Arnie's 'coach whisperer' targets EPL

He's enjoyed great success working with football, rugby league and rugby union, both in Australia and Europe. Now, Bradley Charles Stubbs – a man who works directly with coaches on improving their craft – is targeting some even bigger fish...

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“I’d just been sending him my programmes and he would book me in and talk to me over the phone.

I don’t know why someone can’t wait a couple of weeks when you’ve won everything and then have as much to drink as you want

“We won the 2014 grand final, we won the Nines tournament and then we won the World Club Challenge (against the reigning English champions) 39-0.”

For those that aren’t too familiar with rugby league, a 39-0 scoreline is akin to a 5-0 thrashing in football.

Next up he began working with Australian rugby union head coach Michael Cheika, who guided the team into the 2015 World Cup final, losing to the dominant New Zealand side.

While that Wallabies side had an impressive run, Stubbs knew the Australian team wasn’t entirely focused following two crucial victories to end the group stage.

“I saw on social media after we beat Wales and England some players walking around drinking red wine. And we’re at a World Cup,” he said.

^{The Sky Blues swept all before them last season}

“If you want to create history, you need to sacrifice. I don’t know why someone can’t wait a couple of weeks when you’ve won everything and then have as much to drink as you want.”

After helping Eddie Jones, the Australian who is enjoying record-setting results in English rugby, Stubbs then linked up with Graham Arnold at Sydney FC.

The result was a campaign that featured 20 wins, six draws and just one defeat and an all-time record points haul as the Sky Blues won both the regular-season premiership and the grand final.

When FFT began our conversation with Stubbs and asked how he was, he says he’s “all good, just getting over the achievement working with Graham Arnold.

“Unfortunately we lost one game, so there’s still room for improvement.”

When FFT chuckled at what we assumed was a joke, Stubbs replies: “What are you laughing at? I put programmes in place for people to go undefeated.”

And it’s clear he’s being quite serious. He has that much faith in his programmes, which are obviously getting impressive results.

A big part of Stubbs’ approach is to watch the messages coaches convey to the media and the opposition in press conferences, an area where Arnold shifted noticeably last season.

Now armed with his first major accomplishment in the world game, Stubbs is dreaming of even bigger targets.

“Now I’m looking for a coach that wants to win the World Cup,” he declared. “I’d like it to be with the Socceroos, but I don’t care if it’s China or whoever. It doesn’t matter.