your plans to go an work with one of FIFA’s smaller nations.
I am currently talking to a few national associations with a view to spending around three months working with their national teams and coaches to help improve their standards and awareness. I have always wanted to travel around the world anyway, and this potential move will satisfy that desire too. I am currently at university, so will only be free from June-September (unless anyone fancies making me their national team manager…), but this experience would be a great opportunity to help the standards of a small country with a desire to progress, but it will also be extremely beneficial to me.
What do you hope to gain from this?
Improving standards and understanding for others has always been important to me as I have such clear and defined views on how football should be coached and played, so this would be a great opportunity to help a more remote part of the world to develop. From a personal viewpoint, I hope the trip will be just as useful. To spend time in a significant role elsewhere in the world would be tremendously helpful for my own confidence, whilst also demonstrating my willingness to take alternative routes in order to help achieve my eventual goals. It is a small dream of mine to one day manage one of the countries at the bottom of the FIFA rankings, and this experience will hopefully help that medium-term goal become a reality one day.
Tell us about your Sunday League side, how and why did it come about?
I started to believe I was developing a wide enough understanding of football to become a coach when I was 19-20. I had a lot of friends around at the time who were not playing for a football team, so I decided with a few of these friends to start up a club. This was difficult as we had to raise around £1200 just for the various start-up costs, and we also had to recruit an entire squad of new players who hadn’t played in the league for the last year (due to a bizarre league ruling). We convinced the league members to grant us entry for the 10/11 season, and we have been running since then.
How are the team doing?
One of my main aims when I started up the club was simply to give people a wider understanding of football. I believe we have been doing this, with a large number of individuals dramatically improving both their understanding and skills. Players who initially looked like they would struggle to become a part of a competitive football team are now playing with great confidence and awareness, which is of course good to see.
England also has a very low number of qualified coaches, so I have also always had a willingness to allow members of the squad to play a part in coaching and organising training if they have any desire to do so. We currently have another member of the squad coaching the team to help develop his own understanding and satisfy his desire to manage, whilst another player is currently taking his Level Two course, and a couple of other players also expressing an interest in going on coaching courses of their own.
With those points in mind, the desire for on-field success has always been juggled with development and squad rotation. However, the team are making positive strides at present, having reached a local cup semi-final (with a strong chance of progressing to the final) and, halfway through the season, promotion is a realistic target.
How will it help you in your bid to get into coaching/management?
Coaching this team has been very different to coaching on courses and working at Gillingham, simply because I am dealing with my own friends, and Sunday League is largely a social experience as much as anything else. As a result, you cannot afford to take yourself too seriously or attempt to be too imposing or complex in your plans. Perhaps if I was less ambitious in my career, I might have viewed this team’s success as being more important, but I have always been mindful that Sunday League football should be an enjoyable experience above all else. However, it has provided me with fairly regular reminders of what problems and challenges can occur over the course of the season, whether it is handling injuries, keeping everybody content, replacing players who have left and dealing with situations within a match.
The club has undoubtedly served its purpose for me though, and that was one of the reasons why I handed over the bulk of the management of the team. It provided an excellent addition to my CV/resume and it most likely contributed to getting the video analyst role at Gillingham. I am not naive enough to think that managing a Sunday League team is anything like managing a “real” team, and it requires a very different set of qualities, but it has been a positive experience nonetheless. If there is a group of friends anywhere with an interest in doing something similar, I would unquestionably recommend it as long as you are prepared to put up with your local FA and league often behaving like spoilt toddlers.
What is your ultimate aim?
My ultimate ambition is clear: to become a top level manager.
This draws very different reactions depending on who I talk to. Some people are understandably dismissive of anyone around them with great ambition, whilst others are more aware of the seriousness in my plan and my ever-increasing level of understanding. It is not especially important if I actually end up managing Manchester United or coaching the youth team of a second division team in Malawi though. This is the only realistic career path for me, and it is something I will continue to take great joy in working in, without compromise.
I have to be patient, and my career will be a series of [hopefully] upward steps. My rough plan over the next couple of years can be broken down relatively easily:
1 – Start up a football club – Achieved2 – Get Level 2 coaching certificate – Achieved3 – Get first professional role – Achieved4 – Get a relevant degree – Ongoing (Sports Science with Professional Football Coaching BSc (Hons))5 – Work abroad – [Hopefully] happening this summer6 – Get Level 3/UEFA B License – due to take course in 2012
Once all of those targets have been achieved, I will be qualified at a high enough level to become a realistic option for many roles in professional and community football. I will then expect to travel to another country on a semi-permanent basis to work in a full-time role at a professional football club, only returning to take the UEFA A coaching license. It is unrealistic to have any solid plans beyond that, but my understanding is that Karl Robinson is the youngest Englishman to get the UEFA Pro coaching license, at 29, so beating that will be one of many things I hope to achieve.
Do you think, at the top level at least, English clubs are too fixated on getting a ‘top name’ as manager rather than an excellent coach?
English football is like an old boys’ club. There is a merry-go-round of former players who travel from club to club without achieving any real results, and yet somehow still manage to get another job. Management roles are handed out as favours to friends, to appease fans and due to a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes a good manager. I would never try to argue that former players cannot be excellent managers, but it should not be assumed that they will be capable of stepping into management – especially without extensive training.
I believe it was Sunderland who publicly celebrated the fact that they were on the verge of hiring a “world class” manager before announcing the appointment of Roy Keane – a man who had zero management experience, and absolutely no reason to be regarded as a world class coach.
The United States and mainland Europe often appear to be more open-minded and logical in how they define a coach, and that is one of man reasons why I believe I will have to work abroad to achieve my goals.
How closely related is being a great player to being a great coach?
Whilst it is dangerous to generalise, there is quite often a certain type of player that becomes a top manager. Rafa Benitez, Pep Guardiola and even Jose Mourinho – the theme is that these three individuals, like many other great coaches, were very measured in their approach and relied on their ability to read the game and occupy the right areas rather than exceptional (relative to their peers) skills or natural ability. An inspirational former captain may appear to be a great appointment due to his passion and relationship with the fans, but these appointments fail to work out more often than not.
There is no reason to assume that a great coach needs to have played to a decent standard at all though. To quote the great AC Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi;
Andre Villas-Boas has provided the latest demonstration that a decade of studying the game rather than playing it can prime a person for a successful coaching career, whilst his compatriots: Jose Mourinho and Carlos Queiroz also never had a genuine career in professional football (Mourinho was briefly under contract at his father’s club and flirted with one or two lower division sides, whilst Quieroz only played in Mozambique). The best example of a successful English coach who did not play professionally is Roy Hodgson. However, he developed his reputation in Scandinavia, so although he is English, he might as well have returned as a foreign coach in many ways.
I would hope that this theme starts to die out in England over the next decade as we become more technical in our approach to the sport, and there are one or two positive signs such as Karl Robinson at MK Dons, but we are sadly still lagging behind a lot of the world when it comes to coaching – both in dealing with football clubs and educating our coaches.
“The views expressed above reflect those of Mark McAllister, not Gillingham Football Club.”
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