England insight
The performance gap
Dave Reddin, former FA head of team strategy and performance, explains how specialist coaches, a multi-disciplinary approach and understanding identity have brought progress for England teams both on and off the field.
For Dave Reddin, FA head of team strategy and performance, England’s run to the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup was no accident or surprise.
Reddin is clear in his belief that Gareth Southgate’s squad were the best prepared England side to have travelled to a World Cup; the results on the pitch the culmination of more than 18 months of meticulous planning.
“The planning process for the 2018 World Cup meant it was the best prepared England team that’s gone to a World Cup – there’s no shadow of a doubt about that,” explains Reddin.
“A huge amount of time and effort went into planning the detail of every day of the tournament. All scenarios were covered. Whether we came first in the group or second, we had everything planned. The only game that was not on the plan was the third versus fourth play-off. Every other game was on there.
“There were many projects that underpinned the performance on the pitch - planning the base camp, work on penalties, culture and identity, friends and family - and a whole series of other work which was ongoing for 12-18 months” he adds.
The roots of the World Cup planning process go back to Reddin’s appointment at The FA in February 2014.
During the interview process the former head of performance services at the British Olympic association identified ‘so much opportunity’ for the organisation to improve. It was the starting point for much of the work that helped guide the England men’s squad to their best placed World Cup finish since 1966.
“One of the things that we wrote up first of all, which I unashamedly stole from my time at the British Olympic Association, was the scope of work. So, if we’re going to try and win the World Cup in 2022 and 2023 and sustain it afterwards, what are all the things we need to do between now and then?
“To do this we used the idea of the performance gap. This involved identifying the key areas that we needed to go after and the things we needed to change to close the gap on the world’s best footballing countries.”
Having tasted success in both his Olympic role and as part of Clive Woodward’s England Rugby World Cup winning reign, Reddin had first-hand reference points for how England could move towards becoming a winning team.
Along with former FA technical director, Dan Ashworth, Gareth Southgate and Matt Crocker [head of development team coaching] a blueprint for how the future could look was created.
There’s only so many things that we can control that will make a difference, so how can we go after those in a really purposeful way
“Dan was really open minded from day one and had a mindset of ‘what can we do that maybe football hasn’t thought of yet? If we just follow what Spain and Germany are going to do, we’re likely to fail’,” explained Reddin.
Specific full-time job roles for all support services, introducing a specialist coaching model and a focus on the connection with what it meant to play for England were some of the key conclusions.
“Specialist coaching was an area that lots of other sports I’ve worked in have embedded for a long, long time as a way of accelerating learning, deepening the detail around how we want to play and the technical development of players.
“My impression was football had only really dipped its toe into the water with that. You could argue football had the first specialist coach with goalkeeper coaches but hadn’t really gone beyond that.
“There was quite a sales process around that because it was different, but again I’d come back to this point: there’s only so many things that we can control that will make a difference, so how can we go after those in a really purposeful way.”
Allan Russell (striker coach), Pippa Grange (head of people and team development) Bryce Cavanagh (head of physical performance and nutrition) and Dr Rob Chakraverty (men’s performance medicine doctor) all had specific roles as part of Southgate’s staff in Russia. Reddin believes that widening the expertise around the teams has proved crucial.
“We try to encourage a true multi-disciplinary process with all our teams. As an example, if we’re trying to solve a coaching problem there are a range of people - analysts, strength and conditioning coaches, performance psychologists and more - who have lots of experience, and often relevant expertise to add to the viewpoint of the coaches.
“Creating an environment where everyone can contribute is vital to solving problems and realising opportunities faster and more effectively than our competitors.”
Another lesson learned from time with other sports has been the importance of exploring what it means for a player to represent their country.
Players can do the impossible once they are emotionally connected and invested in the outcome
“What I’ve learnt from some of those other experiences is the importance of deeply engaging the player in what you’re trying to do.
“None of the work that we’re doing will be a success unless we’ve got players who are emotionally engaged and excited about playing for England. It’s something which was never really been done before; it had been assumed that players really understood what it means to play for England and the history.
“Understanding our identity is at the heart of the culture we are trying to create. We have tried to answer ‘who we are’ as England, what it means to be a modern England player and what it can be in the future? By first understanding this and understanding our players - and them better understanding themselves and their journey - we have the beginnings of a much deeper emotional connection between the players, the badge and the culture we’re trying to create.
“If you get that happening, almost anything is possible - players can do the impossible once they are emotionally connected and invested in the outcome.”