Neil ConnorInsights
Ideas From The Work.
Articles and reflections across football development.
From Ideas To Delivery
Explore The Leadership Case Studies.
See academy development, coach-development systems and financial planning alongside the thinking discussed in these articles.
View Case Studies ↗Development, examined from every angle.
43 articles · page 3 of 5
From Coaching to Consultancy: Structuring High-Performance Football Services
One of the biggest shifts in modern football development is the move away from isolated coaching towards integrated support systems. For a long time, coaching was viewed primarily as session delivery — planning…
Read article 19Coaching Licences, Learning, and Staying Relevant in the Modern Game
There is ongoing debate within football around the value of coaching licences. Do they make someone a good coach? No. Do they guarantee quality or success? Again, no. However, dismissing their importance entirely…
Read article 20Why 1:1 Position-Specific Coaching Matters
Over time, one of the most important areas of player development I have worked on is the design and delivery of individual, position-specific training. While team training forms the foundation of any academy…
Read article 21Leadership Under Pressure: Structure, Accountability and Sustainable Academy Development
An anonymised reflection on what an independent academy needs when financial pressure, unclear responsibilities and restricted information begin to test the organisation.
Read article 22Building a Player Development Methodology (6/10)
Individual Development Plans — From Generic Feedback to Real Player Progression One of the most commonly used tools in football academies is the Individual Development Plan, often referred to as an IDP. On the surface,…
Read article 23Building a Player Development Methodology (5/10): Testing Transferability
How an academy methodology can retain clear principles while adapting responsibly to different players, coaches and development environments.
Read article 24Building a Player Development Methodology (4/10)
Guiding the Coaches — Operating Within the Periodisation Framework In the previous part of this series, I outlined how the methodology evolved into a structured periodisation model, using micro, meso, and macro cycles…
Read article 25Building the Starting Point: Designing a Pre-Foundation Development Programme
One of the most important questions in player development is rarely asked with sufficient clarity: where does development actually begin? In many football environments, structured coaching is introduced only once…
Read article 26When Allegations Arise: Why Process and Accountability Matter in Academy Environments
Within any football academy or structured development environment, there are moments where governance becomes just as important as what happens on the pitch. One of the most challenging situations an organisation can…
Read article 27