Seamus Kelly

Understanding the Role of the Football Manager in Britain and Ireland: A Weberian Approach

Abstract Using semi-structured tape-recorded interviews with twenty-two players and eighteen managers, this paper utilizes the work of Max Weber in exploring the role of the manager in professional football (soccer). More specifically, Webers writings on legitimate authority are used to explore traditional aspects of the role of the contemporary football manager. The findings highlight the lack of formal management training and the widespread assumption within football that previous playing experience is sufficient preparation for entry into management. While many aspects of the management of football clubs have involved increasing professionalization and bureaucratization, the role of the manager has proved remarkably resistant to these processes. The authority of the football manager continues to be based on traditional forms of authoritarianism and this allows managers an unusually high degree of autonomy in defining their own role and places few constraints on the appointment of their support staff.

Abuse, Intimidation and Violence as Aspects of Managerial Control in Professional Soccer in Britain and Ireland

Using semi-structured tape-recorded interviews, this study focuses on the ways in which managers maintain control over players in professional soccer clubs. More specifically, the article focuses on the ways in which disciplinary codes are established by managers and the sanctions that are imposed on players for breaches of club discipline. The findings highlight the arbitrary character of these codes and the central part played by intimidation and abuse, both verbal and physical, as aspects of managerial control within clubs. We argue that these techniques of managerial control reflect the origins of professional soccer in late Victorian England, when professional players were the equivalent of industrial workers and, like industrial workers, were seen as requiring authoritarian regulation and control. This pattern of management has persisted in professional soccer long after it has been superseded in industrial relations more generally because, while many aspects of the management of soccer clubs have involved increasing professionalization and bureaucratization, the role of the manager has proved remarkably resistant to these processes. The authority of the team manager continues to be based on traditional forms of authoritarianism and this allows managers an unusually high degree of autonomy in defining their own role, while placing relatively few constraints on their authority in relation to players.

Managers, directors and trust in professional football

Based on semi-structured interviews with 25 players and 20 managers this essay will examine the relationship between managers and the owners and directors of professional football clubs. The findings identify hostility and distrust as a common feature of this relationship. More specifically, from the standpoint of managers, this hostility and distrust partially emanates from the perceived motives of owners and directors and their interference in issues traditionally seen as falling within the managers role. The research highlights the very closed and insular world of professional football and also considers how the changing nature and status of the game impacts upon traditional roles and functions.

Pedagogy, game intelligence & critical thinking: the future of Irish soccer?

Utilizing data gathered from over 20 action research workshops involving over 350 participants with clubs in the UK and Ireland, this paper examines how coaching pedagogy facilitates the development of young soccer players in general and their perceptual cognitive skills in particular. This paper argues that in order to enhance player learning, coaches and managers would benefit from an understanding of the many theoretical frameworks underpinning the process of learning. This pedagogical knowledge assists in understanding how specific practices such as critical thinking, reflection, questioning and feedback facilitates the enhancement of player learning and in the assessment and development of perceptual cognitive skills. The value of this paper lies in its potential to stimulate debate, discussion and sensitize Irish coaches and managers, at all levels, to the way in which they, and their players, learn and to stimulate a critical evaluation and reflection of their current coaching and management practices.

Frequency of Self-Reported Concussion Amongst Professional and Semi-Professional Footballers in Ireland During the 2014 Season: a Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundThis paper examines the occupational risk of concussion amongst professional and semi-professional footballers in Ireland during the 2014 League of Ireland season. As part of a broader nationally representative study examining occupational safety and health (OSH) awareness amongst professional footballers, this empirical quantitative study, utilising a convenience sample is the first and largest investigation of the frequency of, and attitudes towards, concussion and concussion reporting amongst Irish senior professional and semi-professional footballers.MethodsA census survey using an anonymous questionnaire was provided to available League of Ireland clubs between March and May 2015. Permission to access players was provided by the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland. This convenience sample was determined by club availability in relation to match fixtures. Participation by the footballers was voluntary. At the time, there were 250 professional and semi-professional players within the League available to participate.ResultsA total of 149 footballers participated in the study. Sixty percent of the participants were employed on a semi-professional basis and the majority of all participants were aged between 18 and 30. 15.7% of the participants reported having received a concussion in the 2014 season with semi-professional players having a noticeably higher (though not significant) reporting rate. Analysis indicated that there was a significant association between playing position and concussion reporting with defenders having the greater odds of reporting a concussion than other playing positions. Professional and semi-professional footballers have a relatively equal risk of receiving a concussion.ConclusionThis research is the first major investigation of the self-reported frequency of, and attitudes towards, concussion amongst Irish senior professional and semi-professional footballers. The results have important implications for coaches, clinicians, parents, players and national governing bodies. Further research is needed to ascertain whether professional footballers perceive concussion as an occupational risk, and whether they appreciate that accepting such risks can have long-term implications for health.

‘Trust me I am a Football Agent’. The discursive practices of the players’ agents in (un)professional football

Abstract FIFA’s decision to deregulate the industry is perhaps a reflection of the neoliberal influences surrounding the organization to let the agents govern themselves and deal with the wrongdoings of the alleged bribery, exploitation and trafficking of young players. However, it can also be seen as the organization’s inefficiency to maintain the primacy of self-regulation and self-governance in matters such as agents’ global leadership and regulation of practices. This paper, using qualitative data collected from players, agents and managers from professional football leagues in the UK and Ireland, aims to uncover the unethical, extremely complex and deceptive sides of the agents’ industry. Two key issues are unpacked: (i) the alleged (un)ethical behaviour of football agents that provokes so much hostility in the football world; (ii) the power shift(s) from clubs and managers to agents and players and the implications these may have on the ethics of the business practices in football.

1266 Occupational safety and concussion injury awareness of irish professional and semi-professional footballers

Introduction The purpose of the study was to investigate the occupational safety awareness of a cohort of professional athletes; specifically looking at the risk of concussion, reporting rates, and practices amongst professional and semi-professional footballers. Methods The study was an empirical quantitative study, in the form of a census, of a particular cohort (n=250) conducted in 2015. Participants were professional or semi-professional footballers playing in the League of Ireland. Footballers undertook a questionnaire on safety awareness and self-reported concussion over the previous five playing seasons. 149 footballers participated (60% response rate, >90% CI). Data was analysed using SPSS. Results Over two thirds of respondents were unaware if their football club had a formal safety programme. Results indicated footballers had little occupational safety awareness, though they felt that both management and teammates employed good safety practices. 32% of respondents stated they had sustained a concussion between 2010%–2013. 84% of respondents noted they had not sustained a concussion during 2014. However, there were a significant number of semi-professional defenders who sustained a concussion that year. There was a higher rate of self-reported concussion amongst League of Ireland footballers in 2014 than in a similar study carried out on professional footballers in Italy in 2009. Respondents were more likely to report a concussion to a physiotherapist or doctor. Respondents were asked to identify a reason for not reporting a concussion, the most prominent being that players lacked unawareness of concussion impacts. Conclusion Concussion reporting by mainstream media coupled with an introduction of concussion awareness programmes has resulted in a general increase in personal safety knowledge and awareness of concussion amongst Irish footballers. Further studies are needed focussing on safety culture and occupational safety and health awareness is raised in the professional sporting sector.

Performance management: A systematic review of processes in elite sport and other performance domains

Performance management is integral for high-performing organizations and teams. The purpose of this review was to synthesize evidence on performance management across elite sport and other performance-focused domains (business, performing arts, high-risk professions). A systematic search and screening strategy was undertaken. Twenty studies satisfied the inclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis enabled the identification of key components of performance management. Similarities and differences between elite sport and other domains are identified across the following themes: strategic performance management, operational performance management, individual performance management, and leadership of the performance team. Implications for practitioners in elite sport are also considered across these themes.

Returning home: the return of Irish-born football migrants to Ireland’s football leagues and their cultural re-adaption, 1945–2010

Abstract This article examines a number of Irish professional soccer players’ career trajectories subsequent to their return to Ireland from the United Kingdom. More specifically, we explore their experiences following termination of their careers there, their adjustments to life after their professional football careers as well as the options and challenges in relocating into alternative professions and migratory positions. Moreover, how players cope and deal with the considerable difficulties in adapting to post-professional football career transition and termination is highlighted. Prior experience of League of Ireland or Irish League football does not impact on career duration in English League football. The majority of players that return following a career there stay in the game through participation as players with Irish professional clubs. This article also identifies the lack of structures, at many clubs in England and Ireland, for facilitating players’ adaptation to alternative careers following a career in professional football.