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Secret Diary of Anthony Hudson, Part 4
(see https://badlyparked.weebly.com/11.html for earlier entries)
MONDAY
Football can be a cruel game sometimes. The players can let you down, your staff can let you down. Even the opposition can let you down when they raise themselves well above expectations, week after week.
Results can let you down. The best conceived football plans can let you down, and looking back, I've been well and truly let down. It didn't go totally as planned for me as gaffer at Colorado Rapids.
To be fair it was one of the most difficult assignments in football: a top drawer gaffer with a bottom group of players. When you have that sort of mix, the game itself can let you down.
But I take great pride in my eight wins with Colorado, and if need be can always reflect on the other 35 matches where it is harder to recall the results, even after referring to my Wikipedia page.
TUESDAY
I simply don't buy that social media chatter that I'm the worst Major Soccer League coach in history, with a record of just 0.767 points-per-game for those who have coached 40 games or more.
Stats don't always give a true picture, which is why I always try to finesse them with subtle context (youngest coach etc) on my Wikipedia page.
But my legacy with Colorado is strong with those who understand the game. I built the foundations of future success in my usual self-effacing manner. I mean, how else could you explain the team, failing on my watch, being taken over by Conor and then proceeding to finally pull out a decent season, falling just shy of a playoff spot?
The obvious answer is that I am a very stable genius who was simply ahead of his time at Colorado. Coaching isn't just about results, it's also about building for the future.
Bottom line is I've always put the team - or club - ahead of my own career. And I've always brought a lot of happiness to the game, even if that happiness has been mainly to the opposition.
WEDNESDAY
Podcasts are the new thing. They're a cheaper, more effective way of expanding your brand’s footprint than anything since a decent whiteboard session.
Yes, I'm ahead of the game once again with my brilliant Masterminds podcasts. The podcast is fast becoming the place in which the most important types of conversations are held, and with my holistic grasp of football, counselling, punditry and conmanship I've been deftly oscillating among the variety of touch-points that scatter the spectrum of football and life in general.
I used to be paranoid about media - and now I am media. For me the medium is the message. The subject matter may sound like it is all about others, but deep down it is all about me.
Some people think of podcasts as just a panacea for people bored by the limitations of other media choices. But they are perfect for the digital age, where you have the ability to curate the message for a specific ulterior motive. Yes, this medium is not about pleasing the masses; it’s ultimately about grabbing the attention of one of two ears.
I'm never one to indulge in quiet fears that gnaw away at the mind, or unspoken anxiety, but with a podcast you can even admit to the odd flaw. It gives power to the sentiment that we are not isolated in our experience, and that we are all navigating the hurdles life throws at us.
I'm an ace at podcasting, but I do miss coaching.
THURSDAY
I have set myself a dream of being a football coach and am prepared to fight for it.
I'm pretty sure I will land another job. David Moyes got another job, so I'm certain I can.
It's all about planning. At top level, football coaching is about seeing the bigger picture. And playing the long game (though I do prefer to play if out from the back as a rule).
It's about thinking outside the penalty box. Thinking outside the square ball.
Yes, I knew my application for the Newcastle United gig was never going to fly. But I also knew it would play an important role in landing my next coaching role.
Imagine how it looks when, say, you are applying for a national team post and the interview panel see you have just been in the frame for a premier gig.
So the breakthrough must come soon. This Nigerian DIAFA Holiday Football Camp coaching should not be the end of the road for me. (Though I do chuckle at the thought of scamming the scammers.)
And the advertisement banner tagline of "He's like a young Jose Mourinho's Harry Redknapp" was among my more creative work. I should nod to it at my next job interview.
As a coach you always have to be bigger than the situation at hand.
FRIDAY
The bit I love the most about being a football coach is overcoming challenges, backing yourself and fighting through it. That’s what life is all about.
As a coach I am a catalyst for change, a force for good. The first requirement for making change is an awareness that something needs to change, that something is wrong, and that something could be better. This awareness is the spark that brings attention to the problem.
I am that spark. I have the ability to explain what is wrong (usually the back four) and what needs to be better (usually the front three).
This is an important role, but not the most important role in creating change. The person who is willing to own the outcome and lead the change is the critical element. But the person who creates the awareness of the problem also deserves loads of attention.
With the All Whites I took over a squad that was not in a good place and turned them around (literally, with the likes of Tommy Smith at half time.) I took them from having not qualified for the World Cup finals to 2014 - to nearly qualifying for the finals in 2017.
I took the All Whites to a 0-0 draw and a penalty shootout win against Papua New Guinea in 2016. Yes, sometimes mince and steak get confused from a distance. But now at least there is pride in wearing the New Zealand shirt.
New Zealand were very fortunate to have absorbed the Hudson experience. And I think I will work that into my next job application whiteboard session.
SATURDAY
I’m possibly in the best place I have ever been in my career as a manager, as a coach, as a grafter and a grifter. Adversity makes you more resilient. Stronger, more alert to the main chance on the road ahead, more wary of the potholes too.
I used to be impatient, but now I’m comfortable with where I’m heading. I've got confidence and self-belief.
In particular I've always been a very proud American, and it really hurt me when I was labelled "English' for so many years. I'm so glad that has finally been wiped from my Wikipedia page.
If I can build something again as a coach that excites people and makes them happy, then that’s the best feeling for me. I want to be on that journey, and allow others to enjoy the ride as well.
SUNDAY
I'm back! I have now succeeded Tab Ramos as coach of the United States Under-20s.
I’m very proud to be joining U.S. Soccer. It's already a deeply symbiotic relationship. They needed somebody prepared to live in Chicago. And I needed a job.
My "Get a Philosophy" whiteboard session - tweaked from its 2014 presentation to New Zealand Football - combined with podcast out-takes and tailored Wikipedia page excerpts went over a treat, and clinched the deal.
Naturally I assured them I would never publicly criticise my bosses or players in public if it all turned to shark.
They've made a wise choice. I have the skill set and know the international game. Some say that's where I do best.
I've got my first training camp coming up with the U-20s in Florida. It's an exciting time with so many talented players coming through the ranks, and they can learn from me. Bringing youth through is what I do best. Think of Moses Dyer.
I will of course insist that they call me "The Gaffer". It's not a term that comes naturally to American teens. But it is important. I have a clear plan. I have a philosophy. I have a job.
