Business of Sport

Today is the milestone 50th episode and we have a guest to match it. Édourard Mendy is a Champions League and AFCON winner. He won FIFA's ‘The Best’ and UEFA Goalkeeper of the year award in 2021. He holds the record for the joint most clean sheets in a single Champions League season. He went from nearly giving up the football dream in a French job centre with a baby on the way to winning the CL with Chelsea in 7 years. And now he's playing alongside Mahrez, Firmino and Toney at Al-Ahli.  Away from the pitch, he is building a reputation as a passionate investor looking to translate the success he has achieved on the pitch to help founders build great businesses. As Édou states, the move to Saudi has also been about facilitating the work he can do away from the pitch as well as being part of an exciting new football landscape; ‘it’s not just about football and not just about money’. This is one of sport’s great stories; a meteoric rise to the top that had to endure countless challenges to achieve Édou’s reality today. From his early days in France to developing football in West Africa, with a big helping of his time at Chelsea, we get a rare insight into the inner workings of a top tier footballer.  On today’s show we discuss: Origins of a Champions League Winner: How did Mendy get his break in France? What is it like to work your way from the bottom? What happened when Édou decided to look at a career outside of football because he wasn’t making it in football? You have to be careful who you put your trust in; when agents promise opportunities that don’t materialise. The role family and humble beginnings have played in keeping him grounded as success has quickly come to him. Signing for Reims and then Rennes which paved the way for his move to Chelsea. The Chelsea Story: From getting a call from goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon to eventually signing his contract; the Chelsea transfer story. How long does it take for clubs to agree to a transfer? What did Marina Granovskaia say was unique about his move? What role did Frank Lampard play in helping Édou establish himself as Chelsea’s number one keeper? What happens when a manager changes at a club? From Lampard to Tuchel… The inside story of Chelsea’s iconic Champions League win in Porto. Why Tuchel wanted to play on Chelsea’s underdog status. From Champions of Europe and the World to the fringes of the squad; where did it go wrong? Moving to Saudi Arabia and what comes next: Why this move is not just about football and not just about money; what are the considerations that influence transfers? ‘It is important to feel wanted and I felt that from Al Ahli’. How a conversation with the CEO convinced Édou that this was the club for him. What is most exciting about the emerging league and how is the country preparing for it’s World Cup hosting duties? Playing in a dream team with Mahrez, Toney and Firmino and the star power of the Saudi League. When an athlete becomes an investor; how Édou is building a profile for himself as an investor and what is the value of athletes bringing their expertise to emerging companies? How establishing football in West Africa and Senegal in particular is and will always be a key part of his focus. WSC Sports  https://wsc-sports.com/ Tyndall Investment Management  https://tyndallim.co.uk/

After amazing shows with a number of CEO’s across the football industry, we’re today venturing into the lowest of the English Football League’s with current League Two promotion chasers Port Vale. Matt Hancock has been CEO of this historic club since January. Having been relegated from League One in his first few months in charge, it’s fair to say the learning curve has been steep. But these are the shows we love to do. It’s proper business, not propped up by the billions of international ownership. Understanding how to run a sustainable company that is not eternally dependent on owner financing while constantly trying to win on the field is so difficult. Then add the fact that almost every decision is reviewed under a microscope generally with the benefit of hindsight, you do sometimes think who would take this on. But then you remember that alongside these challenges comes the privilege of looking after the thing that can give people their greatest enjoyment. The lower down the football pyramid you go, being a CEO is about building an environment to sustain a community’s most valued asset. This is a compelling reveal on how you do just that. On today’s show we discuss: Becoming a CEO in Football: How did Matt come to take charge of one of English Football’s oldest clubs? From building community to winning on the pitch, what are the key focuses of clubs the lower down the Football League you go? How important is the relationship between executive and owner? It’s about more than results; why Matt believes his job is to ensure those working at the club know that success can be about more than 3 points on a Saturday.  How to ensure you keep level headed, not getting too high on the highs and too low on the lows. Handling Relegation: Port Vale got relegated from League One in the first few months of Matt’s tenure as CEO. How did he make sure the club recovered to build for the new season? The importance of a great manager in the lower leagues; why Darren Moore has been crucial to the recent development of Port Vale. What attracts players to a club that goes beyond just being paid the most? The financial impact of relegation and trying to move away from a reliance on owner funding to ensure sustainability. Working for the Fans & Community: Is it better to over communicate with fans and open yourself up to increased scrutiny or reduce what you share and lose connectivity? How Port Vale has become an intrinsic part of its community and the importance of the club to the local area. The challenge of ensuring you don’t make decisions based on fan sentiment; how to remain neutral and not be influenced by emotion. The role of lifelong Vale fan Robbie Williams! Communicating spend away from the pitch on infrastructure and development is important to create an understanding around the need to build value in the ‘business’ of the club. WSC Sports  https://wsc-sports.com/ Tyndall Investment Management  https://tyndallim.co.uk/  

Today we speak to a man who has been in and around football for over 40 years. Mark Bowen played over 400 games at the top of English football for the likes of Tottenham, Norwich and West Ham, before transitioning into management as both a head coach and assistant. For much of his management career he has partnered with Mark Hughes, acting as his assistant manager at Man City, Stoke, Southampton, Fulham and QPR.  Most recently Mark has spent a number of years with Reading, and is currently going through a delicate process around his exit from the club; a conversation for another time.  However this is something that we have wanted to do for a long time. Quite a lot of our shows fall into the more serious ‘business of sport’ category. Having got to know Mark, this is someone that has seen the inner workings of clubs transacting at the highest level, and has some incredible stories to tell off the back of it. From being at Man City when they were bought by Sheik Mansour and the Abu Dhabi Group to being in the opposing dugout for QPR when Aguero scored THAT goal, this played to the kid in both of us while emphasising the fact that the business of football isn’t always a smooth process. Kick back and enjoy some proper tales of signings, sackings, and outrageous transfer bidding. On today’s show we discuss: The birth of the new Man City: Which players did Sheik Mansour want to sign as a statement transfer when he bought the club? How do you integrate a load of new players to form a cohesive team when the money is flowing and budgets are virtually endless. The incredible transfer story of signing both Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta after the sale of one key player, and the conversation he had to have with Kompany when he arrived. Lionel Messi for £35m? How the club accidentally bid for one of the greatest players ever. Why was Mark Hughes fired by the club with the club flying in both the league and cups, and what happens to managers when they get that call? Tales from Stoke, Southampton, and QPR: Turning Stoke into a top performing Premier League club who were able to attract top European talent like Bojan and Shaqiri. Overseeing a QPR team struggling for survival in the League with Joey Barton as captain and Tony Fernandes as owner. The Man City title win story…from the QPR dugout: what does Mark attribute that memorable Aguero moment to? Moving to Southampton and the challenge of managing top teams when there is an agreement to sell players you want to keep. Football vs Money: Harry Redknapp’s reaction to Mark leaving West Ham to sign for a Japanese club…and the number that persuaded him the offer was too good to turn down. How to manage your personal life in football when the team takes you away from your family and home. Is it worth it? Is it always about the money, or do players need to be incentivised by other things in and around clubs? Where was Mark at his happiest both as a player and a manager? WSC Sports  https://wsc-sports.com/ Tyndall Investment Management  https://tyndallim.co.uk/  

Today we speak to a man who needs little introduction. Zak Brown is the CEO of McLaren Racing, one of Formula One’s most iconic brands and a team currently undergoing a resurgence as it challenges at the top of both the Drivers and Constructors Championships after years of struggling to match the success of Mercedes and Red Bull. Turning an organisation round and re-establishing a culture of success is no easy task, and Zak has been under no illusion that to reach the top of one of the most competitive and scrutinised sports in the world, you need to be exceptional.  F1 is a landscape of marginal gains. What does Zak attribute the success of McLaren to this year and how does he plan to build on this to get his two drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri challenging for the Championship in his cars. We were honoured to be hosted by the amazing McLaren team at their incredible offices for this recording, and we are so grateful to Zak for giving us his time in one of the busiest parts of his calendar as the season draws to a close. I really hope you enjoy hearing from one of sports' top executives.  On today’s show we discuss: Finances of F1: ‘Every team is worth at least £1bn’. What has made these businesses so valuable and how have they managed to build better performance off better financial structures? Profitability in F1 is now something that spreads across the grid rather than being an outcome enjoyed by the lucky few. How has this happened? What are the key revenue streams of an F1 team? What sits centrally with the governing body and what can the teams generate individually? How does sponsorship work and who would Zak’s dream partner be for McLaren? What has the cost cap done for the sport and why was it necessary to introduce it in the first place? Developing Great Drivers: What has made Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri so effective this year and what makes them stand out from the competition? Has Oscar Piastri developed quicker than the team expected and how do you integrate a young driver into the setup without exerting too much pressure? Can you have two number one drivers?  The importance of building respect and parity in the relationship between executive, garage, and driver. How much success is attributed to the driver, and how much is the car? The Importance of People Why does Zak attribute much of the success of the team to the culture of the organisation? How do you build a great culture? It is something often talked about but hard to execute and maintain? What is it about McLaren that makes it such a great place to work? How do you retain staff to ensure continuity in the team? A huge thank you to our amazing partners: WSC Sports  https://wsc-sports.com/ Tyndall Investment Management  https://tyndallim.co.uk/