Swansea City Sporting Director Paul Watson has left the Championship club after 16 months.

Performance Director Graeme Jones is leaving the Scottish Football Association after nine years to become Sporting Director at Hearts.

Manchester United Deputy Football Director Andy O’Boyle is to leave the club after two years as part of the ongoing restructure by INEOS.

Mark Bitcon has been promoted to Head of Football Operations by Southampton, following the departure of Jason Wilcox to Manchester United in April.

Reading Head of Football Operations Mark Bowen has been suspended for 12 weeks (with eight suspended until the end of the 2025/6 season) and fined £7,000 by the Football Association for breaching betting rules.

As Everton Club Secretary and Head of Football Operations, Jonathan Williams has one of the most important - and stressful - jobs at the club.

Thomas Hill goes behind the scenes at Salford City to speak to their Sporting Director Chris Casper. The 49-year-old tells him about the club's unique ownership, their ambitions for the future and how the values of Sir Alex Ferguson influence everything.

Kyriakos Dourekas has stepped down as Nottingham Forest’s Director of Football after “five years of exceptional service.”

Steve Cooper has confirmed his new backroom staff at Leicester City, with a quartet of Alan Tate, Andrew Hughes, Danny Alcock and Steve Rands joining him at the King Power Stadium.

Adam Owen has joined Blackburn as Head of Technical Development, completing their new three-man senior leadership team. Meanwhile, Paul Gray has been promoted to Academy Manager, with Stuart Jones taking on a new Head of Academy, Youth Transition & Player Pathway role.

Paul Mitchell has been appointed as Newcastle United’s Sporting Director, replacing Dan Ashworth. The Englishman is one of the most experienced and respected Sporting Directors in Europe, having held senior roles at Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, RB Leipzig, Red Bull Soccer International and AS Monaco.

Ben Stevens has been promoted to Assistant Sporting Director by Crystal Palace. He has worked for the Eagles for almost a decade and been Head of Performance and Recruitment Analysis for the last six years.

Manchester United have agreed a compensation package with Newcastle United for Sporting Director Dan Ashworth, meaning he is free to start work at Old Trafford immediately.

Mo Bobat and Ed Smith made their names as part of the leadership team for England Cricket. Now they've joined Derby County as joint Heads of Sporting Intelligence. In an exclusive interview with TGG, Bobat explains what his new role is all about.

Former Blackburn Rovers striker Rudy Gestede has been appointed Head of Football Operations at the club. The 35-year-old replaces Gregg Broughton, who stepped down as Director of Football after two seasons in May.

Former Reading and Leeds United manager Brian McDermott is leaving his role as Director of Football at Hibernian. The news follows the arrival of Malky Mackay as the club’s new Sporting Director at the start of this month.

Jonathan Walters admits Stoke City has become a "graveyard" for players and managers. As the club's new Sporting Director he's aiming to put things right by rediscovering their identity.

Stoke City will begin work on a £10m to £12m redevelopment of their Clayton Wood training ground in September, with the project scheduled to be finished within a year.

New Norwich City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup is only bringing one assistant with him to Carrow Road - and it's someone he's never worked with before.

Reading Head of Football Operations Mark Bowen has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association for breaching betting rules. The 60-year-old allegedly placed 95 bets on football matches unrelated to the club between April 19th 2022 and January 14th 2024.

Tiago Pinto has been appointed to the new position of President of Football Operations by Bournemouth. The 39-year-old has worked as General Manager at AS Roma from November 2020 to February this year and was Director of Professional Football at Benfica before that.

Gregg Broughton has left his role as Blackburn Rovers Director of Football by mutual consent after two years.

Former Liverpool Sporting Director Julian Ward is returning to the club as Technical Director for owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG). Ward stepped down as Sporting Director last summer and has taken a break from football for the last year.

Steve Gallen has replaced Alex Aldridge as Director of Football at Millwall. Gallen leaves Charlton, where he has worked for the last seven years.

Dan Rice is leaving his role as Head of Emerging Talent at Everton to become Chief Football Officer at Wycombe Wanderers. Last week it was announced that Kazakh billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze had acquired a 90% stake in the League One club from Rob Couhig.

Former England rugby union captain Sue Day is to replace the outgoing Sue Campbell as the new Director of Women's Football at the Football Association.

Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Jason Wilcox as Technical Director with “immediate effect”. The club made an official approach for Southampton’s Director of Football at the start of the month and the clubs have now reached agreement on compensation.

David Woodfine is returning to Liverpool as Assistant Sporting Director - a year after leaving the club.

Manchester United have confirmed that Football Director John Murtough is to leave the club after 11 years to allow a “new football structure to be put in place.”

Jon Walters has been appointed permanent Sporting Director at Stoke City after impressing in the role on an interim basis. The former Stoke player has “played a huge part in galvanising the club and fans," says Chairman John Coates.

MANCHESTER UNITED have made an official approach to Southampton for their Director of Football Jason Wilcox. The Old Trafford club want to make Wilcox their Technical Director and have offered to pay Saints the equivalent of a full year of his salary.

DAVE REDDIN MBE explains why sporting leaders need to focus their time and resources on what matters most - and how an exercise using poker chips helps them do that.

IN an exclusive interview, Blackburn Rovers Director of Football Gregg Broughton insists the club remain committed to a long-term plan for becoming a “sustainable Premier League club” despite a season of strife.

SIR JIM RATCLIFFE has outlined his formula for success at Manchester United, saying it’s not about “spending money on a couple of great players” but getting “the right people in the right boxes doing the right things in an elite environment.”

RICHARD HUGHES has been appointed as the new Sporting Director of Liverpool after a decade at Bournemouth.

READING have confirmed they are in exclusive talks with Wycombe Wanderers about the sale of their £50m Bearwood Park training ground.

MICHAEL EDWARDS has returned to Liverpool in the new role of CEO of Football. He said: "I will oversee the required reinforcement of football operations, with a number of essential leadership positions needing urgent attention."

TOM VERNON has stepped down as CEO of Right to Dream after 25 years and will now take on a Senior Advisor role as Executive Vice Chairman.

SIMON FRANCIS will succeed Richard Hughes as Bournemouth’s Technical Director at the end of this season, the club have announced.

BOURNEMOUTH Technical Director Richard Hughes will step down after a decade at the end of this season.

CHELSEA have appointed Swansea City’s Josh Marsh as their Loans and Pathways Manager as they look to change the way they work with loans.

FORMER Middlesbrough defender George Friend has been appointed Director of Football at League One Bristol Rovers after retiring from playing.

CHELSEA have hired Owen Eastwood to lead a project on their history and identity which will influence the environments at Stamford Bridge and the Cobham training centre. The New Zealander has previously worked with Gareth Southgate’s England for several years.

DAN ASHWORTH is the man Manchester United have chosen to lead their football strategy in the INEOS era. At our TGG Live Conference, he gave a fascinating insight into how he approaches the first few months at a new organisation.

RICKY MARTIN has been sacked as Stoke City Technical Director after 15 months as the club vow to take a “new direction”. Former Stoke player Jonathan Walters has taken over the position on an interim basis until further notice.

NEWCASTLE UNITED have started their search for a new Sporting Director after confirming that Dan Ashworth has been placed on gardening leave by the club.

MORE and more Premier League clubs are signing Right to Dream graduates, as we've seen with Mohammed Kudus at West Ham and Simon Adingra and Ibrahim Osman at Brighton. What makes the Academy so special?

TOTTENHAM Technical Director Johan Lange says he and manager Ange Postecoglou are “aligned” to a club game model and methodology that will survive even if they leave.

ANALYTICS pioneer Mladen Sormaz has been appointed as the new Sporting Director of League One Barnsley. He joins from 777 Partners, who have agreed to buy a 94% stake in Everton.

HOW did Everton manage to spend record sums under Farhad Moshiri while getting progressively worse? Former manager Frank Lampard laid out the answer on The Overlap.

LIVERPOOL Sporting Director Jorg Schmadtke is to leave the club at the end of the January transfer window.

ARSENAL have promoted Richard Garlick from Director of Football Operations to Managing Director, replacing the outgoing Vinai Venkatesham.

ROTHERHAM UNITED have appointed Rob Scott as their first Director of Football as part of a “behind-the-scenes restructuring.”

RUBEN SELLES has revealed he uses a psychologist for both himself and his family because of the “ugly” side of football management.

CHRIS RAMSEY MBE has left his role as Technical Director and Head of Coaching at QPR after more than nine years with the club.

NOW seemed a good time to showcase the women who are playing leading roles in the men's game, in roles spanning executive, coaching, Academy, performance, medical and data science.

GIANLUCA NANI has returned to Watford as Sporting Director, replacing Cristiano Giaretta.

NEW Bayern Munich Sporting Director Christoph Freund says “soft skills are absolutely crucial in our assessment of players” and that the club “gather a lot of insight into the players off the pitch.”

WOLVES Sporting Director Matt Hobbs has been handed a one-game suspension and fined £4,000 for calling referee Anthony Taylor “absolutely f****** useless” after the 2-2 Premier League draw against Newcastle United at Molineux on October 28th.

ENGLISH football has agreed ‘in principle’ to make reporting of diversity data compulsory from the start of the 2024/25 season, according to Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham.

IN an exclusive interview with TGG, Everton Director of Football Kevin Thelwell outlines a plan for the club that finally includes financial prudence and a long-term strategy.

NORWICH CITY have brought forward the arrival of new Sporting Director Ben Knapper by a fortnight following four league defeats in a row.

STOCKPORT COUNTY are top of League Two and have just set a club record of 11 consecutive victories. Speaking at TGG's Scouting & Recruitment Webinar in March 2023, their Director of Football Simon Wilson outlined the club's seven-year plan.

BEN KNAPPER outlined why his Loan Manager role at Arsenal could be the perfect preparation for becoming a Sporting Director when he spoke at TGG’s Scouting and Recruitment Webinar last year.

BEN KNAPPER is leaving Arsenal after 13 years to become the new Sporting Director of Norwich City.

THE modern Sporting Director needs to look beyond bottom-line performance and create a strategy and culture that embraces a higher purpose, argues Matt Roberts.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU expects Tottenham to appoint a new Sporting Director soon - and says he is in favour of the role.

JORG SCHMADTKE has said he is effectively Jurgen Klopp’s ‘assistant’ in his role as Liverpool’s Sporting Director - and revealed that he will sit down with the club’s hierarchy at the end of the transfer window to discuss his future.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU will have been irked by suggestions he was copying tactics, because he has always prided himself on being original. In an illuminating interview with Hudl, he outlined his philosophy and how it was formed.

GREGOR RIOCH has been appointed as Wigan’s first Sporting Director after a decade as their Academy Manager.

BOLTON achieved huge success in the loan market last season with James Trafford and Conor Bradley. Manager Ian Evatt and Sporting Director Chris Markham explain how they have made loans work for all parties.

GRETAR STEINSSON has been appointed Technical Director at Leeds United, while Adam Underwood takes on the new title of Head of Football Operations.

FORMER Stoke City Technical Director Mark Cartwright has been appointed Sporting Director at Huddersfield Town. He replaces Leigh Bromby, who left the Terriers after nine years at the end of last season.

WEST HAM have hired Tim Steidten from Bayer Leverkusen to become their Technical Director. The 44-year-old will be responsible for an “overarching player recruitment and scouting strategy”, the club said.

LUTON TOWN’S Paul Watson has been appointed Sporting Director at Swansea City, overseeing “all football operations.”

MONCHI, the Spaniard who has often been described as the best Sporting Director in world football, has been appointed President of Football Operations at Aston Villa.

LES FERDINAND has stepped down from his role as QPR Director of Football after more than eight years.

NICK HAMMOND has been appointed interim football advisor at Leeds United - the same job he did at Newcastle United last year.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber has announced he is leaving the club after six years. TGG looks back at his tenure and evaluates his legacy.

SPORTING DIRECTOR Leigh Bromby has left Huddersfield Town after nine years. During his tenure he has been Academy Manager, Head of Football Operations and Sporting Director and led major changes at the club.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber is leaving the club after six years. An external recruitment process, led by the club’s board of directors, to appoint a replacement is already underway.

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Graeme Sharp is one of three Everton Board members to have today left their roles.

JORG SCHMADTKE has been appointed as Liverpool’s new Sporting Director, succeeding Julian Ward. The German, 59, spent more than four years in the same role with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg before leaving at the start of this year.

RIGHT TO DREAM have expanded into the MLS after San Diego were awarded the league’s 30th franchise. The global not-for-profit group already owns clubs in Denmark and Egypt, as well as Academies in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

MATEU ALEMANY has turned down the chance to become Aston Villa’s new Director of Football, Head Coach Unai Emery has confirmed. Earlier this month Barcelona said the Spaniard would be leaving the club on June 30th - a year before the end of his contract - to pursue a new “professional project”.

LIVERPOOL Loans Manager David Woodfine is leaving the club after almost nine years. He is their latest senior departure, with the exits of Sporting Director Julian Ward and Director of Research Ian Graham having already been announced.

BRENTFORD B Technical Lead Allan Steele is leaving the club after nine years to become Director of Football at Forest Green Rovers.

JON WALTERS has stepped down as Technical Director of Fleetwood Town and Waterford FC after six months. The former Republic of Ireland forward was appointed by both clubs - which are owned by Andy Pilley - in December last year.

FORMER Reading and Leeds United manager Brian McDermott has been appointed Director of Football at Hibernian.

VICTOR ORTA has left his role as Director of Football at Leeds United by mutual consent after six years.

MATT CROCKER has been appointed as the new Sporting Director of US Soccer after three-and-a-half years as Southampton’s Director of Football Operations. He will be officially unveiled tomorrow.

FABIO PARATICI has resigned as Tottenham’s Managing Director of Football after losing his appeal against a 30-month ban from football.

BRIGHTON Technical Director David Weir has told BBC Radio 5 Live the secrets of his side's recent success.

KEVIN PHILLIPS has just led South Shields to promotion to the National League North - and he's aiming much higher. The former England forward told TGG about his ambitions and his approach to management.

ROSS WILSON has left Rangers after three-and-a-half years to become Chief Football Officer at Nottingham Forest. The Scot is one of the most experienced football leaders in Britain, having held senior positions at Southampton, Huddersfield, Watford and Falkirk.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST have sacked Sporting Director Filippo Giraldi after just six months. The Italian was brought in at the start of October, even though Forest already had a Director of Football in Kiriakos Dourekas, who has remained in place.

SCOTT MUNN has been appointed Chief Football Officer at Tottenham and will “take charge of all footballing departments.”

SPORTING DIRECTOR Chris Badlan has been sacked by Championship side Blackpool after four months. The 39-year-old joined the club at the end of November, replacing Head of Football Operations John Stephenson.

FABIO PARATICI, Tottenham’s Managing Director of Football, is forced to step down from his role after FIFA extended a ban imposed on him in Italy.

PAUL MITCHELL has confirmed he will step down as Sporting Director of AS Monaco once his successor is found.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber admits his long-term future may not be in football after revealing the abuse he has experienced from some sections of the club’s fanbase in the last year.

RIGHT TO DREAM are poised to launch a club and Academy in the United States, according to their Founder and Group CEO Tom Vernon. He tells Training Ground Guru that the idea is to combat the pay-to-play system, which “is excluding a lot of kids of potential from making it.”

DERBY COUNTY have hired Oxford United’s Mark Thomas to become their new Head of Recruitment. Thomas joined Oxford in 2014 and the club have thanked him for “bringing in players who have starred” and “building a modern recruitment department.”

DAVID HARRISON has left Everton after almost three decades to become the new Director of Football Operations at Manchester United. He takes over from Alan Dawson, who will leave the club after 11 years at the end of July to “pursue new opportunities.”

CHELSEA have moved to clarify the roles and responsibilities of their senior leadership team, with Laurence Stewart set to finally join the club from AS Monaco next week.

EVERTON'S churn of managers during the Farhad Moshiri era has led to an ever-changing staff and mixed messages for players. Here's what they could learn from the likes of Brentford and Brighton in identifying their next boss.

FABIO PARATICI, Tottenham’s Managing Director of Football, has been banned from working in Italian football for 30 months, with a request that the ban be “extended to UEFA and FIFA activities.”

JASON WILCOX will leave Manchester City after more than a decade in the summer to become Director of Football at Southampton.

CHRISTOPHER VIVELL has been appointed as the new Technical Director at Chelsea. The German takes on the same title as Laurence Stewart, who joined the Blues in October from AS Monaco.

MATT CROCKER is to leave his position as Director of Football Operations at Southampton at the end of the season.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST boss Steve Cooper says football’s new ‘learning era’ has helped to drive England to unprecedented success at both youth and senior level.

JULEN LOPETEGUI has brought seven staff with him to Wolves. This is in stark contrast to Brentford, who have been eager for their footballing intellectual property to remain in the club, rather than coming and going with the Head Coach.

CHAMPIONSHIP side Blackpool have appointed Chris Badlan as their new Sporting Director. The 39-year-old has been working as Head of Recruitment at Coventry City since May 2018, when he joined from Norwich City.

RASMUS ANKERSEN has said that clubs and fans are wrong to discount managers who have failed - and that he actually favours those who have. There's plenty of evidence from outside football that backs him up, too.

MATT HOBBS has been promoted from Chief Scout and Head of Recruitment to replace Scott Sellars as Sporting Director at Wolves.

JULIAN WARD is to step down as Liverpool’s Sporting Director at the end of the season after one year in post.

MIKE GORDON, the conduit between Liverpool and owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is stepping back from his role with the club and “handing the baton” to CEO Billy Hogan.

ALAN DAWSON MBE has stepped down from his position as Director of Football Operations at Manchester United after five years.

WHEN the 26 members of England's 2022 World Cup squad were announced on social media yesterday, each had their own digital ID card. These included interesting details about their own personal stories and their place in the history of the team.

RICKY MARTIN has been appointed Technical Director at Stoke City after almost four years as Academy Manager at West Ham. The move reunites him with Potters boss Alex Neil, with whom he worked from 2015 to 2017 at Norwich City.

SAM STANTON, Southampton's Lead Scout for the south of the UK, has turned down the Director of Football role at Forest Green Rovers.

LAURENCE STEWART has been appointed to the new position of Technical Director by Chelsea, with a focus on “football globally.”

MIKE CAVE is leaving Fulham after almost nine years to become the Assistant Technical Director at Brighton.

FORMER Watford Technical Director Filippo Giraldi has been appointed Sporting Director of Nottingham Forest.

SLAVEN BILIC has brought his long-time assistants Dean Racunica and Danilo Butorovic with him to Watford, while the club have performed a u-turn and retained Sporting Director Cristiano Giaretta.

RICH HUGHES has left Forest Green after four-and-a-half years to become Sporting Director at Portsmouth. The 34-year-old joined the club as Head of Recruitment in May 2018 and was promoted to Director of Football a year later.

MANCHESTER UNITED manager Erik ten Hag has been named Premier League Manager of the Month for September and shared the award with his backroom staff.

WEST HAM legend Mark Noble has been appointed as the club's new Sporting Director. The 35-year old will officially start on January 2nd and work “closely in support of David Moyes, as well as working with the Board of Directors, providing input, advice, and assistance across all aspects of the football operation.”

WATFORD Sporting Director Cristiano Giaretta has left the Championship club after two years. The Italian joined in August 2020 from Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia.

JIMMY GLASS scored one of the most famous goals in English football history. Now he's the 'go-to man' at Premier League side Bournemouth.

CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he “loved to work with” former Technical and Performance Advisor Petr Cech and that it has been a “big change” to operate without him.

CHRIS GALLEY, the Head of Pro Services at data firm Statsbomb, has been appointed Director of Football at League Two Crawley Town.

STEVEN REID says the way Steve Cooper dealt with his departure from Nottingham Forest at the end of last season emphasises what “makes him that bit more special” as a manager.

DAMIEN COMOLLI explains why he employs a ‘truth teller’ at Toulouse FC. The Frenchman, who was previously Director of Football at Tottenham and Liverpool, was appointed Chairman of the club in July 2020 and last season they were promoted back to the top flight.

LEE DYKES has been promoted from Head of Recruitment to Technical Director by Brentford. The 37-year-old will be responsible for recruitment, analysis, data, technology and player pathways.

PETR CECH has stepped down from his role as Technical and Performance Advisor at Chelsea after three years. The 40-year-old was appointed in June 2019 to “provide advice on all football and performance matters throughout the club.”

FORMER Everton Head of Recruitment Gretar Steinsson has been appointed Performance Director at Tottenham, with Rangers Head of Scouting Andy Scoulding as Assistant.

GREGG BROUGHTON has been appointed as the new Director of Football at Blackburn Rovers. Broughton has been Academy Director at Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt since November 2017.

DAN ASHWORTH has been formally announced as Newcastle United’s new Sporting Director after the club agreed compensation with Brighton and received approval from the Premier League.

JOSH MARSH has left Huddersfield Town after six years to become Head of Football Operations at Swansea City.

DAVID WEIR has been appointed as Brighton’s new Technical Director, having held the job on an interim basis since Dan Ashworth resigned in February.

ANDY O’BOYLE has been appointed to the new position of Deputy Football Director at Manchester United.

WALES have unveiled a High Performance Strategy they hope will propel them towards regular appearances at Euros and World Cups on both the men's and women's sides. Their Chief of Football Dave Adams tell TGG more.

MARK BOWEN has returned to Reading in his fifth different role, this time as Head of Football Operations.

PHIL ROSCOE has left Liverpool after 17 years to become first-team Player Care Manager at Aston Villa.

MANCHESTER UNITED Director of Football Negotiations Matt Judge has resigned from his role after 10 years at the club.

LEE O’NEILL, Ipswich Town’s General Manager of Football Operations and Academy Director, is leaving the club at the end of May after 18 years.

SERGE AURIER says Jose Mourinho and his staff did not pay enough attention to “the person behind the player” during their time in charge of Tottenham.

MARK ALLEN has been sacked as Swansea City’s Sporting Director just eight months after being promoted to the role.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber has defended his decision to take on a number of mountain challenges both this year and next, culminating in a climb up Everest.

BURNLEY have sacked manager Sean Dyche and his assistants Ian Woan, Steve Stone and Billy Mercer with eight games of the Premier League season remaining.

NORWEGIAN champions Bodø/Glimt say they will report Roma goalkeeper coach Nuno Santos to the police after alleging that he grabbed their manager Kjetil Knutsen by the throat and pushed him into a wall following the sides’ Europa Conference League quarter-final encounter on Thursday.

MALMÖ Sporting Director Andreas Georgson says coaches who haven’t had playing careers have to work “four times as hard” for opportunities - but that this often makes them better in the long run.

DAN PURDY has returned to Everton as Scouting and Operations Manager - just three months after resigning from the same role at the club.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber will do four more mountain climbs this year as he builds up to taking on Mount Everest for his new Summit Foundation in 2023.

REBECCA SAWIUK has been appointed as the new Director of Football for Loughborough University.

BAYERN MUNICH, Benfica and Manchester United have teamed up to launch a cross-club Mental Health Awareness Month for players, coaches and staff.

ALEX ALDRIDGE has returned to Millwall to take on the new role of Director of Football Operations and Recruitment.

DARREN FLETCHER has moved to clarify his Technical Director role at Manchester United following external confusion about his first year in post.

KEVIN THELWELL has been appointed as Everton’s new Director of Football, replacing Marcel Brands, who left in December.

MIKE GILHAM explains what it's like to be a Director of Football in the Isthmian League South Central Division with Basingstoke Town.

STEVE BLACK'S route into professional sport may have been different to that of most other performance coaches, but his impact was immense. Brian Ashton, Danny Cipriani and Terry McDermott remember the proud Geordie, who died this weekend at the age of 64.

LEAD ANALYST Andy Cousins has been promoted to Head of Football Operations at Stoke City as part of a revamp of leadership roles at the Championship club.

FORMER Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands is returning to PSV Eindhoven as their Chief Executive Officer.

BLACKBURN ROVERS manager Tony Mowbray recently attracted interest - and ire - when outlining his club's use of personality profiling. Here, sport psychologist Michael Caulfield explains the positives and pitfalls of using them.

DAN ASHWORTH has resigned as Technical Director at Brighton and is now expected to take up the same position with Newcastle United.

SIR BOBBY ROBSON said one of his few regrets was not spending more time with his family during his time as a top manager. There is still a culture of long hours and little down time at both senior and Academy level in football. Is it time for a reappraisal?

TOTTENHAM’S Technical Performance Director, Steve Hitchen, has left the club after five years. The 45-year-old initially worked for the club as a scout from 2005 to 2010 before returning in February 2017 as Chief Scout.

FORMER Scotland international David Weir has been promoted from Pathway Development Manager to the new role of Assistant Technical Director by Brighton.

MIDDLESBROUGH Head of Football Kieran Scott says his job is to “control what the future looks like” for the club.

EVERTON legend Graeme Sharp has been added to the club’s Board as a Non-Executive Director.

FORMER Brentford Co-Director of Football Rasmus Ankersen is one of the men behind Sport Republic’s takeover of Southampton.

GED RODDY has resigned as Charlton’s Technical Director after 14 months to take up a key role with Fifa.

FORMER Celtic and West Brom Technical Director Nick Hammond has been appointed as a transfer consultant by Newcastle United on a short-term contract.

RASMUS ANKERSEN is stepping down from his role as Co-Director of Football at Brentford after six-and-a-half years to set up a sports investment firm.

EVERTON'S Head of Recruitment and Development, Gretar Steinsson, and Manager of Scouting and Operations, Dan Purdy, have both left the club as bloodletting continues behind the scenes.

EVERTON Director of Football Marcel Brands has left the club after three-and-a-half years, with “a strategic review of the football structure" now set to take place.

ARSENAL'S Per Mertesacker says Ralf Rangnick has been an “amazing role model” during his career and that Manchester United have landed a “real man of insight” as their interim manager.

GLASGOW’S Queen’s Park have landed a ‘real coup’ by luring Marijn Beuker away from AZ Alkmaar after almost 15 seasons to become their Director of Football Operations.

RALF RANGNICK has been appointed as Manchester United’s interim manager to the end of the season, with a further two years to follow in a “consultancy role”.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber has signed a new 12-month rolling contract with the club that will take effect from the end of this season.

JULIAN WARD is to replace Michael Edwards as Liverpool’s Sporting Director at the end of the season.

MANAGER Nathan Jones is one of 60 Luton Town staff taking part in this month’s Prostate United challenge in support of assistant Mick Harford, who is undergoing treatment for the disease.

JAMES McCARRON, the Head of Sports Science and Medicine for Manchester City Women for the last three years, has been appointed Sporting Director of Belgian side Lommel SK.

GARY PROBERT has left Bristol City after eight-and-a-half years to take on the new role of Director of Football Operations at Ipswich Town.

MANCHESTER UNITED legend Nicky Butt says you don't need to have been a former player at the club to understand and enhance their 'DNA', as first-team coach Kieran McKenna proves.

A DOZEN current and prospective Technical Directors have graduated from the Football Association’s 2019-2021 Level 5 course.

NEIL ADAMS has been promoted to Assistant Sporting Director and Lee Dunn to Head of Recruitment in a major revamp of senior roles at Norwich City.

HARLEQUINS defied convention last season by winning the Premiership without a Head Coach. Is it time to reappraise the concept of the 'genius manager' which is still so prevalent in football?

STEVE McCLAREN has stepped down from his role as Technical Director at Derby County, although he will remain at the Championship club in a part-time consultancy basis.

HUDDERSFIELD are basing their future on young players with potential and every department has been tasked with developing them, with Individual Development Plans to the fore.

NATIONAL League North side AFC Fylde have advertised for a General Manager and specified: “Don't apply if you are looking for ‘a work life balance’ or have to pick the kids up from school twice a week at 3.30.”

ROY KEANE says there was more demand for the services of the club psychologist from his staff than players during his time as manager of Sunderland.

CHRIS MARKHAM reflects on his first seven months as Technical Performance Director at Bolton - and outlines the club's ambitious plans for the future.

BURNLEY may not replace Technical Director Mike Rigg, with chairman Alan Pace admitting he is not convinced about the role or its place in the club’s organisational structure.

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER tells author Phil Denton how he instigated change during his crucial first 100 days in charge at Manchester United.

KIERAN SCOTT is leaving Norwich City after four years to become Middlesbrough’s first Head of Football.

SWANSEA CITY have promoted Mark Allen to become their new Sporting Director, just eight months after he joined the club as Academy Manager.

BLACKBURN’S Head of European Scouting, Glyn Chamberlain, is leaving the club after 18 months.

FORMER Bolton and Middlesbrough defender Andrew Taylor has joined Leeds United as their second ever loans manager. He was previously first-team coach at League One Sunderland.

BURNLEY Technical Director Mike Rigg is set to leave his role after almost three years as the Clarets continue to make major changes behind the scenes following the takeover by ALK Capital last December.

RUSSELL MARTIN has been confirmed as the new Head Coach of Swansea City after signing a three-year contract with the Championship club.

THE inside story of England’s transformation from serial underachievers to Euro 2020 finalists.

CRAIG GARDNER has been appointed Technical Director by Birmingham City, just a year after retiring from playing.

WEST BROM Sporting Director Luke Dowling has left after three years at The Hawthorns as the club “reassess how our football operation functions”.

HEAD of Performance Innovation Paul Balsom will end his 13-year association with Leicester City and owners King Power when his contract expires at the end of the month.

ITALIAN Fabio Paratici has joined Tottenham as Managing Director, Football, as the club return to the Sporting Director model they jettisoned in September 2015.

HEADTEACHER Phil Denton spent two years with some of the top names in football management to try and discover the key characteristics of effective leaders. Here's what he learned.

MK DONS have created the new roles of Sporting Director and Performance Director, with Liam Sweeting and Simon Crampton taking up the respective roles.

WOLVES Loans Manager Seyi Olofinjana has been confirmed as the new Technical Director of Swiss side Grasshopper Zurich.

CHELSEA WOMEN manager Emma Hayes on some of the key influences on her career and how they helped to shape her leadership philosophy.

BRIGHTON have announced a "strategic partnership" with Scottish Premiership outfit Hibernian that will see the two clubs sharing knowledge, playing and training opportunities, and friendly matches for their different age groups.

CHELSEA WOMEN boss Emma Hayes says it's 'bonkers' that there isn't more diversity in football. Research, plus the experience of other industries, backs her up.

FORMER Arsenal Head of Youth Scouting Steve Morrow has joined the Football Association as Head of Player Selection and Talent Strategy, but the process that led to his appointment has been criticised for a lack of transparency.

JACK WILSHERE says the loss of “proper Arsenal people” from the staff at the North London club has hurt performances over the last few seasons.

FORMER Everton, Norwich and Wigan defender Matt Jackson has joined Wolves to become English football’s first Strategic Player Marketing Manager.

THE much-maligned Ed Woodward departs Manchester United at the end of the year following the European Super League fiasco. We asked insiders how the Executive Vice Chairman's exit will affect football operations at the club.

RICHARD GARLICK has left his role as Director of Football at the Premier League with immediate effect following the failed attempt to create a European Super League last week.

EVERTON have extended the contract of Director of Football Marcel Brands to 2024. We assess how his three years at the club have gone so far.

TOTTENHAM'S team got older under Jose Mourinho and youngsters had fewer opportunities, but was it all his fault?

RIGHT TO DREAM founder Tom Vernon makes three recommendations for dealing with the owners of want-away clubs, including making a commitment to the English football pyramid a key part of the fit and proper person test.

WALSALL have appointed Crystal Palace Head of Emerging Talent Jamie Fullarton as their new Technical Director.

WEST HAM manager David Moyes says his side’s renaissance has been built on becoming more “robust and energetic” - and that the next stage of their development will be to follow a “Red Bull model” of recruitment.

MANCHESTER UNITED have promoted John Murtough from Head of Football Development to Football Director, and Darren Fletcher from first-team coach to Technical Director.

CRAIG KLINE, Fulham’s former Assistant Director of Football Operations, has been ordered to pay ex-Football Association Chief Executive Martin Glenn £100,000 in damages, plus costs, for “libel and harassment”.

DURING seven years at the Premier League, Simone Lewis transformed the way that coaches and coach educators were developed. She tells TGG about the initiatives that were introduced and how they brought about a culture change at Academies.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber explains why the club are playing an 'infinite game', rather than a finite one.

ASTON VILLA manager Dean Smith says the club believe in two-way learning, where the coaches gain knowledge from the players as well as vice versa.

KATE BAKER, the Head of Performance Insight at the Football Association, has left the organisation after three years to become Director of Performance at UK Sport.

FILIPPO GIRALDI has admitted that Watford “are not a club that leaves the coach alone and lets him get on with the job” in his first interview since leaving his job as Technical Director at Vicarage Road.

AZ ALKMAAR Sport Development Director Marijn Beuker outlines how the club outperform their budget by thinking differently.

FORMER West Ham Head of Player Care Hugo Scheckter explains why the role has evolved from being "a person who sits in an office at the training ground to the manager’s key non-footballing contact.”

ASTON VILLA have again hired a senior member of staff from FC Copenhagen, with Frederik Leth joining the Premier League outfit as Head of Football Research.

FORMER Swindon Town manager Iffy Onuora has been appointed as the Premier League’s first Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and will start the role in April.

Hiring for diversity is a business imperative and often means hiring for potential, argue Anna Edwards and David Slemen of Elite Performance Partners.

RIGHT TO DREAM is planning its first foray into the English market after the Mansour Group, owned by Africa’s seventh richest man, agreed to invest $120m in the global academy.

LEADING sport psychologist Michael Caulfied says treating footballers as individuals is more important now than ever, and that we should never revert to a one-size-fits-all approach.

SCOTT SELLARS has been promoted to Technical Director by Wolves, filling a position that has been vacant at the club since Kevin Thelwell left to join New York Red Bulls last February.

RICHARD GARLICK is leaving the Premier League "in the coming months" to become Director of Football Operations at Arsenal.

MAURICIO POCHETTINO has taken his trusted quartet of assistants with him to Paris Saint-Germain, including his son Sebastiano.

JULIAN WARD has been promoted from Loans Manager to Assistant Sporting Director by Liverpool.

BRIGHTON Technical Director Dan Ashworth explains what the role involves and why he believes it’s so important.

KRISTJAAN SPEAKMAN said Sunderland’s Academy will be “the centrepiece” of his strategy after being appointed as the club’s new Sporting Director on Friday.

THE sacking of Phil Parkinson on Sunday has left Sunderland without a manager, assistant manager, Academy Manager, chairman, Under-18s coach, Head of Recruitment and Head of Football Operations.

LEE JOHNSON tells TGG how he's developed as a manager since getting his first job at the age of 31 - and how he aims to tackle his next opportunity.

FORMER Manchester United Head of Recovery Robin Thorpe remembers two stories that illustrate Sir Alex Ferguson's genius for man-management.

FORMER England manager Steve McClaren has been appointed Technical Director and board advisor by Derby County.

ARSENAL Director of Football Operations Huss Fahmy is leaving the club next month as their restructure of internal operations continues.

PERFORMANCE Psychologist Tom Young, who has interviewed Sean Dyche for his new book, outlines the 12 key attributes of the former Burnley manager's leadership style.

CHARLTON have appointed Ged Roddy MBE as their Technical Director in the first senior off-field hire of the Thomas Sandgaard era.

LES REED is to leave his role as Technical Director of the Football Association at the end of the year and will be replaced by his assistant John McDermott.

FOOTBALL’S preoccupation with the ‘unicorn’ manager or head coach is a "flawed leadership concept" and needs to change, says Dave Reddin, the former Head of Team Strategy and Performance? at the Football Association.

DUE to popular demand, we've released The Future Game online conference as a recording.

SEVILLA Sporting Director Monchi says he “can’t believe” that Manchester United do not have the same role at their club.

SCOUTS have been among the main casualties in football's response to Covid-19. Andy Burton, the former Senior Recruitment Consultant for Bournemouth, argues this is short-term thinking that could have long-term consequences.

JAVIER PEREIRA, Fulham’s Assistant Director of Football Operations, has left the club after nine months to become Head Coach of Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League.

TOTTENHAM have appointed Trevor Birch as Director of Football Operations and given him a place on a new four-person ‘Football Board’.

CRISTIANO GIARETTA has been appointed as Watford's new Sporting Director as the club continues to restructure following relegation to the Championship.

ARSENAL Head of Football Raul Sanllehi has left the club after two-and-a-half years.

ASTON VILLA have appointed 40-year-old FC Copenhagen Technical Director Johan Lange as their new Sporting Director.

ASTON VILLA have sacked Sporting Director Jesus Garcia Pitarch after less than two years as they look to revamp their football strategy.

ENGLAND rugby coach Eddie Jones will be among the speakers at an online event exploring the future of elite sport post pandemic and beyond.

HAVING gone through five Sporting Directors (each with a different title and remit) in three years, Huddersfield Town are about to appoint their fifth manager (or Head Coach) in little more than 18 months.

WOLVES Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo dedicated his manager of the month award for June to five members of backroom staff who had paved the way for his team to return to the training ground in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber says the club went into the Premier League with their eyes open - and will come back stronger next time.

IN the final instalment of his series on the five key roles for high-performing teams, David Slemen explains why the Non-Executive Director (NED) is so important.

THERE are things that Liverpool do behind the scenes that are better than anyone else. When put together, they have made the Reds unassailable.

IN the latest instalment of his series on the five key new roles in football, David Slemen looks at the Head of People and Team Development - the most under-represented position with the greatest potential to create competitive advantage.

MOST Premier League clubs now have a Sporting Director or equivalent. What do they do? And what makes a good one? David Slemen, founder of Elite Performance Partners, explains.

FIVE key roles are are having a transformational effect on high-performance teams.

PAUL MITCHELL, who has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, has been appointed Sporting Director of AS Monaco.

DAVID WEBB shares lessons from two decades in recruitment - including the story of how he discovered Wilfred Zaha for Crystal Palace.

DAN ALTMAN, the former Senior Adviser for Football Operations at Swansea City, has become “one of the largest shareholders” in League One Rochdale.

SEAN DYCHE says “the best coaches are the best thieves” and has picked out four coaches who influenced his philosophy.

?NIGEL CLOUGH is stepping down as Burton Albion manager after two spells spanning 16 years to “help the club with the financial pressures of these unprecedented times”.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN manager Danny Cowley, who has managed in eight of the top nine divisions, says there is a “real obligation” for the top of the English game to protect the entire football pyramid.

LIVERPOOL performance psychologist Lee Richardson says “acceptance” has become the key word for the club during lockdown.

DR ANDY HILL, Blackburn's performance psychologist since 2015, outlines the problems football has had with the discipline - and why things are slowly improving.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN Head of Football Operations David Webb explains the process that led to manager Danny Cowley being appointed by the Terriers last September.

BRISTOL CITY manager Lee Johnson has explained how he's trying to ensure there's structure, camaraderie and innovation at the club despite the coronavirus lockdown.

FEW outside Manchester United will have heard of Chris Chiang, but the Strategy Executive has become an important figure at the club.

EFL chairman Ricky Parry has written to clubs to tell them that players should not return to training until Saturday May 16th "at the earliest".

LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan has criticised Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho and some of his players for training in a public park despite the coronavirus lockdown.

FORMER Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher says the club have lost “respect and goodwill” by becoming the fifth Premier League side to ask for taxpayer money to fund their staff wages.

TOTTENHAM will cut the pay of all 550 non-playing directors and employees by 20% in April and May using, “where appropriate”, the Government’s furlough scheme.

LEEDS UNITED’S players, coaching staff and senior management have volunteered to take a wage deferral for the “foreseeable future” to ensure that all 272 full-time staff at the club can continue to be paid.

JOHN MCDERMOTT is leaving Tottenham after 15 years to take up the new role of Assistant Technical Director at the Football Association.

ONLY six of the 91 Premier League and Football League managers are from black and ethnic minority backgrounds - and less than 5% of those in senior coaching positions. Phil Korklin looks at what's being done - and at what further action is needed.

FORMER Tottenham Director of Football Damien Comolli says Jose Mourinho is not a “culture fit” for the club.

ARSENAL have closed their London Colney training centre and Hale End Academy after Head Coach Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19.

STORYTELLING is a hugely effective way for leaders to get their message across. We hear how it can be done from a range of experts.

LEIGH BROMBY has been promoted to Head of Football Operations at Huddersfield Town, with Emyr Humphreys stepping up to take his former role as Academy Manager at the club.

DR PIPPA GRANGE, the former Head of People and Team Development at the Football Association, has joined the Right to Dream Academy to lead on cultural strategy.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN Head of Football Operations David Webb is to leave the Championship club at the end of the season.

WOLVES Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell is leaving the club after more than 11 years to become the first Head of Sport at the New York Red Bulls.

TGG will be exploring Modern Leadership at our next live event, at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday April 23rd.

GOALKEEPER Ben Foster says Watford have thrived under Nigel Pearson because the team was “crying out” for a manager and not a coach.

ENGLAND rugby coach Eddie Jones shares insights gleaned from three decades in coaching, ranging from the influence of Pep Guardiola to managing mavericks to tactical periodisation.

ENGLAND rugby coach Eddie Jones will take a new staff into this year's Six Nations and is eager to bring “fresh ideas and energy” after his team’s heavy World Cup final defeat by South Africa.

CHELSEA spent £26.647m paying off manager Antonio Conte and his coaching staff, their latest accounts have revealed.

DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL Mario Husillos has left West Ham following the sacking of manager Manuel Pellegrini yesterday.

ADRIAN BEVINGTON is leaving Middlesbrough at the end of this year - 18 months after he joined as Head of Recruitment Operations.

LEICESTER CITY manager Brendan Rodgers says his late father inadvertently taught him the importance of displaying a “calmness” on the touchline.

DAVE REDDIN, England’s Head of Team Strategy and Performance, is leaving the Football Association after almost five years on Friday - and his role will not be replaced.

HOW does the most successful team in world sport deal with defeat? New Zealand All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith lifts the lid on the review process that followed his side's World Cup semi-final humbling by England.

MARCO SILVA underperformed badly at Everton, but a lack of clear and consistent thinking at the top is costing them dear.

IAN MITCHELL is set to head up psychological development across the 16 England teams following the departure of Pippa Grange as Head of People and Team Development in September, TGG understands.

DR PIPPA GRANGE, England's first Head of People and Team Development, outlines her philosophy regarding culture and performance psychology.

FORMER New Zealand All Blacks coach Wayne Smith explains the key tenets of his leadership philosophy.

ENGLAND World Cup-winning cricketer Luke Wright is one of the 29 new students of the Master of Sport Directorship course at Manchester Metropolitan University, alongside footballers, managers and a well-known TV presenter.

ROSS WILSON, Southampton’s Director of Football Operations, has left the club to become Rangers’ new Sporting Director.

DAVID ADAMS has succeeded Osian Roberts as Wales’ Technical Director.

SPORTING DIRECTOR Victor Orta reveals how he convinced Marcelo Bielsa to come to Yorkshire and outlines the impact that the Argentine has had at Elland Road.

LEEDS UNITED Sporting Director Victor Orta says the club’s recruitment policy is 70% human judgement and 30% data.

BRIGHTON’S Dan Ashworth says clubs need Technical Directors in order to ensure they are travelling in the right direction over the medium to long term.

LIVERPOOL chief executive Peter Moore says the club has “merged digital and analogue” to create “the essence of a modern football club”.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2022.

WATFORD have had 10 managers in seven years, entire changes of the backroom staff and the highest turnover of players - yet it is all part of their strategy and seems to work.

QPR Director of Football Les Ferdinand doubts whether he would have been given his job were it not for the fact the club has an ethnic minority board, as football has a “massive unconscious bias” against BAME executives.

CLUB LEGEND Leon Britton has been appointed as Swansea City’s first Sporting Director, making them the eighth side in the Championship to have this role or equivalent.

RALPH RANGNICK says football clubs can learn from the likes of Porsche and Mercedes by developing a “corporate identity” that remains intact no matter who is in charge.

EVERTON Director of Football Marcel Brands says he is working towards a situation where the club makes only two or three signings in a transfer window - and lets its young players know “there is something possible”.

OSIAN ROBERTS has transformed football in Wales in his 12 years as Technical Director, says former Swansea Head of Coaching David Adams.

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN have hired David Webb from Swedish side Ostersunds to become their new Head of Football Operations.

RHYS LONG, Head of Performance Analysis and Insight for the Football Association, outlines his philosophy in the Training Ground Guru Podcast.

STOKE CITY Technical Director Mark Cartwright is leaving the club after seven years to pursue “a different challenge”.

ENGLAND must continue to “think differently” because of the “structural advantages” of their rivals, says Football Association Head of Team Strategy and Performance Dave Reddin.

ARSENAL have appointed former midfielder Edu as their first Technical Director.

DAVE REDDIN will step down from his position as Head of Team Strategy and Performance at the end of 2019, the Football Association has confirmed.

MANCHESTER UNITED legend Gary Neville says the club no longer have "guardians" and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to have a summer clear out.

PETR CECH has returned to Chelsea to take up a new senior role - although not the Technical Director job he had been touted for.

SPORTING DIRECTOR Stuart Webber insists Norwich City will stick to their values despite being promoted to the “millionaires’ league”.

THIS summer the latest batch of fully qualified Sporting Directors will graduate from a unique course at Manchester Metropolitan University.

BEFORE leading his side into their second straight Champions League final, manager Jurgen Klopp has been explaining his leadership philosophy.

KEVIN DAVIES, who enjoyed the best years of his career at Bolton Wanderers, says he hopes someone with "heart, passion and soul" can take over from rogue owner Ken Anderson.

MICHAEL JOHNSON on battling back from constant rejection in his quest to become a manager - and making history with Guyana.

FORMER Stoke and Derby manager Gary Rowett says he admires Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa for “thinking outside the box” and “pushing the envelope”.

FORMER Birmingham, Derby and Stoke manager Gary Rowett is joined by his former Head of Performance, Dave Carolan, and Head of Analysis, Joe Carnall, for the first episode of the new Training Ground Guru podcast.

TRAINING GROUND GURU is launching a new monthly podcast in association with video and analysis experts Hudl.

DAVID MOYES says he does not regret changing Sir Alex Ferguson’s backroom staff when he took over at Manchester United in 2013.

WATFORD manager Javi Gracia says he only shouts at his players if they are winning.

BY making 12 signings in a single summer transfer window, Fulham were always setting themselves up to struggle.

ROTHERHAM manager Paul Warne has made emotional intelligence key to his leadership style. He told TGG about the importance of openness, authenticity and treating people as individuals.

LEEDS manager Marcelo Bielsa says "what makes you important when you win is the same thing that makes you useless when you lose" as far as the media is concerned.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber explains how the club has been rebuilt on and off the pitch since his arrival in April 2017.

ROTHERHAM manager Paul Warne says the Championship has become “Premier League 2 and the rest” because of the “obscene amounts of money” being spent.

NORWICH CITY Sporting Director Stuart Webber says he is hoping for “real clarity” from Leeds United about the extent of their spying - and for them to “show a bit of class” and apologise for their actions.

IPSWICH owner Marcus Evans says Lee O’Neill will oversee “the club’s long-term strategy and principles” in his new role as General Manager of Football Operations.

SIX years ago today, PSG Performance Manager Nick Broad died following a road traffic accident in Paris. He left a lasting impression at former clubs including Blackburn and Chelsea - and in the industry as a whole.

HUDDERSFIELD Sporting Director Olaf Rebbe leaves by mutual consent, with the club saying they are seeking a "fresh start" as they hunt for a new manager.

ARSENAL manager Unai Emery believes it is important to create “friction” with his players to get the best out of them.

LEAD analyst Ben Knapper has been promoted to the new role of Loans Manager by Arsenal.

"YOUR time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." Excerpts from an inspirational speech that Apple founder Steve Jobs gave to students at Stanford University in 2005.

First team coaches Stefano Rapetti and Silvino Louro, technical scout Ricardo Formosinho, fitness coach Carlos Lalin and analyst Giovanni Cerra have all departed United following the sacking of Jose Mourinho last week.

FORMER Southampton Vice Chairman Les Reed has replaced Dan Ashworth as Technical Director of the Football Association.

ASHLEY GILES was at a crossroads in his career when he started the Master of Sport Directorship course in 2014. Now he is about to begin a role as the Managing Director of English cricket.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST have appointed Kyriakos Dourekas as their new Director of Football.

FLEETWOOD TOWN Sporting Director Gretar Steinsson has left the club after four years to become Chief European Scout at Everton.

NEW Burnley Technical Director Mike Rigg says manager Sean Dyche will still have the first and last say on all signings at the club.

HOW do we prepare youngsters for the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambitious) world of professional football? UCFB think they've come up with a way along outdoor adventure specialists WAKTU.

MIKE RIGG, the former Chief Footballing Officer at Fulham, has been appointed Technical Director at Burnley.

COLIN COOPER has left his role as assistant manager of the England Under-21s after two and a half years, the Football Association has confirmed.

ANDY SCOTT has been promoted to Sporting Director by Watford after a year as Football Recruitment Director.

WHEREVER Roberto Martinez has been as a manager, he's had Richard Evans by his side. The Welshman tells us about a journey that has taken in promotions, an FA Cup final and the latter stages of a World Cup.

BRENTFORD Technical Director Robert Rowan has died from heart failure at the age of 28, the club has announced.

NEW ZEALAND All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says he has not conducted a single pre-match team talk in his seven years in charge.

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Martin Hunter has followed Vice Chairman Les Reed through the exit door at Southampton.

LES REED, Southampton's most senior football figure, has been sacked after eight years at the club.

BURNLEY director Brendan Flood says the club has intentionally hired “young, hungry” managers, because they will “always give you more” than big-name ex-players.

GARY BOWYER reflects on his time as manager of Blackburn and Blackpool - and how his experiences with Brian Clough and Roy Keane helped shape his career.

BURNLEY co-owner Brendan Flood says the club are bringing in a Technical Director to improve their overseas recruitment.

IPSWICH staff have already been told that Paul Lambert is to take over as manager, TGG understands.

PEP GUARDIOLA has credited two ‘geniuses’ with inspiring him to do things differently.

DAN ALTMAN has stepped down from his controversial role as Senior Adviser for Football Operations at Swansea City after almost two years.

HOW can a leader affect the culture of their team? As Professor Damian Hughes reveals, there are several examples of how Sir Alex Ferguson managed to do this successfully during his 26-year reign at Manchester United.

MIKE PHELAN gives a fascinating insight into his work as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant and as part of the ‘team behind the team' at Old Trafford.

BURNLEY are recruiting for the new role of Technical Director to support manager Sean Dyche.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON harnessed culture to great effect during Manchester United’s golden age, as did Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. This is an area United must refocus on if they are to rediscover their former glories, says Professor Damian Hughes.

LEYTON ORIENT chairman Nigel Travis tells us how he's applied business principles learnt over several decades to pull the club out of the 'abyss'.

BRIGHTON Chief Executive Paul Barber says the appointment of Technical Director Dan Ashworth will enable the club to reach the “next level”.

READING have appointed Italian Gianluca Nani as their new Sporting Director following the departure of Brian Tevreden to Belgian side KSV Roeselare.

ROTHERHAM boss Paul Warne explains why emotional intelligence is a key part of his management style.

THE pioneering Master of Sport Directorship course at Manchester Metropolitan University is about to welcome its fifth cohort of students. We spoke to three to find out what they hope to learn.

GARY NEVILLE says Manchester United have been a ‘horror show’ since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement because they abandoned their long-term philosophy.

MANCHESTER UNITED are considering how best to replace Javier Ribalta following the Spaniard’s unexpected exit to Zenit St Petersburg this week.

SALFORD CITY co-owner Gary Neville has defended the club’s spending, saying there is an “established elite” that “don’t want the new boys to come along”.

DESPITE their humbling at the World Cup, Germany are determined to become the world's centre of excellence for football knowledge. At the heart of this is the Think Tank, headed up by Dr Thomas Hauser.

WEST HAM have appointed Mario Husillos as their new Director of Football - a decision that seems to have been heavily influenced by manager Manuel Pellegrini.

THERE is just a week to go to Cohesive Coaching - an exclusive half-day event in Manchester featuring Brian Ashton, Dan Micciche, Tony Strudwick and Martin Fairn - and all tickets have now been sold.

FORMER Manchester United goalkeeping coach Tony Coton is returning to Sunderland, where he suffered a career-ending injury as a player.

FINDING a female in the boardroom of an English football club is a tough task, even in 2018. Dr Sara Ward from Manchester Metropolitan University explains why more needs to be done.

HOW a challenge in the Lake District helped Burnley's coaches develop leadership and teamwork.

INCOMING Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands says he is looking for a ‘modern coach’ who will give the club’s Academy players a chance.

FORMER FA Head of Communications Adrian Bevington has been appointed Head of Recruitment Operations at Middlesbrough.

THE 40-year-old will oversee scouting, analysis, sports science and medicine, while working closely with Academy boss Leigh Bromby.

THE 56-year-old has been Technical Director at PSV since 2010 and helped them win the Eredivisie in three of the last four seasons.

STRIKER Anthony Mounier left St Etienne just four days after joining them on loan last year. The case shows how costly it can be if clubs don't do their due diligence properly.

WHETHER they win, lose or draw in the first leg of their League Two play-off semi against Exeter this afternoon, you can expect Lincoln's players to be sweeping the floor of their changing room at the end of the game - just like the All Blacks do.

SPANISH side Espanyol have made an approach for Wolves European scout Miguel Rios.

CHRIS BADLAN, Norwich’s Head of European Scouting, has been appointed as Head of Recruitment at Coventry City.

STOKE CITY goalkeeper Jack Butland hits out at the club’s “farcical” recruitment policy following their relegation from the Premier League.

STEVEN GERRARD has been confirmed as the new manager of Rangers after signing a four-year deal with the Glasgow club.

JOSE MOURINHO says his assistant Rui Faria would be “a good fit” for Arsenal and that he would “help him to pack and carry the bags” if he did land a big job.

INDIA manager Stephen Constantine says he cannot get a job in England because club owners always “hire somebody they know”.

TOMMY WIDDRINGTON has been appointed Head of Recruitment at Bristol Rovers, little more than a year after joining Coventry City to become the “cornerstone” of their recruitment process.

MIDDLESBROUGH are seeking a High Court injunction to prevent Garry Monk’s backroom staff working with him at Birmingham until December 28th.

IPSWICH TOWN owner Marcus Evans says his new manager will focus purely on the first team, leaving scouting, sport science and youth development to the experts who are already in position at the club.

IN an exclusive interview, Dan Micciche reflects on his three months at the helm at MK Dons.

WEST BROM'S Richard Garlick has been appointed as the Premier League's new Director of Football.

THE Premier League is poised to announce its new Director of Football, having completed interviews with the shortlisted candidates.

MUCH of the credit for Wolves' promotion to the Premier League has understandably gone to manager Nuno Espirito Santo. But Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell, a man we seldom hear of or from, has arguably been just as important.

WEST BROM have sacked Technical Director Nick Hammond and replaced him with Italian consultant Giuliano Terraneo.

PSV EINDHOVEN have confirmed that Everton have made approaches for their Technical Director Marcel Brands.

MANCHESTER UNITED are recruiting for the new role of Head of Football Operations to oversee the Aon Training Complex.

GARETH SOUTHGATE said his players had learnt from a truly elite team after he took them on a secret mission with the Royal Marines Commandos. We asked former Commando JJ Chalmers what makes them so special.

THIS is the seventh job of Mark Hughes' managerial career - and the seventh time he's appointed the same assistants. Is a fear of the unfamiliar holding him back?

TACTICAL decisions during matches will soon be made using positional data and machine learning rather than a manager's subjective judgement, according to the head of scouting and analysis for the German national team.

LEEDS UNITED Director of Football Victor Orta insists he has never signed a player without the approval of the manager.

KIERON DYER says England underachieve at major tournaments because everyone is “scared” of playing for the national team.

NATHAN WINDER, the new Leeds United Head of Sport Science, got a team on a small budget to punch well above its weight at Barnsley.

PAUL MITCHELL has been appointed Head of Recruitment and Development at RB Leipzig after the club endured an "unacceptable" January transfer window.

NICKY LAW, Burnley’s Head of Academy Recruitment, has explained how humility is key to the club’s DNA.

HOW are League Two Exeter City managing to produce so many good young players, including Chelsea starlet Ethan Ampadu? Dan Kelly, their Head of Academy Recruitment explains all.

DAN MICCICHE, the former England Under-16 coach, has been appointed manager of MK Dons and vowed to produce an "attacking, creative and expressive" team.

TOO often, fitness staff and coaches are the victims when a manager loses his job. We're also seeing a narrowing of chances for British staff. TGG is calling for a change of approach.

Richard Collinge, Watford’s former Head of Medical, has brought a discrimination case against the club, claiming he lost his job because he was English.

CARLO ANCELOTTI has paid tribute to Nick Broad, his former performance supremo at both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, who died five years ago at the age of 38.

DANNY MURPHY says some England coaches have been appointed because of a “jobs-for-the-boys” culture and that the path into management is too “restrictive” for ex-players.

THE FA laid down exactly what it means to be an England international in 2014 - and many clubs are now following suit.

PIPPA GRANGE has started as the Football Association's first Head of People and Team Development, tasked with building psychological resilience in the 16 England teams.

OUR top 10 best-read stories of 2017, ranging from Redfearn to Ranieri.

ARSENAL have appointed Barcelona’s Raul Sanllehi to the new position of Head of Football Relations.

RIO FERDINAND, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard tell BT Sport that club rivalries played a major part in the 'Golden Generation' failing to realise its potential.

HOW culture has been key to Östersunds' rise from the Swedish fourth division to the last 32 of the Europa League.

RANGERS caretaker manager Graeme Murty says the club’s focus on youth is beginning to pay dividends for the first team.

MARTIN EDWARDS transformed Manchester United from a club in the doldrums into a corporate juggernaut. So why doesn't he get more credit? Ben Dirs went to meet the club's unloved emperor.

SARACENS chairman Nigel Wray says caring about players and taking a long-term view has turned his team from expensive flops into the best side in Europe.

CRAIG KLINE has left his role as Assistant Director of Football Operations at Fulham.

TONY CASCARINO says managers have become football’s most over-rated personnel.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON explains why he made youth the foundation of his success at Man Utd - even when it led to complaints in the House of Commons.

A new app from The Sports Office promises to give senior staff top-level information from their key departments no matter where they are.

WHY, when a third of Premier League starters on the opening weekend of the season were BAME, are so few of the sports media who report on them?

HERE are the 10 lucky winners who will get a copy of Ben Lyttleton's brilliant new book Edge.

FOOTBALL clubs need to start using fair, transparent recruitment processes instead of relying on existing social relationships, argue Dr Dan Parnell and Dr Paul Widdop.

WHY coaches are challenging the notion that the collective always counts for more than the individual.

EDDIE JONES' Q&A at Soccerex was as intense and stimulating as one of the his coaching sessions. Read and listen to it here.

ENGLAND rugby coach Eddie Jones created back-page news with his superb session at the Soccerex conference this week.

TONY STRUDWICK, Manchester United's Head of Performance, is approaching 20 years as a practitioner in pro football. We caught up with him at Soccerex to talk about changes in the industry, Sir Alex Ferguson and Marcus Rashford.

GERMANY team manager Oliver Bierhoff says modern players are ‘independent entrepreneurs’ who will not accept the ‘command and control’ style of leadership.

CRYSTAL PALACE manager Frank de Boer has welcomed the appointment of Dougie Freedman as the club's Sporting Director.

ANTONIO CONTE now has nine Italians in his backroom staff following a duo of additions last month - making it the first time since Roman Abramovich took over in 2003 that not a single Brit is among the manager's assistants.

ARSENE WENGER says the manager of the future will not even need a football background, because his or her decisions will be based on science and technology.

ENGLAND rugby union coach Eddie Jones visited West Brom yesterday and praised Tony Pulis as ‘a coach who coaches’.

LIVERPOOL boss Jurgen Klopp has picked out six key backroom staff without whom he would be ‘nothing’.

EXCLUSIVE: Rene Meulensteen, who was Sir Alex Ferguson's lieutenant for six years, outlines what made the Scot such a great leader.

BRENDAN RODGERS inspired his Celtic players before the Scottish Cup final with messages from loved ones and personalised lockers.

MANCHESTER CITY Academy director Mark Allen has been named as the new Director of Football at Glasgow Rangers.

LEYTON ORIENT have appointed former player and manager Martin Ling as their new Director of Football.

A story about how Roy Keane helped his old team-mate Gary Charles challenges the public perception of the Man Utd legend.

BRITISH coaches will get more opportunities and progress further if they are willing to work with a Sporting Director, Norwich’s Stuart Webber believes.

ENGLAND boss Gareth Southgate has outlined how he plans to get his team playing without inhibition.

ENGLAND UNDER-21s have appointed a sports psychologist for the Euros in Poland after identifying the absence of one as a key flaw in 2015.

IPSWICH Managing Director Ian Milne says he does not believe in Norwich’s new structure and prefers a manager to be in charge of all footballing matters.

The British and Irish Lions have taken a 36-strong backroom staff to New Zealand - but no psychologist.

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate took his squad on a secret trip to the Royal Marines’ Commando Training Centre in a bid to build their teamwork, leadership and adaptability.

ENGLAND rugby coach Eddie Jones is letting his squad take some of their own training sessions as he seeks to make them 'participants not recipients'.

THE All Blacks have been getting inspiration from an unusual source as they prepare for their upcoming series against the British and Irish Lions.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD says training with the Marines was key to his side winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003.

NEW ZEALAND mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka has given an insight into how to think like an All Black.

JOHN BARNES does not believe Chris Hughton’s success at Brighton will help the plight of black managers, because he will be “elevated out of blackness”.