BPAS PODCAST: 1st Mar '21 Episode 24: Paul Murray Interview

[BPAS]

Paul Murray has been head of the youth academy at Oldham since the summer of 2019. He also has a distinguished playing career at the club, as well as having served as a coach and assistant manager. It's fair to say he knows the club inside out, so Matt caught up with him to learn more about how he's been able to shape the youth set up, what his main challenges are and what he'd like to see happen going forward.

 

You can join in the conversation by emailing your messages, questions, rants and voice messages to bpalertsystem@gmail.com.

 

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Title music is by Manchester DJ and producer Starion find out more at www.redlaserrecords.bandcamp.

 

 

[Lee Sinnott2]

Would love to see him as our manager...

[Dave_Og]

The way the reserve system has been destroyed (across football, not just Latics) is a betrayal of youth football and young footballers.  No first team manager can be blamed for recruiting grizzled journeymen who they know can do a job rather than taking a chance on a youngster whose experience is almost entirely confined to playing other youth teams on playing fields.  Their jobs are precarious enough without taking unnecessary gambles.

[lookersstandandy]

3 hours ago, Dave_Og said:

The way the reserve system has been destroyed (across football, not just Latics) is a betrayal of youth football and young footballers.  No first team manager can be blamed for recruiting grizzled journeymen who they know can do a job rather than taking a chance on a youngster whose experience is almost entirely confined to playing other youth teams on playing fields.  Their jobs are precarious enough without taking unnecessary gambles.

 

I found it interesting to hear Paul say that the modern day player has as much to do with the lack of a reserve league than anything else.

 

Its almost as if clubs/managers/head coaches have spent so much time convincing/conditioning modern day footballers it's ok not to be in the starting eleven, on the bench, in the match day squad or just in the 1st team squad, to such as extent that contentment with this achievement has brought about a lack of desire & moved the stigma elsewhere. In this case, not wanting to be in the 'reserves'.

 

[Dave_Og]

6 minutes ago, lookersstandandy said:

 

I found it interesting to hear Paul say that the modern day player has as much to do with the lack of a reserve league than anything else.

 

Its almost as if clubs/managers/head coaches have spent so much time convincing/conditioning modern day footballers it's ok not to be in the starting eleven, on the bench, in the match day squad or just in the 1st team squad, to such as extent that contentment with this achievement has brought about a lack of desire & moved the stigma elsewhere. In this case, not wanting to be in the 'reserves'.

 

Maybe so.  Hard to see who it benefits when players get so little experience of competitive football.  A gam on Chapel Fields behind closed doors seems unlikely to tell the coaches anything that hey don't already know.

 

 

On a different point I'd never heard about the lad we'd sold to Liverpool (selling 12 year olds, what a world...).  I reckon he'll sign for Chorley in about ten years' time at which point we'll be able to stop speculating about his sell on clause.

[the_mighty_bosh]

Great to hear that they're getting players like Chris Taylor to help with some of the youth coaching to pass on their experiences in the game.

 

Murray speaks a lot of sense and seems to have acquired a lot of knowledge from different clubs and positions that he's been in.  I hope the talk of continuity seeps through to the boardroom, whether that's in player recruitment using Forest Green, Cheltenham, Crewe and (a little higher up) Sheffield United as examples of keeping a core squad together and building bit by bit, or tactical like he said about Bunn changing our formation pointlessly against Shez and Murray's Carlisle when we were on an unbeaten/winning run to bad effect.

 

Another great pod, thanks guys.

[al_bro]

Very good listen and a good insight into youth football.

[underdog]

Sorry to kidnap the thread, but if anyone is interested in support the academy and fancies working with Paul and his team....

 

Then, former Playershare scheme is looking for volunteers to help re-launch and work the Muzza. Help to "Grow our own..." talent as such

 

If you remember Dave Stringer (O4U) supported Playershare and his son Chris is taking up challenge of the re-launch, but they need help.

 

Playershare - now academy focussed

 

Interested? Then please register on our volunteer page.

 

Cheers

[marhar]

This was a great interview, probably my favourite yet. I found it heart-wrenching in a way that there are good football people like Paul Murray around who have such a fondness for the club and desperate to do well for us. I'd love him to be manager but at the same time I would hate it, you wouldn't want anyone you care about to get the job in the current circumstances