I have just spent two hours at the training academy with Paul Barber.
Let me tell you how this meeting came about. Before Christmas, after a post on NSC in support of the removal of Sami Hyypia, I decided to email Paul Barber direct: After all, no point in complaining on social media and not making one’s feelings known to the club.
He replied to my email within minutes. What ensued was an email exchange over the next 48 hours with a frank, but friendly discussion over what the Albion could or could not be doing for the better. All this ended with an offer to visit the training academy in the New Year. Well, I couldn’t turn the offer down could I?
So, this morning I arrived at the academy at 11.00am expecting a short meeting and a coffee. Instead, I was afforded a couple of hours during which I had the chance to hear quite a lot of what Mr Barber feels about the Albion, and during which time I was able to share my personal views on the need for more transparency, more fan involvement and the need to remember our past whilst looking to the future.
Behind the scenes, the Albion have a philosophy, something we don’t see. It centres on exceeding expectations; aiming high; treating people well and making things special. If you are ever lucky enough to go to the training academy, then you’ll see this in buckets. From the second I was greeted by the receptionist to the moment I left, every person I saw about the place exudes a positive attitude. The first team look very at home in their surroundings and everyone mixes in a relaxed and harmonious environment. There’s a culture about the place that feels relaxed, confident and professional. And it feels like this all comes from the leadership style that both Tony Bloom and Paul Barber must have played an instrumental role in putting in place.
And, I have to report that the pantomime villain of the piece is far from Mr Nasty. Confident, yes. Engaging, yes. Frank, open and honest, yes. But, he also admits to mistakes – yes we have to do better with the new ticketing system; yes we can involve fans even more and we will. This is a CEO that genuinely loves what he does, and genuinely wants the best for the Albion. He may be a Spur, but it’s clear that a big part of him is blue and white too. He was incredibly open; about why he took the job, about his relationship with previous managers; about the ‘fall guy’ image he has with fans. We discussed the whole ‘customer’ language, and I can tell you now, we’re fans first and foremost, but that doesn’t mean a club should strive to offer first class customer service.
I haven’t changed my mind on some of the issues I originally raised in my first email exchange with Mr Barber, and it is up to us as fans to express how we feel directly to the club (rather than just sound off about them on social media), but I’m left with a sense that we have a CEO that will listen. Obviously he can’t say yes to every idea – you set a strategy and you follow it – but I could see that the strength of his leadership comes from how he listens to people and takes on board feedback. The more constructive feedback he gets, the more it helps improve the club in the future.
As for the visit, I could go on and on about the attention to detail when it comes to the under 11’s, under 12’s, under 13’s etc; I could talk about the coaching facilities they have and how they store and use data; I could talk about the Bang & Olufsen relaxation area where players can kick back or watch videos of their previous performances on banks of PC terminals; I’ve seen the running hills; I’ve seen the finger print recognition that gives you access to key areas; I’ve seen the design of the catering areas that nicely separates development squad from first team squad - it almost acts as an incentive for breakthrough players to want to make the leap from B to A.
I believe I saw the future of our club this morning, and I think it is in very good hands.
And, I’ll be honest. I had to stop myself from being the kid in a sweetshop. There was a part of me walking round like a star struck youngster, but I think I hid it well. I saw Inigo Calderon for God’s sake!
Let me tell you how this meeting came about. Before Christmas, after a post on NSC in support of the removal of Sami Hyypia, I decided to email Paul Barber direct: After all, no point in complaining on social media and not making one’s feelings known to the club.
He replied to my email within minutes. What ensued was an email exchange over the next 48 hours with a frank, but friendly discussion over what the Albion could or could not be doing for the better. All this ended with an offer to visit the training academy in the New Year. Well, I couldn’t turn the offer down could I?
So, this morning I arrived at the academy at 11.00am expecting a short meeting and a coffee. Instead, I was afforded a couple of hours during which I had the chance to hear quite a lot of what Mr Barber feels about the Albion, and during which time I was able to share my personal views on the need for more transparency, more fan involvement and the need to remember our past whilst looking to the future.
Behind the scenes, the Albion have a philosophy, something we don’t see. It centres on exceeding expectations; aiming high; treating people well and making things special. If you are ever lucky enough to go to the training academy, then you’ll see this in buckets. From the second I was greeted by the receptionist to the moment I left, every person I saw about the place exudes a positive attitude. The first team look very at home in their surroundings and everyone mixes in a relaxed and harmonious environment. There’s a culture about the place that feels relaxed, confident and professional. And it feels like this all comes from the leadership style that both Tony Bloom and Paul Barber must have played an instrumental role in putting in place.
And, I have to report that the pantomime villain of the piece is far from Mr Nasty. Confident, yes. Engaging, yes. Frank, open and honest, yes. But, he also admits to mistakes – yes we have to do better with the new ticketing system; yes we can involve fans even more and we will. This is a CEO that genuinely loves what he does, and genuinely wants the best for the Albion. He may be a Spur, but it’s clear that a big part of him is blue and white too. He was incredibly open; about why he took the job, about his relationship with previous managers; about the ‘fall guy’ image he has with fans. We discussed the whole ‘customer’ language, and I can tell you now, we’re fans first and foremost, but that doesn’t mean a club should strive to offer first class customer service.
I haven’t changed my mind on some of the issues I originally raised in my first email exchange with Mr Barber, and it is up to us as fans to express how we feel directly to the club (rather than just sound off about them on social media), but I’m left with a sense that we have a CEO that will listen. Obviously he can’t say yes to every idea – you set a strategy and you follow it – but I could see that the strength of his leadership comes from how he listens to people and takes on board feedback. The more constructive feedback he gets, the more it helps improve the club in the future.
As for the visit, I could go on and on about the attention to detail when it comes to the under 11’s, under 12’s, under 13’s etc; I could talk about the coaching facilities they have and how they store and use data; I could talk about the Bang & Olufsen relaxation area where players can kick back or watch videos of their previous performances on banks of PC terminals; I’ve seen the running hills; I’ve seen the finger print recognition that gives you access to key areas; I’ve seen the design of the catering areas that nicely separates development squad from first team squad - it almost acts as an incentive for breakthrough players to want to make the leap from B to A.
I believe I saw the future of our club this morning, and I think it is in very good hands.
And, I’ll be honest. I had to stop myself from being the kid in a sweetshop. There was a part of me walking round like a star struck youngster, but I think I hid it well. I saw Inigo Calderon for God’s sake!
