Training Ground Guru Podcast

Our guest on Episode #81 of the TGG Podcast is Reed Shaffner, Chief Technology Officer at Teamworks.

Reed oversees the engineering, design, product and data science teams behind a platform used across professional and collegiate sport.

In this Episode, Reed told us where AI is genuinely working in football and where it isn't; warned about the security and privacy risks some clubs are underestimating; and explained how and how Teamworks Player ID is learning to identify how good a player will become, versus how good they look today.

SHOW NOTES =>

0:00: Introduction

1:39: Reed's role at Teamworks, and his route in through gaming and youth sport

3:17: What AI actually is — beyond the buzzword

5:42: How widely is AI being used in football?

6:45: Where it works well, and where it doesn't

7:25: Injury prediction — why the returns are still questionable

8:24: Hallucinations, and the two athletes who didn't exist

10:20: Case study: the NFL's Digital Athlete platform

11:28: Data quality, process and the role of human expertise

12:53: Privacy and security — what should never go into a model

14:12: It's not just medical data: contracts and schedules

14:43: The questions to ask any AI vendor

15:42: Data poisoning and the fabricated eye condition

17:32: Skills as a new attack vector — and what a skill is

18:49: Build or buy: what clubs are making themselves

19:41: Scout bias detection, and Kahneman on human bias

22:00: The rise of the 'head of AI' job title

22:50: Is US sport ahead of UK football?

23:27: Tracking data, and will AI mean fewer analysts?

25:26: AI inside the Teamworks products: from reactive to proactive

28:02: Player ID — what to do when metrics disagree

29:50: Predicting how good a player will become, not how good they are now

31:11: Bespoke clubs and individualised training

34:17: The future: cameras, youth football and undiscovered talent

36:04: Worries and fears: attackers, deepfakes and social engineering

38:01: Speaking at TGG Live '26 at Old Trafford

Our guest on Episode #80 of the TGG Podcast is the world-renowned sleep expert Anna West.

She works with teams competing in the Premier League, Champions League and the World Cup.

Her methods have helped change the way that football thinks about sleep and recovery. 

In this Episode, Anna told me how she came to work in football, about the work she does with clubs and players, and also debunked some of the common myths about sleep.

 

SHOW NOTES =>

0:00: Introduction

1:36: How did you first get involved in your line of work? Entry into elite sport and football 

06:07: How important is sleep for athletes? 

08:40: Sleep quality, not just quantity

10:45: Monitoring and sleep anxiety

12:44: The challenge of night-time kick-offs

14:06: The magic eight hours?

17:33: How do you work with a club?

26:02: Good sleep starts in the morning 

27:01: Debunking sleep myths: Mouth taping

34:03: Working individually with players. Emi Marcondes case study 

37:57: Universal truths: eating & sleeping before you go to bed, room temperature, napping, caffeine.

49:23: Mechanics of a night’s sleep

52:51: Looking at your phone/ social media before bed

55:38: Effects of alcohol 

57:58: Advice on caffeine

59:56: Working at the World Cup 

1:02:08: Sleeping tablets

1:07:14: Ambitions for the future

Our guest on Episode #79 of the TGG Podcast is Joe Newton.

Joe was part of Thomas Frank's inner circle at both Brentford and Tottenham and is a new breed of analyst.

After starting as a youth player at Tranmere and Wrexham, he got a degree and Masters in performance analysis and secured a job at the New Saints in Wales. 

His big break came when he was appointed first-team analyst at Brentford, where he forged a close relationship with Frank and helped the club gain promotion to the Premier League.

After that came a brief and turbulent spell at Tottenham, which ended in the sack in February 2026. 

Joe told us about his progression in the game, about what makes Brentford special, why things went wrong at Tottenham and about his special relationship with Frank.

In this episode we also have an interview with Adam Ridgewell, who worked for Southampton for five years before becoming Account Manager with Genius Sports.

Adam told us how clubs like Brentford are using Genius Sports' tracking data and Performance Studio to gain an edge in the game.

SHOW NOTES =>

02:00: What have you been up to since leaving Tottenham in February? Break from the 24/7 nature of football.

04:47: How did you get started in football? Tranmere youth player/ unique University partnership at Wrexham. Does having been a player help your analysis?

12:41: Joining Brentford. Excellent interview process led by Luke Stopforth.

14:58. Why Brentford are experts in staff development and case study of Set Piece Analysts. 

17:32: Transporting staff doesn't mean you transport a culture. Reasons why Brentford culture is so good and how they consistently punch above their weight. Alignment right from the top, with owner Matthew Benham.

23:47: Role progression at Brentford. How Genius Sports Performance Studio helped him in the job. How involved was Thomas Frank when it came to Performance Studio and data?

29:17: What does the First Team Analyst role entail, day to day and week to week?

34:31: Getting national attention when his post-match analysis session on Sky Sports went viral.

39:30: Thomas Frank taking him to Tottenham.

41:17: New title at Tottenham was Coach-Analyst. Did the role change much from Brentford?

45:20: Size and scale of Tottenham. Contrast with Brentford.

46:34: Why did things go wrong at Tottenham? Lessons and learnings.

54:06: Did the style of play change from Brentford to Tottenham?

55:57: What is Thomas Frank like to work with? Will he bounce back after Tottenham setback?

Wilfried Nancy speaks for the first time since his departure from Celtic in this exclusive episode of the Training Ground Guru Podcast.

The Frenchman opens up on why he took the job, the intense pressures of the Old Firm, what happened in those 33 days, and key lessons he's taken for the future.

SHOW NOTES =>

01:46: Intro. Back in Columbus and recharging.

06:47: Reflecting on short and turbulent tenure at Celtic. 'Beautiful experience.'

18:56: Style of play was very ambitious. Too ambitious?

34:17: Playing with fear. Banning Sky Sports News at the training ground.

39:15: Football in Glasgow quite conservative? 'They hired me to change that. But the idea wasn't to change everything.'

41:25: Weren't there realistic discussions with Board before taking job?

46:13: Friendship with Russell Martin. Shared philosophies and experiences.

47:34: Moving about a lot as a child, because his father was in the French navy. Helped him develop empathy for people.

51:24: Does he have a rigid style of play?

53:35: Ridiculed for using tactics board/ putting venn diagram on his X account.

57:43: Ambitions for the future.

Episode #77 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Genius Sports, is with Ben Ryan, the Performance Director of Premier League side Brentford.

Ben is responsible for making sure that the club's players are mentally and physically equipped for matchday. 

Before joining Brentford four years ago, Ben consulted with a number of leading organisations and was Head Coach of Fiji's rugby sevens team, leading them to Olympic glory in 2016.

Ben told us how someone from a rugby background landed a top role in football, what it's like to work with Head Coach Keith Andrews and about the club's secret supremacy rating. 

We hope you enjoy this episode and if you do, please give us a follow via your preferred podcast provider. 

SHOW NOTES =>

01:31: Facilities at the training ground, where the interview is taking place.

03:05: Concerns about players being pampered?

04:39: What does your role as Performance Director involve?

07:19: What have you been doing today?

11:50: Changes that took place at the end of last season, when Thomas Frank left and Keith Andrews took over as Head Coach.

15:54: How Keith Andrews confounded the critics and doubters. 

20:05: Brentford's supremacy rating. Taking a strategic view and not being overtaken by the emotion of results. 

23:22: Clever recruitment and importance of developing players.

26:00: Coming into football from rugby union. Importance of looking outside football networks. 

31:22: Head Coach of Fiji Rugby Sevens team - chalk and cheese with Premier League football. 

39:47: GPS - one of the first teams to use it (with England Rugby in 2006) but not the panacea and won't be important forever. 

42:07: Risk of over-monitoring players/ 24-hour surveillance.

43:58: Power of play/ how Brentford break up routine and regimen.

46:59: Setting up guard rails. Analogy about going across Firth of Forth Bridge.

48:52: Europe on the horizon. Challenge of extra games.

52:23: Premium Member question. Lessons from rugby. Chaos and surprise.

55:51: Ambitions: personally and for the club as a whole.