Do you know the ins and outs of a football club? These are the unsung heroes that help a team succeed 🦸

The final scoreline ultimately determines the success of a football club, but we can’t neglect those behind the scenes. 👏

A sports team is a full-fledged organization, and the quality of its backroom staff can make or break their chances of winning anything at all. 🏆

Keep reading as we highlight some of the most underappreciated individuals that - believe it or not - have more of an impact on the club than you may think. 👀

Much of the world may naturally define a successful club as being one that wins trophies thanks to a well-oiled squad consisting of some of the best players in the world and a world-class manager, but it goes much deeper than that.

Sure, it’s impossible to win on a consistent basis without boasting a superstar or two, a couple of talented youngsters and at least a few certified role players to fill in the blanks throughout a long season.

But this isn’t FIFA.

A professional football club is made up of a number of moving parts that are constantly in communication with one another, and if even one of these parts starts to stall a bit, chances are you’ll start to notice the effects in another department.

Worst comes to worst, you’ll see a negative impact on the field.

A club is more than just a club; it’s an entire business, consisting of a number of different employee positions that are all in it together to help keep the team running and, ultimately, indirectly inspire success on the pitch.

In this 40th edition of the Plei newsletter, I explain the ins and outs of a football club, highlighting some of the most important hires that are contributing in some way shape or form towards the greater goal of creating a winning team. 👇

⚽ Coaches

I’ll start with an obvious one: the coaching staff.

I’m not just talking about the manager and his main assistants that sit immediately next to him on the sidelines during a match, I’m referring to the specialist coaches that help with conditioning, for example.

Here are some of the key fitness-related areas in which every professional football club needs at least one coach deployed:

• Acceleration

• Agility

• Speed

• Stamina

• Strength

For younger players, strength and conditioning sessions are more effective when drills combine conditioning with football-based scenarios, such as outsprinting opponents to reach a cross or through ball. These sessions may focus on fitness and physique, incorporating activities like weightlifting, sprinting, and tempo runs. This integration helps players carry the skills they learn in training onto the pitch, enhancing their performance during actual gameplay.

Naturally, you’ll also want to hire training coaches to help players depending on their position. These are as follows:

• Defensive

• Midfield

• Attacking

• Goalkeeping

Having coaches that specialize exclusively in one area will ultimately maximize improvement and efficiency across the board, guaranteeing results on the field.

📲 Social media/PR/marketing managers

Ever came across a clever post by a club’s official social media where all the comments were saying “whoever runs this account deserves a raise”?

Unfortunately, that same admin may also fall victim to endless backlash if they end up posting the wrong thing at the wrong time.

*Manchester United social media manager, we’re mainly referring to you...*

Regardless of the scenario, it’s obvious that the online profiles of these clubs have a huge impact in the football community, and if you don’t come correct, you’ll have to face the almighty wrath of the keyboard warrior.

Sure, the people that run these accounts aren’t the ones holding the burden of scoring goals and winning trophies, as much as the toxic comments may imply as much.

But they do share one thing in common with the players: satisfying the fans and winning over their hearts.

Although the world of social media is a scary one filled with millions upon millions of demanding football fans, at the end of the day, there is still an opportunity to unify a fanbase and give them reason to continue cheering on their club instead of crucifying them with every opportunity they get.

🥼 Doctors

I’m gonna go ahead and use an exaggerated, fictional example here in hopes that it still gets my point across.

Doctors are hugely influential in a football club, as they are solely responsible for whether or not a player can successfully step onto the pitch and perform.

My example is Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, a character that first appeared in Season 2, Episode 1 of Ted Lasso. Before you inevitably judge me, hear me out here.

If you watched this amazing show, you may recall Sharon as a sports psychologist hired by AFC Richmond in order to help player Dani Rojas overcome his depression and anger at himself for accidentally killing a dog that jumped in the way of his penalty kick during a match.

Long story short, Sharon is really, really good at her job, and eventually Rojas was back shouting “Football is life” like nothing ever happened. She soon began to help other players in the Richmond squad, all of whom found her services beneficial.

Although maybe not as rapid, this is exactly the impact a good doctor can have on a football club. Whether it’s a physiotherapist, a nutritionist or a psychologist like Sharon, these sorts of personnel are crucial because they are literally on the front lines when it comes to getting a footballer back to their 100% best.

A coach or manager can only do so much to inspire his squad and transform them into the best version of themselves; and that’s exactly where the sports doctor comes in.

👕 Kit man

Sorry, I’m not done referencing Ted Lasso.

Arguably the most unsung hero of the backroom team of a football club, the kit man (short for kit manager) is easily one of the most loyal members of a sporting organization.

Your first step in hiring a kit man is ensuring they actually support the club that they are applying to. After that, it’s really just making sure that they are a hard worker.

The kit manager is miles ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to discipline; they are the first one in the locker room and the last one out. These guys are in charge of washing all the gear and preparing all the equipment necessary for training sessions and matchdays, which can range from the kit to the boots, shin guards, balls; you name it.

And nobody does the job better than AFC Richmond’s Nate Shelley.

In many scenarios, the kit man is also quite close to squad members, so the right man for the job should ideally boast some excellent banter to be a proper positive influence in the locker room.

Worst case, they’ll actually be the victim of some not-so-playful banter like Nate. Hopefully you have a veteran leader in the squad to help shut that down, though.

That’s it for the 40th edition of our newsletter! 😅

How did you like it? Let me know by messaging me via email at [email protected] or by sending us a text. 📲

We want to make sure we’re providing the right content to you all, so if you have any interesting football topics that you’d like us to write about, don’t hesitate to send in your requests! 📩

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