BACK OF THE NET AND BEYOND

A great chat with former teammate Karl Broadhurst. We discussed Karl's journey from footballer to football coach and all the bits in between. Karl now coaches at Wolves in the academy.

A chat with former Leicester City and Plymouth goalkeeper John Hodges. John now works within the property industry after transitioning from the world of football.

Former Leicester City teammate Jon Stevenson now runs his own personal training studio, and is also Assistant Manager at Melton Town football club. Here he talks about life after football, his transition into the working world and more.

Former Brentford and Cheltenham striker Damian Spencer talks about his transition from sport to another career. Since hanging up his boots Damian has worked in aerospace, dabbled in teaching and now works for Mars chocolate.

Renaldo Bothma, the former Harlequins and Namibia international rugby player discusses his struggles with his transition from sport to another career. He talks candidly about how he's battled with alcohol and depression, his career ending injury which paralysed his foot, captaining Namibia international rugby team and more. Renaldo now runs his own sports apparel business, which he started whilst still playing rugby.

A chat with former West Brom footballer Ben Paszkowec. Ben is now a business owner and a Consultant Performance Psychologist. We spoke about his transition from football and how his experiences led him to be successful in what he is doing now.

It was great chatting to former footballer Kris Taylor about life after football. We discussed his current job, his transition, how he recovered from cancer and was able to return to the field within months and more.

A chat with former footballer Jack Mackreth about his transition from football to now running his own business. Jack now owns a successful accountancy firm called Kyzen Sports, where he helps footballers deal with their finances and more.

Daniel Mills is a current footballer for Dulwich Hamlet. He juggles playing with working as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and is a board member for Show Racism the Red Card. It's great that he's put himself in a position to do these things whilst still playing football.

Former Walsall and Luton Town footballer Ian Roper talks about his transition from football into the working world. He's now a Learning Support Assistant at the Isle of Wight College.

Former Manchester United footballer Ian Fitzpatrick talks about his time as a professional footballer and his journey into coaching.

Malvin Kamara is a former footballer and now CEO of the recruitment company Vallum Associates. He talks about his transition into the working world and how he navigated becoming the owner of his own company.

Former Sheffield Wednesday and Luton Town footballer Peter Holmes discusses how he's transitioned in to the world of all things skincare. He now runs a range of skincare businesses. It was great to chat to my former teammate and hear his story.

Had a great chat with Lawrie Wilson who's a former footballer for Charlton and Bolton. He talks about his transition from football in to the world of finance, running his own business and more.

Former Arsenal and Leicester City footballer Danny Boateng talks about his transition from football to taxi driver and more.

Mark O'Brien speaks about how his football career nearly ended as a teenager when he needed open heart surgery. He defied the odds to have a long career in the game and has now made the transition from sport to another career. We discuss his transition and more.

I recently spoke to Chris Casper who came through the Man United academy and was part of The Class of ‘92 which included Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. He's now the Sporting Director at Salford City F.C. Here's a clip of him discussing transitioning from football to another career.

Former footballer Martin Pemberton talks about how he implements different methods to assist his clients with regards to mental health.

Luke Staton - former England youth, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers footballer talks about life after sport and more.

Former Bournemouth and Coventry City footballer talks about life after sport, flying a helicopter, personal development and more.

Formate Arsenal and Brentford striker Isaiah Rankin speaks about his transition from football.

Great chat with Greg Walters who is a former footballer. Greg's time at Aston Villa was cut short through injury, he navigated his way around the lower leagues before making his transition in to finance and then moving in to the property world. It's great to see how he's created a successful property investment company from the ground up.

In conversation with Hannah Gallagher who was a previous rugby player for Saracens and England. Hannah had a great career that was unfortunately cut short through a serious knee injury. Luckily Hannah was studying at university whilst playing and this helped her transition in to running her own PT business. She's now an Athlete Recruitment Manager at Harper Wood Consultancy where she helps current and former athletes in to the work place. Listen to her story on her transition process from professional rugby to civvy street.

Enjoyed catching up with Matthew Ghent who is a former goalkeeper for Aston Villa, Barnsley and England youth. It's fair to say that he had ups and downs during his transition from football. He pulled through, and now runs a successful online business where he sells beauty products and more.

In conversation with Marvin Robinson who was a former professional footballer. As a youngster he was a promising talent who played for England youth and made his debut in the Premier League for Derby County as a teenager. Marvin was quite an academic at school and he went on to pursue further education to the point where football just happened to be something he was good at. In some ways his career was cut short through injury and this lead him to embark on a journey in to many different fields such as business start-ups and roles within the boardroom at corporate levels. It really is an inspiring story and I like the way he sees things from a different perspective. Nobody said the transition is easy, but it can be done. Put the work in. You have to believe.

In this chat I spoke to former footballer Steve Guinan. Steve's a former teammate of mine and has previously played for Nottingham Forest, Cheltenham Town and many more. He explained that mid-way through his career he started putting things in place in order to help his transition. He ventured in to coaching and also attended Uni. He now works for the Football Association helping footballers transition away from the game. He also explained that all sporting governing bodies need to do a lot more to help athletes transition away from sport to another career.

Listen to Rhodri Jones talk about his thoughts on transitioning from sport to another career and the transferable skills that athletes tend to have. Rhodri played for Manchester Utd but sadly had to retire from football in his early twenties, the surgeon said he ‘had knees of a 50 year old retired athlete'. After retiring he suffered bouts of depression but has managed to work in the media and has released a book. He now works as a Mind Fitness Coach within the company that he founded.

Great catch up with my long time friend Dave Pearson. Dave used to play for Coventry City as a youngster. He openly talks open his struggles with rejection during his time playing football which led to bouts of depression. He made the transition away from football at a young age and embarked on a career in the PT industry. He's now a successful PT coach with a more holistic approach and is in the process of moving his services online. We spoke about his transition, mindset and how important having a positive mindset is in all walks of life.

Nice to catch up with Nick Blackman who is currently playing professional football. Nick is a former teammate of mine and has carved out a career in the Championship and abroad, most recently for Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was good to hear that although he is without a club at the moment he's got high hopes of securing a deal wherever that may be. He has considered life after football, and so far has invested in property. At the moment he sees this as a potential career focus when retirement comes.

Loved the catch up with former footballer and ex teammate Frank Sinclair. Frank is a former Chelsea, Leicester City and Burnley defender. He also played for the Jamaica national team. Frank spoke candidly about his retirement process and how he transitioned away from football. Whilst playing Frank invested in a few buy-to-let properties which demonstrates how shrewd he was with his money. Most recently Frank's been a football coach at Port Vale and has coached across many age groups in the past. Frank is also a mentor to the upcoming players and you'll also see him doing media punditry work on Sky Sports. Listen to Frank's thoughts on retiring from professional sport.

A chat with Olympic, World and European medalist Marilyn Okoro. Marilyn is a former GB track and field athlete who has recently retired. I enjoyed discussing how she has coped with the transition. She is now doing great things in many different sectors. It's safe to say that Marilyn is keeping herself busy as she encounters the world of public speaking, being a life coach, charity work, media work and generally being a self proclaimed 'athletepreneur'. Keep an eye out for her webinars where she speaks to current and former athletes and healthcare professionals about athlete mental health, the webinars are for anyone who is striving for success.

From child football prodigy to attempting suicide. Meet Matty Turner, the former professional footballer who was on the verge of making his debut for Nottingham Forest aged 16, fast forward a few years and his career was cut short through injury and he was now living with a cocaine and alcohol addiction. Not long after he secured a role in a top pharmaceuticals firm and was named salesman of the year, to now being a mentor to many elite athletes. It's easy to see that Matty is now flourishing within his chosen field, but the path to success was definitely not a smooth one. Listen to his inspirational story about his football career and how he transitioned away from sport to embark on another career path. I believe anyone can take something from this, whether you're a current or former athlete, a parent to an aspiring athlete or someone working outside of sport. Available on most major platforms.

An episode with former teammate and goalkeeper Nathan Abbey who previously played for Luton, Chesterfield and Brentford. Nathan is now successfully running his own company called Enca Wheels. Him and his team provide a range of services from new and used cars, repairs and car finance. We spoke about how he transitioned away from football to become the owner of Enca Wheels. It was great to catch up and discuss his thoughts on transitioning away from professional sport.

A conversation with Dave Raven who is a former Liverpool, Carlisle, Inverness and England youth international footballer. Dave currently plays for Marine and is preparing for his transition away from football by playing part-time and coaching at Ellesmere College. He's got ambitions to coach or manage in football. We spoke about how he's coped with previously navigating different job roles to make ends meet as he approaches the latter stages of his football career.

It was great to catch up with my old mate Simon Rea. who previously played for Birmingham City and Peterborough Utd. Listen to how he coped with his transition from football and how he achieved some impressive qualifications post career. He now runs a successful football coaching business called Evolve 4 Football where he coaches people of all ages.

A conversation with former England international Anthony Gardner. Anthony previously played football for Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday. It was great to hear how he has transitioned away from football after he struggled initially. He now works for a sports and lifestyle agency called Two Touch Agency which is designed to look after young athletes. It was good to hear that this company not only sources young talent and assists their on-field affairs but also looks after them off the field and has a keen interest in their wellbeing. He is using his knowledge and experience gained within football to aid the development of young athletes.

During this episode I spoke to Stephen Cooke who is a former footballer who played for Manchester United, Aston Villa and Bournemouth. Stephen was a child prodigy and was regarded as one of the best young players around at one point. Making his debut at 17 for Aston Villa and was tipped for great things. Although his career was hampered by injuries he still managed to perform at a decent level. He is now coaching at Chasetown and Rushall Olympic. He talked openly about how he struggled with his transition away from football.

Another episode where I speak to Nathan Lamey who is a former Wolves and Cambridge United footballer. Nathan is now the owner of a successful boxing company called Urban Boxing Studios which caters for all ages and backgrounds. It was very interesting to hear about Nathan's transition away from football and how he coped with having to leave Wolves with high expectations at such a young age. He shared some great insights on what drove him on to make a success of himself in business, pushing through barriers along the way.

It was nice to catch up with my former F.A. National School room mate Daniel Slatter. Daniel is a former Chelsea youth player and played for a number of years for teams lower down in the football pyramid. He is now a qualified electrician and football manager at Stanway Rovers. It was great to hear his retirement story and how he transitioned away from football.

Really insightful conversation with former Coventry City and Stoke City defender Marcus Hall. Marcus had a very successful, long career within the game where he played mostly at Premier League and Championship level. He has now transitioned away from football and is working within children's social care in the recruitment industry, as an Executive Consultant for a company called Hampton's Resourcing. Prior to that he was working for Jaguar Land Rover. Listen to how Marcus approached retirement by utilising the experiences gained during his football career and his transferable skills to aid his transition process.

Had a great chat with Coventry City legend Gary McSheffrey. Gary is a former professional footballer who used to also play for Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest to name a few. During this podcast we discussed how Gary coped with his transition away from football and the turn of events that lead to him coaching unexpectedly. We also touched on his career which started with him making his debut for Coventry City in the Premier League at the age of sixteen. Gary now coaches the younger players at former club Doncaster Rovers.

It's been around 20 years since I last spoke to Kevin Nicholson, so it was good to catch up. Kevin is a former footballer who previously played for Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County and Torquay Utd. We discussed his transition away from football and the different aspects of retirement that he found difficult. We also spoke about the highs and lows of his career. Kevin is now Head of Coaching at Exeter City F.C. and has ambitions to get back into football management in the future after a short spell as player-manager at Torquay Utd.

Enjoyed catching up with former teammate Derek Asamoah. Derek previously played for various clubs such as Nice, Lokomotiv Sofia and Shrewsbury Town. He was also a Ghanaian international. Here you'll listen to his transition away from football, his thoughts on retirement in football and what more can be done to assist players. We also discussed his career which spanned across the UK and abroad. Derek has amassed a property portfolio after following his dad's advice to start investing in property when he was younger. He has also set up a clothing line called Fresh Ballerz which started off as a bit of a past time but has grown from strange to strength.

Nice to catch up with former teammate Lee Fowler. Lee previously played for Coventry City, Huddersfield Town and was a Wales U21 international. It was great to hear about his philosophy on football and management. He has implemented a great mindset at Radcliffe F.C. where he is the manager; his team are doing great things on and off the pitch. We reflected on his career and how he transitioned away from football and within days by choice was working at Timpson starting his life on civvy street. Lee was always very studious about the game as a player and you can see how he's integrated that mentality into his team. A great transition story.

Really enjoyed catching up with former teammate Guy Branston. Guy is now doing great things at his local club Leicester City where he deals with player loans and their development. He is very much involved on and off the field with these players, ensuring that they are equipped to deal with things on the pitch and also their wellbeing off it. During this podcast we spoke about his career, his mental approach to playing where he used to read up on ways to improve his thinking, diet and more which has helped him in later life. We also discussed his transition away from football and what he thinks needs to be done to help players when it comes to life after football. Oh and he also tells a great story where he punched through the referee's door after being sent off!

Loved chatting to Leon Constantine about his career and how he transitioned away from playing professional football. Leon had a good career and played for some top clubs such as Leeds United, Brentford and Millwall. We spoke about the highs and lows of his career, how he dealt with some serious injuries, what he thinks needs to be done to aid players dealing with eventual retirement and much more. Leon is now doing great things as a football agent for SMI where he looks after the welfare of the likes of Lyle Taylor. He also runs his own football academy which helps players who have been released from clubs or may need steering in the right direction to a pathway back in to football.

The last time I spoke to Mickey was when we were both mid-teens, so it was great to catch up with my old roomy. Mickey shared his story about how he fell out of football at the age of 19 after being released by Derby County. As part of his transition process he had a four year stint at Loughborough University. He then secured a job in recruitment after graduating and hasn't looked back since. Mickey is now an Operating Director at the well know recruitment company Michael Page. It was great to hear how he transitioned away from football.

Had a great chat recently with Karl George who is an accountant by trade but is also the Director at the Governance Forum. It was great to speak to Karl about the journey he followed which allowed him to create The Effective Board Member Programmes which have been delivered across the world in partnership with organisations including the The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), The Football Association (FA), The Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) and many more. The Programmes have been developed specifically for young professionals, athletes, senior executives and CEOs. Karl is also an established conference speaker and has done great work in his local community. He is also an author, his latest book is called The Effective Board Member, released in 2017 went to number one in the Best Sellers list for Management and Leadership on Amazon Kindle and is on my list of books to read. It was great to hear his thoughts on athletes having transferable skills suited to other industries; we also share the same thought in that you should never stop learning!

It was great to catch up with former teammate and ex-professional footballer Courtney Pitt. Courtney previously played for the likes of Chelsea, Portsmouth and Luton Town. He is now a football coach where he coaches kids that have fallen out of academies. He is also studying at the moment. During this podcast we spoke about his time learning the ropes at Chelsea in the academy, his move to Portsmouth where his career took off and the ups and downs that followed where he played for various clubs further down the footballing pyramid. He also shared his thoughts on what he feels should be implemented in order to assist athletes when making the transition away from football. I resonated with a lot of what he was talking about as we had similar careers. I'm glad to see that he has now transitioned away from football and has found his feet in other fields after an initial difficult period when he found himself without a club and facing possible retirement. Full podcast can be found on most major platform.

I recently had a conversation with Stuart Robson who is a former professional speedway racer. During this podcast we spoke about life as a speedway racer. Stuart had a long and successful career in the UK representing the likes of Coventry Bees and Newcastle Diamonds to name a few. He mentioned that during his career he thought it would be wise to learn a trade and went to college to study plumbing. Stuart now works for a fire protection company where he is responsible for ensuring that the paintwork and fire walling meets regulations in commercial properties. During the lockdown he also did some work for Tesco where he was a deliver driver and enjoyed the experience. We share the same viewpoint on the subject that athletes need more help when it comes to transitioning away from sport. It's great to see that Stuart has made a successful transition.

I recently spoke to Dan Kent-Smith who used to work for LinkedIn. During this podcast we spoke about how powerful LinkedIn is for athletes and how if done correctly they can utilize the platform to not only build their personal brand but also increase their network and seek advice. We also discussed the transferable skills that all athletes have and how they need to convey this to possible suitors. Over the years Dan has spoken to many current and former athletes about the benefits of LinkedIn and why they should be using it - these conversation have been more prevalent in recent months as more athletes have been reaching out to Dan for help and advice as sport in general has felt the financial effects of the pandemic. Dan is now a consultant and the founder of Next Play where he continues to do great things for sports people and companies by helping them future-proof their career and business via LinkedIn.