THE BEAUTIFUL MIND GAME

Football is a common denominator that acts like a language connecting millions of people across the world. It creates interest and sparks emotions in a way that regular conversations usually fail to do.

THE BEAUTIFUL MIND GAME takes metaphors and tactics from the pitch and applies them to work and home life in a powerful coaching experience.

The book accurately describes the life of football.

Nigel Howe

Chief Executive, Reading Football Club

Describes the influences of the game from a fan’s perspective. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

Gary Mabutt MBE

Former Captain, Tottenham Hotspur

Yes mate, I like it.

Jack Wilshere

Footballer for Arsenal, 2008-2018

“Allow me to beat myself up -it’ll save you the trouble”. 8th October 2013

It seems that the ongoing arguments about whether Spurs fans can/should call themselves the ‘Y ‘word will continue unresolved for the time being. My intention here is to keep as objective as possible and add some new thoughts. For a well written and brief outline, I...
Read More

The Glass Ceiling Stadium

As regular readers will know, one of my agendas in this blog is to use football as a channel for discussing seemingly unrelated but nonetheless important subjects. I’ve been minded for some time to discuss and give air to women’s football (and indeed I’ll do this...
Read More

The Field of Gove Dreams – an un-level playing surface.

Michael Gove MP minister for Education, has just finished another big day. He appears to have been speaking since yesterday (Sunday morning February 2nd) and a bit like David Bowie’s re-launch a year ago, he seems to have this incredible self-awareness and knowledge...
Read More

(Risk) Aversion Therapy

You swapped supplier negotiations, cash-flow headaches and being squeezed by larger organisations for a salary, pension, and the chance to help people directly. Not a bad trade.”
Read More

The World Cup Who Fell To Earth (is Joe Lycett a bully?)

If he was entirely fair in picking on David Beckham. His reasoning is that Beckham has benefited financially and image-wise as a gay icon, he even wore a dress once, and according to Lycett, ought to have condemned both FIFA and Qatar.

Read More

From Hare to Tortoise Eternity

Three months ago I made my debut as a walking footballer. Gis and I (we are both 58, he needs reminding, I never do), arrived at The Hive  at 6.55 pm on a typically cold February evening and along with a ‘real football’ coach and four or so other people we warmed up...
Read More

You’re up but You’re Down

Depression. It's everywhere. Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian daily sports paper recently carried an article (and it's adequately translated into English here) discussing how 58 per cent of top level footballers suffer from depression. Considering people can be...
Read More

To be a gay footballer or not, that really is not the issue in question.

However, in the context of football equals life, life equals football, it throws up some important issues about society.   The context of this item has little directly to do with Thomas Hitzlsperger , but I use his story to make the point that football (like...
Read More

The final (part 1)

I have always supported Italy in this kind of play-off but yet am not really sure why

Read More

Keep Your Friends Close. Your Enemies Closer Still

When I tell people I both write and give talks on football from a non-football point of view they ask me to explain what I mean... I explain that as a simple, basic pastime, it has so many parallels, so much emotional depth and such a wide ‘contact list’ that it...
Read More

(Risk) Aversion Therapy

You swapped supplier negotiations, cash-flow headaches and being squeezed by larger organisations for a salary, pension, and the chance to help people directly. Not a bad trade.”

Read More

Time, Oh How It Flies

From baby seats to broken minds - what a grandfather’s view reveals about the ever-changing world When, some 18 months ago, I became a grandfather, nothing immediately changed that much. Other than the thrill of new life and the relief that all the parties involved...
Read More
https://www.google.com/imgres?q=picture%20of%20a%20literary%20muse&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F02%2FPrideandPrejudice.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%2Fblog%2Fask-a-literary-lady-how-do-i-become-someones-literary-muse%2F&docid=hvFthJYe0Yyt5M&tbnid=N_u1txTV5AZznM&vet=12ahUKEwjBts2f6PaNAxUEWEEAHWL7BwcQM3oECGIQAA..i&w=637&h=364&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwjBts2f6PaNAxUEWEEAHWL7BwcQM3oECGIQAA

All The Young Dudes Carry The Muse

this current 4-month gap (that is happily now over) has not been the first time I’ve had a break from casting words into the ether, and the only reason I’ve maintained a respectable total is that there have been several periods in which I’ve written one or more blogs per week. 

Read More

WFH, xG and introducing xEMx ©

despite having doubts about these metrics, I’m unashamedly jumping on the bandwagon and taking this opportunity to introduce my own workplace metric, Expected Emotional Exchange© or xEMx ©

Read More

Public Service & The Downward Domino Effect

I prove the point by listing my current ailments, such as backache, creaking knees, and fears of a feeble memory.

Read More

Children of the Evolution

it was an opportunity to do Christmas shopping, take in some frightful West End musicals, and commit acts of heavy-duty socialising that would be filed under the predictable heading; ‘what happens in London, stays in London.

Read More

White Coat Syndrome (turn to God)

Before I read this official version I thought this syndrome was purely psychological. You know the scene, where the doctor lowers their half-moon reading specs further down their nose, looks you in the eye and gives the verdict. Heart-in-mouth, butterflies in the stomach and all that.

Read More

Turn To The Write

I work for a government department in what we can broadly call recruitment and one of my key tasks is to help people find paid employment.  When I first meet a client I try in the first instance, to ascertain what they’d like to do and then what they can do. Last...
Read More

Fresh Faced Imbeciles Laughing at Me

I guffawed so loudly that he paused, looked towards me and acknowledged my laugh with ‘You see”! I was so proud to have been noticed and included in his banter.

Read More

The Cape of High Sensitivity

job is helping people find new careers and supporting them prepare for a new work role. It’s about managing change and shifting self-perception e.g. today I was persuading a former highly-paid investment banker that their present situation means they need to start again, perhaps as a bookkeeper or an administrator.

Read More