Leading with Vision: A Conversation with Craig Nelson

As the Team Manager at the world’s first gender-equal football club, Nelson's role is more than just tactical; it exhumes a commitment to equality and progressive values in a sport historically dominated by disparity.

Lewes FC continues to push the boundaries both on and off the pitch. Their ambitions extend far beyond match results, aiming to set new standards in how football clubs operate—promoting inclusivity, sustainability, and a community-first approach.

The club's forward-thinking ethos is mirrored in their use of cutting-edge technology during their preseason preparations. By integrating Veo video technology, the team has enhanced their ability to analyse performances, refine tactics, and foster a deeper understanding of the game among players.

We caught up with Craig to discuss his new role as commander and chief, his career highlights across coaching, and Veo’s significance in his quest to improve team performance - as he takes his next steps into management.

What does another year at Lewes FC look like for men and women footballers, and what have you been up to over the summer?

I'm the new first-team manager at Lewes, so yeah, I took over in the summer. Theirmanagement team departed just towards the end of the season, but it's all systems go, from minute one of coming through the door, from trying to learn about the club and then putting a team together that can compete.

It's just understanding the dynamics and then enhancing them and seeing how we can make sure that we do a lot of things together and not them and us. It's we are one club. It's understanding that, and getting the players to understand that, because they've had a massive overhaul as well, them coming out of the leagues has meant that they've had to recruit from fresh [they were full-time], but they're not anymore. So they're coming into our world, where we only train a couple of times a week, which will be a massive cultural change for them and some of the players, maybe. So yeah, there's a lot of change going on in both camps. I believe their managers are back from the Olympics now, so we'll, we'll start to get together to see how we can align those synergies from both teams.

Is the sky the limit? What’s your end goal?

That's a great question, and I think you know what, I've been a coach for a very long time, and not to bore you too much, but when I was playing, you got put through your badges. So I've had my badges for a long time, and then I had my own coaching company at like, 17/18. 

Maybe about four years ago, where I was, like, let me try the other side of the game. Now, let me put my whole heart into it, do what it takes to develop myself, and then come into the world of management or coaching. Which is what I’m doing now. And now, it's just about taking this opportunity and seeing how far it can take me. I don't like to put a cap on things, so if I can go all the way to the top, then great. But I'm also very focused on being here now and not so far in the future.

Do you have any career highlights?

Yeah, most definitely, I think, in both scenarios of me managing at this level and the level before. 

What I've had to endure in the last role was building a brand new squad with next to nothing. A lot of the players that I brought in hadn't played men's football before. I’d say, one of my highlights is the growth and development of them. They've all gone on to play at higher steps, or I've brought some of them with me to Lewes, so they've jumped from two steps below into this level.

How does Veo assist you in your day-to-day? 

I reckon I was one of the first people to have a Veo, I brought it in when I was coaching and managing a Sunday League team, I bought one, when they were fresh on the market. Bought one, and nobody had one. No one in Sunday League had one. I don't know if it branched out into non-league yet, but I'm pretty sure I was one of the first. It is invaluable for analysing the game.

It gives you such a wide view of what's happening on the pitch, that we're able to analyse every detail. So yes, it follows the ball. However, with the panoramic view, I can see what my defenders are doing once the ball is in the attacking half, and vice versa, when the ball is in our defensive half, I can see what my attackers are doing. So, it allows us to dig into those details and see how we're being represented in moments of the game. And there are loads of features in there that we use in terms of tagging people and clipping it for them, so they don't have to go in and deep dive into 90 minutes plus of a game.

What would you say it means for the modern-day footballer? 

I think everyone in this modern day wants to watch themselves back and create highlight reels if they have a moment of brilliance, or if they score a goal, etc, the first thing they ask for is, when's the video uploaded? When's it ready? So I think it captures moments for them, and it allows them to create a little bit of a buzz themselves. 

It's great for clubs that need to look at them where, when I was playing football, you never had any of this. So it makes reaching out to clubs a lot more tangible because there's evidence that you can show. 

What has Veo changed the most in your coaching tactics?

I think because I've used it for such a long time, it's kind of ingrained. It's ingrained in what we do. We're quite heavy on analytics, not just from the Veo. It's a massive driver. It feeds into what we do. It sets game plans as well. If we're analysing opposition. There might have been things that we've done previously that we can clip and show the boys to say, look, they play like this. This is what we expect.

It allows me to hit from both angles and just ask probing questions to see if we can drive some improvements, across the board. 

Having confessed yourself amongst the first to use Veo, were there any reservations when you first introduced it as a coach?

Good question. I think the first thing was, like, “Let's capture some of what we're doing”. I think it was a little bit of the land of the unknown at the time of how good the quality was going to be to distribute over social media, right? And then my take early on was that, it is probably better used for analysing games. [Veo] are constantly improving their product. So I think the initial, “Why did I get it?” It was more from a “let's show everybody what we're doing and how well we're performing” stance.

Now players have been picked, and you have your team, what are some hopes for the season? 

To be fair, you can have an eye on the future, but you still need to remain present. 

I think it's a bit too early to tell from a club objective. They just expect me to build foundations for the years to come, which I think if you were to ask them now that they're happy with the progress we've made so far. So as long as we keep doing those check-ins, and we're both on the same page, and the team are performing, which they've they've started and showed that they can, and then we've had two tough games. So if we can win those two games, there's no reason why we can't continue to do so, and as long as we're seeing progression, sometimes, that's not always in the result. If we can see progression, I think we'll continue to be aligned and be happy. So I'm sure we'll speak again soon and later in the season. You could ask me the same question. 

Any last words?

I think if we're talking in the land of Veo, I think it is: Don't be scared to dive into the details. I believe if you're going to progress, you have to look at how you can add the 1% and that you can't be too overanalytical, but it's about how you simplify that for your audience, is what I'd say. You need to use it as an advantage, not as a hindrance. So, if it's not telling you what you expect, you need to think about how you can change it over time, not instantly. 

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All photos by James Boyes / Lewes FC