Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
The Exile

The importance of stability

Recommended Posts

It has been a long time since I have been able to think this

but our club is now in a period of stability, both financially and on the

pitch.

 

With the completion of McNally’s 5 year plan in two we have built

for our selves a platform to push on from. I’ve been looking at the clubs

around and the pattern I see is that the more stable a club is the more successful

it is, (relative to each club). The more changes that happen the swings between

highs and lows become apparent.

 

There are loads of examples of managers that have taken 2-3

years to settle into a post, but once they have the success they have brought

by the knowledge of job security and knowing they have time with which to build

up a plan.

 

Some examples:

 

Sir Alex Ferguson, poor 1st season and ropey

start to his 2nd in charge.

David Moyes at Everton ,just avoided relegation in his 1st

season.

Alan Pardew, the patience given to him last year.

Arsene Wenger, as above…..

The patience shown to Brendan Rogers.

 

There are too many examples of where change can be

detrimental,

 

Sunderland with Di Canio

(the fans getting after Steve Bruce then MON)

Mick MacCarthy at Wolves.

 

+ Chelsea and Man U this year.

 

Yes there are examples of the other, Southampton being a

good example (although if this winless run continues for them it might look

less bright)

 

I’d really like the club to put all this conjecture about CH

to bed by publicly backing him, giving him an extended contract and stating

that he is safe even if we get relegated (something I think will not happen). I’m

convinced this will give CH the confidence to move things forwards rather than

fir fighting each game because of the threat of a sacking. It means the players

he signs are given the confidence that the guy who selected them will be around

for a while and allows them to play with less fear.

 

It might take another year to put everything CH wants to do

into motion, but with patience I strongly suspect we will be rewarded.

 

I think we should also bear in mind the pit falls of new

managers, for every Paul Lambert there are many, Glen Roeder, Bryan Gun, Gary

Megson, Peter Grant, Brian Hamilton, …..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="The Exile"]

David Moyes at Everton ,just avoided relegation in his 1st season.

[/quote]

 

I think he''s trying to emulate that again...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I always remember Alan Curbishley at Charlton, which to a degree we are similar to at the moment?

Once he left it went wrong, and got worse and worse.

George Burnley...?

Harry at Pompey

Same could be said for owners. Big Mo at Fulham has left, will new owner continue their over long stay?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
To a certain extent Stoke at the moment too. Would a proactive announcement by the board clearly stating that CH''s job was safe for the long term,  improve our performances, players and manager playing with less fear, more freedom to express themselves?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="The Exile"]

With the completion of McNally’s 5 year plan in two we have built

for our selves a platform to push on from.

I''d really like the club to put all this conjecture about CH to bed by publicly backing him, giving him an extended contract and stating

that he is safe even if we get relegated (something I think will not happen). I’m

convinced this will give CH the confidence to move things forwards rather than

fir fighting each game because of the threat of a sacking. It means the players

he signs are given the confidence that the guy who selected them will be around

for a while and allows them to play with less fear.

It might take another year to put everything CH wants to do

into motion, but with patience I strongly suspect we will be rewarded.

[/quote]

I disagree from start to finish. McNally''s plan (over seven years) envisaged eventual PL stability. I don''t think it can be said we have achieved that yet.

Hughton already has a long contract, to the end of the 2014-15 season, as opposed to a rolling contract.

Any kind of public backing by way of an extension would hardly be relied on by him, the players or the fans as meaning what it said.

And the same would apply even more to a highly questionable promise (even if the board meant it at the time) that he would keep his job if we got relegated.

Even if the board did as you suggest I doubt it would have the slightest effect on how Hughton or the players performed. Certainly not to the good. If anything it could be counter-productive, allowing them to think they could take things easily.

Fear of failure is a strong motivational factor for managers and players to try that bit harder. Take that away and the danger is complacency.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Purple,

The fear of failure can be a motivtional factor but imo it has to be handled very carefully, an extreme desire for success is surely a greater motivational factor.

If the fear of failure becomes too dominant then the brain accepts this as its goal and sets off to fail (prove itself right), why, because the subconscious cannot accept the nagative or reverse of an idea. To prove the point, I am going to ask you not to do something, so steel yourself;

"Do not think of an elephant"

An elephant just flashed through your mind, very briefly possibly, but flash through it will have done, because the subconscious put it there before the conscious kicked in and rid you of it.

Another example could be a Norwich team taking to the field against Liverpool with the mindset, we better not concede a hatful again against this lot again and we better not let Suarez anywhere near the ball. The pictures created by the subconscious in the brain will be a drubbing of a scoreline and Suarez banging a few in, so the brain sets off to prove itself right and by doing so instructs the body to cooperate it achieving it;s goal.

So expecting succes has a far greater impact than trying to avoid failure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ray"]Purple,

The fear of failure can be a motivtional factor but imo it has to be handled very carefully, an extreme desire for success is surely a greater motivational factor.

If the fear of failure becomes too dominant then the brain accepts this as its goal and sets off to fail (prove itself right), why, because the subconscious cannot accept the nagative or reverse of an idea. To prove the point, I am going to ask you not to do something, so steel yourself;

"Do not think of an elephant"

An elephant just flashed through your mind, very briefly possibly, but flash through it will have done, because the subconscious put it there before the conscious kicked in and rid you of it.

Another example could be a Norwich team taking to the field against Liverpool with the mindset, we better not concede a hatful again against this lot again and we better not let Suarez anywhere near the ball. The pictures created by the subconscious in the brain will be a drubbing of a scoreline and Suarez banging a few in, so the brain sets off to prove itself right and by doing so instructs the body to cooperate it achieving it;s goal.

So expecting succes has a far greater impact than trying to avoid failure.[/quote]

That may be true but is not at all to the point. Expecting success comes from an admirable arrogance. It does not come from the kind of complacency engendered by knowing that failure will not be punished, which is what the OP was about.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Purple,

You brought up the fear of failure being a motivational factor, not me! So I replied to the point you made initially, isn''t that what constitutes debate?

I agree with you fear of faiure can be motivational, buit as I said it needs to be handled carefully or it can come a self fulfilling phrophecy and nowhere did I say failure should not be punished, although I do believe if the mindset is of extreme desire then the player(s) will punish themselves without the manager having to do it and that will probably be far more powerful and have a greater impact.

I''m not sure expecting success comes from arrogance, althouigh I do like your phrase ''admirable arrogance'' I prefer to think it comes from a strong and resolute self image and imo having a strong self image does not constitute arrogance. Success brings about a rising self image, failure has the opposite effect.

In conclusion and to link the point of my comments to the original post, stability, imo, is far more likely if the players have an extreme desire for success than a fear of failure, which could turn them into shrinking violets, frightened to do anything.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I''m not a Hootun outer but it''s no coincidence that Everton get Martinez in and they''re doing better than ever. They accepted mediocrity under Moyes not realising they were underperforming as a result.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I don''t see how you can have an extreme desire for success that isn''t based on a deep seated fear of failure.   They are opposite ends of the same scale.     Being successful involves defeating the fear of failure - success cannot exist on its own.  So the extreme desire for success is based on not wanting to be the opposite.  It cannot be any other way.   "Expecting" success is ultimately delusional.  The only thing you can "expect"  is that you will try your hardest to be successful.  Then the goal is to try your hardest and do everything you can to achieve that success, not "expecting success" in itself. 

Fans "expect" things I suspect more than footballers and managers.   The things managers expect are hard work, total focus and giving everything on the pitch.   A good manager wouldn''t say to a striker "I expect you to score twenty goals this season" or to a goalkeeper "I expect you to keep 15 clean sheets".  Players need to have realistic goals - to get fitter, to improve their techniques, to improve their attitude, to fit in and develop within a team ethic - etc etc. 

So player''s/manager''s expectations can be quite different to fans.   Stability is an important factor as the op says, which is why I am always batting on about keeping Hughton in charge, having got him here.   In that way players - and manager - can develop the approach that should lead towards   success - but it won''t be successful because they "expect  to be successful", it will be because they hope to put everything in place so that success should be a by product of their work. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
LDC,

When I refer to expecting success I don''t mean just because you do it will happen, what I do mean it is more likely to happen and of course we do not control the world but we do control the way we think about the things that happen in it. By expecting success you will naturally harness your brain to try harder, it''s how it is hard wired, hard wired to prove you right. Does it always do so, no, is it more likely to succeed - YES.

A point I did not clarify is only expect success when you have some form of control of events, otherwise you are living in hope. So as a fan it could be argued you have no control so you are living in hope.

The thrust of the point I was making is that if as a person you expect to succeed then the brain is more resourceful in making that happen, just as it will be resourceful in securing failure if that is the instruction you are giving it by trying to avoid the negative.

I like this definition of an optimist; accept that things will go wrong but expect to cope, so if things go against you be positively discontent rather than p*ssed off as being p*ssed off only fuels the negativity.

As far as defeating the fear of failure goes, I agree by having a mindset of extreme desire you do defeat the fear of failure by having an overriding success oriented mindset.

I think we are sort of waging peace on each other here!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ray"]LDC,

When I refer to expecting success I don''t mean just because you do it will happen, what I do mean it is more likely to happen and of course we do not control the world but we do control the way we think about the things that happen in it. By expecting success you will naturally harness your brain to try harder, it''s how it is hard wired, hard wired to prove you right. Does it always do so, no, is it more likely to succeed - YES.

A point I did not clarify is only expect success when you have some form of control of events, otherwise you are living in hope. So as a fan it could be argued you have no control so you are living in hope.

The thrust of the point I was making is that if as a person you expect to succeed then the brain is more resourceful in making that happen, just as it will be resourceful in securing failure if that is the instruction you are giving it by trying to avoid the negative.

I like this definition of an optimist; accept that things will go wrong but expect to cope, so if things go against you be positively discontent rather than p*ssed off as being p*ssed off only fuels the negativity.

As far as defeating the fear of failure goes, I agree by having a mindset of extreme desire you do defeat the fear of failure by having an overriding success oriented mindset.

I think we are sort of waging peace on each other here![/quote]

Agreed. Peace rules!  I have always had it in my mind that expectations are something our egos attach to events.   But if we expect something then we don''t get it it creates a reaction of disappointment.  If we expect something and get it we get a reaction of satisfaction. Those emotional reactions are not necessarily helpful in being successful.   

But what if we don''t expect success?   We only expect to do our best, put the best systems we can in to place with success as an aim, not an expectation?   Then if we are successful we can celebrate that everything we did along the way was good and was right and that our attitude was right.   If we expect say 8th place but only finish 9th - are we then failures?   My thought is to aim to finish as high as possible and be pleased that whatever result, we know that we did our best.  Thenbwhether you finish 8th or 9th, the attitude is positive.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
"It means the players

he signs are given the confidence that the guy who selected them will be around

for a while"he signs !The club signs the players, who are put forward by the scouting network in conjuction with the board....it is McNally who conducts the final negotiations.This should have been blindingly obvious after the signings of Snodgrass (targeted a year before Hughton arrived) and Butterfield who was pretty much signed between Lambert and Hughton. Ryan Bennett was signed by the club (not the manager) whilst travelling down to sign for Swansea.Yes the manager has an input, but that is all. One voice amongst many.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
City 1st

This should have been blindingly obvious after the signings of Snodgrass (targeted a year before Hughton arrived) and Butterfield who was pretty much signed between Lambert and Hughton. Ryan Bennett was signed by the club (not the manager) whilst travelling down to sign for Swansea.

Yes the manager has an input, but that is all. One voice amongst many.

This statement is true, however when Hughton arrived he was asked to produce a list of transfer targets for McNally, and guess what, Snoddy was on there. So whether that was a follow through from Lambert''s wishes or a new demand from Hughton I don''t know, maybe City 1 st knows a bit more?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
LDC,

I believe your point about targets to be pertinent. You may have gathered that I ''work'' with the power of the brain and have worked with Prem Players amongst other sportspeople. In one instance I was working with a forward who had set himself a goal of x goals in the season. Well this guy did very well and was one short of his target with 3 months to go, he asked me what to do, my suggestion was to increase his ''fervently'' desired goal. He said well what if I fall short, another player who was with us said, well if you fall short of the new goal you will have still succeeded in beating your original goal. The forward didn''t buy into it and consequently hit a drought until one game before the end of the season, when his brain kicked in from taking a break and said "OK we need one more to prove us right" he scored a screamer and ended the season on exactly the number of goals he set himself at the outset. He did of course receive a text from me, I can''t repeat his reply!!

I am as certain as I can be that had he upped his target his brain would have worked tirelessly on achieving it.

So when setting numerical targets we need to be careful, but there is always the argument that even if we finish 9th, when the goal was 8th, it is a success because who knows where we would have been if we hadn''t set the bar at 8th?

All I know is I set myself goals, some numerical and some not, but as I know it works for me, I am more than happy if I hit 80% of my goals 80% of the time because I will have achieved more than if I had not set goals/targets.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Ray"]Purple,

You brought up the fear of failure being a motivational factor, not me! So I replied to the point you made initially, isn''t that what constitutes debate?

I agree with you fear of faiure can be motivational, buit as I said it needs to be handled carefully or it can come a self fulfilling phrophecy and nowhere did I say failure should not be punished, although I do believe if the mindset is of extreme desire then the player(s) will punish themselves without the manager having to do it and that will probably be far more powerful and have a greater impact.

I''m not sure expecting success comes from arrogance, althouigh I do like your phrase ''admirable arrogance'' I prefer to think it comes from a strong and resolute self image and imo having a strong self image does not constitute arrogance. Success brings about a rising self image, failure has the opposite effect.

In conclusion and to link the point of my comments to the original post, stability, imo, is far more likely if the players have an extreme desire for success than a fear of failure, which could turn them into shrinking violets, frightened to do anything.[/quote]

Ray, you are still missing the point I am making because you have failed to understand what the OP was advocating.

No, you didn''t say failure should not be punished, but the OP did with the notion that Hughton should be told he wouldn''t be sacked if we got relegated.

As a result all your stuff about a desire for success being better than a fear of failure (which may or may not be true) is quite irrelevant.

What the OP wants - and what I am arguing against - is a situation in which there is neither a desire for success nor a fear of failure but complacent que sera sera attitude that would be anti-motivational.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ray"]LDC,

I believe your point about targets to be pertinent. You may have gathered that I ''work'' with the power of the brain and have worked with Prem Players amongst other sportspeople. In one instance I was working with a forward who had set himself a goal of x goals in the season. Well this guy did very well and was one short of his target with 3 months to go, he asked me what to do, my suggestion was to increase his ''fervently'' desired goal. He said well what if I fall short, another player who was with us said, well if you fall short of the new goal you will have still succeeded in beating your original goal. The forward didn''t buy into it and consequently hit a drought until one game before the end of the season, when his brain kicked in from taking a break and said "OK we need one more to prove us right" he scored a screamer and ended the season on exactly the number of goals he set himself at the outset. He did of course receive a text from me, I can''t repeat his reply!!

I am as certain as I can be that had he upped his target his brain would have worked tirelessly on achieving it.

So when setting numerical targets we need to be careful, but there is always the argument that even if we finish 9th, when the goal was 8th, it is a success because who knows where we would have been if we hadn''t set the bar at 8th?

All I know is I set myself goals, some numerical and some not, but as I know it works for me, I am more than happy if I hit 80% of my goals 80% of the time because I will have achieved more than if I had not set goals/targets.[/quote]

I understand and agree that targets do work.  However, my emphasis with the people I work with in music is on performance, as in reproducing your best when it really matters - something I know has a parallel in sport.   The emphasis there, similar to sport, is being in the zone and as long as you are in that zone, or in the moment, you can  perform at your best without any distractions.  The emphasis is then less on target achieving and more being in the best possible state of mind to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve - and then all the peripheral stuff - like getting over nerves, pressure, expectations of others etc etc. - does not affect your performance.   Getting in to the zone is another matter and I know a lot of musicians who use yoga and meditation as a way of quieting the mind - and it is interesting that a number of footballers are now starting to do the same - Ryan Giggs for one.  Andy Murray does yoga for tennis too.   This kind of thing is still quite new to football, but it is definitely something that is going to increase as time goes on, imo. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Purple,

I wouild prefer it if you refrained from deciding for me what points I understood/missed and didn''t. You have made an assumption.

All I was doing in my reply to you was to pick uo and debate your comment about fear of failure.

What I say may be irrelavent to you but it is relavent to me.

I agree with you a que sere sere attitude could be be anti motivational, we perhaps disagree on what the alternative is, and it was this I was debating, perhaps I didn''t make this clear enough for you to comprehend, for that I accept responsibility.

I hope I have cleared this up now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
LDC,

Intersting, however I am going for a pint or two now, so will reply later, whether this si more coherently or less coherently will correlate directly with the number of pints consumed.

Cheers

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
LDC,

As promised a follow up post.

I am too tired and emotional to do justice to your considered reply but will do so in the morning.

In my morning post I will explore the point you raised re the ''zone''.

Sleep well, I will!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
If Hughton delivers twelfth or better this season then he should get a seriously meaty contract in my opinion. The target''s tenth and I think it''s achievable, but I don''t think anyone should grumble too much if it''s a little bit short given where the club is in its development. Below that, I think it needs to be balanced with other factors like injuries during the season.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Morning LDC,

You wrote;

I understand and agree that targets do work. However, my emphasis with the people I work with in music is on performance, as in reproducing your best when it really matters - something I know has a parallel in sport. The emphasis there, similar to sport, is being in the zone and as long as you are in that zone, or in the moment, you can perform at your best without any distractions. The emphasis is then less on target achieving and more being in the best possible state of mind to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve - and then all the peripheral stuff - like getting over nerves, pressure, expectations of others etc etc. - does not affect your performance. Getting in to the zone is another matter and I know a lot of musicians who use yoga and meditation as a way of quieting the mind - and it is interesting that a number of footballers are now starting to do the same - Ryan Giggs for one. Andy Murray does yoga for tennis too. This kind of thing is still quite new to football, but it is definitely something that is going to increase as time goes on, imo.

My take on your comments is that essentially I agree with you about being in the zone and my definition of being in the zone (the fourth stage of learning) is unconscious competence. In other words what you do is driven by your subconscious.

The debate comes in how do you train your brain into a state of unconscious competence and this is much of the work I perform within the world of sport (and commerce). Some use yoga and/or meditation some use other techniques, the point is you are manipulating your mind to work in a specific manner, to work for you rather than against you.

The next stage is to get your goal setting and goal achieving abilities in the zone, then expecting success becomes in the zone thinking too.

Once you have married all this together you become the sort of person who accepts full personal resposibility for where you are in life, given that sh*t happens, and you take full personal responsibilty for your individual performance within life, again given that sh*t happens, whether this be as a footballer, a musician, a pilot, a parent, a fan, etc.

If you don''t do this and think that life treated you this way or that way and where you are in life is dictated by the actions of someone else, then you will be hanging about waiting for someone to take you by the scruff of the neck to re-adjust your lot, it could be a very long wait!!

Anyway, the Zone I''m a great believer of the power of it and I am very happy that my expecting success thinking is in it and that is where I intend it to stay. Cheers. Ray

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ray"]Morning LDC, 

My take on your comments is that essentially I agree with you about being in the zone and my definition of being in the zone (the fourth stage of learning) is unconscious competence. In other words what you do is driven by your subconscious.

The debate comes in how do you train your brain into a state of unconscious competence and this is much of the work I perform within the world of sport (and commerce). Some use yoga and/or meditation some use other techniques, the point is you are manipulating your mind to work in a specific manner, to work for you rather than against you.

The next stage is to get your goal setting and goal achieving abilities in the zone, then expecting success becomes in the zone thinking too.

Once you have married all this together you become the sort of person who accepts full personal resposibility for where you are in life, given that sh*t happens, and you take full personal responsibilty for your individual performance within life, again given that sh*t happens, whether this be as a footballer, a musician, a pilot, a parent, a fan, etc.

If you don''t do this and think that life treated you this way or that way and where you are in life is dictated by the actions of someone else, then you will be hanging about waiting for someone to take you by the scruff of the neck to re-adjust your lot, it could be a very long wait!!

Anyway, the Zone I''m a great believer of the power of it and I am very happy that my expecting success thinking is in it and that is where I intend it to stay. Cheers. Ray[/quote]

Hi Ray, I agree with all that and that the target setting can work, within the zone.  Personally, in music peformance, as I said earlier, I have found the target setting of less importance and  letting the subconscious take over.    In music any target setting is done within the practice regime, leading up to the performance, but once you are performing, the target setting disappears and to use your phrase, unconscious competence takes over.The meditation and yoga gets rid of all the background "noise" or neurotic "brain-chatter", allowing the sub-conscious the space to do its stuff.   I''ve often heard footballers say that when they go on the pitch they don''t hear the crowd or have anything in their mind other than the football they are about to play.   To me this is what a good manager will be able to instill in all his team.  A good focused mental approach, allowing nothing to get in the way of the football.   Stability (to get back to the thread) can help this as a manager can build this in over a period of time.  I also think that as individuals within a team take on the responsibility for themselves, it makes the manager''s job easier too.   Hughton inherited a squad that to me relied heavily on the motivational skills of it''s manager (PL) and his (Hughton''s) approach is much more to rely on his players to take the responsibilty for themselves.   That is why the transition imo has been more painful than it might have been.  I too am a believer in the importance of letting the sub-conscious do its stuff, as it knows way better than my ego what is the best way of doing things!

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Interesting discussion. I have been critical of CH for what in my eyes has been an inability at times to appear to motivate the team. Your argument is that his role as a manager is to "coach" the players to develop their own focused approach to the game.

Not sure I can agree with that, what you are describing I would have thought would be the role of a sports psychologist, someone who can work with players to help them become as mentally strong as they possibly can be so that as individuals they can perform to their best ability, like your musicians being in the zone when they perform.

I think the managers role overlays this, it is his job to deal with individuals, yes, but more importantly the team performance. Your analogy to music sounds more appropriate for an individual sport, golf tennis, for footy you need the inner belief but also the belief in you team mates, a belief that they will do their job, because without them you cannot do your own.

I think the managers job is to motivate the team, as a whole, to instill a belief that as a collective they can win.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
LDC,

Well said Sir.

IMO mamagers are sometimes afraid to let specialists in to help and imo many of them could do with some help themselves.

For example, I''m fed up with managers saying publicly, "it''s a tough place to go" etc. Well there is certainly stability there because according to some every place is a tough place to go. They don''t understand that whilst they may (or may not) say something different behind closed doors, the players do hear the tough place to go statement and if they allow this into their subconscious it will priove them right and make it a tough place to go.

An interview with Steven Gerrard comes to mind, when as captain of England before the game against France he was asked if he would settle for a draw, he answered "Yes", guess what we were one nil up and then were careless in possession and they equalised, final score a draw. Mr Gerrard got his wish. The same guy was aked how he rated his international career out of 10, his answer, "5". Now of course Stevie G is a hell of a player, but with a more poistive mindset could he have reached a higher level of stability. I suspect so.

Mr Lambert, when at NCFC, was quoted as saying, and I paraphrase; "Who needs psychologists, I do all that" yet he employs specialist goal keeping coaches, defensive coaches, etc?? So why not a Mindset Coach, I suspect he knows more about goal keeping than he does about psychology, I could be wrong of course.

Enjoyed this debate, so thank you.

Here''s hoping our boys are expecting success at the weekend and prove themselves right!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ray"]LDC,

Well said Sir.

IMO mamagers are sometimes afraid to let specialists in to help and imo many of them could do with some help themselves.

For example, I''m fed up with managers saying publicly, "it''s a tough place to go" etc. Well there is certainly stability there because according to some every place is a tough place to go. They don''t understand that whilst they may (or may not) say something different behind closed doors, the players do hear the tough place to go statement and if they allow this into their subconscious it will priove them right and make it a tough place to go.

An interview with Steven Gerrard comes to mind, when as captain of England before the game against France he was asked if he would settle for a draw, he answered "Yes", guess what we were one nil up and then were careless in possession and they equalised, final score a draw. Mr Gerrard got his wish. The same guy was aked how he rated his international career out of 10, his answer, "5". Now of course Stevie G is a hell of a player, but with a more poistive mindset could he have reached a higher level of stability. I suspect so.

Mr Lambert, when at NCFC, was quoted as saying, and I paraphrase; "Who needs psychologists, I do all that" yet he employs specialist goal keeping coaches, defensive coaches, etc?? So why not a Mindset Coach, I suspect he knows more about goal keeping than he does about psychology, I could be wrong of course.

Enjoyed this debate, so thank you.

Here''s hoping our boys are expecting success at the weekend and prove themselves right!
[/quote]

[Y]Me too!  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Do any other clubs have a sports psychologist? Some really interesting points within this thread, 1) Does fear motivate? I think i probably does, but I don''t think our players are unmotivated, the main criticism seems to be the style of play. Does fear effect the style of play would be a better question. One one hand everyone wants results and that is leading to a restricted mind set. If this has to change, you want a less risk averse approach, something easier to do under a stable and realistic management. I was reading an article the other day about how Martinez approach had brought the best out of Barkley as the attitude is try things rather than be safe as it was under Moyes. (interesting that when Martinez was suggested on here how many posts of no thanks there were....)2) the Transfer about players coming to the club buying into CH''s plan; that was really referring to the players brought in this year, last year felt like a stop gap year, the players he has bought this summer are where I think he is heading. I appreciate that it''s not CH''s decision alone but the players coming in meet him and discuss what route the club is taking, some wont like it (Toivenan) some will, (Fer, RVW). Knowing that CH will be here for a long term would help attract players in my opinion.3) Perspective, all these things of psychological ilk have context that plays a huge role, take the Steven G quote as an example, if you had asked that question after England''s 5-1 mauling of Germany you''d get a much different answer then after a 1-0 defeat at home to Poland. Context is everything, and in our current context too many issues are preventing the team from playing a more positive style of play.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...