The Gold Dust Podcast: Recent Episodes
David and Keith Mayer
Gold Dust: The Podcast, aimed at engaging and educating, sprinkling particles of knowledge on people’s lives. On the back of the success of the #1 Best Selling book 'Gold Dust: How to Become a More Effective Coach, Quickly," the Gold Dust podcast was released. The show hosts lots of World class practitioners in their respective fields, sharing their knowledge and experiences for listeners.
Alongside co-hosting the podcast, David Mayer is a UEFA A and US A Senior License, Technical Director for a USL Academy and Best Selling Author.
Adam Temple is currently Assistant Manager at Barrow Football Club and brings a wealth of experience from several coaching roles during his career to date. Prior to his role at Barrow, he coached at Manchester City in their academy, and has worked with some of England's brightest footballers.
Stephen is the Para Talent Manager for the FA and England Partially Sighted Head Coach. He is also the Former England Partially Sighted Captain.
Russell Earnshaw is a former professional rugby player, turned coach, coach educator and mentor. He has coached across several England national teams, and is currently working with the Magic Academy, and has worked across many sports and businesses, including New Zealand 7s, the FA, the Premier League, Google, GB hockey and many more.
Matthew Peet is currently Head Coach at Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club. In Matt's two year stint at Wigan, he has transformed the club, winning the Challenge Cup, League Leaders Shield and Grand Final, while earning a reputation as one of sports brightest coaches.
Keith Mayer and Mandy Bell, Specialist Nurse at Christie Hospital in Manchester, discuss prostate cancer in today's episode. This episode has been created to raise awareness for prostate cancer in men.
Dr Noel Dempsey is a UEFA A License coach and is currently a lecturer in Football Coaching and Management at University Campus of Football Business. He is an experienced coach educator and coach who shares his gold dust with us today.
Gaël is a 3x Premier League winner, winning it as one of Arsenals invincibles in 2004, then two more times with Manchester City. After finishing his illustrious footballing career, Gael went into coaching, and recently got named Assistant Manager of the France U21 National team, working alongside Thierry Henry.
When he last appeared on the podcast two years ago, Harry Watling was Head Coach at Hartford Athletic in the USL Championship. He has since worked at QPR as a first team coach and is now at Rangers FC working as a first team coach. In his career to date, along with working in first team football, Harry has worked at several prestigious academies, including Chelsea, West Ham and Millwall, playing a part in the development of some of the country's brightest stars.
Owen Coyle SR is currently Head Coach at Chennaiyan FC in the Indian Super League. He amassed almost 700 professional appearances as player and has been involved as a Manager and Head Coach for 20 years, including managing several clubs in the Premier League.
Owen was recently a First Team Coach at Queen's Park FC, and previously was the Head Coach of England's National Amputee Football Team, taking charge for almost 9 years. He is currently in the process of completing his UEFA Pro License.
Des Buckingham is currently Head Coach at Mumbai City FC, one of the 13 teams in the City Football Group. Des has also worked with Melbourne City, New Zealand National Teams and more in his time as a coach.
Gareth Jennings is currently Technical Director of UAE Pro League, and has previously worked for New Zealand football, FIFA and at Leicester City and Stoke City as Academy Director.
Chris is currently Technical Director at Queens Park Rangers. Chris previously coached for Tottenham Hotspur working with their academy, then was appointed as first team coach. He was placed in temporary charge of Queens Park Rangers. in February 2015. After being temporary coach of Queens Park Rangers and following their relegation to the Championship, Ramsey was named head coach on a permanent basis in May 2015. Chris was also appointed an MBE in 2019 for services to football and diversity in sport.
Lee O'Neill is the former General Manager and Academy Manager at Ipswich Town, and is now the President of United Soccer Leagues in America.
Randy Waldrum is the Head Coach for Nigeria Women’s National Team, the super falcons, and will be leading them into the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in July of this year. He is also the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at the University of Pitt and is the past president of National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Ceri has held several roles in football, including being Head of Coaching support at City Football Group where he was responsible for head of coach support and talent ID and development for 1st teams and academies across all clubs within the Group, and recently was First Team Coach at Rangers Football Club. He has been a technical leadership advisor, performance coach and coach education consultant for clients such as Cardiff City FC Academy, Welsh Rugby Union, Welsh Netball National Squad, Basketball Wales, Football Association of Wales Trust, Bristol Rovers FC Academy, International Athletes, professional footballers and more.
Allistair McCaw is the author of six best-selling books including "Champion Minded." He is a performance coach who consults and advises on leadership, team culture and mindset. As a consultant, author and keynote speaker, Allistair has extensively traveled the world sharing his insights and experience with some of the top leaders, performers, teams, and organizations. For over 25 years, Allistair has consulted and worked with amongst others, Olympic Gold Medalists, Grand Slam Champions, Fortune 500 companies, NCAA Colleges, and Professional sports teams.
Darren Powell is currently the Assistant First Team Coach and Director of Player Development at Inter Miami in the MLS. After Darren’s college playing career playing was finished, he transitioned into coaching, working in the college game in America. He quickly established himself in the states, and after building a very successful program at Elon University, he became the academy director at Orlando City during their transition to the MLS, before moving to San Antonio, leading their academy and becoming the Head Coach of their first team. In 2020, he was headhunted by Inter Miami to become Director of Player Development, and prior to the 2023 season, was asked to become Assistant First Team Coach by Head Coach, Phil Neville.
David Wheeler is a professional footballer who plays for Wycombe Wanderers. With over 300 professional appearances under his belt, David is a seasoned professional with vast experiences in the game. As a young boy, and at the start of his professional career, David suffered from severe anxiety, which led him down a path of exploration. While still playing, David chose to enhance his knowledge and experiences outside of the game, and now holds a Master’s degree in Sports Psychology.
Tony is the former First Team Coach at Arsenal, working alongside Arsene Wenger for 20 years, including being a part of their invincibles group. He currently works with FIFA in the FIFA Training Center as their Football Functional Development Specialist.
Cody Royle is the former Head Coach of AFL Team Canada, author of The Tough Stuff and Where Others Won't, and Coach of Elite Head Coaches.
Tony Carss is the U21 Head Coach at Aston Villa, and a UEFA Pro License coach. Tony is an ex pro who transitioned into coaching after his playing career was finished. Prior to being at Villa, he was Head of Coaching at Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers.
Per Mertesacker was a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, making 104 appearances for them during his career. After his prestigious career finished, Per transitioned into coaching, where he is currently Academy Manager at Arsenal Football Club.
Mal Meninga is a 3 time World Cup winner and rugby league immortal. Mal won the World Cup with the Australian National team once as a player, and twice as a coach, most recently in November 2022. He also led Queensland to 8 State of Origin wins in a row, which is a coaching record
Radhi is a former Premier League and Tunisian International footballer who is currently Senior Coach at Cercle Brugge in Belgium. Radhi was also previously U23 coach at Southampton FC.
Brian McDermott led Reading FC to the Premier League in 2012, being named LMA Championship Manager of the Season the year. He also won Premier League Manager of the Month during Readings time in the Premier League. McDermott also managed Leeds United, and was a Chief Scout for Arsenal FC.
Jonny is one of rugby league's best players, recently winning a fourth Grand Final in four years, while being named Harry Sunderland trophy winner in the 2022 Grand Final. It was an easy journey to the top, however, with him suffering a life threatening injury, and several potential career threatening injuries before he reached his peak
Paul McGuinness is a highly renowned coach and coach educator who previously spent 28 years at Manchester United, working with some of the worlds best players and coaches.
Phil is currently Senior Professional Game Development Lead for The FA. He has been with The FA since 2018, and was previously Head of Coaching at Norwich City FC, and a Coach Educator at the PFA
Kevin is an experienced hostage negotiator who graduated from the prestigious the FBI Hostage Negotiation Program, and founded the training consultancy business, Crimson Peak.
Jack Trainer is a renowned coach and coach educator who has previously worked at Bolton Wanderers, with the FA and more, and is now educating at University Campus of Football Business.
Mark Cartwright is the current Sporting Director of the USL, North America's largest and fastest growing professional soccer league. Mark was previously the Technical Director at Stoke City, playing a huge role during their tenure in the Premier League, and has mentored and worked with several top names within sports.
Colum Cronin is a Senior Lecturer of Sport Coaching and Physical Education at Liverpool John Moores University. He also co-authored the book, Care in Sport Coaching.
Matt Jones is a former Welsh International and Premier League footballer. His career was cut short due to injuries, but he is now influencing the next generation as a coach. He is currently the Wales U18 National Team Manager, U21 Assistant Coach and Senior Women's Team Assistant Coach.
Si Copley is currently an Academy coach at Arsenal Football Club's prestigious academy, and previously worked at West Ham United. He has worked with several high profile players, including England Internationals, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.
Matthew Clement is currently the FIFA Training Centre Manager, a platform full of cutting edge training sessions, analysis and related video content for coaches of all levels. He has previously worked with the Welsh FA and professional academies in Britain.
Gérard Jones is a professional football coach and coach educator who was recently the Elite Coach Educator for the Royal Moroccan Football Association. He has worked on several continents throughout his coaching career, and is the founder of sports coaching education platform, ULearnbly.
David Baird is a Scottish FA Coach and Tutor, and is the Founder of Scoreboard Soccer. David created Scoreboard Soccer to further enhance the learning process by playing fun and motivational small sided games.
Stephen Warnock is a former Premier League and England International footballer, and is now a highly regarded pundit, working for Sky Sports, BBC Sport, Premier League TV, LFC TV and more.
Si Jeffries is a former Special Forces Member, serving in one of the worlds elite military groups, the SBS. Since leaving the military, Si co-founded The Natural Edge, which combines elite military experience with cutting edge neuroscience and psychology to help individuals remove limitations and forge peak performance.
Stevie is a best selling author, mindset coach and entrepreneur who works with several high profile businesses, sporting figures and Head Coaches. Stevie also completes several high performance endurance events, including marathon races such as the Everest marathon and Great Wall of China Marathon, and high level mountaineering, like the ascent of Mount Kilamanjaro.
Richard Chaplow is the current Head Coach at Orange County SC in the USL Championship. Richard is a former Premier League footballer who moved stateside to finish his playing career in 2016. After retiring, he went straight into an assistant role at Orange County, and was named Head Coach of the club midway through 2021, steering them to the clubs first ever USL Championship that year.
Aaron Danks is currently the First Team Coach at Aston Villa FC. He was a part of the coaching staff in England's U20 World Cup winning success, and has previously worked at West Brom, with The FA, and at Anderlecht prior to taking up his role at Aston Villa. Aaron talks about his coaching experiences, including his rise from working in community football to now being involved with a Premier League first team.
Ian Bateman is an FA Youth Coach Developer and has worked within the FA since 2009. He has over 30 years experience in football. Prior to working at the FA previously spent 10 years at Bolton Wanderers, and he has also worked with England Futsal and Partially Sighted Teams.
Mark Robinson is the current Head Coach at AFC Wimbledon. He has been at the club since 2005, starting off in a volunteer role, before working his way up through numerous at the club. He was named Head Coach in February 2021 and has brought a refreshing approach to the club.
James Graham retired as England's most capped player in rugby league history in 2020, and is one of very few players to feature in Grand Finals in both England and Australia. The former St Helens, Canterbury Bulldogs and St George Illawarra forward was well known for his barnstorming runs, relentless attitude and willingness to compete, but also has a very philosophical approach in what he does.
Alan Irvine, former Assistant Manager and current Technical Advisor at West Ham United features on this episode. He has played a pivotal role in the remarkable success West Ham have had over the past couple of seasons. Alan is an ex professional player who has worked at several high profile football clubs in Britain as a Manager, Assistant Manager and more.
Steve Sallis is an author, coach, educator and mentor who specialises in creating high performing environments and successful individuals in classrooms, sports and more. He has been involved in education for over 20 years, including as a vice principal, transforming environments he has been a part of. He is currently involved at AFC Wimbledon, playing a part in developing a winning culture.
Harry Watling is the Head Coach at American USL Team, Hartford Athletic. Harry has previously worked at Chelsea, Milwall and West Ham. He shares his journey, what lessons he is now learning in his first professional role at the tender age of 31 and more.
Jason Wilcox is a Premier League Winner and former England International who is now Academy Manager at Manchester City Football Club. Jason talks about his journey so far, how he continues to learn and grow and much more.
Kevin Mincher is a performance coach and world leader in youth development, and has worked with professional teams, athletes, high performing businesses and much more. He is an educational innovator and youth advocate and has doubled the national average grade in High Schools he helped in the UK.
Sean Birchnall was the Head Coach for the Army Senior Men's Football Team, and has spent 31 years in the British Army, serving as a Sergeant Major during his time. He talks about leadership in multiple roles, and how important it is to invest in the people he is working with.
Jack Rutter, England U21 Cerebral Palsy Head Coach, features on this episode. Jack suffered a life changing event at 18, curtailing his career as a professional football. He since became England's CP National Team Captain, and also Great Britain's Football Captain at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.
Dr. Julia Jones, AKA Dr. Rock, is a Neuroscientist and Bio Hacker. Julia specializes in the science of boosting peoples brains and body through hacking biological systems. She has worked with Olympic squads, Premier League teams, celebrities and much more to improve their brain and body health and wellness.
Coach John Mosley, Head Coach at Eastern Los Angeles College, features on this weeks podcast. John recently starred on the popular Netflix show, Last Chance U: Basketball, where he got lots of recognition for the great work he is doing with his athletes.
Garry Banford is a former Sargeant Major in the British Special Forces. Garry was in the SBS for 22 years, and is one of the UK's most experienced combat leaders. He is now a renowned leadership and resilience coach at Duratus UK, and the host of the Duratus Mind Podcast.
Dr Mark Williams is a skill acquisition expert, professor, author of "The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made," and has worked with many organizations such as FIFA, UEFA, the US Military, Nike and many more.
Brian Ashton MBE is the former England Rugby Union coach who led the team to the World Cup Final in 2007. He has held numerous coaching and consulting roles throughout his career, and is a highly valued mentor and speaker.
Michael Beale, First Team Coach at Glasgow Rangers is back on the podcast. He talks about his experiences and learnings during Rangers invincible season, how they got their success and much more.
Michael Dawson is a professional footballer, current pundit for Sky Sports and former England International. The former Premier League and Tottenham Hotspurs captain talks about his upbringing, the qualities he believes that helped make him successful and more.
Keith Mayer features on this weeks podcast. Keith is a best-selling author, Premier League Academy Coach, mentor to many people around the world and speaker.
Greg Levine was previously the Executive Director at McLaren Automative. He is now the Managing Director of Sales and Distribution at Vitality Health, alongside being a director at a professional football league club.
Liam Scully, CEO at Lincoln City FC features on this weeks podcast. Liam has been at Lincoln City since 2017, seeing their rise through the English league system, including this season's promotion push to the Championship. He has over 18 years experience in football and has held several different roles in the game.
Nick Butter, the first and only person to run a marathon in every country in the world features on this weeks podcast. Nick is an endurance athlete, motivational speaker and author. He completed the task of running a marathon in all 196 countries in the world in November 2019 and has since completed 100 marathons in 100 days around Italy. Hear Nick's story, and what other challenges he has coming up.
Shaun Wane, England Rugby League Head Coach, features on this weeks podcast. Shaun was previously Head Coach at Wigan Warriors, winning three Grand Finals, a Challenge Cup, League Leaders Shield and World Club Challenge. He has the best win ratio of any Super League coach in its history and the second best win ratio of any coach in professional world rugby league.
Craig Brown, the former Scotland National Team Manager, features on this weeks podcast. Craig talks about how he managed strong characters and groups, how he built relationships and how his sense of humor helped him in elite environments.
Chris Brindley MBE features on this weeks podcast. Chris is the Chair for the Rugby League World Cup in 2021. He has been named Britains Best Boss, the UK's Non Executive Director of the Year, and much more for his work transforming multiple companies and organizations he has worked with, including NatWest, British Gas, Metro Bank and The Premier League.
Nick Hollis, adventurer and mountaineer, features on this weeks podcast. Nick is one of a handful of people to ever complete the seven summit challenge and is on track to complete his 7-2-1 challenge. While summiting Everest, Nick went snow-blind and had to find his way down. He shares his experiences in this podcast. For those interested in his 7-2-1 challenge can also find the link to his site below:
https://721challenge.com
Michael Beale, First Team Coach at Rangers FC, features on this weeks podcast. Mick's vast experiences include working at Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC and also Sao Paulo, where he was the Assistant Manager. Mick openly shares his knowledge and pearls of wisdom with us on this episode.
Misia Gervis, consultant Sports Psychologist at Wycombe Wanderers and Senior Lecturer at Brunel University, features on this weeks podcast. Misia has a wide array of experiences within sports and has impacted many people with her work.
Matt Edwards is former GB swimmer who qualified for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and a former Royal Marine Commando. Whilst on pre-selection for entry into the British Special Forces, Matt shares a compelling story that changed his life forever.
Per Mertesacker is currently Arsenal's Academy Manager, and was a pivotal part of Germany's 2014 World Cup Winning team. Per shares how his experiences growing up helped shape his illustrious career, and what his expectations are of the players he now works with at Arsenal.
James Roby is a rugby league legend, and one of a few members in the game who are part of the 500 appearance club. He's been at the top of his sport for 16 years, winning pretty much everything from an individual and team perspective. We spoke to Robes to find out what has helped make him so successful.
Mark Bennett MBE is a former British Commando & senior instructor within the Army Physical Training Corps. Mark has spent the last 30 years developing robust and scalable strategies to help improve organisations, teams and individuals.
Dan Abrahams is a world renowned sports psychologist, author and host of The Sports Psych Show. He shares his experiences as a professional golfer, how he went into psychology and the learnings he has taken through his career.
Newly appointed FA Woman's Professional Game Technical Lead, Tessa Payne, shares her stories about her journey in soccer. She was previously the Women's Academy Manager at Arsenal, and has spent time coaching the USA.
Pete is an ex-Premier League footballer, and is currently coaching at Newcastle United with their U23's. He shares his experiences while rising through the ranks at Newcastle, and his transition to becoming a coach back at his boyhood club.
Neil Bailey is a Regional Coach Educator at the PFA. He is a knowledgable and experienced coach developer who is highly respected in football. He shares with us his coaching journey, most notably about his time as the youth team coach at Manchester United, and as first team coach at Sunderland
Professor Damian Hughes is a world leading organisational & change psychologist. He is a highly acclaimed international speaker, bestselling author and co-hosts on the High Performance Podcast.
Nathan Mill is the Head of Medical Services at St Helens RLFC. He looks at sport through the lens of a 1st class physiotherapist, and shares how staff and players at St Helens have adapted to accommodate the return to training and playing through COVID.
Richard Thomas is the current Academy Manager at Watford FC. He talks about his experiences as a coach, what he looks for in staff and how he manages both his and other people's expectations.
Richard Shaw is an ex professional player, and now coach who has over 600 professional games to his name. He talks about his experiences as a player and coach, and goes in to detail about the famous altercation he had with Eric Cantona in the 90s.
Gareth Holmes features on this weeks podcast. Gareth works in the professional development phase at Nottingham Forest F.C. He talks about how he integrates his five values - care, serve, drive, inspire and unite - into his coaching.
Gordon Lord features on this weeks podcast. Gordon is an ex professional cricketer who has worked nationally for the English Cricket Board and the Rugby Football Union. He is well regarded throughout sport for his work developing coaches and has proven experience in mentoring at elite levels.
Thomas Gronnemark features on this weeks podcast. Thomas is best known as the first team thrown in coach for Liverpool FC, Ajax FC and other clubs. He has a fascinating story and competed for his country in athletics and bobsleigh.
Kevin Harper features on this weeks Gold Dust Podcast. Kevin is 2x Muay Thai World Champion. He is an ex PE teacher and now owns one of the most successful mixed martial arts gyms in the country. Kevin shares his great knowledge, understanding and wisdom around teaching and coaching.
Joe Sargison features on the second part of his two part episode. Joe is a Pro License Coach who has travelled too many countries around the world to gain greater insight and knowledge on how sports are coached. He shares some of his experiences that have helped shape him.
Joe Sargison features on this weeks podcast. Joe is a UEFA Pro License coach, FA Youth Coach Developer and Pride of Britain winner. In part one, Joe talks about the charity he started, Balls To Poverty, and how it impacted young lives around the world.
On the back of their promotion to the Championship, we are delighted to have Gareth Ainsworth and Richard Dobson on this week's episode of The Gold Dust Podcast. They talk about steps they took to build the culture at Wycombe, how they prepared their team for the play-offs and what makes this squad so special.
Cristina Fink features on this weeks podcast. Cristina is a 2x Olympic Athlete and 3x Olympic Performance Psychologist who also works with elite athletes and teams around the world on reaching their peak performance.
Steve Wigley features on this weeks podcast. Steve played under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, has managed in the English Premier League and has worked with England’s senior men’s team. Steve shares some of his vast experience with us, including the pressures of Premier League management.
Gary Lewis features on this week's podcast. Gary is the Academy Director at Seattle Sounders. He shares stories about his time at Liverpool's Academy, including working with Trent Alexander-Arnold, around 'solution based coaching,' and much more.
Wil Trapp features on this week's podcast. Wil is a US National Team player, and currently plays for MLS’s newest franchise, Inter Miami FC. He talks about his experiences captaining his country, and how he has developed as a person and a player under the tutelage of different coaches.
Tony Elliott features on this weeks Gold Dust Podcast. Tony shares his thoughts around the modern goalkeeper, and also what is was like playing in front of 70,000 people at Wembley Stadium.
Justin Holbrook, Gold Coast Titan's Head Coach, features on this weeks podcast. Justin was the Head Coach at St Helens RLFC from 2017 to 2019, breaking almost every record in rugby league in his two and half year spell in England, leaving the club with an 80% win rate. He shares with us his experiences and challenges at St Helens, and what challenges he now faces at Gold Coast.
Luke Chadwick features on this weeks podcast. Luke is a Premier League winner with Manchester United. He talks about playing under Sir Alex Ferguson, playing with Paul Scholes, and most importantly, the mental health issues he faced during his playing career.
Tosh Farrell features on this weeks podcast. Tosh was the Technical Co-Ordinator at Everton FC. He shares his vast knowledge and experiences of how he developed elite Premier League and International footballers, including Wayne Rooney and Ross Barkley.
Richard Dobson, Assistant Manager and 1st Team Coach at Wycombe Wanderers, features on this weeks podcast. Dobbo is currently the longest serving Assistant Manager in the top four professional leagues in England. He shares some insights into the importance of human currency and how he's helped develop a fantastic culture at Wycombe.
Ryan Maye, Aston Villa’s Head of Coaching, features on this weeks podcast. Ryan is a UEFA A License holder and has coached grassroots, women’s, academy football through to U23’s and international football. He shares with us his background in coaching, including what he meant by returning to home base in our book.