Friday Freebie: Relationships in football are all crucial

A guest piece from Gavin Blackwell

Welcome to this week’s Friday Freebie and a guest article for you to read.

Gavin Blackwell is a physio with over 30 years experience in the business at Wolves Academy, Halesowen Town and Hednesford Town, currently at Southern League Bromsgrove Sporting.

Here he looks at the crucial relationship between a club physio and manager:

The relationship between a manager and physiotherapist is often one of the least talked about, but perhaps one of the most important interactions in a football club.

The manager’s job is to ensure he picks a side that is near to fully fit as possible, prepared and wins. To do that he needs the physio to ensure players fitness and health during the time they are not with the team but also out of hours when problems may arise away from the team.

The sight of the physio marching down the corridor to a gaffers office can fill the most hardened of boss with dread. The ‘messenger’ more than likely delivering the bad news that will affect the team plans. Respect and trust are two key elements to any relationship, these are crucial in building a strong relationship with the physio and manager.

The role of the physio is determining in the build up to games who can train, who can’t and who is available. The flow of information is important as is communication.

The manager needs to trust the physio and work with the information he is receiving. Ultimately the players well-being is the main aim of the physio as is the desire to see the team win. The biggest part of the job is man management, your job as a physio is to give the manager as many fit players as possible.

It is one of the areas which can lift a trophy but at the same time that if it is not done correctly, it is an area that can cause a team to fail.

This relationship is similar to a marriage, I suppose. If it is going to work, it has to be based on the fundamentals of mutual trust, respect, understanding and an almost telepathic nature, very similar to the one experienced by a husband and wife, at times an ability to second guess them.

However, trust goes way beyond the treatment room. Former Oldham Athletic,  Bolton Wanderers, and Burnley physio Paul Lake gave brilliant insights in his book ‘I’m Not Really Here’,  of the aspect of trust in the relationship and illustrates the boundaries between manager and physio.

When working for no - nonsense boss Stan Ternent at Burnley, Lake faxed over the breakfast items for an overnight trip before playing Bournemouth, his first away game with the club. After taking advice from a number of physios, he kept the menu heavy with carbs and proteins, cereal, wholemeal toast and fresh fruit. However on the morning of the game he found a serving hatch full of bacon, sausages, fried eggs, black pudding, baked beans and mushrooms.

He recounts “I was just about to wipe the floor with the kitchen staff when I heard a familiar voice coming from the other side of the room. There sitting alone at a corner was the gaffer, mopping up a pool of orange egg yolk with a slice of fried bread. ‘Let’s get one thing straight; he said, his voice laced with menace, ‘ I choose the food at this club; I just burst out laughing realising this was one battle I wasn’t going to win.”

Another occasion he was called in to the office, Burnley was playing his former club Manchester City in the League Cup. ‘I know it’s your former club and they all love you there but my job’s on the line, whatever you do don’t get acknowledging those fans if you go on.’ Unfortunately he did and acquiesced to their request and gave them a wave —a little one, like Mr Bean —which was met with thunderous applause, realising his grave mistake within a millisecond of raising his hand. Over in the dugout he could see the gaffer angrily gesturing towards him and bouncing off the Perspex canopy, like a fly battering itself against a kitchen window. ‘What did I f...k in’ say to you this morning?’ He spat as he sheepishly returned to his seat.

He didn’t speak to his physio for two weeks.

One gaffer I worked with would sometimes take in to his confidence about a player he was interested in signing, usually a few days before we were to play his team. I always had a good relationship with my counterparts but sadly today’s mob are so aloof  you’re lucky to get a nod from them at the start of the game.

But with my relationship with my counterparts I would chat about a few players, and then throw in a question “what’s so and so like” good trainer, decent lad and his injury record, one of the aspects of my job that goes under the radar.

The ideal gaffer from a physio’s point of view, is a model of patience and understanding. To be at the helm of a successful club with a large squad at his disposal, he's less likely to pressurise you to rush players back in infeasible time scales. He’s someone who gives you total responsibility deferring to your scientific judgement and allowing players to return in the shortest, safest possible time without risk of further injury.

Managers looking for the title, promotion, a good cup run or even more urgently survival, will prefer a ‘nearly fit star to an enthusiastic youngster. Every match clubs carry on average one or two players who are less than hundred percent fit. They have to safeguard the necessary level of performance.

The weekly question “will he be ready for Saturday?” is the first to spring to a manager’s lips. A precarious game for all concerned so consequently expedient medicine is the order of the day. It’s not perfect but the game kicks off at 3pm and in practical terms a job has to be done. Players are patched up and put out not fully fit but fit enough to play. 

The appointment of a new manager effects everyone, not least the backroom staff who are left wondering if a new guy will bring in his own team. Over the years I have experienced a number of managerial change they are never easy. It’s tough to develop relationships with people you don’t know in the middle of the intensity of club life.

You have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen and that has its own positive energy.

When a new manager comes in though it’s a different job you have to realise although you’re working for the same club the new man will have his own ways so you are going to have a certain amount of nervous anticipation especially when you have formed that good relationship with the previous manager. I felt I was one of his trusted people my opinion was valued so you have to start again but that is not necessarily a bad thing.