In this interview, we take a look behind the scenes with James Mooney, Operations Director, and how he works across all operational aspects of the club.

We found James to be a quietly understated and modest person who plays a massively important part in the smooth, seamless and structured operations of so many areas, bringing them all together impressively across a broad and deep portfolio of responsibilities. We were very impressed, and we hope this interview provides you with a snapshot of what he does, today and for the future.

Thanks for taking time out to talk to us, James. First up, can you tell us what your role involves? 

The title Operations Director sums it up neatly really – I’m responsible for overall supervision of all the operational functions of the club, from IT and safety and security to match days, home and away, the stadium, medical and performance and also the community and academy operations. Each of those functions is taken care of by great people and teams, who report to me as part of the Executive Team who support the playing side and management and put into action the strategy directed by the Board and Gary Sweet. 

You’re part of the connective glue that ensures that all the essentials work smoothly together then?

Yes, you could definitely say that! 

Before we investigate that in more depth, tell us a little more about yourself and what brought you to Luton Town please.

I’m from Stroud in Gloucestershire – my accent is a giveaway there! I was a keen footballer in my school days, with Forest Green Rovers, my local team, as a youth player. 

When I finished school, I did a public services course at college for two years, with a view to a career in that sector. At the end of the course, I didn’t want to go off to university, and looked into doing a summer camp in America, in Connecticut, coaching football. After talking to the recruiter, I was invited to go a bit earlier than just turning up for the four-week programme, to explore the culture and do some work with an additional needs camp. 

I was initially a bit reserved about that as I felt my strength was purely football and coaching, but I found it really rewarding and it became a full-time job, supporting families as well and mentoring young children. That’s where I met my wife, who was working with that side of the additional needs camps too. It was a momentous time in our lives – we got married and had our first child in America, but then decided to move back to Stroud, where I started working with a local energy company whose owner also owned Forest Green Rovers. 

I moved over to that side and, over a 10-year stay with Forest Green, I developed my business skills, became company secretary and then eventually headed up operations. 

Rob Edwards was there for a year, so I knew him briefly. When he moved to Luton there was a potential job vacancy within the operations department and Rob put me in touch with Gary and although it was a big move for me and my family to  come to Luton, that’s what we did. 

Although I was in a hotel for a while, we now live locally. I’m very much a family man, and there’s a real family feel at Luton. I know that’s a bit of a cliché, but like a family we really care about each other and work hard to make the club the best it can be. Yes, we’ve had a hugely disappointing 18 months or so but believe me everyone is united in that aim, on and off the pitch. 

So, back to your role – how does it work on a day to day and overall basis?

So, my direct reports – the people who report back to me weekly or, where needed, daily, cover a whole host of specialist functions. 

There’s IT – Thorsten Gfrarer, our IT specialist. Safety and Security – that’s the one and only Barney McGhee. Catering with Cris da Silva – overseeing this is shared with Ben Kensell, who takes care of the commercial side while I oversee catering functions for the first team and academy facilities at The Brache. 

I’m responsible for Academy operations alongside Paul Benson and oversee the structure of the Medical and Strength and Conditioning teams, but both teams report directly to Jack Wilshere. 

They’re led by Chris Phillips, Head of Physiotherapy, after Danny Murphy, who did a really good job improving some of the processes in the medical department, left to explore other opportunities. 

Then there’s Football Operations, under Kelly Francis, who you interviewed earlier in the season - and two unsung heroes who I’d like to give a special mention to as they’ve done fantastic jobs for the club for over 50 years combined  – Peter Kemp, Site and Facilities Manager, and Richard ‘Dickie’ Bird, our Head Groundsman.

While they all report back to me, I’m involved in and responsible for all those functions and spend time with them and their teams every day to support them and ensure that all the moving parts are working well together and developing smoothly. As Operations Director, I’m also part of the Executive Team who report to Gary and the Board.

What’s the Executive Team, who is on it – and how does that work, too. It’s fascinating to hear how the club is structured and how many people are involved in making it tick! 

The Executive Team consists of myself along with Ben Kensell, Chief Revenue Officer, Tom Schofield, Chief Financial Officer, and Jenn Smith, Human Resources Director. Jenn, amongst a wide range of other key functions, is also responsible for safeguarding, which is hugely important for a football club, especially with all the academy and community work we do.

We also have a management team, on the non-football side, and we meet every Monday with Gary, so that we can bring him up to speed on what’s going on. If we need his input on something, that’s our set meeting time – but we’re all on the same floor, and we talk to each other – including Gary – all the time. And when there are operational decisions to be made, we make them together. 

I think it’s important for fans to understand that we’re all working together in a unified structure, not in silos. It has to be that way of course, because any change or decision one of us makes may impact others, so we need to talk about that together – and Gary, as CEO, needs an overall picture, so he can keep the Board fully informed.

You’ve mentioned the Community Trust and the Academy. Can you tell us more about how you work with them, and what developments are on the way? 

Let’s start with the Community Trust. Bringing them into the offices at HQ has been a massive step forward. 

Daniel Douglas sits alongside the management team, and we’re much more closely involved together now. Bringing the Community Trust on board has been, I would say, one of our best achievements internally since I've been here actually – seeing them working within our offices when there was previously a bit of distance.

Director Bob Curson, one of the 2020 investors, is chair of the Community Trust. I’m also one of the Trustees, and Daniel is in the office every day. If you spoke to the Community's Trust staff before, they would say they work for Luton Community Trust, but they don't really work for Luton Town Football Club. Now they say we work for Luton Town Football Club because they're in our offices every day and involved in meetings daily with football club staff. Daniel's at our management meetings, too. We’re working towards the same things; it’s already making a real difference and it’s going to bring such positive change in years to come. 

The club and the Community Trust do an enormous amount of work, engaging with local communities through sport and social action and that’s so important to us – we’re here for the town and surrounding areas, for everyone. 

Building great relationships across all groups is not just about attracting the people who will fill Power Court, it's about being at the heart of the town.

The Academy falls under my remit too, and we’ve made some major advances with their facilities at The Brache, with their gyms, strength and conditioning, medical, changing rooms and so on. It’s a pretty impressive set up and part of moving towards earning Category 2 academy status, which brings so many benefits and promotes and protects our future. I know some people have been asking what’s happening with the Dome. We do need to make that step up, but the decision on the land we require is still going through approvals. That delay suits us in some ways as we’re also waiting to see what the new deal for football brings our way. Some of the conversations have been about funding, which potentially may involve academies. 

Something fans may not know about, but which is really important to how we develop the academy, is the Academy Technical Board, which meets every three months to oversee and direct progress. The Board includes me, Gary, David Wilkinson, Paul Ballantyne (David and Paul watch a huge amount of our Academy games, at every level), along with Paul Benson, Wayne Turner, Alex Lawless – and Jack Wilshere. The manager’s input on the Academy is really important, as we’re preparing players to be part of future – and in some cases present – first team squads. We obviously want more and more of ‘our own’ to be part of that. 

The Technical Board is another example of the systems and processes which structure the club. Decisions aren’t made in isolation, or by any one person – we have a sort of eco-structure that facilitates growth, now and into the future. 

We’re already looking at how operations will work at Power Court in detail and right now I’m looking at player facilities, the recovery areas, hydro pool and so on. I see the team from Limak, who are leading construction every day. They’re in our offices too. Everyone is so excited about the new stadium – it’s a fabulous design and will transform the whole town and, of course, our football club. 

We’re also looking to develop a closer working relationship with Luton Ladies, bringing them into our thinking and planning a lot more with a view to Power Court. There’s a lot of potential there. 

Do you have any input on the playing side? 

Not as such, though I make sure I’m available to sit and talk to the manager and the coaches. Jack is responsible for day-to-day activities at the training ground. It’s important to be in touch as our operations are there to support them in many ways, from the football operations like travel and hotels under Kelly Francis with Kevin Dearden, and the medical and kit team, to providing them – the players, coaches and management – with the best facilities we possibly can. 

I sit on the recruitment panel, too. Something I’d like to point out on this subject is that we now have our largest number of scouts, I believe, that we’ve ever had physically out in the field, who report to Marc Tracy. My input is largely on the operational side of signing and selling players and transitioning new players into the club. I’m a football man, so I like to be involved – but not being in Jack and Chris’s ears (or the players!) – with advice. I don’t think my Forest Green Academy experience half a lifetime ago qualifies me for that!

Finally, what is your message to the fans? 

I’d really like to stress how closely everyone works together: to repeat my earlier point, there’s a family feel to the whole club – we all work hard, and love doing it. We believe in what the club is about, and right across everything there is that connective glue of having the same vision for the club, our supporters, the community and the future. Yes, there have been some very difficult times over the last two seasons, but our resolve and energy never falters. 

Thank you James! We all share that vision, we’re all Luton, and we can do our bit by being the best support we can be, today and as we move back upwards with Jack, Chris and the team!