Many a good thread on here discussing tactics, players, owners, manager, supporters, etc....concerning our ridiculously slow and ineffective start.
The more I read through and participate in these discussions, the more one thing is starting to stand out to me.
Last year as we were going on our run and pillaging every team we came up against, there was a concerted effort by the team and even the manager to not look too far down the road. Every opportunity to talk about winning the title was swatted away as the manager and the players talked about focus on the next game, on working and performing in the next match, and it served us well almost taking us clear to the title.
This year, with being back in the Champion's League and with the expectations of a title challenge, all of the talk has been about winning the title, about progressing in the Champion's League, about replacing Suarez and getting players healthy and bedded in.
We are now constantly looking forward, not just to the next game, but we are continually looking past the next game to the Champion's League games, to the end of the season and making the top 4.
Personally, I think part of the reason that the players aren't performing as well is because they are feeling the pressure of where they are "supposed" to go or end up and they aren't focusing on doing the little things and putting in the work for the game that's right in front of them.
I've seen this in other sports I follow and it usually ends the same....the teams that can stay focused only on the next game and the teams that can put the joy of winning the last one or the heartbreak of losing it behind them are the teams that ultimately stay together, stay strong and stay committed to what they need to do. Those are the teams that end up being able to plow through adversity and stay the course.
We've seen quotes from the manager regarding the goals and objectives for the season, we've heard it from some of the players, talking about top 4 or cup games, etc.....
What they all need to be focused on is the NEXT game and nothing more. What can they do to be prepared for only the NEXT game?
It's amazing to me that with our world renowned head doctor we have apparently lost track of the focus that allowed us to almost run the league last year.
Maybe this is simplistic thinking, but I firmly believe that the team/players with the shortest memory and the sharpest focus on the task at hand will ultimately perform at a more consistent and meaningful level than those teams that are always looking ahead or deliberating the past.
Now the players playing poorly and the manager being stubborn on tactics or player selection are obviously factors, but I think those things can aided and overshadowed by a team that has concrete focus and immense belief. Something we don't seem to possess right now.
Logged