Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello, and welcome to the, give yourself the chat podcast. I'm your host, Peter Lewis. And this show is all about leadership, coaching and living a life
Speaker 1 00:00:08 High performance.
Speaker 0 00:00:17 Everyone. Welcome to give yourself a chat podcast, another episode, and I'm delighted to say that I've got Paul Robinson, X professional footballer, currently a development coach at Birmingham city FC. Paul, how you doing mate? I see you Manu pizza. How are you? I'm doing very well. It's lovely to see you, um, for the benefit of the listener. You and I are personal friends. We kind of met through your good lady wife many years ago. Um, and, and also I'm, I'm a little bit giddy with excitement because I'm interviewing somebody from a club, um, that I'm passionate about. I've been a lifelong what for supporters the 40 plus years now. And that's where it all kind of started for you, Paul. So we will go into that, but first of all, how's things with you in lockdown, how's life for somebody involved in professional football in lockdown.
Speaker 0 00:01:05 Tell me about that. Yeah, it's been strange. I'm obviously not, not working at the moment on for furloughed. So, um, cause I work in the Academy, so we're not really wanted around the building and we can't just because of the numbers first team of trained in at the moment, obviously get themselves ready for the season to start again. Um, but yeah, it's been brilliant as well at the same time. I've never had this chance to spend time with the family after 22 years. So for me it's, she has been real good, important family time to just enjoy each other's company, um, help my boys homeschooling, help my wife try and develop her, her pathway of acupuncture and that now, so, so yeah, I've loved every minute of it. It's amazing. I mean, I know, you know, for the, for the average man in the street, you know, it can feel quite a distance of professional professional footballers they're out there, but actually you saying you've been furloughed, you're homeschooling your kids.
Speaker 0 00:02:01 That's all pretty normal stuff, isn't it? And you know, it's quite my, so tell me about, so you said 22 years of playing and not really having, you know, that family time is really quite difficult. I mean, how little were you seeing of your family during a classic sort of season? I mean, will you just the way all the time and just sort of breezing in and out? Yeah. I mean you genuinely would see your children only late afternoon, early evening, mother Sheba training, traveling without games at night as well during the season. So seven 45 kickoffs. It'd be quite difficult to have that real good quality time with them. And then in the summer we'd only really get six weeks off and you think my boys are still at school then, um, we then just get our 14 day holiday when we needed to the boys day. And honestly, when I go back to work they're off for their summer holidays. So there's that interchange of not really having a lot of time together. So it was really difficult and it, and it was like you said, Christmas is hard. You were never around for Christmas
Speaker 2 00:03:00 With games, the amount of games that were going on. Um, so yeah, for me, this, this time has been really important for me. And also it says, it gives you a clear thinking of what's really important in life and that quality time with my children or what I've missed out on over the years was so important to me that I wanted to, I wanted to just spend that time with them, um, help them with their school work. Obviously I've educated myself a lot more now to what I did when I was a kid growing up. That's been interesting. Um, and, and my wife, obviously she's, she's done most of the work with ferry and the boys around to skull, to sports when I'm not around them to help her do that stuff and, and be part of the, family's been a real, a real eye opener for me. And I've loved every minute of it yet. I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 0 00:03:46 Yeah. Yeah. I mean that homeschooling, I mean what they, how they teach kids to do maths now. And when we go back to some, we've been around the block a bit, the pair of her. So it's like, it's unrecognizable, isn't it. So you've probably had a steep learning curve yourself only to get your head around all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 00:04:02 Well, it's scary because when the kids ask you a question, you're like thinking, Oh yeah, I really don't know this one, but I'm not going to show it that.
Speaker 0 00:04:10 Yeah. Cause I know your, your eldest is kind of reaching that age where thinking about, you know, the exams and university and beyond and stuff. So making the most of it is, is brilliant. I mean, my kids are older. My daughter turned 18, which is interesting having an 18th birthday and locked down. I mean, that was, you kind of make it a special rarely you kind of go a little bit harder on the celebration stuff. And my son is George's unit he's sort of in the first year of GCSE. So I think, I think we hadn't had wifi life would have been a lot tougher of us for sure.
Speaker 0 00:04:44 All these things. So EFL starts, premier league starts this week. We're recording this. Um, when football is coming back, it's going to go back into, you know, it's thrown the kind of season out, but we're gonna see get everything finished off. One thing that I want to ask you, Paul, is that, you know, how do you think the players are gonna react to playing an empty stadiums with just a handful of coaching staff and everything else like that? And teams are talking about playing fan recordings and chants and everything over the tannoy, but what, what do you think is going to be the kind of the effect on players in that kind of environment?
Speaker 2 00:05:20 So this for me now, this, this testing period of what all the players are going to have to cope with is this is going to be a mindset thing and a motivational side off of the game. And as individuals, how are you going to prepare yourself? Not only as that individual player, but as a team plan, knowing that there's no one in the ground, you've got to create your own atmosphere. So it's going to be very strange for the players and it will, it will feel like it's a testimonial game, some will, but there's a lot, there's a lot at stake. There's, there's still, relegations, there's still promotions to be won. Um, so you can't go into any of them gains with a negative mindset. You've gotta be fully focused on getting points and making sure that you're doing your best job to your best ability. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:06:00 It's going to be weird. Isn't it? I mean, if you've ever played behind closed doors, competitively, you know, training perhaps, but not, you haven't played a match more clothes
Speaker 2 00:06:09 Only, only training games. Yeah. Obviously the, the old friendly at st. George's where no one's allowed to come in and watch it. It's strange. It's strange. Cause you can hear what your voice is. Your voice is echo it's it's that? Oh God, like I can hear my own voice. It's it does. It plays with your mind. It does play with your mind, but you got to get yourself focused and there's a lot of money at stake. There is a lot of money at stake for a lot of the teams now, because obviously they're going to lose the revenue that's coming in. Um, and you don't want to be that team that's in the bottom three looking to get relegated, or you'd like to say you're in the top two and you, and you get knocked out by that third place. It's going to be, it's going to have a real knock on effect. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:06:49 Yeah. I mean, tell me about it. I mean, as a, as a Watford fan, I'd prefer it. If they suspended the season and we sort of stuck, cause I think we're at fourth from bottom, but it's going to be roller coaster for us as fans. Cause I know you're first and foremost, you're a fan of football. Um, so I'm looking forward to coming back, but tell me what, what is so when I, one of my fans sat there in the stadium and you know, and the atmosphere really, really, really builds what what's that like, give us a sense of what that's like as a, as a player, because it's just a wall of noise and you've got to focus. I mean, you've lived with it. So it might be hard to explain, but it give us a sense of what that is like when you've got 20, 30 odd thousand people either getting on your back or, or, or getting behind you or
Speaker 2 00:07:32 Yeah. I mean the ones that, the ones that are right behind ya, um, it gives you a bus. You get, you get goosebumps on the back of your neck. It's, it's that pride. It's that passion of playing at home and wanting to get free points for the home fans to celebrate with everyone. And then obviously when you play away, it's that, Oh my gosh, these are a bit, these are a bit viral towards you and you've got to cope with it. You can't nibble, you can't buy it. The fans, when you're over by the Hortense you just got a smile when you got to accept it, but it's all part of the game. And, and, and it's that, it's that whole bars, it's the whole atmosphere of play in. And knowing that you're, you're playing in them stadiums full of fans, either cheering you on or jeering.
Speaker 2 00:08:11 Yeah. It's just, it's just everything emotions, the whole lot comes together as one, but it is it's it's, uh, it's just, it's a great feeling. It is a great feeling. You miss it. I did at the start. Um, but now I don't, because I've got to a point where I had 22 years of it and I was very lucky that I never had any injuries. And if you said to someone like, gosh, you had 22 years at the highest level and you never had an injury, I'll take that all day. And the fact is now that I can, I can look back on that. I had immense pride of what I achieved through the highs and lows, because there were some lows where I had to get through some difficult times. Um, and I can look back on that with pride and, and also all four boys got to see me play and my wife, obviously. So it does, you can look back on having great memories, but now, now, now my main focus is on helping people, trying to develop the young boys to have the same mentality. Yes. I know they're not going to be like me because I'm a one off, I'm a different breed to how they're produced. Now it's trying to instill the basics into them of what it's like, that mentality wise, how you come across as a professional and how you do the right things. Not only just on the pitch, but off the pit.
Speaker 0 00:09:25 Yeah. It's I mean, your, your career kind of spans that, that period of, you know, when you think back to sort of 96, was that your kind of first
Speaker 2 00:09:34 26 was my first debut. Yeah. 17. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:09:36 Now am I writing sign Luton town? Was that yeah. So local rivals. Yeah, I was gonna say so. So any what for the listeners will know that, I mean, if you're going to pitch into any game against, you know, your local rivals, it is always one there, but what we'll come on to that in a moment, but your career has kind of spans 96, um, starting off with what produce team and working through to the first team there, you know, and I told you about Wikipedia says you have 252 appearances, which, you know, um, we, by any standard that that's a, that's a lot, that's a, you know, a real kind of commitment to a club then Westmoreland, Gambian, Bolton, Wanderers, Leeds United, then ending up at Birmingham, um, caps three times for, um, England under 20 ones, which again is a huge achievement in itself. Um, and for a defender, 18 goals, is it over your and your career, is that correct?
Speaker 2 00:10:26 Yeah. You seeing goals are surprising.
Speaker 0 00:10:29 Yeah. Well, that's brilliant. But to your point about going through a career as a defender injury free and having such longevity, I mean, there's an element of luck there. Paul look at that, but what do you think kind of, you know, there's you and, and, and, and all of that, that your kind of your, your mates that you, um, you, you kind of went through a lot of, you had that kind of longevity and resilience, but what, what do you think was made you different in that regard? Why
Speaker 2 00:10:59 I looked after my body, um, I took it, I took it seriously after, um, each year, the game was changing. So you knew when the game has changed in your sport, science, your yoga come into it, your meditation stuff come into it. And I loved all that. I loved new ideas, interested in everything that was, that was going to help me, um, stretch in. I used to stretch all the time to make sure all was flexible, hot, hot, and cold baths, just, just relaxing, relaxing the legs, knowing that you've worked some really hard gym sessions, just working on your strength and conditioning. Um, I looked at it as I needed it to be the ultimate professional, and I needed to be an example cause I worked around a lot of young kids as well. So I wanted to show the younger players of what it was like to be the ultimate professional. Even though some days I'd hurt, I would be hurting. I wouldn't show it. I wouldn't show it to them. I would get through the pain barrier and then I'd be away from them. And then not feel that pain because I knew my body was coming to, it was getting older and it, I was feeling more of the effects of the intensity of training.
Speaker 0 00:12:02 And was that something that you, because you know, back in 96, it was a very different world, you know, the idea of sports science and everything else. Like that was just a Glint in some kind of researchers, IO, psychology design. Have you w what was like that? Or did somebody kind of take you to one side, say Robert, if you want a career here, you got to kind of knuckle down and do this. Was there anyone in your kind of background? You know, I know you've played for the man himself, Greg Taylor, but I mean, how influential were your mentors in shaping the attitude? Would you say?
Speaker 2 00:12:33 Yeah. When you, when you talk about people like Ryan Taylor, Kenny jacket, who was my youth team manager, John McDermott, Jimmy Gilligan, and even Nigel Gibbs, the experienced pros, you would always listen to him. You would always watch him. Um, but before that, there was no, there was none of this sports science. So for me, I was just a kid. I was 17. I would finish a game on a Saturday, and I'm still gonna play football with my mates in the streets at night. It was just because, just because I love the game and I was not, I was no different. I was just a kid wanting to play football all the time. And I wasn't fussed about, you never thought I wasn't going to get injured or on doing something wrong. I was just being a kid in love with just having fun. Um, now it, now it gets too serious.
Speaker 2 00:13:13 Now, the game of football, there's a lot of money at stake. There's, there's a lot of insurance on younger players. If they do do something silly, they can't do these things anymore. Um, so there's a lot of restrictions for the younger boys to be kids and enjoy themselves, which is a shame because I feel you need to have that release and you need to switch off from what is an intense sport. But no, for me, it was just about being a kid growing up. And then gradually as I got older, it wasn't the, I was always serious about my, my job for me, it was being more professional. It was looking after my body and, and doing the right things. Yes, I could. I still would at me, I down and have a drink and eat some picky foods every now and then, but I knew the right times when to do that. And I knew that what times when to eat properly and when to drink the right things. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:13:56 And I think you mentioned some of those luminaries there and, you know, the great and the good form from Watford and a lot of fans will recognize that. But, you know, I'm often reminded of when I think of these things about, you know, sir, Alex Ferguson, taking people like Ryan Giggs aside one day, cause why, you know, in the back in the day was always making the headlines for the wrong kind of reasons, that Playboy kind of thing. But I remember, you know, from what I know, so Alex took into one side and said, look, if you want to kind of be here and you want to fulfill your potential, you've got to, you gotta be professional about this. And I think to your point that you want to let your hair down, but there's so much riding on it now. And I know that you are now looking at getting into, you know, you're into coaching development coaching, but you want to get into management as well. So how are you going to kind of manage and motivate this, this new football, this new breed, because it ain't 1996 anymore. We're going to go for a kick about after a match. What do you think you're going to bring help? The next generation of football is Paul. Well, one, we've got
Speaker 2 00:14:56 My management skills. Um, you've gotta be a good motivator. So you've got to understand all the players. You've got to have a good coach and team around you as well. That can take the pressure off you. Cause I don't feel you can do it yourself. You have to have staff members around you that can, um, take control of certain players as well and have their have their say and make sure that they're listening to what, not only on sane, but my staff. Um, so, so for me, that's important, but I think the biggest one is that my management skills, you've got to understand the person, these, these, these kids nowadays, all or anybody, you can't, social media is massive. You can't go and do things because people will record you. People will take pictures. So you've always got to be aware of what you're doing.
Speaker 2 00:15:38 Um, so that side of it doesn't really worry me because I know that obviously then themselves have got, they've got to look after themselves as well. They've got to be responsible. I could only do my job, which is in and around their training ground. Mike ensure that that professionalism when they're in the building is they're at it all the time and they're doing the right things in their, their risk that they're respectful around the training ground and they're respectful to people. Um, so yeah, for me, it's um, the important thing for me is being that my manager and controlling things the right way.
Speaker 0 00:16:10 Yeah. And the thing that's always been the case, isn't it? I guess it's your style of management or your style of leadership or coaching and all those other elements that you've you've talked about. So when you, um, when you kind of finished playing and it must have been quite a bitter sweet moment that your last game, and I know you had your family there to celebrate within everything else like that, and he kind of switched into this sort of coaching mentality. What was the, what was the biggest adjustment that you had to take either in your own kind of approach or, you know, you're no longer a play now, coach? What, what kind of adjustments did you have to make personally?
Speaker 2 00:16:46 Um, what helped me was is that I, before I, before I hung them up outside, I did the transition early. So I was playing and coaching. So I found that I found that easier for me. It cleared my mind of, yes, it's going to be my last season playing, but I've got this to look forward to now. And I was gradually taken under eighteens. I was taking the 20 frees training. I was go into games to watch him and helping out on the touchline every now and then. So I got used to that feeling of what it would be like. Um, obviously you don't know what it's going to be like until you hang your boots up. And, um, you're then sitting in and in a different color kit. You're not, you're not with the first team players anymore that you've spent so many years with and you've had the loss and the jokes and the change rooms, and you've enjoyed the, the joy, the wins, but you've also, you've you've um, had the disappointments of being around each other. Um, so yeah, I miss that side of it, but it was what I wanted to do and it's, and it was the transition helped me massively. I think that definitely helped me doing that. Yeah. And I guess the FAA
Speaker 0 00:17:50 Now, I mean, there's a, there's a whole curriculum, isn't there for getting your, your badges and everything else like that. So really kind of structured, but, but of course coaching is not going to be for every, every player. Um, but for you, it very much is, and it's playing on those strengths. Cause you know, you've, you've been sort of captain, you've been leader, you've been, you've got all that, that you, that you can, you can bring, which I think is going to be so beneficial to those under your tutelage. It's uh, it's not easy as that. I mean that transition, we're having a phase transition. Our guests guests helps in that. That's for sure. Yeah. Yeah. It definitely has that transitions easier. Much easier. Yeah. Yeah. And so, I mean, going forward, let's, let's go back into some of your past then Paul and you know, this is the kind of fan in me, a guest talking it's it's interesting.
Speaker 0 00:18:37 What the listeners won't know is that, I mean, I, I was on the terrorist is in the Northeast terrorists back in the day and in the mid seventies. And then I joined the army in 1987 and then left in sort of 2005. And so I didn't really follow the Hornets at all for that period. And, and it was so funny cause I met your wife on that course that we were doing and uh, a couple of weeks then she said, you haven't put two and two together yet. Have you? And I said, what do you mean say, well, my, my husband is Paul and he paid for what for does I it's those last years for me that you played, I I've learned more about your career now. Cause my son got me back into football. I tell you what. So George, when he was five was watching the South African world cup and he said, dad, can you take me to a football match?
Speaker 0 00:19:20 And I was like, okay, now I hadn't really kind of kind of gone, Oh, I've always been a Watford fan, but I wasn't a real fan during that, that period. And so I took him to the midday ski stadium in Redding, which is not far from where I live here. And we went to see Redding versus not as far as I think, and it was fine and he was, he was loving it. I couldn't really kind of get going. So we went for another match at midday ski and again, it wasn't really happening for me. And so I said, son, what did I take you to up to records road back to what food and just, you can see, wait, daddy used to go and hang out mate, the moment I walked back in that stadium, it just hit me like a ton of bricks, everything I'd missed in those years.
Speaker 0 00:19:57 And so, I mean, there's, there's the connection with football is incredible. I mean, football has a lot of it's false, but what it brings, it brings people together. But just that sheer emotion, um, you know, to be playing, like you say, the goosebumps you feel, but as a fan, I felt it as well. And then we've gone hard over back to being a season ticket holder. My wife now says, where's this football fan that I'm married because this is a part of you that I didn't know. And it's those kind of, I call them the poor Robinson last years. So, so, so for me then, and our listeners, what would you say with the, about the, the real kind of highlights for you playing at Watford and all that you went through those 250 odd cabs, what kind of memories really stick out for you they're either matches or moments or, um, obviously the promotions they that the back to back promotions when we got promoted from that, which was then the lead two
Speaker 2 00:20:48 Is now obviously the league one, um, boy's championship now, and then getting promoted to the, to the premiership was, um, an incredible for a group of players that Graham never really changed. He believed in the group, he kept that core together and we had a real good team spirit. And Graham was the type of manager. Well, if it's not broken, don't need fix fixing. So he left it, he, he just gradually, when we got to the premier league, he wanted to add a little bit of quality that you needed. Um, but it didn't quite work out for some reason or another. Um, I don't think many players wanting to come to, to what foot, because they probably looked to us as we wasn't a big club. Um, and it wasn't their style of football that they wanted to be involved in. So we found that quite tough, but they were the great years for me, obviously coming through the Academy was a special moment, um, to make my debut at 17 was it was a dream come true even after getting on the pitch after three minutes was this was, I didn't even have any time to get scared because I've literally finished my warmup and the game had started and it was Robert you going on grand side or just to, and I was like, really, yeah, you going on?
Speaker 2 00:21:53 So you didn't have that chance to get nervous. It was Sprite and it was Lewin. So it was my local rivals, which is why I knew I couldn't go into it nervous. I knew I had to go in there, all guns blazing and just play them up, play to the best of my ability to what I, what I've been doing throughout the Academy. Some of them great memories, obviously the disappointment of relegation, um, the change of managers over the years, I've worked with stomach. I mean, unbelievable managers at Watford. When you talk of the Ray Lou interns, grind, Tyler, Kenny jacket, um, obviously VRD come in. I mean, it was, it was great for me because of the person that he was, but it was such a difficult time for the club and with the way that we were spending ridiculous amounts of money, it just, it made it impossible for the club to which thankfully they survived, but it looked like they was not going to survive.
Speaker 2 00:22:43 And it was going to be a real hard kick in the teeth towards Watford weave with what was going to happen. So, yeah, I mean that time then when I left Watford was, was not my choice. It was forced upon me to leave, um, an option that near my wife really didn't want to take, but it's football. And the thing for me was, is I wanted my club to survive and I'd, I'd grown up as a home grown boy in Wotford. Um, and it was going to go into administration. So I knew that whatever fee that they accepted, I had to move on and, and I had to make sure that that club got the money to make sure they stayed secure for a little, the time being.
Speaker 0 00:23:23 Yeah, I mean, yeah, really tough decision. And, you know, thanks for you to think about where the club is now with the pot sows and the investment. I mean, the stadium is just on recognizable, isn't it from the old East stand and everything else like that. But that's interesting that that's, so it's, it's, it's a bit of disappointment to you, but it's a principle decision. You absolutely understand it. It's all about the club's survival and yet you, that you, you continue to go on and have a flourishing career and then you find yourself, uh, tell me about the, um, the greatest scape. Um, then you get goal of the season that, that season as well.
Speaker 2 00:23:59 Um, I did, yeah, I got golden season for a header against the Villa, the local arrive at one of the rivals. It's not the local rivals cause that's blues Villa. Um, but yeah, um, I mean, incredible, incredible scenes at the end of it. A lot of emotion and this is West Brom. Yeah. It's that West Brom. Yeah, but just because of the fact is that there was so much pressure, so much pressure on a group of players to perform to the highest standard against world class players week in, week out. And for the possibility of people losing their jobs, good people behind the scenes, who, again, a lot of people don't see is that when you're fighting relegation, there's jobs that state as well, and it's not just players leaving or even on it. It's the security people. It's the cleaners, it's people working at the ground marketing. Then people lose their jobs because of the fact is that the club will need to move on and change things. So there's all that pressure that's put on you as players to go out there and get the results. And the last day was, it was, it felt like we'd won the league. It was that it was that much pressure and that much emotion, it felt like we'd just been promoted, but you look back and it was actually, we just survived. The allegation
Speaker 0 00:25:11 Literally came down to the last game of the season. Did it
Speaker 2 00:25:13 Last game of the season yet last game of the season, it was. So it was between us and Shelton. Um, and they had lost game. They ended up who they were playing, scored an equalizer to make it to two. And we went, we went above them.
Speaker 0 00:25:29 Amazing. Amazing. So actually the, I mean, it was in your hands as much as you control, let's just go and get the win or we'll do what we need to do. But ultimately was it left in the hands of another club to determine your fate?
Speaker 2 00:25:42 Yeah, it was left there. It was all the other clubs. So we were rock bottom going into the last game of the season. And then at the table kept changing as the results were coming in.
Speaker 0 00:25:52 Amazing. Amazing
Speaker 2 00:25:54 For a fan. Can you measured for a fan as well? Cause you're on the edge of your seats thinking, Oh my God, they've just scored. Oh no, we're going down. So now all they just equalize, we're staying up and you can hear that when you're playing, you can hear the fans, you can hear them go in there losing we stay in up like that. But we're obviously, we're just focusing on doing our job. Thankfully we did, we won two now against Portsmouth, but when you're here, when everything coming back and forth, back and forth you'll then you're not sure what's going on. So it's,
Speaker 0 00:26:26 I'm guessing. I mean, you feel that energy, you get a sense of the high, the low and everything else like that. So now Paula, I know, I mean, I'll be too easy for you to say, look, you know, you just kind of, you manage it, but give us a sense of how, how do you personally manage that? You know, you can speak about you. I mean, you're a leader you're trying to get, but how do you personally manage that, that crash? You've talked about all those different kinds of stakeholders if you like that. But it's the fans. It's everything else like that. How do you, how do you keep that together?
Speaker 2 00:26:57 You just focus. You get yourself in a, you get yourself in your own little world, you focus on your own game. What, what I, what do I need to do today? Um, I need to make sure to, I'm doing my job to my best ability. I'm not my teammates down. I'm not making mistakes. So it's that focus on going into that game 100 HUD 100% focus. Cause if I'm 99% focused, I'm not there. That 1% makes a difference because that 1% you could make that mistake and the opposition could score, or it could lead to a goal from, from you making an error of like a Sidney little path. So I knew that I needed to be every game, 100% focused on what my job was. And so that was, that was the Mo the most important thing for me is, and then I was, then if I knew I was 100% focused, I made sure that everyone else on that football pitch was 100% focused as well.
Speaker 2 00:27:45 So I'd be that leader and telling them if there was like a, like a 50, 50 pastor, I knew that that one could do it 100%. You just give them that little bit of encouragement going like, come on. I know you can make that pass. So make sure you're making it. It's just them little bits of information that you pass it on. You're not being aggressive towards your team mate. You're just encouraging them to let them know. Is that getting the nerves out your system? We don't, we don't need to be showing nerves. We need to be, we need to be in this together. And if we get we, if we get our job done and we get the result and we've done our job, we just then need to rely on everyone else around us to do their jobs as well.
Speaker 0 00:28:20 So I guess there's a lot of, you know, you've got to do the best that you can, and then trust that everyone else on the pitch is doing that. But then as the leader is just to keep, keep it all kind of gel together. Isn't it? Cause on me, I can imagine. I mean, just trust that you can really lose it in that environment when there's so much riding on it, just taking the great escape as an example, but at any match, they rarely, you know, that the fans on your back or whatever, it's, it's all a head game, isn't it? Because physically, you know, you all, that means the spine be all much of a muchness and you really kind of fit individuals and like any sport, it comes down to, you know, the, the, the team ethos and also the individual kind of mindsets within that. It's fascinating. Isn't it? So, yeah, I mean, during this lockdown, I mean kind of been taking part in the old Netflix and watch, have you seen the last dance with Michael Jordan? Have you seen all of that about,
Speaker 2 00:29:13 Well, I haven't, but I've heard so many great things about it and I need so, um, we've not really what my celly to be fair pay. Uh we've we've been doing other things. I mean, I've been on a lot of webinars. I've been, I've been doing a lot of obvious studying with certain things. So that's been taking my mind off of football. Um, but yeah, I, I need to, I need to catch up on this cause Michael Jordan, I mean, what a legend he is, and he's a, he's an inspiration to everybody with the way that he led, the way he drove the team forward and, and a team that no one expected to win so many things, but by his leadership, they did. And they proved a lot of people wrong, which is, which for me is brilliant because you need to start proving people wrong. And that's the best motivational thing about it is that all them, people that say you can't do it, there you go. We can do it. So they're there, they're the best things to me. And they're the documentaries that I love watching. I love watching them ones that are real. They're true. They're, they're what it's all about. Race and meaning. Um, so y'all need to, I need to catch up on it,
Speaker 0 00:30:11 Go check it out. Cause I mean, just everything you've just talked about there, you'll see in the last dance, you know, and it's, uh, it's, it's quite quite incredible. And I think those, those that are at the top of their game are the ones that, I mean, you can manage that emotion. You can manage that pressure, having us on this. Now, what I do know about you Paula, is that, you know, um, so on, on, you know, Facebook, Instagram and everything else like that, whenever I see a post by you, there's always universally positive comments about you and your character from what for fans West Brom fans, Bolton fans, leads fans here, what is it that you've managed to connect so well with the fan base? Because there's something to get all those different clubs, fan bases, all agreeing on one thing is that actually, you know, they kind of loved you. What, what is it might make you feel uncomfortable, but you know, but, well, what is it about Rabo that kind of connected with the fans? Do you think
Speaker 2 00:31:06 Sometimes I love me. Um, I, uh, for me, what's important is when you go to a new club, you've, you've got one, understand the club, you've got understand what the fans, what they're all about, what they expect from a player. Um, not only on the pitch, but off the pitch as in me, in Greece and having photos taken and go into sort of surprises where they're not expecting you to turn up, you have to understand the club that you're signing for that. For me, that's the most important thing. Cause if you go to a club and you know nothing about it, the fans will straight away get on your back. Um, and I feel that's what I had with every club. Obviously what foot was easier for me because I was home grown. Um, but I loved the community. The community grind Taylor instilled within the players, um, was special.
Speaker 2 00:31:56 And I think that's what instilled in me growing up was every club. I understood Graham with what he wanted as a man and how we wanted the club to be seen as not only as being a professional, but also working within the community and how we conducted ourselves around people. And I wanted to take that into every other club that I went to and I did, yes, there's obviously a different element than to when you're playing, because you've got to then go and produce on the football pitch. So my passion, I showed, I had a winning mentality and that was, that was my biggest drive was I was a winner. I hated losing. I didn't talk to any people if I lost or you didn't. I ignored Caroline, the kids. I would, I wouldn't talk to him for 24 hours if we, because that was my mentality.
Speaker 2 00:32:41 And I hated losing. I hated that, that feeling of not getting free points at the weekend on a Tuesday night. Um, so yeah, the connection. So I wanted the connection. If I lost, I would go and cut the fans no matter if they were bullying me, if they were, if they were throwing things at me, I didn't, it didn't, it didn't bother me. It didn't bother me. Cause I wanted to show appreciation to the fans. They paid money to go and watch you play. So it was that respect to them as I want to respect them back by clapping, even though we did lose.
Speaker 0 00:33:11 Yeah. And I think as a speaking as a fan, that if I think of fancy, you make the effort to understand them, but also, you know, appreciate the fact that they've given up their hard earned cash and they're there on a Tuesday night or whatever. Absolutely. I mean, that's that's, but that goes back to your kind of main management piece that, that leadership piece and everything else like that. So support what what's next for you, mate. Tell me about what, what plans you've got for the future.
Speaker 2 00:33:38 Well, I fell off I two great years now in working with the Academy, I was assistant under certainly freeze manager of Birmingham last year, this year on the under eighteens manager. So I've had a good, a good experience of, of what the club's all about and how I see work in things. And for me now, I only see myself as the next step is being a manager or working along a first team manager and getting that experience, but at the highest level in coaching, um, and that's how I felt I'm going to develop now. I feel my development now is, is that next step, but it's, it's getting the opportunity. That's what I find is the toughest bit to deal with is that yes, I've had all the experience of playing over so many years and people can look at a well, you, you played for that long, but I want to take that into my coach. And now I want to pass on all my experiences to not only, still first thing players, but to the youth coming through. And I know there's a lot of youth that can get into the first thing they want. I want to help them. I want to help them develop. I want them to have good careers and that's my pathway. Now my next step for me is being a manager at the highest level.
Speaker 0 00:34:42 Yeah. And so does that involve, um, sort of coaching badges and stuff like that? If you have you got all that or he's sort of still pursuing that.
Speaker 2 00:34:49 Yeah. Now I've got all my coaching budget, so I've got all my own license. I've got my, be my, I might just need to do my pro license now, which will then allow me to manage abroad. Um, so yeah, that's my next step is to get the pro license. But at the moment, I just want to be given the chance of working in and around a first team. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:35:08 And absolutely I'm sure make an excellent manager in any club will be blessed to have you, but as you said, you know, being prepared to work alongside and then just, and it's, I've asked the right attitude to have, and if you bring the passions of management that you've walked to your playing career, then yeah. Stand by. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be awesome. So we're getting towards the end of our, of our time, Paul, and you know, I could chat to you all day mate, but Tim, this is the, give yourself a chat podcast. You know, there's, there's a lot, it's that moment where you know that inner game, how do we manage it? And how do we, you know, self-talk to, to kind of put ourselves up by our bootstraps or when we feel like just taking the easy way out, we don't because you know, we give ourselves a chat. What does that mean for you? You know, if you think back to your experiences, how do you give yourself the chapel?
Speaker 2 00:35:57 Give myself a chat. I think you you've, you've got your say that focused. I've talked about, you need to get yourself in your own head space. You can't worry about the noise. You can't worry about what anyone else is thinking. It's you, you, that person you've got to be fully focused on what you do. I mean, I'm a big visualizer as well. I like to visualize, I like to meditate. I like to, to go away and knock my own little 15 minute space and switch off and bring myself back down to earth. Um, might me appreciate everything in life that's important. Um, and also it's, again, it's a game of football that we shouldn't get ourselves too carried away with, but we do. Um, so yeah, for me, that visual visualization is massive. The meditation and the focus for me, the three big things for me with, with what I would, that's how I would stay with other chat with myself is in my own head, have them chat by doing that. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:36:49 Yeah. It's just managing it here. It's so easy to say. It's only a game, but he tried selling. Yeah. You tried telling them that the robo that hates losing, it's only a game. You tried telling them the fan, you know, having a watch, it's only a game, but you have to remind yourself and we're blessed that we can enjoy it. And you know, it's coming back this week. So, you know, George and I are going to be watching any game that's on TV. We'll watch paint dry if it's know. Um, and it's open, it's open that went by the time we next chat, you know what, for us to a premier league club and whatever, but on behalf of every football fan, that's listened to this. Robert, thanks very much for your time, your service to all those clubs and as a Hornets fan, thank you for what you did for my club.
Speaker 2 00:37:34 Thank you very much for having me on PR. They don't want to join it seriously. Take care. <inaudible>
Speaker 0 00:37:45 Well, that's it. I can finish this podcast now, never recorded another episode and I'll be a very happy man. Uh, what a privilege it was to interview Paul Robinson, what food legend, you know, what food born and bred a club I've supported for 40 plus years. And just an amazing opportunity to chat with somebody who has had so much experience, not only playing the game, but leading in the game as well and wanting to go on to, to management. I'm just sure. Rabo would make, uh, an amazing manager who just understands players and fans and clubs and, and what it means to be passionate and what it means to, to care so much about this beautiful game and with football coming back this weekend, what a great time to interview him. So if you'd like to find out more, come and connect with me on LinkedIn, uh, suggest other guests that you'd like me to approach and get on the show and indeed any subject you'd like me to cover. Um, but for the time being look after yourselves and I'll see you on the next one,
Speaker 1 00:38:43 <inaudible>.
