Coronavirus UK: How Premier League Managers are adapting to technology

From Sean Dyche who took a crash course in his teenage son’s Microsoft Teams to Mikel Arteta checking online that his Arsenal players have done their homework, Premier League managers had to quickly adapt to the new standard.

Usually creatures of habit where their work is largely done in groups on the training ground and on competition days, working from home with the latest technology are a radical culture change, but one that they seem to embrace.

Reviewing scouting reports, maintaining fitness levels and providing psychological support, it should all continue in these most unusual times, especially as every opportunity must be met. No one knows exactly if and when the 2019-20 season will resume and when 2020-21 will start.

Of course, some managers are more directly affected by the coronavirus than others. Tragically, Pep Guardiola’s mother died in Spain during the current outbreak.

The ages of Premier League managers range from 38 to 72 years. Chances are, most of them should have learned the latest technological innovations along the way, and even the oldest, Crystal Palace’s Roy Hodgson, wouldn’t have experienced anything like it before.

The youngest of the twenty top bosses, Arteta, was an important part of the Covid-19 story about football. It was news on March 13 that he had tested positive for the infection that made sport take the virus seriously, and no Premier League games have been played since.

Fortunately, fully recovered, Arteta is busy using the spare time that is rare for top-level managers.

In an interview this week with the official club website, he revealed that he had given individual assignments for each player in his squad – a type of home education for players.

They are expected to analyze videos of their performance and discuss the findings with their boss.

“With the technology, we know when a player has downloaded the game, when he has done his homework,” said Arteta. “They have to report everything to me! So they cannot escape. And to be honest, they have been very good. ‘

Arteta was only hired this season, so it’s a way of quickly passing on his philosophy to the team, giving players the responsibility to find solutions for when football returns.

“They need to tell what they did wrong or right and why this scenario happened and if they could have prevented it before it actually happened,” he explains.

“It’s often just about communication, but sometimes it’s about positioning, it’s about body shape, the technique of how to defend it.”

Like many families, Arteta and his children spend time in the garden at breakfast and watch children’s films in the evening. But in between, he holds regular working hours with regular video meetings with his backroom staff, players and executives.

The effect on mental health will affect people in many industries, but Premier League managers are aware that their players can be particularly vulnerable, given the usual daily amount of physical activity they exercise, which has now been denied them.

In addition to keeping them as fit as possible, Arteta tries to keep their minds busy with information and setting tasks. He also emphasizes, “We have our psychologist who takes care of the players and always communicates with them.”

In Burnley, their manager Dyche has camped 170 miles south to the family home in Northamptonshire, where his ability to manage first-team affairs has been enhanced by having his son Max, an academy player at Northampton Town, nearby.

One thing I’ve learned in a very short time is the ways to keep in touch with people outside of the obvious, like text messages, WhatsApp and emails.

“I learned a little more about Zoom, for example talking to the staff. It allows you to speak to more than one person during a call so you can communicate. There is another Microsoft Teams I use.

“My boy told me all this because he uses it for his studies. So in the end Max helped me to link everything together. Now we can talk to staff about recruitment ideas, how our players are getting along.

“I have had meetings with the sports science teams, to see what happens behind the scenes, the tasks they have to fulfill because they are also locked, of course.

“There are non-stop lines of support for the players and staff. There is nutritional advice, psychological support if necessary. We try to protect as many bases as possible.

As for the players, we treat this as a training break, but to be ready to go again when the time comes. Don’t forget that during the summer they have this period when they were eliminated, although it is not an elimination as in previous eras, the days when players went to drink for a month and got an overweight stone back. That no longer happens and so they are used to this kind of training break.

“The only difference is that in a foreign country they are not in the sun and they are not socializing.”

Dyche tries not to complicate matters or to burden Burnley’s players with too much information. But individual training programs are downloaded to a particular player’s WhatsApp group.

It is also helpful for the mindset of the managers to keep in touch with each other and the authorities to discuss the next step. Through the FA, managers have had Zoom chats to share their views on the best way to proceed, and they are also being included in broader video calls about issues ranging from wages deferral to future Premier League return dates.

Dyche has also seen an opportunity to interact with Burnley fans, sometimes denying him the busy schedule. He did the Q&A of fans on FaceTime and Zoom.

“Other opinions help you stay stimulated and realize that we are all in this together,” he says.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who would normally have celebrated the Premier League title, has instead taken charge of the dishwashing work at home.

Just like his peers, Klopp ‘virtually’ oversees his players’ training and contacts with staff. Given his reputation as an excellent man manager, it may come as no surprise that he is also part of a good-humored WhatsApp group with his players.

“I started with a video about the trophy celebration after the Champions League final with the small phrase ‘Still true’,” he reveals.

“I told the boys to send their favorite videos from the past year and there were some nice ones. The boys sent many of their own videos from when they drove through the city on a truck (coach). ‘

For overseas managers, lockdown has helped them gain knowledge and appreciation for the area in which they live. Everton’s Carlo Ancelotti, who has tasted some of the largest cities in Europe, has enjoyed the coast at his home north of Liverpool.

“When I walk, I go to Crosby, to the beach and sometimes I cycle to Formby,” he said official club website.

“It is a beautiful area, the beach is really fantastic. It is a long beach, you can keep your distance when you walk. I really enjoy this. The weather is good and frankly it is beautiful here. ‘

The longest-serving manager of a Premier League club, Eddie Howe of Bournemouth, was among the first to accept a deferment to help his club, which has the smallest capacity in the division at 11,329.

His club stopped group training on March 13 and Howe used his time to improve his personal fitness and help the community. He completed a two-hour intensive workout – called the ‘Insanity’ session in which participants must complete as many squats, push-ups and lunges as possible – to help raise £ 33,000 for local children’s hospice, Julia House.

“Keeping fit for me has been tremendous for my own mental well-being,” said Howe, whose staff also built player home fitness sessions using exercise bikes and weights.

At Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has developed strategies to ensure that no one returns to overweight training. “The players have individual programs and of course they have their own diet. This period can be used to work on something special, something specific to them and their roles and tasks, ”he explained.

If you had told your average Premier League manager at the beginning of 2019-20 that they are zooming in on their Chief Executive and downloading home training plans for their players in April, they would have thought you crazy. But technology no longer means VAR – at least we should be thankful for that!