Belief can win you anything
Writing an assessment of Group C and the Greeks got me thinking about 'Park the Bus' football. Jose Mourinho labelled Spurs that and now we see Chelsea park the bus frequently.
The Greeks have mastered the art, as I said in my Group C preview they defend, defend, defend, nick a goal, defend. In 10 qualifying games they won 8, drew 1, lost one, scored 12 goals and conceded 4.
At home they didn't concede a goal in 5 games, away they won 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 and 2-1. They won the European Championships in 2004 with the very same tactics.
Glasgow Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final in 2008. They has drawn 0-0 with Barcelona in the Champions League and amassed 7 points with defensive tactics against the Spaniards, Stuttgart and Lyon. They failed to qualify and went into Europe's second tier competition where they knocked out Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina. They scored just 5 goals to get there but lost the final.
It is amazing what can be achieved if everyone believes in what they are doing and everyone gives there all, all the time. Just one player not giving everything and it breaks down, ruins the work of everyone else.
That togetherness, that commitment, that belief that anything is possible is exactly the belief that Mauricio Pochettino has to instill in Spurs. A high pressing high octaine game demands it and it'll good to see a Spurs team putting a bit of effort in again.
Football is no different than life, if you don't believe you can do something then you can't but if you do believe then you can do anything you want to. If you believe you will find a way to make it happen, as long as you take action.
Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic said at the end of the season:
Without belief things fall apart, we have seen it at Spurs season after season. Miles ahead of our rivals we blow up and let them catch us, the season in our hands and we give it away. That is not down to ability or tiredness, it's down to belief and a winning mentality.
Drop points and doubt start creeping in and once that happens you are on a slippery slope. At times like that you need an expert in the field to put your mind back on the right track. If we had had a sports psychologist working with the players for the last 5 years we would have been in the Champions League every season and the club would be in a better way than it is now.
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Can Pochettino teach Rose too?
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Is this the most bizarre penalty ever?
Will Italians stump up the cash?
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The club believe in the manager, certain sections of our fans need to start believing in the manager and if he gets the Spurs players believing, then even in his first season the top four is not beyond the team, the talent is there, the belief needs to be.
But do the board actually believe or just hope. It's about time they started providing the right tools to do the job, but then probably they don't believe sports psychologists work so they continue to do the same thing wrong season after season and expect different results!
The Greeks have mastered the art, as I said in my Group C preview they defend, defend, defend, nick a goal, defend. In 10 qualifying games they won 8, drew 1, lost one, scored 12 goals and conceded 4.
At home they didn't concede a goal in 5 games, away they won 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 and 2-1. They won the European Championships in 2004 with the very same tactics.
Glasgow Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final in 2008. They has drawn 0-0 with Barcelona in the Champions League and amassed 7 points with defensive tactics against the Spaniards, Stuttgart and Lyon. They failed to qualify and went into Europe's second tier competition where they knocked out Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina. They scored just 5 goals to get there but lost the final.
It is amazing what can be achieved if everyone believes in what they are doing and everyone gives there all, all the time. Just one player not giving everything and it breaks down, ruins the work of everyone else.
That togetherness, that commitment, that belief that anything is possible is exactly the belief that Mauricio Pochettino has to instill in Spurs. A high pressing high octaine game demands it and it'll good to see a Spurs team putting a bit of effort in again.
Football is no different than life, if you don't believe you can do something then you can't but if you do believe then you can do anything you want to. If you believe you will find a way to make it happen, as long as you take action.
Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic said at the end of the season:
"Everyone lost belief in the team."
Without belief things fall apart, we have seen it at Spurs season after season. Miles ahead of our rivals we blow up and let them catch us, the season in our hands and we give it away. That is not down to ability or tiredness, it's down to belief and a winning mentality.
Drop points and doubt start creeping in and once that happens you are on a slippery slope. At times like that you need an expert in the field to put your mind back on the right track. If we had had a sports psychologist working with the players for the last 5 years we would have been in the Champions League every season and the club would be in a better way than it is now.
Recent Stories:
Can Pochettino teach Rose too?
Group D, will England score?
Is this the most bizarre penalty ever?
Will Italians stump up the cash?
A spot of tongue in cheek from Bruce
Defoe to QPR just an idea
Pochettino - Love me guys
The club believe in the manager, certain sections of our fans need to start believing in the manager and if he gets the Spurs players believing, then even in his first season the top four is not beyond the team, the talent is there, the belief needs to be.
But do the board actually believe or just hope. It's about time they started providing the right tools to do the job, but then probably they don't believe sports psychologists work so they continue to do the same thing wrong season after season and expect different results!
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