Tech savvy

Nobody knew who the talents were, where they lived, where they were born, so just using Google Sheets was something that I could share with other people within the FA. We can fill it in real time, get all the details…very easy way to keep track of everything.”

He has a similar spreadsheet available for talent identification.

“I could be at a match with an iPad or even with the phone,” he explains, “and it just comes up as a form and I can go through. I give the ratings one through 5. If I need to type down a little comment, it’s straight in. If I have the luxury of a scout or a scouting network, they can all be feeding that straight into the Google Drive, so I can see that in real time. I can see the scouts that have done their reports. I can see the score straight away.”

And once a player is within his set-up, they can collaborate with him on an assessment sheet that gives them plenty of valuable data. The coach assessment form doubles as a player self-assessment, breaking the game down into aspects including in possession, out of possession, as a supporting player, the transitions, decision making, execution, football fitness, and psychology. That means when players want to know about how he’s making decisions, he can point to this document.

“To sit down with a player and go through this form, it will always become obvious to them the things they do really well and the things that they’re really lacking because they can see straight away through the wording of it,” he says.

“So for example, we played the match last week and the players would fill out this form and I would get to see the results and it would form the basis of their individual development plan and the plan to go forward for them as well before the next camp.”

And he also asks players to fill out a form first thing every morning – which then shapes how he approaches the rest of the day.

“That’s a mandatory requirement before you get to breakfast: how you slept, the quality of the sleep, current energy level, basic things, mood, stress level, any injury information.

And I get to see that in real time. I get to see who wakes up three seconds before breakfast or who’s up early, who’s feeling good.”

That combines with daily body weight monitoring and liaison with the team physiotherapist, meaning they can then decide who isn’t able to take a full part in the day’s training and who needs additional rehab.

“It allows me to then adjust the session in the morning or in the afternoon based on the information,” he concludes.

And Matt is also keen to use the old-fashioned forms of communication as well where possible. He presented each player with a notebook and encouraged them to write in them, with the coaching staff supporting them to create their IDPs in the same way.

“The players would have notebooks full - would have 20, 30, 40 pages, written feedback from us, ideas of their own, and we would just sit and discuss.

“Yes, we’d all love technology and what can you do if you don’t have it - don’t forget the basics as well, pen and paper.”

Although adapting the technological tools available to him has been a test of ingenuity, he also thinks it’s made him a better coach.

“All of these exercises for me are important for my coaching growth, because not being fed anything to go into a club and be given anything means that I’ve had to develop all these things through reading, through research, through speaking to more experienced coaches.”

He adds: “I spent the first 10 or 15 years of my career wanting to be tactically astute, wanting to be able to solve problems, get the Xs and the Os right and it’s only been really lately in the last two or three that I’ve gone more towards, I feel, being a better manager of players.

“Having more information, including my gut, as well as some of the tech, leads me to have more interaction.”

And he admits: “I think I would struggle now to go into a big FA and there’s everything that you’ve ever dreamed of, because I’ve grown accustomed to using these using these methods - and it means more contact with players rather than just seeing someone’s live stats on their GPS.”

Indeed, Matt believes that this skill set has got him to where he is today. Having qualifications and flashy presentations might get you in the door, he says, but it’s the human side of coaching that will keep you in the building.

“The more you think about football, [and] express it, either visually or on pen and paper, the more you understand it,” he says.