Spurs Leaving It To Chance
Spurs Leaving It To Chance
You write one article and another and then another pops out.
They seem to be flowing from each other at the moment and while writing the Gareth Bale article another point came to me that I felt needed to be expanded on, so here goes.
You have all watched games where you have come away thinking we played to be drawing 0-0 at half-time and only tried to win the game in the second half, haven't you?
You have all come away from games were you have thought we only tried in the last 10 minutes when we were losing, why didn't we play like that earlier, haven't you?
Why have you been left with that question when the players will tell you they have been trying their best?
Well, it is what is ingrained in the players therefore it is their default approach.
You have to understand how the mind works.
It shields you from pain, physical and emotional.
It shows you a path of least resistance, the easy way and most opt for it, that is human nature, that is how the masses operate and stay at the level they are in life.
It shields you from pain, physical and emotional.
It shows you a path of least resistance, the easy way and most opt for it, that is human nature, that is how the masses operate and stay at the level they are in life.
If you decide to do something different, something with greater risk of failure, you will be criticised by the "easy life" brigade and they are always more noisy than supporters.
Why? Because people don't praise, they only complain. You will happily seek out a manager to complain about a meal but you won't seek out the same manager to compliment them.
That is mirrored on Twitter.
Unfortunately Twitter has been taken over by organised hate campaigns, I was subjected to one myself.
You get a group together who are all messaged as soon as a Tweet goes out and they are sent a general message to Tweet as a comment to add to the Retweet of the first anti-(in the latest case Cummings) Tweet.
It is Labour's new tactic to harness the power of social media to incite mob hatred which the left-sided media latch onto.
Twitter could be a place of positive Spurs messages if the club took that tactic and used it through supporters.
But let's get back to the topic.
Why? Because people don't praise, they only complain. You will happily seek out a manager to complain about a meal but you won't seek out the same manager to compliment them.
That is mirrored on Twitter.
Unfortunately Twitter has been taken over by organised hate campaigns, I was subjected to one myself.
You get a group together who are all messaged as soon as a Tweet goes out and they are sent a general message to Tweet as a comment to add to the Retweet of the first anti-(in the latest case Cummings) Tweet.
It is Labour's new tactic to harness the power of social media to incite mob hatred which the left-sided media latch onto.
Twitter could be a place of positive Spurs messages if the club took that tactic and used it through supporters.
But let's get back to the topic.
Does a manager send a team out to come in 0-0 at half-time?
What do you think?
They will tell you they don't, unless they are an underdog, but do you believe them?
What do you think?
They will tell you they don't, unless they are an underdog, but do you believe them?
Or, are the players ingrained with a safety first approach, playing with the handbrake on waiting for the opponent to make a mistake?
Should you play football waiting for a mistake, which a lot of possession based football is or do you play to create mistakes from the opposition?
They are not one and the same thing.
They are not one and the same thing.
Do you play how Spurs have often played in the first-half or do you play like you do in the last 10 minutes, but without taking huge risks?
The latter is a faster version of the former, so why not play the faster version for longer?
Why wait until it is too late to rescue a situation?
Why wait until it is too late to rescue a situation?
Why not start with the faster version for the first 10 minutes because we are a particularly slow starting team?
Once you are winning you control the game and we let too many teams attack us at the start of a game, then struggle to impose ourselves because we are playing catch-up football.
If a side has the upper hand because you start slow, you boost their confidence and that allows them to control the game for longer, we end up trying to assert ourselves in the last 20 minutes.
In other words, we have simply wasted the first 25 minutes of the game.
Once you are winning you control the game and we let too many teams attack us at the start of a game, then struggle to impose ourselves because we are playing catch-up football.
If a side has the upper hand because you start slow, you boost their confidence and that allows them to control the game for longer, we end up trying to assert ourselves in the last 20 minutes.
In other words, we have simply wasted the first 25 minutes of the game.
A team starts slow out of fear, fear of conceding, fear of loss and that losing mentality will always stop a team playing rather than drive them forward to play.
To change it there has to be a fundamental shift in thinking, in mentality.
That is not going to happen if you just leave it to the players. You can't simply tell someone to change anapproach because their mind is programmed to do something different.
You have to reprogram the mind, just as if you are trying to give up smoking.
It isn't easy, you have to fight against your natural instinct and your will. Some succeed, some it is temporary success and some fail quickly.
That is what you have on a football field.
That is not going to happen if you just leave it to the players. You can't simply tell someone to change anapproach because their mind is programmed to do something different.
You have to reprogram the mind, just as if you are trying to give up smoking.
It isn't easy, you have to fight against your natural instinct and your will. Some succeed, some it is temporary success and some fail quickly.
That is what you have on a football field.
I take you back to Emmanuel Adebayor going through the motions.
When Spurs were 2-0 up, he would drop back into midfield and pass the ball sideways like he was orchestrating play.
When Spurs were 2-0 up, he would drop back into midfield and pass the ball sideways like he was orchestrating play.
The acceptance of that approach is ingrained in the club to such an extent that when we start a game or it is 0-0, that is the mental approach we have, that is how we basically play.
The we must not concede approach as opposed to the we must score approach.
A negative approach as opposed to a positive approach.
Positivity is the breeding ground of success, negativity is the breeding ground of failure.
Which approach should we therefore be adopting?
The we must not concede approach as opposed to the we must score approach.
A negative approach as opposed to a positive approach.
Positivity is the breeding ground of success, negativity is the breeding ground of failure.
Which approach should we therefore be adopting?
I have argued for years that in that when 3-0 up, we should practise being clinical and win 4-0 or 5-0.
However, what we have done is to stop concentrating,believing we have done enough, we'll just keep what we have, thus encouraging the opposition to have the upper hand.
When we create a chance and miss it and we mess up some real simple opportunities, it matters.
We are training the brain that it doesn't matter each time so when we are in a 0-0 situation and create a chance,the subconscious mental process affecting our decision making is saying this doesn't matter.
If that thought wins the day, we miss.
That thought slows down the decision making process.
Put simply,the brain has to decide does this matter or does it not matter and have an argument with itself.
You have seen a player delay a pass or delay a shot, well that's why,the brain is taking too long to make a decision because there is too much negativity in the players head.
You have to train he brain that every chance matters.
Transfer that to 25-30 players and you see there are too many opportunities for negativity.
It is beyond me why we don't take a professional approach to do something about it.
A manager/coach tackling it is not a professional approach, it's an amateur one, it isn't their field of expertise, they effectively are simply leaving it to the individual player to solve themselves.
However, what we have done is to stop concentrating,believing we have done enough, we'll just keep what we have, thus encouraging the opposition to have the upper hand.
When we create a chance and miss it and we mess up some real simple opportunities, it matters.
We are training the brain that it doesn't matter each time so when we are in a 0-0 situation and create a chance,the subconscious mental process affecting our decision making is saying this doesn't matter.
If that thought wins the day, we miss.
That thought slows down the decision making process.
Put simply,the brain has to decide does this matter or does it not matter and have an argument with itself.
You have seen a player delay a pass or delay a shot, well that's why,the brain is taking too long to make a decision because there is too much negativity in the players head.
You have to train he brain that every chance matters.
Transfer that to 25-30 players and you see there are too many opportunities for negativity.
It is beyond me why we don't take a professional approach to do something about it.
A manager/coach tackling it is not a professional approach, it's an amateur one, it isn't their field of expertise, they effectively are simply leaving it to the individual player to solve themselves.
We drop so many points because we are not clinical.
Yes we are in some games, but not in others, it's hit and miss because it isn't ingrained.
It has to be ingrained in a whole squad and that means the Development Squad too.
Just leaving to a centre-forward won't work, the whole team are the ones creating the chances.
Yes we are in some games, but not in others, it's hit and miss because it isn't ingrained.
It has to be ingrained in a whole squad and that means the Development Squad too.
Just leaving to a centre-forward won't work, the whole team are the ones creating the chances.
You probably all saw the disgraceful Ndombele video against Wolves were he ambled around and actually got out of the way of the player with the ball to help Wolves score and beat us.
That was the result of his negative mental approach.
Do you think simply telling him not to do that will change his mental approach?
No it bloody well won't and didn't, it goes much deeper than that.
Do you think simply telling him not to do that will change his mental approach?
No it bloody well won't and didn't, it goes much deeper than that.
What is his problem, his deep down mental problem that is causing that approach?
That is what you have to tackle.
I repeat the coaches mantra again, you don't fix the problem, you fix the cause of the problem.
Otherwise, the problem will just find another outlet and show itself in a different kind of mistake.
That is what you have to tackle.
I repeat the coaches mantra again, you don't fix the problem, you fix the cause of the problem.
Otherwise, the problem will just find another outlet and show itself in a different kind of mistake.
Put a player under pressure and more mistakes will occur.
Put a player with a mental problem under pressure and more mistakes will occur more often.
Put a player with a mental problem under pressure and more mistakes will occur more often.
If you want an opponent to make a mistake you have to put them under mental pressure.
You do that by making them make a decision.
Do I tackle, do I not tackle.
Do I stay in my defensive position or go out the the player.
Where is he going, left or right?
Football is about lost of little decisions and each one takes a tiny bit of energy away.
I once coached a group of mentally challenged people and it was the most physically draining coaching session I have ever done.
After 2 hours,my assistant and I were physically exhausted, yet we hadn't run anywhere and were working in a sports hall.
We were drained because we were mentally exhausted.
Having to be hyper happy to keep them happy (the advice given to us by their carers before the session) and having to ensure they all completed a proficiency test successfully was tough mentally.
Mental fatigue = mistakes.
The more decisions you can make them make, the more mistakes they will make.
You do that by making them make a decision.
Do I tackle, do I not tackle.
Do I stay in my defensive position or go out the the player.
Where is he going, left or right?
Football is about lost of little decisions and each one takes a tiny bit of energy away.
I once coached a group of mentally challenged people and it was the most physically draining coaching session I have ever done.
After 2 hours,my assistant and I were physically exhausted, yet we hadn't run anywhere and were working in a sports hall.
We were drained because we were mentally exhausted.
Having to be hyper happy to keep them happy (the advice given to us by their carers before the session) and having to ensure they all completed a proficiency test successfully was tough mentally.
Mental fatigue = mistakes.
The more decisions you can make them make, the more mistakes they will make.
The more decisions you can force them to make in a shorter space of time maximises the chances of a mistake.
In other words, the faster you play football, the more mistakes you will force them to make.
In other words, the faster you play football, the more mistakes you will force them to make.
All players are different, so you identify the mentally weak, which computer analysis can help with.
But use that data with a psychologist and you maximise your chances of selecting the right players.
But use that data with a psychologist and you maximise your chances of selecting the right players.
They are the players you isolate and put under pressure.
Juan Foyth has been one of those players for us.
When under pressure, he either makes a mistake or skilfully gets out of trouble, but there are enough mistakes to warrant keep attacking him.
Everyone raves about Laporte at Manchester City,but to me he is the weak link in their defence.
You run at him and he makes mistakes, he was responsible for us scoring two goals at their place, just for that reason.
Isolate him, run at him, you'll get plenty of mistakes from him.
Juan Foyth has been one of those players for us.
When under pressure, he either makes a mistake or skilfully gets out of trouble, but there are enough mistakes to warrant keep attacking him.
Everyone raves about Laporte at Manchester City,but to me he is the weak link in their defence.
You run at him and he makes mistakes, he was responsible for us scoring two goals at their place, just for that reason.
Isolate him, run at him, you'll get plenty of mistakes from him.
Davinson Sanchez is another.
He started off very well and looked an excellent buy.
However, now he has one error-ridden game and one good game.
There are simply too many errors in too many games at the moment.
However, now he has one error-ridden game and one good game.
There are simply too many errors in too many games at the moment.
Has he been targetted more in those error-ridden games and less in his better games?
Have opposing clubs conducted their computer analysis to determine his weaknesses and simply exploited them or is there a mental weakness that needs addressing?
It can't be his confidence simply being greatly affected by one mistake, that would make him a liability.
You can't just keep your fingers crossed and hope that it will stop reoccurring or that he can somehow stop it himself.
The lad needs help, he needs mental help more than anything else.
Confidence brings out good performances.
How do you work on someone's confidence?
Yep,confidence is in the brain, it's an emotion, it can be trained.
So why aren't we training it?
Put a player with a mental weakness under pressure and he will break.
That just sends him mentally lower,his confidence lower.
There are techniques you can work on to overcome this.
The last 2 months have been an idea time, yet we have done nothing in that time,not a shred of mental work, not a shred of mental training.
Keeping someone's spirits up isn't the same thing.
You can't just keep your fingers crossed and hope that it will stop reoccurring or that he can somehow stop it himself.
The lad needs help, he needs mental help more than anything else.
Confidence brings out good performances.
How do you work on someone's confidence?
Yep,confidence is in the brain, it's an emotion, it can be trained.
So why aren't we training it?
Put a player with a mental weakness under pressure and he will break.
That just sends him mentally lower,his confidence lower.
There are techniques you can work on to overcome this.
The last 2 months have been an idea time, yet we have done nothing in that time,not a shred of mental work, not a shred of mental training.
Keeping someone's spirits up isn't the same thing.
A video showing what you did wrong and what you can do to stop it only masks a problem,
It is a paper over the cracks technique.
You will see a mistake surface elsewhere because the change in your game is causing another weak point somewhere else, particularly when you have to harmonise many parts (full-backs, centre-backs, defensive midfielder and goalkeeper).
It is a paper over the cracks technique.
You will see a mistake surface elsewhere because the change in your game is causing another weak point somewhere else, particularly when you have to harmonise many parts (full-backs, centre-backs, defensive midfielder and goalkeeper).
Change the behaviour of one part and it will affect all the other parts.
Remember what I said earlier about coaching, you look for the root cause and mend that.
What is the problem?
It isn't a skill issue, it's a decision making issue and decisions are made in the brain, the one part of a footballer we do little to improve, compared to what we could do.
The amateur approach to the professional approach.
These differences are the differences between winning trophies and losing them, we are proof of that.
We bottle more big games than we win, often because we make mistakes.
It isn't a skill issue, it's a decision making issue and decisions are made in the brain, the one part of a footballer we do little to improve, compared to what we could do.
The amateur approach to the professional approach.
These differences are the differences between winning trophies and losing them, we are proof of that.
We bottle more big games than we win, often because we make mistakes.
We are not addressing the root cause of the problem so it will continue to arise in players causing us to lose more big games and keep out trophy cabinet dusty.
Changing the manager is simply changing one amateur approach for another amateur approach, hoping one will paper over the cracks better than the other.
Buying players is simply buying a different set of problems to solve.
Every club in the league would have won something if it were that easy.
For all you naughty people who didn't read the Scouting article (you should) I informed you that Sevilla Director of Football Monchi has instigated a Research and Development Department at the Spanish club which employs mathematicians, physicists, specialized engineers and analysts.
Buying players is simply buying a different set of problems to solve.
Every club in the league would have won something if it were that easy.
For all you naughty people who didn't read the Scouting article (you should) I informed you that Sevilla Director of Football Monchi has instigated a Research and Development Department at the Spanish club which employs mathematicians, physicists, specialized engineers and analysts.
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Why then,would you not embrace psychologists when the brain is the most important part of any footballer?
It doesn't make any sense not to.
If you know what truly motivates a player and it may be something unconnected with football like family, you can feed their motivation.
If you don't know, you can't.
You just hope their motivation is strong enough, but it isn't in most people.
You are leaving the biggest part of football in the hands of someone you have just invested tens of millions of pounds in and left everything to chance.
After the initial motivation, what then?
I cited Gareth Bale and the fact he would rather be on the golf course than playing football now.
How many times have you seen a club buy a player, it is all great until he starts getting left on the bench, then suddenly his performances are nowhere near what he can produce and he becomes simply a squad player that it wouldn't matter whether you kept or sold?
You can not simply leave it to an outside party.
You have paid tens of millions for this player, shouldn't you invest in improving their most important component?
Why would you simply then leave it up to them and their mood swings or amateurs trying to solve a complex puzzle with old fashioned out of date ideas?
It's plain nuts.
Don't we want our players to be the best they can be?
It doesn't make any sense not to.
If you know what truly motivates a player and it may be something unconnected with football like family, you can feed their motivation.
If you don't know, you can't.
You just hope their motivation is strong enough, but it isn't in most people.
You are leaving the biggest part of football in the hands of someone you have just invested tens of millions of pounds in and left everything to chance.
After the initial motivation, what then?
I cited Gareth Bale and the fact he would rather be on the golf course than playing football now.
How many times have you seen a club buy a player, it is all great until he starts getting left on the bench, then suddenly his performances are nowhere near what he can produce and he becomes simply a squad player that it wouldn't matter whether you kept or sold?
You can not simply leave it to an outside party.
You have paid tens of millions for this player, shouldn't you invest in improving their most important component?
Why would you simply then leave it up to them and their mood swings or amateurs trying to solve a complex puzzle with old fashioned out of date ideas?
It's plain nuts.
Don't we want our players to be the best they can be?
COYS
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