Chris Powell on getting back into football..
Fuelling optimism as the season begins....
“Starting the season at home is always a great way to get things up and running. The ground is packed, the fans are buzzing wearing their new shirts, and the players are looking to do everything they can to impress. When you travel away it’s a bit different – you may not have as many fans there but they’ll still come in strong numbers and make themselves heard.
“The only downside is having to name a team of 11 as you’ve had 25 players working hard as a group and growing close throughout pre-season. There is obvious disappointment if you’re not in the starting line-up and you may feel it’s not going to be a great campaign. But it’s always important to remember that the team that starts the season, very rarely, if at all, is the 11 that finishes it.
“Everyone will get their turn; they have to be ready to grab the shirt when the opportunity arises whatever the circumstances. Whether you’re a manager or player, you always want to improve on the season before. You have to try and move forward, and fuel everybody’s optimism around the club, especially the supporters. The start of the season is the perfect time for that.
“It really is a brilliant feeling when the competitive matches do begin after a long wait. Pre-season as a manager and as a player are two totally different entities. As a player, you’re basically looking to get yourself in tip-top condition but you only really get to your optimum when it’s about September time. After a few games, you get up to the speed of things in the league you’re playing in.
“My first pre-season was in 1986. I was a young, fresh-faced 16 year-old at Crystal Palace and I’ve got to say they were the hardest five weeks of my life! I didn’t get much sleep because I kept waking up with cramp as my body wasn’t used to it. There wasn’t as much science then and whatever you were told, you did. It used to be a lot of hill work and a lot of long-distance running.
“Nowadays it’s got a lot more scientific and a lot more technical; you do a lot of pre-season with the ball but also you build up your fitness by doing running which is specific to the distances you’d run within the parameters of the pitch. The more I think about it, the way it used to be was hell! As the years went by, I knew what was needed and that comes with experience.
“When you’re a manager or coach, it’s a totally different concept as you’re preparing for pre-season at the end of the previous campaign. You have to make sure that the players know exactly what is needed during the off-season, and the staff get the training programme ready for their return – looking at the coaching sessions, when they need rest and when they need to be worked hard.
“Of course, a huge part is choosing your pre-season matches. You have to make sure the games are at the right level – easing the players in and giving them 45 minutes each to begin with. Then you slowly build their fitness up as you can easily pick up injuries because their bodies are not used to day-to-day football. Putting them straight into a 90 minute game would be really tight for them.
“Pre-season tours are a wonderful way – as long as everything is organised – to get the team together and add to the camaraderie. When I had my first full season as manager of Charlton, I actually went to the training base in Spain where we were going to train before the previous season had ended.
“I went over and spent one day looking at the logistics of it all and I was really happy with it. You look to get everything right – where they’re going to eat, rooming, the facilities, areas for swimming and ice baths without upsetting holiday makers who may be staying there! There are so many things that go into it and as a manager I wanted to make sure that I got it right.
“You’re training hard two-three times a day, and it’s healthy to partake in other activities. We had a night where the players could sing, dance, tell jokes and juggle – it was really good fun and you always try and do that. You get to know people’s characters and if they’re ready to step out into the limelight as such, because that’s what you have to do in certain moments during the season.
“Positive results during pre-season can create a feel-good factor but really it doesn’t make any difference. I’ve had pre-seasons where it’s gone badly results-wise, but we’ve gone on to have a really good season, and vice versa, so you can never look too much into it. Either way, when the real action starts, your focus is solely on what lies ahead rather than what’s been and gone.”
My first pre-season off since 1986
It’s been a good summer. After 18 months of hard work, I finally gained my UEFA Pro Licence and became a fully qualified coach in June. I don’t think there is much more studying I can do now!
I will always look back on that achievement with real pride as I was part of the first cohort to pass the Pro Licence at St George’s Park – which is fast becoming known as the home of football coaching and learning.
I shared the journey to getting the Pro Licence with a diverse group who all had a real love for the game. Some had played at the highest level, and others had spent time coaching abroad and in the lower leagues.
Ryan Giggs, Paul Ince, Gary Neville, Micky Mellon, Wayne Burnett, Stephane Henchoz, Graham Kavanagh, Lois Fidler – only the third woman to pass the Pro Licence – and Alex Dyer and Nathan Jones – who were both on my staff at Charlton Athletic – were just a number of those on the course.
There were some tough times, and sacrifices had to be made (including having to turn down a trip to the World Cup in Brazil!), but we all pulled each other through. I had to balance my studies with managing Charlton and thankfully John Peacock, the course director, was terrific and understood my day-to-day duties had to take priority.
There was one occasion where I had to travel to Middlesbrough on the Friday by train before getting the coach back after our match on the Saturday evening. I arrived home just gone midnight and then had to drive to St George’s Park at 5:30am the next morning for a full day’s study from 9am-7pm.
We then had another 9am-7pm schedule on Monday before finishing up with a 9am-2pm session on Tuesday. From there, I had to drive directly to Oxford United where we had an FA Cup Third Round replay. So I briefly saw my home for about five hours from Friday right up until late Tuesday night!
It needed to be done and we organised everything in advance for my staff and the players. It was just one of those things that you have to do. Sometimes you have to make the odd sacrifice to make sure you come out the other end with what you’re looking for.
Shortly after leaving Charlton and separate from my studies, I had the pleasure of helping coach England Under-17s. It came out of the blue after I was very kindly asked by John Peacock and Kenny Swain, and I helped them out during the qualifying stages for the European Championships which the team went on to win in Malta in May.
Sadly, I couldn’t get out there for it so I had to watch it on Eurosport. I jumped up for joy when they won the final against the Netherlands on penalties! I can tell you that they actually practiced penalties for 21 days after every training session to prepare themselves for the possibility. I was really proud of them when they managed to win it.
Now I’ve got the Pro Licence I’m qualified to do any management job in this country or any other league in the world. I’m ready and raring to go again, and watching on this pre-season has given me that extra eagerness to get back to management.
I know I can manage, I know I can coach and I was successful during my time at Charlton. It was such a great experience for me, and I departed from the club through no fault of my own. It’s now about me making the same impression somewhere else when the opportunity arises.
There are a lot of good managers and coaches that aren’t working at the minute so you have to be ready when the chance comes to get yourself back in. I am keeping myself fit and healthy so that if an interview comes, I can prove that I am the man for the job.
There is a lot of discussion around the possibility of creating an equivalent to the Rooney Rule to address the lack of black and minority ethnic coaches and managers, and I understand all that entails. For me, getting your badges and becoming as qualified as you can be is crucial.
I think if you get all the qualifications then people can’t exactly say – which is an easy get out – ‘you’re not qualified to do this job’. If you’re turned down because you didn’t interview correctly then that’s fine.
It’s about being able to secure those interviews in the first place, then it is down to you to present yourself as the right person to lead the team and take the football club onto a bigger and brighter future.
You never know where this game may take you and I am very open to potential opportunities which may come up overseas. People love English football across the world but I think we should do it more than we do when it comes to our coaches looking further afield for jobs.
In life sometimes you have to take a different turn from the journey that you’re on. It may just be that you take an alternate route to the path you always thought you were going to go on, but if the opportunity is progressive and you feel it is right, why not enjoy that experience?
Who knows what will happen? Hopefully we’ll see where the next chapter is for me as a manager and coach very soon. I’ve had a summer at home and it’s been enlightening as I haven’t had a pre-season off since 1986 – let’s just hope it doesn’t last until this time next year though!
[/quote Can certainly agree about the intensity of the coaching sessions