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Your Shout: Psychology Of Failure & Failure In Psychology
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Newcastle-Online.com reader Neil Crossley writes in questioning
what he believes to be the 'jobs for the boys' mentality at St. James's
and raises one or two pertinent questions regarding the psychological
effect this has on Newcastle United, from top to bottom.
Time ticks slowly away on one of the most troubled periods in Newcastle
United's recent history, though are any of us surprised that we now
resemble Blackburn Rovers of old? Souness, I am afraid to say, is
psychologically flawed in every area of managing a football team.
He is as far removed from the modern game as a man can be and it is
as plain as day as to how he has failed: A football club, in 2006,
is no longer a boot room, it is no longer a place for a bunch of mates
to hang out. We are a million miles away from being in the era where
chumminess gets victories.
I have no doubt that maybe the training ground is a nice place to
be. I dare say Mrs. Souness throws a mean birthday bash. But this
is not the way, in a modern world of sports psychology and the million-dollar
footballer, to run a club.
Where is the necessary discipline? Where will the finger be pointed
when things are going wrong? When the whole club is based around a
family atmosphere, rather than implementing a structured, professional
approach, you're destined for failure. None of the players demonstrate
leadership - they're all mates. None of the coaching staff correct
the manager, or point to problems - after all, it's Dean's round next...
In short, this is an impossible way to run a modern football club
in the Premiership. Togetherness may carry you up the Conference,
but it's lost when you need players of a certain ability, not just
mentality, to carry you forward. Souness' mentality is such that when
his wife has a birthday party, none of the coaching staff attend the
reserve match because they are ALL attending.
There is no separation between work and play and it is to the ultimate
detriment of the football club. A fact Souness fails to recognise
or deal with. The Bellamy debacle, whilst old news, highlights my
point. A perfectly capable player cannot vocalise discontent when
things are going badly. His attitude his suspect, his ability is not.
He was misused and untrusted and was only ever going to lose the battle
against Souness.
Same with Robert. Souness' has the mentality of simply sticking the
fingers in the ear - when it's going badly, he doesn't want to hear
it, or see it. Take Fulham - Souness has the audacity to claim, some
8 days after the match, that we didn't deserve to lose. Sorry, that's
a load of bull shit.
But he won't take it on board and genuinely believes that he is getting
the best he can out of internationally established footballers such
as Luque and Boumsong to name just two of his expensive signings.
The desperate plight of the likes of Bowyer, Faye, Babayaro, Shearer
and Solano is seen as the best they can play - I find that unfathomable.
Souness will never succeed. His time is long, long gone. There is
commitment, as in, a commitment to the cause of the club as demonstrated
by the likes of Craig Bellamy, and there is another commitment to
Souness as lord and master over all he surveys.
Unfortunately for Newcastle United, Souness only believe in the latter
and whilst there still may be some who cannot see the value in sacking
now, or believe (rightly) that there is a major problem further up,
we must realise that psychologically it is all wrong at Newcastle
United and whilst a new chairman may be top of everyone's wish list,
do not underestimate quite how much impact a new mentality, a new
outlook, can and will affect the club.
There are, without doubt, positive times ahead for this great club.
This fact will not be lost on any number of managers out there. The
fact that this future will not be under Souness is a moot point and
the sooner we remove his influence, his mentality, his mates and suck
the insipid poison from our veins the better.
Act, Mr. Shepherd - do the honourable thing, because if you're waiting
for the "family man" to bow out with good grace, you'll be waiting
another 18 months...
Neil Crossley
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