Mad Dog
Well-known member
- Joined
- 18 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 3,165
In individual sport, the buck stops with that one player, he/she is responsible for all decisions, tactics, application, and response to winning or losing, and maintaining of form, they'll have a team behind the scenes, but in a match, they only have to focus on their own performance, and it's that one performance that will affect the result.
Football is a team sport, 11 v 11, and individual players with have peaks and dips in form, and as a result, the form of the team will change accordingly, and the same applies to the opposition teams and their individual players, meaning all form is temporary, there will be good periods, average periods, and bad periods, it's a long season, over 10 months, and it's about trying to find a balance, where form doesn't constantly swing from one extreme to the other, and one way to try to control that is in the reactions to all results, as if players, management and fans got over excited every time we win or string together a few wins, but then behave like its the end of the world after a bad result, or 3, then it's going to be hard to manage expectations, emotions, and ultimately, form.
A team can carry an underperforming player or two, and still grind out a result, but on another day, an underperforming player or two can make all the difference, and cost the team the match.
On the other hand, a team could be underperforming, but one or two players hitting form, or a moment of magic, can get the result.
In individual sport, it's probably easier to deal with wins or losses, as the one player only has to control their own reaction to the result, as oppose to a whole team, who will have individual players with different opinions and emotions, reacting to a result, and in that sense Robbo is right to say we need to learn to not get too carried away, weather we win, lose or draw, and do it together, as a team, and I think, we can now see that the players are reacting to that philosophy, with a clear team spirit and togetherness that has really come to fruition in recent weeks.
It must be bloody hard work controlling the emotions of a whole squad of players through the inevitable peaks and troughs of form throughout an entire season, and with thousands of fans swinging from ecstasy to despair every few games, making judgements, and adjusting their expectations accordingly, it must make the job a lot harder, more stressful and exhausting!
But consistency comes from stability, and I hate the way managers are so easily sacked after a bad run of results these days, when all that creates is more uncertainty, instability, and more inconsistent form.
Our club has been going through a major transition period in recent years, and I think the stability of having a manager here through thick and thin, keeping everyone together and level headed has been very important, and I'm very glad the board haven't done the typical knee jerk reactions of clubs who sack managers every time the going gets tough, and have stood by Robbo, given him time, allowed the obvious teething problems to occur, be dealt with, and pass by, and hopefully now, that loyalty and trust between Robbo and the board is now starting to yield the results everyone hoped it would, and hopefully the fans will be rewarded for their loyalty and patience, and the doubters, shouters and fickle fans will think twice about losing the plot so easily, next time we, inevitably, have a dip in form, and go through a bad spell.
Look at Alex Ferguson at Man Utd, in the 80's when he was rebuilding the club, through a transition faze, they were achieving nothing, and even flirted with relegation, fans were calling for his head, and he was close to losing his job at one point, but the club stood by him, while he continued to build, then it started yielding results, and over the years, whenever it looked like the wheels had come off, and Man Utd were losing their grip, they stood by him, and he rebuilt again, but he couldn't have done that without the patience and support of the board, and fans, allowing continued stability for him to continue his work at club, and that didn't turn out too badly did it?!?
The last couple of weeks have proved that Robbo deserves to be given time to finish what he started, and while there have been ups and downs, and understandable concerns, at times, he's received a lot of unfair criticism and abuse, and I think as a mark of respect and appreciation for what he's doing, and how much he has bought into our club, it's fans, and it's history, we should give him our support and patience, and I feel this thread is an insult to the guy, as he's clearly doing a good job.
In Robbo we trust!
Football is a team sport, 11 v 11, and individual players with have peaks and dips in form, and as a result, the form of the team will change accordingly, and the same applies to the opposition teams and their individual players, meaning all form is temporary, there will be good periods, average periods, and bad periods, it's a long season, over 10 months, and it's about trying to find a balance, where form doesn't constantly swing from one extreme to the other, and one way to try to control that is in the reactions to all results, as if players, management and fans got over excited every time we win or string together a few wins, but then behave like its the end of the world after a bad result, or 3, then it's going to be hard to manage expectations, emotions, and ultimately, form.
A team can carry an underperforming player or two, and still grind out a result, but on another day, an underperforming player or two can make all the difference, and cost the team the match.
On the other hand, a team could be underperforming, but one or two players hitting form, or a moment of magic, can get the result.
In individual sport, it's probably easier to deal with wins or losses, as the one player only has to control their own reaction to the result, as oppose to a whole team, who will have individual players with different opinions and emotions, reacting to a result, and in that sense Robbo is right to say we need to learn to not get too carried away, weather we win, lose or draw, and do it together, as a team, and I think, we can now see that the players are reacting to that philosophy, with a clear team spirit and togetherness that has really come to fruition in recent weeks.
It must be bloody hard work controlling the emotions of a whole squad of players through the inevitable peaks and troughs of form throughout an entire season, and with thousands of fans swinging from ecstasy to despair every few games, making judgements, and adjusting their expectations accordingly, it must make the job a lot harder, more stressful and exhausting!
But consistency comes from stability, and I hate the way managers are so easily sacked after a bad run of results these days, when all that creates is more uncertainty, instability, and more inconsistent form.
Our club has been going through a major transition period in recent years, and I think the stability of having a manager here through thick and thin, keeping everyone together and level headed has been very important, and I'm very glad the board haven't done the typical knee jerk reactions of clubs who sack managers every time the going gets tough, and have stood by Robbo, given him time, allowed the obvious teething problems to occur, be dealt with, and pass by, and hopefully now, that loyalty and trust between Robbo and the board is now starting to yield the results everyone hoped it would, and hopefully the fans will be rewarded for their loyalty and patience, and the doubters, shouters and fickle fans will think twice about losing the plot so easily, next time we, inevitably, have a dip in form, and go through a bad spell.
Look at Alex Ferguson at Man Utd, in the 80's when he was rebuilding the club, through a transition faze, they were achieving nothing, and even flirted with relegation, fans were calling for his head, and he was close to losing his job at one point, but the club stood by him, while he continued to build, then it started yielding results, and over the years, whenever it looked like the wheels had come off, and Man Utd were losing their grip, they stood by him, and he rebuilt again, but he couldn't have done that without the patience and support of the board, and fans, allowing continued stability for him to continue his work at club, and that didn't turn out too badly did it?!?
The last couple of weeks have proved that Robbo deserves to be given time to finish what he started, and while there have been ups and downs, and understandable concerns, at times, he's received a lot of unfair criticism and abuse, and I think as a mark of respect and appreciation for what he's doing, and how much he has bought into our club, it's fans, and it's history, we should give him our support and patience, and I feel this thread is an insult to the guy, as he's clearly doing a good job.
In Robbo we trust!
