The Footballer

I didn't just study the player pathway; I lived it...

I began as a registered schoolboy at Oldham Athletic (1985–87) before going on to captain both the Liverpool Polytechnic and British Polytechnic football teams, winning the British Polytechnic Sports Association Cup in 1990 and the Endsleigh Triangular Challenge in 1990. I also represented the British Student 5-a-side team, competing at the World Student 5-a-side Games in Italy, 1990.

From there, a stint as a non-contracted player at Sheffield United gave way to over a decade in the semi-professional game, turning out for Marine FC, Morecambe FC, Witton Albion, Holywell Town, Connah's Quay Nomads, Atherton LR, and Skelmersdale United FC.

That experience, the ambition, the uncertainty, the constant negotiation between football, education and the rest of life, is what gives my work its grounding. I understand the player's world not as an observer, but as someone who has been in it.

The Professor

My background is personal as much as professional.

My PhD (2003) grew out of my own experience; trying to navigate an aspiring football career alongside education, and feeling the gap between those two worlds. That tension became my life's work.

My early research focused on the role of Heads of Education and Welfare within the emerging Academy system in English football. What began as academic enquiry quickly evolved to become more applied practice: over the following two decades, I worked extensively within elite football, including consultancy work and / or practitioner supervision, with The FA, Liverpool FC, Everton FC, Manchester United, and Manchester City, focusing on athlete wellbeing, performance lifestyle, identity, and career transition.

More recently, my work has centred on what I call the 'developing mastery' phase — the critical 18–23 window in which players must transition from academy to professional. This is where most talent is lost. My approach creates bespoke, individualised pathways that give players a genuine chance of converting potential into meaningful senior minutes.

Beyond football, I have collaborated with practitioners across England Cricket, England Rugby Union, Ulster Rugby, British Cycling, and women's football — bringing the same rigour and person-centred philosophy to each environment.

At the core of everything I do is a simple belief:

consistent high performance is not just about outputs; it's about people, culture, and clarity of purpose.

I am a people person; I seek to better understand the real-world existence of others, through their day-to-day lives, and enable them to thrive and flourish within their respective environments.

The Leader

Leadership, for me, is about one thing: enabling the people and institutions work better together.

Over eleven years in senior executive roles, as Director at LJMU (2014–22), Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor of Science at LJMU (2021–22), and Head of School at Bangor University (2022–25), I have led at the highest levels across both Post-92 and research-intensive universities.

The results speak for themselves. During my tenure at LJMU, the School of Sport and Exercise Science rose over 50 places to be ranked:

• 9th in the world (circa. 450 departments (QS World University Rankings)

• 12th in the world (ShanghaiRankings)

• 9th in the UK (Complete University Guide 2021)

In REF 2021, the School was ranked 2nd in the UK for research power — with 100% of its research environment assessed as world-leading, and 96.2% of the overall submission rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

That kind of trajectory doesn't happen by accident. It comes from building the right culture, aligning people around a clear purpose, and creating the conditions for exceptional work to flourish. It's the same philosophy I bring to every consultancy engagement.