Jobs4Football meets Paul Carter
In football winning is essential to every club being successfully run, so when things aren’t going well the higher powers usually aren’t afraid to make changes in terms of players and coaches, with the average manager tenure at clubs in English football being just over one and a half years.
With players coming and going almost like clockwork, what is it like being one of the ever presents at a football club and witnessing everything that goes on behind the scenes.
Jobs4Football spoke to Cardiff City’s head kit man, Paul Carter, about his experiences whilst being in the role, including what a typical week looks like for him, dealing with frequent changes of personnel and what his ambitions are for the future.
He said: “A typical week can vary dependant on the manager, but in the main we are in every day the players are in but will also come in on the players days off to ensure everything is prepared for the following day.”
“With me being Kit Manager there is also various administrative work that comes with the role including keeping up to date with emails, internal communication, submitting colours, managing stock and dealing with suppliers, whilst also managing the academy structure from a kit perspective.”
Carter started working in the kit department whilst he was at Solihull College, where he would help out as an assistant for Birmingham Reserves. Since then he has permanently worked the assistant role at Birmingham before also becoming assistant kit manager at Stoke City for 5 years, and in early 2016 he started his current role as head of kit and equipment at Cardiff.
In the five and a half years Carter has been at Cardiff, he has seen four different permanent managers at the club, including recently appointed Stephen Morrison who has taken over the role from Mick McCarthy for the remainder of the season.
But what is it like working in an environment where your fellow colleagues are frequently being replaced?
Carter went on to say: “That’s one of the hardest parts of the role because obviously with the way football clubs run it can be intense as there is a lot of games in a short period of time. This means we spend a lot of time together with the players and staff conversing with them on a daily basis, so you build up a relationship with them.”
“It’s sad because you get to know about them personally and know about their personal life and see what they go through when things aren’t going right, and obviously this change normally occurs when teams aren’t being successful. You just have to adapt and get ready for the next regime and prepare and do the job to the best of your ability really.”
“The mood has always been good at Cardiff we have a great group of staff and players it’s just the results haven’t been great at times this season, but it’s just about trying to keep the positive atmosphere and provide the best service I can by giving everyone the tools they need to do their job and being there if anyone needs to talk as well.”
The 31 year old has been in and around football for 13 years now, but it hasn’t been just working in the kit department, Carter has also obtained his level 1 and 2 in coaching and is currently working towards his UEFA B qualification. As well as this he is currently the assistant manager of Barry Town U13s whilst also studying for his masters in sports directorship.
“I’m not sure whether coaching is something that I would like to do in its entirety, but I am enjoying the learning side and looking at things from a different perspective. I’m currently working with Barry Town U13s, and at that age it’s more about their development rather than results, and we have had players trial at different clubs like, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, so that’s great for them but it’s also a personal achievement to see them move on and get opportunities.”
“I’ve taken on quite a lot of extra learning at the moment, I’m not 100% what I want to do in the future as of yet because I really enjoy the job I’m doing now. However, I’m ambitious and career driven so I would like to progress into a more strategic role if the opportunity became available, but at the moment I’m just focussed on becoming a more well-rounded individual which will benefit my current role and my future ambitions.”
The Birmingham City fan has gathered a vast amount of knowledge working behind the scenes at numerous clubs and coinciding with his further learning and drive to succeed, Carter has all the tools to land himself an executive role in the future.