Getting the picture

My dad has a drawing I did when I was eight years old. He says he is going to give it to me when that picture becomes a reality.

Dad was playing for Fulham when I was born in 1984. He had two spells there, either side of playing for QPR under Jim Smith. My mum always took me to his games, pretty much from when I was a newborn.

Football was in the blood in our family. For me and my brother Daron, growing up, the highlight of our week was always Saturday. That was when we watched Dad play.

I was four years old when he moved to West Ham, when John Lyall was manager. They were in the top flight, Dad was their leading goalscorer, and before each game he would bring us into the dressing room. Tony Gale was the centre-back, and his son Anthony – who is still involved in the game – would be in there too.

There was a little gym at Upton Park, where all the players would warm up. Us kids would be playing and warming up with them, 15 minutes before they played a game. I could smell the Deep Heat and feel the adrenaline from the players. Ever since those days, the dressing room has been my home. 

In the family home, dad’s friends would come round for dinner and talk football and tactics. I would pretend to be asleep on the couch, so that I didn’t have to play with the other kids. All I wanted to do was listen to the football conversations. 

"I always saw my playing career as a vehicle to coach"

Dad didn’t push football on me, though. Motivation to make my own way in the game always came from within. Our family’s approach was that, if you wanted to do something, then you should do it to the best of your ability. And make sure you gave it everything you had.

Of course I spoke about football with Dad. When I was playing youth games, though, he would drop me off and pretend he wasn’t coming to watch. In reality, he’d stand out of the way, where he wouldn’t be noticed, and watch me play from there. That was because he didn’t want to put any extra pressure on me.

I was probably a bit of a nightmare to deal with as a young player. At the age of nine, I read the FA Coaching Book of Soccer Tactics and Skills, by Charles Hughes, and I remember being really interested in it. At 11, I was player-manager of the school team, setting up sessions and trying to get us to play in a certain way. 

Ajax were the outstanding team at that time, and Dad encouraged me to watch them with him. We would also watch Barcelona, for whom Pep Guardiola was an outstanding player. So I always had a mind to coach, which meant I was probably quite challenging as a player. I would always ask: “Why are we doing it this way?”

When I was 17 and playing at Bristol City, I disagreed with the coach about the way he wanted to play and asked him questions. Not because I wanted to cause a problem, but because I was inquisitive and wanted to learn. I always saw my playing career as a vehicle to coach.

After I turned professional, I coached in soccer schools run by my dad, and in academies with various age groups. I got my Pro Licence when I was still playing, at the age of 32. After games, I would be on the bus with my teammates, where some of them played cards. Sometimes I’d join in, but other times I’d be watching the game back, or watching footage of another team. I analysed everything.

"the way that he built a team and got the players to trust him was incredible"

I took notes throughout my playing career, putting everything into a PowerPoint document and adapting it as I went along. It is 350 pages long, and details what I learned and how I would change certain things, such as systems against particular teams. 

In the early stages of my playing career, English football was all about 4-4-2, winning your battles and individual duels. But I always saw football to be more than that. The game has since evolved tactically, and particularly so in England because of the money in the Premier League. Now, players want to ask questions and challenge you as a manager about the way you play. 

When I started out as a player, it was almost like managers expected you to run through a brick wall for them, without having to explain why. As a manager, I explain to the players why we are doing what we are doing – and I can justify it, because there is a process and a concept behind it. The game has evolved in that way.

Moving from Bristol City to Fulham in 2003 was an unbelievable education for me. Chris Coleman had taken over as manager, but there were so many influences from his predecessor, Jean Tigana, whose coaching staff Chris had been a part of. It was the first time that coaches had spoken to me about details of techniques. Chris and his assistant, Steve Kean, were massive on that. They had been influenced by the way that Jean worked, which was way ahead of others in the English game at the time.

Fulham had gone up to the Premier League with Jean, and that continued under Chris. I made my top-flight debut for the club against Manchester United, and went on to play nearly 100 Premier League games for Fulham. We were one of the first English teams to really play out from the back; I enjoyed it a lot.

After four years I moved to Reading under Steve Coppell, which was more of an English style of football. I didn’t fit into the way the team played, though. I hadn’t learned that way and didn’t enjoy it, so it was a difficult time for me, but still a good learning experience. Steve was a master in terms of man-management; the way he built a team and got the players to trust him was incredible.

"chris would speak to the players he had left out, to give them respect and time to deal with it"

In September 2008 we played at home against Swansea, who had just been promoted to the Championship playing a really expansive, possession-based style under Roberto Martínez. They were trying to play out from the back and making mistake after mistake. After the game I remember people saying: “You can’t play football like that in England. It’s crazy!” We were physically stronger, and beat them 4-0.

When we played them in the return game, we couldn’t get the ball off them. I was sent off because I was that frustrated. The way they played the structure Roberto had put into place was incredible, and this time they won 2-0. They had worked on their process and improved; that stayed with me.

Later that year, Brendan Rodgers came in as a young manager at Reading. He wanted to play an expansive style of football and dominate possession. At that time, it was way ahead of where almost everybody else was in the Championship. Brendan influenced me in the way he structured his sessions, and how we wanted to play the game. I took everything that I could from him, even though I only got to work with him for two months before I joined Ipswich.

My dad was an influence on me as a manager, too – both as a black manager and an outstanding coach. I played for him at Torquay, on loan from Fulham in 2004. Anyone who saw us get promoted from the fourth tier that year would tell you that we played the best football. 

Dad was inspired by Ajax and Barcelona, so at Torquay we played out from the back and dominated possession. When he left that job, he had a few difficult managerial spells where he was trying to do firefighting jobs. Given the level of his coaching, I don’t think he got what he deserved.

So it was incredible for me to see Chris Hughton – a black manager, as well as a friend and former teammate of my dad – do what he did at Brighton. I was privileged to be a part of that journey, playing in the Brighton team that Chris managed to Premier League promotion in 2017.

"it was a perfect step for me to learn what it felt like to be a full-time coach"

Chris was so calm, measured and meticulous with the detail of how he wanted the team to function. His man-management, humility and how he treated people will always stay with me. For example, he always named the team the day before a game. Before he did that, he would speak to the players he had left out, to give them respect and the time to deal with it.

Likewise, as a manager I have always named the team the day before a game. I have always been honest and open with the players, because that is the only way you can earn respect and trust. Trust is everything. It is the biggest word for me in life, let alone football.

At Brighton, Chris would be exactly the same whether we won a game or lost. Very calm, and measured. He had a thorough process from Monday to Friday; we became a really disciplined team because we were so disciplined in our organisation.

On the subject of organisation, when I was playing for Hull, I remember how Steve Bruce set us up for the 2014 FA Cup final against Arsenal. From Monday to Friday, we worked the team shape. We covered every position, and every single job that every player had to do, in and out of possession and with set-plays. In the final we went 2-0 up and nearly won. That is the type of organised coach I have become.

When I joined Brighton as a player, they knew all about my appetite to be a coach. So when I finished playing in 2018, I joined their Under-23s as an assistant under Simon Rusk. We had a fantastic group, and it was a perfect step for me to learn what it felt like to be a full-time coach.

Although I had always wanted to be a manager, I knew I didn’t have the platform of a stellar playing career. Yes, I had played in the Premier League, but I wasn’t a top international. Instead, I needed to find my own way of showing what I was about. So I started doing some TV work, analysing games on Sky Sports.

"Observing different cultures from afar is one thing, but working with someone of that level is quite another"

It paid off. At the end of the 2018/19 season, I got a call out of the blue from Derby’s owner, Mel Morris. He had seen how I spoke about the game on Sky and asked me to be a part of Phillip Cocu’s staff, as a first-team coach, in the Championship.

Having studied Barcelona growing up, I was in awe of Phillip. He had been an outstanding player in nearly 300 games for Barcelona, tactically able to play in so many different positions. Now it was an unbelievable opportunity to learn from him as a manager.

Phillip’s was a Dutch style of football, so I could adapt and take things from the way he saw the game. Observing different cultures from afar is one thing, but working with someone of that level is quite another.

The biggest difference working with a continental coach was the amount of work we did with the ball and focus on what we did in possession. For many English coaches, it was probably 80-20 in favour of working without the ball. When I worked with Tony Pulis at Bristol City, for example, he was brilliant at setting a team up without the ball. Chris Hughton was also excellent at setting up a defensive shape.

With Phillip, it was 80-20 in favour of working with the ball, and he had a lot of really good ideas. My role within his staff was about translating those ideas so the players understood them.

There were a lot of good times, but during Phillip’s tenure the club started to go through some tough times, which culminated in administration. We were seeing key members of staff, people we loved, lose their jobs. Some of them were people who had worked for Derby for 20 years.

"I think what we achieved at Derby was one of the most understated accomplishments in English football in recent times"

It was a lesson in making sure that, whichever club you’re at, you work in the right way. Ultimately it is always about the football club being sustainable and working within its means, and not simply about the success of the first team. A football club is more than just winning games. Having a football club for the community is everything.

At Derby, Wayne Rooney had come in as a player and captain under Phillip. When Phillip left the club, I worked with Wayne to oversee things, initially on an interim basis. We knew we needed a leader in the group and, given the respect he had from the players, Wayne was a natural to take that role. Between us, we decided that I would assist him on the training pitch. Wayne, who was appointed permanent manager after a couple of months, gave me autonomy and trust in the role. 

We were really aligned in the way we wanted the game to be played. I could put sessions on that I would put on as a head coach, but always with the respect that Wayne was the manager. He had the final say on the team.

Developing a philosophy with a team in administration, playing with kids and having to punch above our weight was a big learning experience for me. I think what we achieved at Derby was one of the most understated accomplishments in English football in recent times. After keeping the club in the Championship in 2020/21, we achieved 55 points the following season with a team of kids. Some of them weren’t even getting trials at National League clubs.

Nobody expected us to win any game that season, but the games we did win were magnificent. And we did it with a style of play where we were possession-dominant, building from the back, which was so important to me and Wayne.

We were so brave in what we did, so it was a real shame that it ended with relegation after the club had been deducted 21 points. We could have built something, but moving forward it gave me confidence that this philosophy could work with the right team and players. Meanwhile, Wayne had been dealing with so much pressure that he and the club decided he would move on. I then became interim manager as we went into League One.

"I was pretty devastated at the time, because I think I was perceived as a young manager"

We only had five contracted players at the start of pre-season. Two of those had already said they wanted to leave, so I had to build from scratch. We had virtually no staff, so we worked around the clock, phoning players up, trying to put a team together. The first week of pre-season, we had to put together what was left of the Under-18s and the Under-21s, with one group as the first team.

Success in football is often measured by trophies or winning games, but sometimes there are underlying circumstances that give reason to look beyond the scorelines. I’m so proud of what we managed to achieve at Derby going into that season, putting a team together and giving a clear style of play. We got some good results, too. We reached the third round of the League Cup, and were in and around the playoffs when I left the club that September.

It was my first experience managing a football club, in particular how to recruit, meet players and put a squad together in a short space of time. I was pretty devastated at the time, because I think I was perceived as a young manager, rather than having had all of the experiences I had gone through to get to that stage. 

Which takes me back to that drawing I did when I was eight years old, which my dad still has. He says it is a picture of me on the touchline, managing England at the World Cup.

Being a football manager is what I have always wanted to do. Now I am living my dream, I enjoy every moment, because football has been my whole life.

Author: Craig Bloomfield

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