Would that be fair?

Yeah.

Um, it's a strange team, Chelsea, at this moment in time, isn't it? At the top end you think with Joao Pedro, uh, Morgan Rogers, and Cole Palmer obviously they're gonna create chances all the time.

But it feels like they need to score three or four to win every game, um, at this moment in time, and that's partly defensively.

I think the full-back positions are a problem for them.

Um, I actually also worry about in front of the defense too.

I think the midfield's a bit of a mess.

Stu, were you impressed with Everton or you wanna just pile in on the Tottenham?

And it's refreshing, isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely.

All of that.

I mean, I think anyone who's had some contact with the owners will know that they're not just invested financially in Swansea, they're invested personally in it.

You absolutely get that feeling from speaking to them.

Yeah, they care.

And quite frankly, it wasn't like that under the previous owners.

He stuck it away as 2-0 and essentially it was game over, wasn't it?

I mean, What players do you think could be on their bike now? I mean, one or two are obvious, as you say, but, you know...

I think Ronaldo, Steve.

I mean, I think his time's done.

Will anyone take him? That's the problem.

Well, I think the thing with him, and it will stand out to people, and I'm sure it's part of the reason why he's played as much football as he has, is the fact that he worked so hard for the team.

If you want to press aggressively and you want someone who's going to work back, I think his running stats would be really, really good.

Then someone might be listening to this and think, well, that's how Matos wants to play.

definitely.

So a static tackle tube, we know is not going to replicate anything like a real tackle, but it's good for us understanding how to change our height and get our foot- footwork more effective.

And that's it, and I think for me, that- that's the crucial bit.

If I had a rule of thumb in this area, if the equipment is sort of for more than two or three players, it's probably not right.

Equipment is, for me, small group, breakout activities, the opportunity to really fine-tune outside of, as you said, sometimes though, having fun.

There is nothing more better than beating up an object that's not gonna come to you.

[laughs] Exactly, and I think, I think we need to understand that rugby's a very physical game, and sometimes players need to express their physicality in a way during a session that a pad allows them to do, and they feel that they've done some contact, because at the end of the session, uh, you still wanna have your 15 players on their feet, ready to play in the game at the weekend.

Yeah, and I think one of the interesting things I always notice is the moment you bring out a tackle tube and put it to the side at the start and you're in the warmup, the kids wanna play with it.

And the number of coaches I've seen who just get cross that the kids are playing with it, go for it.

So what's the starting point? How do you start your season when you are thinking, "I may have some neurodivergent children in my group"?

Yeah, I think the first thing to do is split between, shall we say, known neurodivergent kids, where a parent or even a young player, you know, again, more and more some of our young adult players will come to us and express this to us.

And w- when you know that, then part of that is just having a plan and knowing that you are a component, understanding what they're looking to get from you, but also pushing back and understanding what isn't in your job.

So if you have someone that's known, understand what their plan is, be part of their plan.

Ask particularly the parent if you've got a younger child, you know, what they're looking for from you, 'cause they just might want you to treat them exactly the same, but know that they'll have days that might be a bit off, and you do it, and that's totally fine.

And I think that is probably the thing that feels the scariest because suddenly you've got someone asking for an accommodation.

But with a bit of planning, a bit of prep, you really don't need to do it.

So I know that there's another section that we need to also be aware of.

The trouble is that fault correction is probably going to come across as negative.

Yeah, that's really interesting.

I think one of the things that we can sometimes do as coaches is, especially if we're a head coach or we're leading a session, we think we have to do it.

And I think one of the things to do, this is really a great opportunity when you've got co-coaches, if you've got quite a few parents, fault correction can give them a real piece of meaning.

And particularly if they're someone who's painful and understands the faults, then that's really good.

I am conscious about that piece of negativity.

I've got my own way of dealing but i'm curious your way of dealing with that

and if you say no i say okay fine we're going to tell you anyway i found that i've used that several times now especially on things where it is almost a fundamental you cannot pass that way i'm not going to say it that way but you cannot pass that way because in the end you are inefficient giving us fewer opportunities to express ourselves in the way that we want But I might have to say, right, can I have permission to say something about the way that we're passing, which is going to come across as critical and gives them the opportunity to take a breath, understand what's coming and then deal with it.

What have I got to do?

I think it's just really powerful just to say to a group, "I believe in you.

I believe in you.

I believe in us." And I think making that outward statement can really just reinforce for those people that do believe already, it's a connection.

For those that don't, it's, it's showing that, that input.

But if we're trying to deal with, okay, how can I take one player and how can I improve their belief in themselves, I have a s- a four-step process around this, and I believe this works, and I think anyone can do this.

So you don't have to worry about the psychology, it's just be committed to doing the steps.

We are identifying some of the players who at some of the time need to have more belief.

Stu, let's not forget Villa did go ahead, I think in, in opening two minutes or so, but were you surprised by what you saw on the field, and at what point did you think, "Do you know what? If they play their cards right, they might actually get back into this," or not?

Yeah, I mean, but even the goal they scored in the first two minutes was just such a strange goal, Ayo.

I mean, it, it was littered with mistakes from both teams.

Uh, Watkins really untidily gave the ball away trying to find Buendia, and then Enzo Fernandez gave it back to them, and then Douglas Luiz had two attempts at playing that pass.

I don't even think Bailey's cutback was clean.

But obviously you take the, the goal, and it's a great platform for them on the face of it.

But it never felt like that.

And then you're looking at Villa's 378

Right.

... "want to talk to anyone about now." But Jewell didn't.

He opened up on it all, and he did say, like, you know, he felt it completely ruined his career.

Um, yeah, he shouldn't have taken the job.

And yeah, he was probably really naive about what he was walking into.

But he did make some weird decisions, like Robbie Savage, making him captain straight away.

Okay, Matt Oakley had gone, who had been the captain, but there were experienced figures in that Derby dressing room.

Stu, in your experience with, uh, Swindon, did the players start to kind of have a laugh about it after a while?

Mm-hmm.

He has the talent.

There's no doubt about that at all to me.

Absolutely.

He is comfortable playing at first team level for Arsenal, I believe.

You know, you see those clips, pre-season games against Newcastle, and it's just in a little cameo where he's lighting the game up.

He's influencing the game.

Um, and that's how I kind of learned from, from them, and yeah, it was good.