Wolves against Nottingham Forest is a fixture which changed Stephen Ward’s career.
Back in the August of 2008, he was 18 months into life at Molineux which had been occupied either as a striker or on the left of midfield.
Boss Mick McCarthy had lost his normal left back George Elokobi to a serious injury, and hinted in his pre-match press conference that he had found the perfect replacement.
That replacement…was Ward.
Wolves won 5-1, Ward spent much of the remainder of his Wolves stay at left back, and so too at Burnley, ultimately chalking up 171 appearances in the Premier League not to mention 50 senior caps for the Republic of Ireland.
If it was a McCarthy masterstroke, it was also a decision which paid off thanks to Ward’s ability to adapt, willingness to learn and a strong mentality allied to the technical quality to operate in several different positions.
That adaptability and willingness to learn – as seen when he remained in Ireland to complete his education before landing his big move to Wolves back in 2007 – has already been seen in Ward’s post-playing days since hanging up his boots 18 months ago after rounding off his career just down the M6 with Walsall.
Already doing some voluntary coaching with the Academy at Burton where his son was playing, Ward has then worked as assistant with Kevin Foley to Roger Johnson at Brackley Town, alongside completing the UEFA ‘B’ and ‘A’ licences.
All the time however, he had the overall ambition of a Sporting Director role and was visiting different clubs, utilising his contact network, whilst also studying for a Masters in Sports Directorship.
And then, this summer, he was appointed as Sporting Director at Solihull Moors in the National League.
Another journey begins.
“It is always in the back of your mind towards the end of your career, what to do next,” Ward explains.
“The majority of players who stay in the game aim to go into coaching, management, working as agents or in the media.
“I enjoyed coaching, and I enjoyed working with Rog and Foles at Brackley, but I always had this feeling that football is now such a global business and a global sport.
“And so I had always been interested in the business side of it, what goes on off the field.
“I am sure any player will tell you that when you are training every day, you are thinking about being in the best possible physical condition and mental space to be able to perform.
“But over the last 18 months to two years of my playing career, when I got to the stage when I knew I hadn’t gone long left, I started using my network of contacts to learn about different roles.
“I went to clubs to meet people who worked in different positions off the field, including Wolves, where Scott Sellars (former technical director) was really good in terms of helping me and making me realise what areas would suit me.
“I was also lucky to have a friend who was working at Manchester City as the pathways manager in the loans department and spent a bit of time there, getting the chance to speak to people I wouldn’t have had a chance to otherwise.
“With that I could learn how a club operated at the very highest level, but I also used contacts down the leagues, and when I was at Walsall, Leigh Pomlett (co-chairman) was great in showing how a club at that level operates.
“In seeing a mix of clubs in different leagues I found I had a real buzz of that Sporting Director type role – it was something I became really interested in – and studying for the degree only enhanced that feeling.”
Pursuing that Masters qualification has certainly provided Ward not just with plenty of food for thought as to how to take on life post-playing, but also substantial practical knowledge as well as learning from the thoughts and experiences of some of the key figures within the game.
And it hasn’t just been in football, with a dip into the world of Formula 1 to deliver a presentation on the high performance culture and strategy of the Mercedes AMG team after visiting their headquarters in Brackley.
“Once I knew what I wanted to do, and going straight into it from football, it was really important to develop my business acumen and the Masters has been perfect in that respect,” says Ward.
“I am now onto my dissertation with just a few months of the course remaining, which has been invaluable with my learning and networking.
“Some of the speakers have been brilliant, not just in football but from other sports, and you can take aspects from so much of what they say and take the opportunity to pick their brains.
“My cohort is a mix of people from football or professional environments in other sports, and the whole course has been excellent – I really can’t recommend it highly enough.”
As he moved towards the end of the Masters, and whilst he was gleaning as much information as possible from contacts and experiences, opportunity knocked for Ward with the new position created at Solihull.
He was introduced to Moors chairman Darryl Eales who was leading a restructure at Damson Park, bringing in a new manager in Andy Whing whilst looking to appoint the club’s first ever Sporting Director.
A forward-thinking National League club, which has been knocking on the door of the Football League by twice reaching the play-offs in recent years, it seems a perfect fit for the equally ambitious Ward and, after several weeks of conversations, he was appointed in the summer.
“I am really grateful to have been given this opportunity at this level and am enjoying every minute,” Ward explains.
“I am still learning, still developing and want to keep developing, and what is really important is that I know I don’t always have the answers.
“I feel like I could also pick the phone up to a lot of people in these roles to help in certain situations and, from there, I take those bits but then impose my own philosophy and approach.
“The Sporting Director role is one which wasn’t so evident within the UK and footballing pyramid until recent years and was more prevalent in other countries across Europe.
“I think it is becoming a pivotal role and is really important in terms of continuity.
“Unfortunately, it’s the way of the world now that a manager’s life cycle is not what it should be, and the role of a Sporting Director is crucial in making sure that the club has a philosophy and a process that they stick to.
“If you look at someone like Dan Ashworth (Newcastle Sporting Director), and what he has achieved, that is probably an illustration of how important that the role can be when it is successful.
“I have heard Dan speak a lot about his journey and when you think about his work at Brighton and Newcastle, and also with England, I think that is the ceiling of what everyone else would be aiming to achieve at the moment.”
What, then, does that role of a Sporting Director look like, on a day-to-day basis?
The truth is, as with so many roles within football, no two days are ever the same.
“Traditionally a Sporting Director oversees all aspects of the first team football side, the academy and then recruitment, which is obviously one of the biggest parts of the job,” says Ward.
“At this level, with the finances and resources, obviously we don’t have the staffing structure of clubs higher up the pyramid and so, like everyone at Solihull, there are other extended branches of the job where you have to dig in and help out.
“And that can only benefit me in my learning, seeing other roles at the club and how things operate, which is invaluable.
“I think a big part of being a Sporting Director is to make sure everything is in place for the first team manager, and taking as much pressure off them as you can.
“You want to make sure all the detail is in place so that they can concentrate on getting everything ready for the game on Saturday, and that goes for the players as well.
“I have a good and professional relationship with Andy, and it helps when you get on well, but we both know there are always going to be times when we have disagreements over certain issues.
“That’s just normal, but it’s always discussed in a professional manner, and we know that we are both doing our best to get the best result on a Saturday which is the most important thing.”
Where Ward can also add plenty of expertise and know-how is via his own experience, which covers so many different strands of the game.
Having arrived at Wolves after learning his trade in the League of Ireland with Bohemians, he went on to play in every division from Premier League to League Two, enjoying promotions and enduring relegations, and picking up that half century of senior international caps including appearing at two European Championships.
There is very little in football that Stephen Ward hasn’t experienced.
And the trials and tribulations of football, in which he is so well versed, have already been on show so far at the Moors.
They started the season by going 14 games unbeaten, then went on a run of six defeats in nine including a 5-0 reverse at Southend, and three reverses in a row ahead of Saturday’s FA Trophy trip to Scunthorpe.
“I have always felt in my career with the ups and downs that you learn just as much when things are going well as you do when they are not,” says Ward.
“I am lucky enough to have had some great times in my career, and also some real lows.
“That is the reality of the game and the industry.
“It is about how you bounce back from the times that are tough and how you deal with situations that is important.
“In my own career, there are times when I could have dealt with situations better and times when I felt I dealt with things well.
“It’s always constant learning, and I have this mentor who I can pick up the phone to at any time, as well as other contacts.
“The first time we had a major defeat this season, away at Southend, I had a text from him as soon as the final whistle went, and while you have to deal with the challenges yourself, to have that sort of support and advice is invaluable.”
Having that support is certainly vital, and also comes from plenty of Ward’s team-mates from a Molineux era under McCarthy which produced some magical times.
For him personally, alongside the successes of the team there were many personal highlights, notably when returning back to his previous centre forward position to score the winning goal to beat Liverpool at Anfield.
For Wolves at that time, the whole was always greater than the sum of its parts with a group of largely ‘young and hungry’ personnel, and the tightness of that unit means many have stayed in touch, to mutual benefit when picking each other’s footballing brains!
The likes of Rob Edwards (Luton), Neill Collins (Barnsley), George Elokobi (Maidstone) and Matt Hill (Stafford Rangers until recently) have gone into management, others such as Foley (Luton), Christophe Berra, David Jones, Jody Craddock and Karl Henry are coaching at different levels, and Matt Murray, Lee Naylor, Chris Iwelumo, Stephen Hunt, Dave Edwards, Matt Jarvis, Michael Kightly have remained involved in areas such as media or agency work.
Ward’s compatriot and former Molineux strike partner Andy Keogh has also been involved previously as a head of recruitment with Perth Glory in Australia.
“We were all very close-knit as players but I can’t recall having too many conversations about what we were going to do after playing – we were still young,” he laughs.
“We all grew up together, and effectively moved from boys to men as we started our journeys, and it’s great to see people go on and do well.
“Rob is such a great guy who has worked tremendously hard to get to the Premier League, and I always knew Neill would be a manager because of how he used to give it out on the pitch!
“It’s nice that a lot of us are still in contact and can talk about our experiences and always pick the phone up and share advice and knowledge when we need to.”
Ward still has a very keen eye on life at Molineux – he was the guest speaking in the commercial lounges for last night’s game against another former club Burnley – and is a big fan of the job being done by Gary O’Neil.
Meanwhile another of the former Wolves promotion heroes who also has designs on moving into coaching is defender Richard Stearman, who is still, at 36, playing for Solihull.
“I think we had the feeling that we were missing a bit of experience, and it took a few weeks to convince Stears to come but he has been great,” says Ward.
“It’s good to have him playing and still doing well but he has also been brilliant off the pitch, helping on the coaching side and watching the lads’ clips and giving feedback.”
While Stearman and the rest of the Moors squad can affect games on the pitch, for Ward, life is now very different, sitting up in the Stand or Directors Box.
And not even being able to hover down in the dugout or on the touchline, able to bark orders as he could whilst supporting Johnson at Brackley!
“That has been one of the hardest bits – the feeling of not having any control on a matchday,” he says.
“Throughout the week you can contribute by giving opinions and asking questions but, as a Sporting Director, you have to trust the manager and people in the key positions because that is why they have been appointed.
“It is all about trying to help the manager but at the end of the day that also includes giving him space and him being able to make his own decisions.
“After a game we can debrief and discuss what has happened but, whatever those discussions, then everyone pulls together win, lose or draw to put things in place to keep improving so that the journey continues successfully.
“I have learned to control my emotions a bit more sat up in the Stand but there are obviously still times you have to celebrate a goal or a win – I really want us to achieve so that feeling of happiness will certainly never leave me!”
Ward is clearly enjoying life at Solihull Moors and relishing the challenges ahead.
Even with that recent dip in results, they still occupy one of the play-off positions and, with an impressive training ground befitting of a higher level and a stadium which has been improved and could be developed further in the future, he believes the infrastructure has the potential to meet the footballing aspirations.
In the much longer term, Ward has ambitions to be a Sporting Director in the Premier League, but that is one for many years in the future with all current focus on trying to help Solihull Moors finally break into the Football League.
“I felt the potential that is here from the moment I walked through the door,” he confirms.
“It is a very difficult division to get out of with only one promotion place for automatic and one in the play-offs, but we have a process in place and are building a culture and professional mentality.
“There is a really good group of staff here, and if we find a way to get the absolute maximum of what we have, then we will give ourselves a chance.”
Whatever happens from here for Ward, it has been quite a journey from that day he first arrived at Wolves’ Compton Park training ground to seal his dream move from Bohemians.
He was recently appointed to the Board at Solihull – “such a privilege to be asked” – so how does he feel about the career he has enjoyed – and what lies ahead – since crossing the Irish Sea?
“Well when I first came over, I was probably just hoping I wasn’t going to be back home within a year,” Ward recalls.
“I was lucky enough to have come through a set-up at home where I came from a tremendously hard-working family and have never taken anything for granted.
“I am also fortunate to have enjoyed some brilliant moments in my playing career thanks to the managers and all those around me who have given me opportunities.
“From day one I have always wanted to work as hard as I could to get the best out of myself and now moving into this new role, I am starting that all over again.
“Let’s see how far it can take me!”
