Lee Fowler has been watching Netflix hit The Last Dance – a series about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls – during lockdown
Lee Fowler column
The only thing I can really do at the moment as a manager is invest in myself.
I already know the foundations I need to lay down on day one so that we are all working from the same page. I know how I want to create my way of playing and working.
But I’ve been using this time to look into lots of managers who are involved at the elite level of sport. Documentaries on Amazon Prime and Netflix have been a great resource during lockdown.
I’ve been watching The Test – a series about the Australian cricket team, All or Nothing, about the Arizona Cardinals, and the New Zealand All Blacks, as well as others about Borussia Dortmund and another cricket one called The Edge, about the England team.
The Last Dance – a series about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls – is brilliant. It was fascinating to see how they used to hate playing against Dennis Rodman before he signed for them.
On the court he was aggressive and off it he was a free spirit. It showed how they managed him when he went missing – Jordan just went to Vegas and picked him up.
In England they’d probably fine him but they realised they had one of the best players in the world and they had to deal with him differently.
It’s been fascinating to take the time to look and learn from other sports.
Football runs on emotion. I understand the severity of how much has been paid out and the emotional attachment. But, for me, that’s irrelevant.
Say a Premier League club has spent £50m. Is somebody’s life worth more than £50m? It may not be to that football club, but it is to that mum and dad, that daughter or son, wife or husband. Fifty million is never going to be enough.
Even in our leagues. How can you justify having an ambulance away from somebody who genuinely might need it?
At the beginning of the season we never would have expected anything like this to happen.
We’re in a situation now where nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow. Nobody knows what will happen a week later. And it could all change within a day.
You can’t blame the FA. The National League are just as unsure what to do.
For anybody who isn’t involved in football, the most sensible thing to do is null and void it all from the top down. Take the emotion out of it. Take out the fact of your football club being top of the league, or even bottom of the league, if you’re not involved in football, you’re not bothered who ends up in what league as long as people are healthy.
If I was top of the league or bottom of the league, my view would be the same. It’s irrelevant.
You can’t have promotions without relegations. You can’t promote teams in the play-offs from points per game – every decision is controversial. The emotional part, the financial part…I get that, I understand it. If you’ve invested and your team loses in the play-off final at least it is a natural ending.
But take all that away, the person on the street just wants to go back to some sort of normality.
Already we’re seeing rich clubs talking about signings while the poor further down the are struggling to protect themselves. It’s nonsense.
Like most of the country, here at Radcliffe we’ve had a team quiz on Zoom.
Callum Grogan won it, which shocked me! But it went down well and was nice to spend some time together – albeit through our screens.
It gave a great insight into the characters we have. We’ve got a young lad, Rhain Hellawell, who used to be at FC United. I don’t think he realises how funny he is. He lost the quiz and his forfeit was to smash an egg on his head.
When I first came in as manager I asked, ‘Has anyone got a long throw?’ I’d never met the kid before, but he tensed his muscles and said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got a massive throw!’ Everybody burst out laughing. But straight away it meant I knew his name. He’d made everyone laugh and he stood out.
Now I’ve got to know him, I can see he is one of those great characters. I don’t think he realises how important that will be. That quality and asset goes a long way. Obviously, the higher you go up you need to live your life like James Milner. That’s why they earn the top money.
But this season I am recruiting on character. I’ve been in teams and won leagues because of character. It’s massive. Yes, they have to be good footballers and have good work ethic but good characters will go along way with me.
At Fleetwood, we had loads of them not least Andy Mangan, Jamie Vardy. At Forest Green, Conal Platt was bonkers. Cam Belford, at Wrexham, was good, as was James Gray. James didn’t tell the gaffer but once he tried to get into Love Island and he went to London for an audition. I know he lied about what he was doing but because he failed to get in, it made for a great story in the changing room. It helps to bring you together.
You can’t have a team of straight-laced, serious players. You need people who can lighten the load.
You need characters to help manage a game. As a manager, you do your work in the week but on a Saturday it is down to the players. Every team I’ve been in, we’ve had lads who can find a way.
Our first team coach at Radcliffe, Andrew Dooley and Adam Harrison, our media man, are taking on a massive challenge this month – 100K in May for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
It’s to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease, and the charity set-up by former Bradford City player Stephen Darby and his friend Chris Rimmer, who both suffer from the dreadful disease.
Fair play to both of them, especially Dools because he’s a big lad. It’s for a great cause.
They’ve got to complete 100K this month by walking, running or cycling.
Give them your support here – www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andrewdooley100kinmaymnd.
