CAST were very grateful to CAFC Director of Performance Services Dr Will Abbott for agreeing to be our guest at this year’s post-AGM Q&A.
Will introduced himself. He said he had joined Charlton in January having been at Brighton for twelve years and at Southampton prior to that. He said that he had always been a keen footballer but he realised that he wasn’t good enough to play at a decent level so decided to concentrate on performance instead. He has a degree in sport and exercise science, a masters in sports performance and a Phd.
His role at Charlton is to oversee science and medical provision, strength and conditioning, sport science, nutrition, physiotherapy, medical and psychology across the men’s, boy’s women’s and girls’ squads.
Will responded to CAST members' questions as follows:
Q: To what do you attribute the appalling run of injuries at Charlton at the moment?
A: There is a similar feeling at a lot of clubs when it comes to injuries, with every organisation thinking their injury record is worse than others. The number of injuries across the game is increasing with data suggesting that the speed of the modern game, the number of fixtures and the duration of games are increasing the demands on players and contributing towards increased injury occurrence.
Q: Are there any other underlying causes (e.g the pitch) and do we know how our competitors compare?
A: It is difficult to benchmark in League One at times. We have a wealth of information within our club but other clubs are not obliged to supply injury information so we can only get it from the media. In the Premier League there is more journalist attention but not lower down the leagues. At this stage of the season with fixture congestion and the pitches getting softer the clubs that can navigate the situation most effectively will gain a real advantage and that is our ambition.
Q: Why did you leave Brighton ?
A: I had a fantastic time at Brighton enjoying the journey from being a club newly promoted to League One and training at Sussex University to a Premier League club with a category 1 Academy and a team in the Women’s Super League. But I wanted a new challenge and I think there are similarities in terms of potential at Charlton. Andy Scott and Simon Lenegan sold me the ambition of the new Charlton executive team and the direction they wanted to take the club in.
Q: Do you find yourself in some heated discussions with Nathan Jones?
A: Football environments, especially this one, are ambitious and competitive and things can sometimes get heated but only because we care and want to be successful! We’ve got fantastic staff across all departments and we try to challenge each other in a respectful way.
Q: What can you do to help players psychologically during a bad run?
A: It is very important in a high-performance environment that everyone remains consistent with their habits when things are not going well because it is easy for even the best to go on a bad run of results. Think about Manchester City at the moment. We encourage everyone to stay on task and remain resilient In comparison to strength and condition and physiotherapy, psychology is relatively underused in my opinion. We have recently recruited two new psychological positions during the summer.
Q: Can you describe your average day ?
A: I know it is a cliché but there is no such thing. However, I would say that I try to find the balance between short-term reactive issues and long-term strategic planning. Every day there are hundreds of decisions to be made about rehab, training and other problems to be solved but it is important we don’t lose sight of how we can improve in the longer term.
Q: Do you have any insight into why there are so many ACL injuries in the women’s game?
A: There are a number of factors contributing towards a greater proportion than in the men’s game. For example the wider Q angle in the hips, the decreased lower limb muscular strength, and the effects of the menstrual cycle. There is urgent need for more research.
Q: Do you take a different mental approach between the men’s and women’s teams?
A: I don’t think so. You can’t generalise and you have to treat everyone as an individual. You have to understand all different cultures and cohorts.
Q: What about the long-term effects of heading the ball?
A: It is right that attention is given to this and we must do our due diligence by monitoring the effects closely. There is a much greater awareness now and a high level of research. Concussion care is much improved and the protocols much stricter. Compared with thirty years ago the type of football used makes a difference. They used to play with hard heavy leather balls which soaked up water. It is sustained repeated concussion which leads to long-term injury.
Q: What about food? Alf Ramsey’s notes for the 1966 World Cup squad talk about “squash, milk and fresh food served by waitresses”
A: We serve fresh organic food, squash and milk at the training ground but we stress to the players that they should be aware at every meal – not just when they are at work – that they need to be fuelling with the correct nutrients. We are also conscious of what players are eating at hotels and on the coach, although nutritious food doesn’t always travel well. We have outsourced catering to a specialist sports nutrition company.
Q: Do you have any news about current injured players returning before Christmas?
A: It wouldn’t be right for me to give any specific details about individuals but I would say that there are no particularly long-term injuries at present and that a handful of them will be available imminently.
Q: Could the reason for more injuries these days be the reduction of pain-killing injections or the use of asthma inhalers to increase performance?
A: I don’t think so. The increase is more likely to be because of the increased demands of the game. There is more and more emphasis on pressing and looking for players who are sprinters rather than endurance athletes. Sprinters are more susceptible to injury. There have been huge improvements in medical support which speeds up return times.
Q: Why have you got a Brighton & Hove framed shirt on your wall but no Charlton one?
A: I was given that shirt when I left Brighton. There is also a Southampton shirt. If there was a Charlton one it would mean that I had been relieved of my duties so I’m happy there’s not one on the wall.
Q: If you were in charge of performance at Manchester United what would you do with Marcus Rashford?
A: I wouldn’t want to comment without knowing the full context. There is so much media comment which is offered without much knowledge of the full context.
Q: Does psychology play a part in player recruitment?
A: It should do but it is hard to quantify. We have so much data on physical technical and tactical ability which you can attribute a number to but, in terms of psychology, we rely on personal knowledge or recommendation which is not always unbiased or tangible. It is an untapped area of performance and developing it would provide a real competitive advantage.
Q: The Manchester City treatment room is full of City branding and memorabilia. Do we do anything similar ?
A: We pushed hard in the summer to improve the branding of the training ground to give it more of a Charlton feel and to ensure that players felt part of something with a history to celebrate. Previously, the buildings were a bit sterile. We are using red and white branding and images of current and previous players and legends.
Q: Chuks Aneke was at the launch of the EFL’s Diverse Fans Project at The Valley today. How important is it to keep injured players involved?
A: There has been a lot of research into the difficult times in the careers of athletes and the challenges of transition such as retirement and injury. In a high-performance environment players typically live and breathe the game and, if it is suddenly taken away from them, their sense of identity can be threatened. It isn’t just not playing – they are away from the group travelling to games and might have to be training alone – so we try to integrate them as much as possible. We try to help them move away from “What can’t I do?” to see it as a window of opportunity. For example, doing strength-based work; watching clips; working with psychologists; nutritional changes.
Q: We supporters are the twelfth man, woman and child. What can you advise for us to stay fit for leaping out of our seats and hugging strangers given our diets of chips, beers and almond croissants?
A: I’ve been very impressed with the support and noise since arriving at Charlton. I would advise wrapping up warm and doing some gentle movements to start get the pulse raised. Some upper and lower body dynamics to ensure the blood is flowing. With regards to chips, beer and croissants - everything in moderation.
Q: What about perking us up mentally?
A: That is the million dollar question. Basically, try to enjoy being on the journey and being part of something bigger than yourself. There is a fantastic sense of community at the club and you can perhaps enjoy the periods of success better having come through the hard times together.
Q&A chair Heather Alderson expressed the meeting’s thanks to Will for joining us and providing such a unique insight into what goes on at the training ground behind the scenes.