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Post by joanna on Feb 8, 2016 14:53:37 GMT
If we compare with Leicester, there are some obvious things that we are lacking: LCFC have highly skilled players and pace to burn in attack and midfield; huge work-rate etc., but a slightly less obvious failing of ours is one that BSA had covered. It's something I believe in strongly and is explained in this quote from Rich Dean, a mental-conditioning coach to premier league teams and individuals. (Do we even employ one at present? If we do, I have not heard about him/her. No doubt you will correct me if I'm wrong.)
Huth and Morgan should be ponderous weak links at LCFC, but the team is organised so that their lack of pace is covered by the clear expectations of their roles in tandem with the those of the quicker players. According to Dean, Leicester City are "not feeling any pressure. Leicester’s confidence and self-belief comes from a position of clarity. Their roles are really well defined by the coaching staff. Clear expectations equals a clear method and a higher level of confidence about your performance”.
Losing a key member of the coaching staff at Bolton has hardly been mentioned in recent despairing posts but has clearly handicapped NL. Failure to employ a sports psychologist may have been even more of an issue. It seems to me that we have some good players who have almost all, at one time or another, shown that they are well capable of succeeding at this level, but their performances are so variable....apparently inexplicably so. Injuries have not helped improve consistency. Tinkering certainly does not help. (Look how few changes there have been in Leicester's line-ups this season.) Many of our lapses boil down to loss of confidence (Amos, particularly)
It also occurs to me that what one person calls tinkering, another calls preparing to counter specific strengths of each respective opposition team.
Consistency, confidence and understanding stem from making very few changes so that familiarity and partnerships can develop. I expect that is what NL has in mind in trying to establish a settled (if limited!) centre-half pairing and continued reliance on those who sparkle at least often enough to convince us that they are worthwhile if they can just produce their best more often. At the moment, performance levels vary massively from match to match.
What is certain is that, quite apart from all the other horrors that NL is having to cope with, he needs help from backroom staff in certain areas of mental (and physical) preparation.
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Post by riochforthereebok on Feb 8, 2016 15:22:48 GMT
What are we lacking??
If you're comparing us to LCFC??
We're lacking a Claudio Ranieri
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2016 15:55:25 GMT
If we compare with Leicester, there are some obvious things that we are lacking: LCFC have highly skilled players and pace to burn in attack and midfield; huge work-rate etc., but a slightly less obvious failing of ours is one that BSA had covered. It's something I believe in strongly and is explained in this quote from Rich Dean, a mental-conditioning coach to premier league teams and individuals. (Do we even employ one at present? If we do, I have not heard about him/her. No doubt you will correct me if I'm wrong.) Huth and Morgan should be ponderous weak links at LCFC, but the team is organised so that their lack of pace is covered by the clear expectations of their roles in tandem with the those of the quicker players. According to Dean, Leicester City are "not feeling any pressure. Leicester’s confidence and self-belief comes from a position of clarity. Their roles are really well defined by the coaching staff. Clear expectations equals a clear method and a higher level of confidence about your performance”. Losing a key member of the coaching staff at Bolton has hardly been mentioned in recent despairing posts but has clearly handicapped NL. Failure to employ a sports psychologist may have been even more of an issue. It seems to me that we have some good players who have almost all, at one time or another, shown that they are well capable of succeeding at this level, but their performances are so variable....apparently inexplicably so. Injuries have not helped improve consistency. Tinkering certainly does not help. (Look how few changes there have been in Leicester's line-ups this season.) Many of our lapses boil down to loss of confidence (Amos, particularly) It also occurs to me that what one person calls tinkering, another calls preparing to counter specific strengths of each respective opposition team. Consistency, confidence and understanding stem from making very few changes so that familiarity and partnerships can develop. I expect that is what NL has in mind in trying to establish a settled (if limited!) centre-half pairing and continued reliance on those who sparkle at least often enough to convince us that they are worthwhile if they can just produce their best more often. At the moment, performance levels vary massively from match to match. What is certain is that, quite apart from all the other horrors that NL is having to cope with, he needs help from backroom staff in certain areas of mental (and physical) preparation. I can see the points you are making but lets not forget BSA had 27 back room staff ,all those people cost money and of course with our present situation this is out of the question ,so there are times when make do and mend is not good enough OC did lots of damage when he sacked Fred Barber ,personaly I believe that Nl is still not up to the job and most likely wont be for at least 12 months he learns very very slowly at least he had the decency to man up and admit dropping trotter was wrong ,its start I suppose but he needs to listen more re subs and timing . |
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Post by Trotter on Feb 8, 2016 17:01:09 GMT
CONFIDENCE.
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Post by westandlower on Feb 8, 2016 18:48:22 GMT
What are we lacking? About 15 class players and a manager with the strategic, tactical and leadership nouse to help us to progress.
I think a sports psychologist on the payroll could make a positive difference but having a manager with the right leadership qualities would also make that same difference. Neither would be able to turn a sows ear into an international class player but they would be able to maximise potential.
More informed leadership qualities amongst the management team would certainly have resulted in us gathering more points this season than we have right now.
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Post by andyl on Feb 8, 2016 22:50:21 GMT
A good lead post! All sport is played in the mind and there is an inter - relationship with physical fitness. Mens sana in corpore sano.
But we are bust or nearly and all staffing has gaps. It cannot be retrieved
I am a believer in sensible squad rotation medium term planning and the use of varying tactics. But player skills are so depleted that simplicity is all.
Tinkering for tinkering ' s sake is not a good idea. It was very silly of Neil to plant Emile upfront on his own to start and even sillier to omit Trotter who has been our best player for a month in the opinion of media and most people I've spoken with.
There are some players whose confidence Neil has surely diminished Amos,Spearing, Walker,Twardzik Trotter and more recently Danns. Behind the scenes Wilson,Casado Prince and above all Derik have all deteriorated in Neil's eyes. Why?one or two have now gone
I get the impression that Neil is subject to mood swings and this seems to affect his judgments?
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Post by westandlower on Feb 8, 2016 23:43:25 GMT
Lennons tinkering / rotation / apparent freezing out doesn't seem to draw the same vitriol as Freedman's. Why is that?
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Post by andyl on Feb 9, 2016 6:39:04 GMT
Lennons tinkering / rotation / apparent freezing out doesn't seem to draw the same vitriol as Freedman's. Why is that? I first remarked on this about a year ago! Why indeed was Dougie criticised more than Neil who was then beginning to do more of what Dougie was being criticised than Dougie was. And if this was doubted then surely it's clear now? I suspect it's because Neil appears more approachable and friendly. He talks rationally about each game and we see a nice man persevering in an impossible job and with lots of good grace. We see young players seeming to be given chances and we had a dramatically good start under him. And even now when we win a game he looks so involved and passionate and pleased that we respond emotionally. Dougie spoke tediously and not always coherently about his way of playing. He was aloof and sought to educate us. He spoke of rotation which fell into disrepute when some long forgotten Italian chap revitalised Chelsea with what the press called tinkering. Neil though is George Wickham. He is Anatole Kuragin. He does no wrong in the eyes of those who like him and there are excuses everywhere. Not of course that Freedman could be cast as Darcy or Pierre Bezukhov. But he was harder to like. He was proud and we rapidly became prejudiced against him. The rEsource constraints were no excuse for his calumnies There is something in all of us I suspect that baulks at the coldly rational and challenges it and something that responds to the brightly irrational. Neil is impulsive and capricious in his selections. He wants to be on the front foot, to attack. We like this cavalier approach. Dougie's approach was stultifying, tactically driven but over complicated and cautiously defensive to a fault.. Players or at least our players found it unintelligible and cold. Neil's is flamboyant. Like Owen he loves wingers. He would have got another in if he could. Neil excites,Dougie bores.. Is Dougie a better manager than Neil?Statistically I would say yes. He has now propelled three successive and very different championship sides up the league to within spitting distance of promotion. His teams repeatedly win away from home. But he bores at home. He loses at home too often and I predict he will be sacked from Forest at the earliest dip in form. Neil will ride this storm and get a good job to follow with an unblemished CV. Such is life! |
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Post by joanna on Feb 9, 2016 10:24:18 GMT
A virtually perfect post, Andy, that pinpoints precisely why NL is more palatable than Deadly Dougie. Both have found the task of winning and entertaining extremely difficult in the present circumstances.
My point was that there should be someone to shoulder some of the burden with the manager, as Sam had, preferably an expert in physical and mental preparation. Is it false economy to say we can't afford such a person? Would we avoid an expensive relegation? It seems to me that Lennon is having to do just about EVERYthing on his own.....not that Lennie appeared to be much help to DF! I know there are backroom staff but are they doing an effective job....or is our demise ALL Neil's fault alone?
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Post by andyl on Feb 9, 2016 20:43:44 GMT
These are all good points for professional sportspersons. Our cyclists were famed for imitiatives to achieve marginal gain. Golfers have long been concerned with psychological approaches. Bob Rotella is perhaps the best known golf author. Johanna Konta recently praised her mental coach, Juan Coto for helping her to overcome nerves and make such dramatic progress at the Australian Open. Any of us who have played any sport know the value of the mind and cultivated confidence. It's true in most walks of life. And has always been so. Plato posited a tripartite soul consisting of a reasoning part, a second part for courage and emotion and a third part which drove desire.
In Platonic terms it seems to me that Dougie focused exclusively on reasoning and Neil pitches in with the second two and his mind does not always get a hold of his emotion or desires?
Of course clubs can't employ a range of professionals to deal with the above and also physical fitness, mental health, diet and nutrionary support, medical support and other sometime essentials eg second language support. At least we can't. and some managers by disposition ignore it when it suits them to do so, e.g Mourinho's career pausing disgraceful attitude to his club doctor.
Big Sam put BWFC at the forefront of such thinking and he gave us a competitive advantage over those who didn't. More recent managers appear to have ignored it all .
In terms of top management at a club I never understand why a manager is always allowed to bring in his own support staff. Stability is surely important. It has never been made clear just what Walford and Mjallby , Lawrence and Stewart have been there to do. Sammy, Ricky Szbragia and Phil Brown were more in evidence. Results suggest Mjallby did a good job defensively. but to what extent the coaches have been teachers and improvers is most unclear.
Anyway we are bust and can't provide Whiskas for the training ground cat so it's all academic!
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Post by joanna on Feb 11, 2016 10:33:10 GMT
Inconsistency is our key failing. Our players have virtually all had games where they have looked the part only to put in a horror show next time up.
In such circumstances, it makes it almost impossible for a manager to be able to pick a best eleven and system and pairings.... and rely on them to perform. A competent trainer/sports psychologist could help here and win crucial points = avoid relegation = bank more money. What is happening at the moment is false economy.
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Post by andyl on Feb 11, 2016 15:59:57 GMT
A good point and I agree with it.
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Post by davidm on Feb 11, 2016 16:10:04 GMT
What is happening at the moment is false economy. Exactly right. When you think back to the organisation in Sam Allardyce's days it is a crying shame. Sam's autobiography goes into the details of the set up and the reasons behind it and, of course, the success it brought. The same goes for this attempt to sell everything off prior to a change of ownership. I realise that we need cash to keep the day to day operations going but if we sell all our assets (Euxton, Hotel...) we logically lower the value of the eventual sale. |
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Post by OohMac on Feb 11, 2016 17:33:31 GMT
I'd say we're really missing a 20 goal a season man. Look at what Hooper as done at Sheff Wednesday but i'm not sure if Hooper was in this team he would get such clear cut chances
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2016 19:18:19 GMT
Inconsistency is our key failing. Our players have virtually all had games where they have looked the part only to put in a horror show next time up. In such circumstances, it makes it almost impossible for a manager to be able to pick a best eleven and system and pairings.... and rely on them to perform. A competent trainer/sports psychologist could help here and win crucial points = avoid relegation = bank more money. What is happening at the moment is false economy. When your in the situation BWFC are in at the moment there certain things you cant do and one of them to speculate , the old saying "cut your coat to suit your cloth " springs to mind . Someone says look at the set up BSA had but fails to mention that we he excepted the toons pieces of silver he took his back room staff with him and left BWFC with a load of very expensive gear and no one to work it . what the club has at the moment is what they must work with and NL must learn not to make the same mistakes every week (bet He plays Dervite and Madine this week ) and that subs need time to work . |
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