Is football up to the challenge?

This week's news of England Rugby Union coach Sir Clive Woodward's decision to resign from his position in order to pursue his burning ambition to enter the world of football has stunned sporting enthusiasts everywhere.

Sir Clive has basked in glory, dined with world leaders and has been feted for his achievements since England's victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He has a job that pays £250,000 a year and could more than treble his earnings from his sideline in public speaking, along with a host of lucrative sponsorship deals.

So why at the height of success does this man want to risk his reputation and all he has achieved by swapping the comfort of Rugby for the unknown territory which is football? The answer is easy. Woodward's most powerful asset is his vigorous self-belief. He doesn't think he can be a success in football, he knows he can.

The man who has been deemed half-mad, half-genius has transformed the English game of Rugby and has taken training and fitness to a new scientific level. In the high performance environment he has created, his players' fitness regimes are tailored to their specific role on the pitch. They are coached on visual awareness, leadership and how to react under pressure. Clive and his team of experts have everything covered.

For Woodward, enjoyment and contentment are the cornerstones of success. He claims to have learned these principles during his time down under where he met the Australian dentist Dr Paddi Lund.

In a bout of despair, Lund had attempted to end his days by jumping from a bridge into the river Brisbane but, thankfully for Woodward, chose otherwise. Instead, he decided to take positive action and dumped 95 per cent of his patients, only retaining the five per cent whom he enjoyed working with and asked them to recommend him to their friends.

As Lund became increasingly more contented in the work place, he became increasingly more successful, which led him to preach his theory in his book Building The Happiness-Centred Business.

Clive Woodward adopted these principles and from his business and life experience mastered the ability of thinking differently and far outside the box. He is one man who will not to accept the excuse it is done this way because it's always been done this way.

But can Woodward's sporting model be transferred to the game of football?

The debate has already started. Listening to a national radio phone-in on the matter, some guy who had been in the football industry for the decades stated Sir Clive would be sure to fail, arguing football was a different game and he didn't have the experience.

The comments bewildered me. Even through the airwaves I could sense the fear of change in this man's voice. After all, what does a man with a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Science from Loughborough University know about football and the methods in which to motivate a team?

The question for me is not if football is ready for Clive Woodward, but whether Clive Woodward is ready for football. If he does take the plunge, it will not be his lack of experience or knowledge of the game that proves a potential stumbling block, it will be his own frustration with a traditionalist industry that has an inherent suspicion of outsiders and specially those with radical ideas.

If Sir Clive does join Southampton Football Club as their director of football as it has been mooted, there's no doubt he will bring class to the game and for us non-traditionalists, will be a welcome addition to the football community.

It took Woodward six years to achieve England Rugby success and it is clear his theories and strategies are geared towards the long term. I just hope the knee jerk world of football allows him enough time to reap the rewards of his efforts. Time will only tell if Clive will be the saint the beautiful game has been looking for.

Updated: 08:33 Saturday, September 04, 2004