..the only way we´re going to get out of our present predicament, is if all the players, and particularly the senior ones start to pull their fingers out. I´m not advocating sticking with Hughton at any cost, and blame him if you like, that is always the easy thing to do, but if last night was the best the players can do ( and I´m afraid I´ve been fearing that it is, for quite a while) then Hughton is the least of our worries. Where were players like Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Fox, Garrido, Elmander, last night, all experienced players with, one would have hoped, a point to prove, but all went staggeringly missing when the time for leadership was needed. It can´t be down to kids like Redmond and Murphy to show them the way, only Johnson and perhaps Wolf came out of last night with a smidgeon of credit, and on that showing we could bring in Mourinho, Ferguson and Guardiola all rolled into one, and we still wouldn´t get a scrap better. Whether dodgy tactics or poor team selection or not, last night had at least as much to do with lack of desire and willingness to put in a performance, and again, a total dropping of heads as soon as we go one goal down. The very least we, and any manager can expect, is that they go out and put in a shift, even players with little or no ability can do that much, and if, as many on here would have me believe, the players are so much better than this, then tell me, why aren´t they showing it, because I simply don´t buy into the theory that Hughton has turned them all from good players into poor players, the players themselves are just not doing their jobs properly. Finally, I can quite easily accept the (almost) inevitable happening, and Hughton getting the push, but I´ll admit to having sympathy for him, because it´s his neck that´s on the line, and at the moment none of the players are doing much to prevent it getting the chop. Also, I´ll be very interested to see just how well any successor does, only then will we really be able to judge just how ´clueluess´ Hughton has been all this time.
Completely agree. As I have said elsewhere the players need to stand up and be counted, they have to shoulder some responsibility. Not everything is the managers fault. Yes tactics etc, but the players should still go out and give their all, they need to be mentally stronger as their heads seem to drop far too quickly.
Apologies for repeating myself, but there are many factors that contribute to confidence and sporting performance, if it was that easy for players to always perform to the best of their ability, then the best team (on paper) would always win. The notion that players are not trying is ludicrous, however to keep going when you repeatedly recieve a poor pass, or see the formation crumbling or see another player not make the most of a decent pass, etc interferes with attentional focus, UNLESS you have been helped to do so. PLayers will begin not to try passes because of anxiety and fear of them not coming off and instead will be caught in two minds, leading to a poor outcome. This state of affairs is significantly causally related to how managers and coaches deal with players - it is true across all sports
There are many factors that effect confidence. Coaches, manager, the fans, relationship with other players, family issues of curse many things can have an impact. So you are saying that their lack of confidence is down to the manager and he alone? Come on you can't seriously believe that. Likewise their are factor other then confidence that impact a players performance and cause it to vary week on week. You use the example of "repeatedly receiving a bad pass" surely that is predominantly the players fault? The players should be mentally stronger and get through simply on the want to win, but at times some seem to lack that desire. Yes things may get tough and go against you but that is when the best players show their true colours.
It's not solely due the manager, but when confidence drops, it is up to the team that surrounds sports folk to make it right again. At least this was my experience
The problem is lots of them don't or are unwilling to and in team sports they often pass the buck. It happened in cricket and that is a little more bizarre because it is much more about individual performances, although it does make it eaier if you are batting with someone who will support you. At Norwich, I fear that what is happening is that players are losing confidence in their colleagues, they aren't expecting players to be in the right position and are now spending time checking for other players ( i think this has something to do with Bassong's poorer performance this season) rather than knowing their team mates are doing their jobs properly. Players will begin top apportion blame to others, this is evident on the pitch already. This is a situation that a manager has to deal with, because otehrwise it just escalates and that is why teams who are on a losing streak find it difficutl to sustain motivation and drive. If Redmond or Snodgrass had scored early on, it would have given them the lift, but doubts and fears begin to creep in and the quality of play suffers.
I don´t disagree with some of the points you are making Longsight, but I think the most galling thing at the moment, is that as soon as a goal goes in against us, the heads drop, and not just one or two, but pretty nearly all of them. Could you imagine players like Ron Ashman, Big Dunc, Dave Stringer, or the omnipresent Malky Mackay letting their heads drop and giving up just because they went a goal behind - no, nor could I, and none of that lot were any better than just averagely good players, but they endeared themselves to so many fans because they were filled to the brim with fight, bounce-back-ability, and a will to win that was second to none, all of which are very, very sadly lacking in the squad at the moment. Those qualities need to be in the players themselves, without them any amount of talent won´t get you very far.
At the start of the season I wanted Snoddy as captain, because I thought he was cut from similar cloth. But like the rest of the squad I now doubt there is a leader or snarler amoungst the whole lot. Bah!
It's odd. Teams have a kind of collective spirit and it's very hard to know exactly what switches it on and off. We've all seen games when something that seems relatively trivial (a 50-50 penalty call denied, for example) can transform the whole game. And we've all seen sides that score lots of late goals (e.g. City during the promotion years) or let in lots of late goals, and it definitely seems to be related to the team's collective spirit. It can't simply be the individual players because we have lots of ex-captains at the moment but we definitely don't have that inner strength and fight as a team. One thing's for sure - if someone could bottle it, he'd be a billionaire.
I agree with that. It is an issue with team sports where you can hide behind others. Yes the manager needs to address the situation and you would hope there are some strong characters in the dressing room who would to. It is a team game and both coaches and players are responsible.
I agree.There is no doubt we have quite a talented squad, but lots of the prem clubs do. We need people to show good character and take responsibility as you say. There have been many talented players who have not quite made it due to their attitude. There has to be a hunger and desire to win within all the players and stand up in the face of adversity.
Melchy, I can´t think of anyone, certainly Bassong has been a total disaster, and Snoddy´s one of the first to let his shoulders sag if things start to go against him.
Only one I can think of is Howson when he is fit. And not as captain but huge credit to Bradley Johnson who has done his best every match even if he is not our most talented player his attitude has been good.
Toon fan in peace and I watched your game last night and the senior players on show didn't seem as if they wanted to be there. Very impressed with Josh Murphy.
Snoddy is one of the first to show despair and give up, big mistake making Bassong captain , great player not a leader but Snoddy could never do that role
Snodgrass seems to be like HBA for us and wants to do it all himself. Bassong instead of keeping it simple he got caught out a couple of times.
