Insight, Opinion...In Shorts
Learning to Coach
How often do we hear of someone being told that you only really learn to drive after you pass your test? In fairness, it is a fairly accurate observation and one most would agree with.
In many respects football coaching is very similar. The licences and certificates that are now an essential pre-requisite to working with youth and senior players in essence only afford an individual an opportunity to coach. The learning experience of how to educate players in a training environment only comes when an inexperienced coach is working for real and not just in theory.
In this respect I am speaking from very recent experience having been offered the chance to assist the manager at Dumbarton FC. This has demonstrated the tangible differences from coaching while working towards a qualification to taking a live session. This is not to say that the work required to pass the various assessments is futile as undoubtedly the levels of organisation and delivery required to do so help enormously while taking the first steps in a competitive coaching environment.
This, allied to some of the knowledge that an individual can gain from those in charge of courses and those also taking part in them, mean that I believed I had a solid foundation on which to build training sessions upon. However the reality of coaching, especially further down the levels, is that conditions are far from the “perfect” scenario in terms of facilities and numbers, therefore the ability to be adaptable and to think quickly becomes vital.
I believe that as with most things, coaching players is more difficult than it looks and yet the challenges that it provides is something that I am really enjoying at present. The last part of my playing career was, in the main, not enjoyable and frustrating: in all honesty, made me fall out of love with the game to an extent. However, the great satisfaction and unexpected adrenaline rush I have had from delivering sessions for the players at Dumbarton has reignited my passion for the game, along with restoring my faith in the sport- demonstrated by the level of commitment and aptitude shown consistently by those playing football on a part time basis.
Therefore, as I look forward to my involvement in my first competitive match in a coaching capacity, I am relishing a new opportunity and will experience the nerves and pressures felt by all management teams around the country as the players you are responsible for preparing, take to the field.
Being in the technical area raises questions of what type of coach or manager a former player will be. Will they imitate their playing style while advising from the side lines or look to reinvent themselves as a different character? In this sense I believe it is hard to hide away from your natural persona. I was never a player who enjoyed a rant when I played but I was opinionated, I did set high standards and I loved training. It would therefore be no surprise that I am witnessing similar characteristics in my coaching style.
Not everyone who passes a driving test makes a good driver just like not everyone with a coaching licence makes a good coach. I had no idea if I would be a successful coach or a manger and only time (and usually results!) will tell but one thing is certain-like driving on your own for the first time, it is even better than I imagined!
Team Spirit- spirit devil?
To be a successful football team or football club one of the main components of that success is togetherness from supporters to players with everyone fighting for the same cause.
On the back of the Carlos Tevez escapade that point is reaffirmed even more to me and it should resonate with every football supporter out there.
In any successful business throughout the world, team play and working relationships go hand-in-hand: football should be no different. The Tevez act of arrogance (or petulance if you prefer) goes against everything the word ‘team’ stands for.
If Carlos Tevez didn’t have a market value he would be sacked on the spot I’ve no doubt but the power he has over the club is that he would walk into another top club for free if the afore mentioned happened. It’s ‘catch-22’ for Manchester City and the owners. The way he disrespected his team mates, manager and supporters staggered me and is something our game can do without.
Team spirit is not something that I believe can be manufactured at a football club but if you have good characters within a dressing room (coupled with positive results on the pitch) it can certainly enhance it.
A manger’s role is also important for harmony in a dressing room. He has to do his research on potential signings and if there is a chance an individual can be difficult to manage he has to weigh up if it’s worth having him at his club.
I’ll be honest and say that I’ve only come across a few players in my 17 year career who have been temperamental and I wouldn’t fancy attempting to manage them but with so many different characters in the world it’s inevitable this will be the case.
I understand we can’t blame everything on money but it seems to me a small minority of players think they have become untouchable due to the astronomical wages they earn. It all goes back to something Jack Ross covered on sportingshorts.com in August: being a role model for young kids and fellow professional footballers. Carlos Tevez has a duty to his club, his team mates and most of all, supporters; he has embarrassed himself and as far as I’m concerned shouldn’t play for Manchester City ever again and the sooner he leaves British football the better.
Stand or Dugout?
Most would agree that a player blessed with great vision is always an asset to a team and in this sense it is in reference to a player’s ability to pick a pass and always have a clear picture of the game going on around him.
How we view a game is therefore of the highest importance and it is therefore interesting that when players progress into coaching and management the vast majority choose to watch games from the technical area rather than a higher vantage point in the stand.
I have always found this intriguing in that there is no doubt that the latter offers a far clearer picture as to the shape of a team and as to areas of the game that may either be a cause for concern or possible source of success. Despite this the pitch side position is favoured by most and indeed when managers are punished for any indiscretion they suffer a touchline ban meaning they must endure the horrible punishment of watching their team from a better position!
It is of course not as simple as this: the reasons so many managers want to be in the technical area is that they are close to the action, they can get a real feel for the game and they are in constant contact with their players and therefore able to affect any required changes immediately and motivate accordingly.
Watching their team from above is the preferred option in other sports and can be seen specifically in the Rugby World Cup currently taking place. Such a set-up also relies upon the use of monitors and continual communication with those at pitch level but is one that (with the exception of the likes of Sam Allardyce and on occasions Walter Smith) is rarely replicated in football.
My own perspective on this is one of uncertainty. Having completed my UEFA A licence in the summer, one of the most challenging aspects for me was recognising changes in team shape from the touchline. Conversely, since retiring I have worked at times compiling match reports for a manager and doing this from a vantage point in the stands is relatively straightforward.
Therefore, as a current non-manager, where do I think offers the best line of vision? My answer would be the stand, and yet if I get the opportunity to manage where will I be? Most probably in the dug-out. Strange breed footballers!
Being Gay in Football
It is fair to say that the football world at times can be extremely insular and reluctant to cast an eye over events in other sports. Recently interest has been generated by the respective announcements made by rugby player Gareth Thomas and cricketer Steven Davies.
Both of these professional sportsmen took the decision to openly admit that they were gay and in doing so, each became one of the few to do so in their profession. The admission of homosexuality is fairly uncommon in sport and indeed almost unheard of in football- so much so that when the Swedish player Anton Hysen expressed his sexuality this year he was only the second professional football player to do so, after the late Justin Fashanu in 1990.
Common sense would suggest that there have been, and continue to be more gay football players throughout World football but why is it that it still remains such a taboo subject in the game?
Could it be because the changing room is seen as a bastion of masculinity where any gay player would be immediately shunned by team-mates and cast adrift from the rest of the squad? My own opinion is that nothing could be further from the truth: for the most part, respect within a team is earned from performances and attitude, and while dressing-room banter can be cutting and cruel, it is usually without prejudice.
Therefore while internally there would be seem to be no homophobic issues within the game why would players be reluctant to even suggest that a team-mate admit to being gay and why would players be reluctant to perhaps front any anti-homophobic campaign?
In these instances is it the fear of the external response in the game such as that from press or supporters that drives such a school of thought? In my opinion it would be appear that the majority of players believe that an admission of homosexuality would only cause harm to a player’s career, and that abuse and criticism would result from it.
It is interesting to note that one of Germany’s most successful players in recent times- Philipp Lahm-chose to address the issue of speculation surrounding his sexuality in his autobiography. Despite being married he has been the subject of several rumours and although he was happy to try to set the record straight he admitted he would advise against a team-mate from “coming out.”
In our country where we have made huge strides regarding attitudes towards race and are trying to educate with respect to religion, would we be broad-minded enough to accept the first Scottish football player to admit he was gay?
I am not entirely sure, if I am honest, but in a fast-developing world there is no doubt that this ability to accept will be tested in the years ahead.
Cheating is part of the game
Acting dishonestly to gain an advantage has never been viewed as being admirable and yet probably most of us have done it at some point and most likely it has been in a competitive environment- whether it be playing sport or simply enjoying a board game.
The criticism of those who pursue such a course of action to induce benefit to themselves or their team has of course been at fever-pitch in the past few days: a consequence of the penalty awarded to the Czech Republic against Scotland in the Euro 2012 qualifier. While I would offer no defence of a player who can fall down with no contact, there has to be a degree of realism applied when examining what players have done in the past, and continue to do to try and win matches.
While many chastise a player who dives there is (little or) no criticism for those who claim a corner when they know it is a goal kick etc. In both cases, there is intention to deceive a match official and while the former can lead to penalties and goals as it did on Saturday, the latter can just as easily have similar consequences.
Players who blatantly dive deserve criticism as the vast majority in the game do not possess the ability or intention to take this action but the extent of this criticism must be tempered by an acknowledgement that within the game, players will look to secure every available advantage to win a match.
This may not appeal to the purists but it is a fact. Recalling my own career- if I was marking a player with greater aerial ability than me at a set piece, did I look to take a handful of his jersey on the blindside of the referee? Of course I did. Just as I claimed for countless throw-ins and corners that I knew should not be awarded to my team.
Does this make me a cheat? There may be some who say it does but I am not saying what players do is right; simply that it exists just as it does in many other sports. The opportunity to gain advantage while ‘bending’ the rules will happen: in rucks in rugby; while boxers come together in the ring. The reason: the desire for victory is a powerful emotion to control.
While I am sure that many players would acknowledge the above, it is fair to say that losing a match or dropping points in circumstances which blatantly highlight a player falling without contact is a little more painful. Defeat will always hurt but when it can clearly be seen as a result of injustice then undoubtedly there is extra frustration felt.
Insight, Opinion...In Shorts
