12 things fans don't think much about but managers fixate on

Mdgreener · May 17, 2015

I could make this list twice as long. I intended this to be half tongue-in-cheek, but I think these are all pretty serious points.

1. Every player is inconsistent - brilliance or incompetence in the last game does not guarantee the same in the next. This is more important the further you go down the leagues.

2. Every game is a gamble no matter what the manager does before hand - #1 factors in for both teams, plus the officials, plus the conditions of play, plus a slight pull on a muscle, an odd ball Bruce, etc. etc. etc.

3. Money affects everything - on the field and off. Even the most dedicated and loyal player wants to make a good living before their inevitably short career comes to an end.

4. Money means even more the further down the leagues you go. A squad of 27 players at certain salaries or a squad of 18 more highly paid (and yes this usually means better or at least more consistent) players. Less money means a tighter and riskier trade off between quality and depth.

5. The further down the leagues you go, the more loan signings matter because of #4. A manager cannot afford the squad he knows will guarantee success.

6. A bad tackle, a slight pull in practice, or a dozen other things can mean that a player you want on the field is out for a game or a season which means back to #5 and #4

7. Football is a team game, every single player matters, not just the ones who receive the plaudits from fans and press.

8. Getting players ready is 90% training and hard work and 90% of that is player attitude.

9. Young players are a huge risk and fans love them more than older players that are known commodities.

10. 90% of fans know more than the manager about which players to play, which tactics to use, and how to win, and they have no problem expressing their views.

11. There is only one way for a manager to have the long terms support of the fans, deliver victory. There is only one way to have daily support from fans, express passion. The second will be overlooked if a manager delivers the first.

12. Money affects everything - on the field and off. Only fans of clubs that have gone bankrupt understand this, but even they forget about it long before the people that want to be paid do.

:scarf: :scarf:

Ade the green · May 17, 2015

I only count 8 as 4 are pretty much duplicating what you believe about money that no-one else knows.

Gary Wills · May 17, 2015

If employed at a football business, perhaps a relevant collection of some thoughts.
There are two managers each game. If to give a damn what one's thinking, and not really analyse at all what the other is doing, that's strange, because all the information is there online to do the same 'audit' of each, and both orchestrate to the same extent the entertainment paid for.

narrowboat · May 18, 2015

Can't disagree in principle with OP but one important thing, regardless of money, the fans do fixate on(at least this one does)is the ability of of the Manager to motivate his players and Staff. At our level a team of 'journeymen' players(I only use this term in the nicest way to mean hard-working professionals) who, with discipline, motivation and a bit of luck can do wonders.
Yes I know that all young professionals should have masses of self motivation and they probably do. However there are so many distractions for young well-to-do lads now-a-days that they can easily lose track of what is most important.
The Managers responsibility is to ensure that they go out onto the park in the best frame of mind. All singing from the same hymn sheet.

memory man · May 18, 2015

Turning this on its head a bit, one thing that really bugs me is the patronising way many of the pundits treat fans. I listen to Talksport a lot and there are lots of three way chats between the presenters and a caller. The ex professionals have a fixation that only they know what happens in football and how a team should set up. For example, we have Alan Brazil and Ray Houghton talking to a fan. Houghton will constantly use the phrase "Alan will tell you" or "Alan knows what I am talking about" when responding to the fan's point, as if only those who have played the game know anything about it. After the first leg at Home Park the majority 14,000 fans knew what team we should field at Adams Park and what formation that team should play. Those who wanted to persist with 3-5-2 and Reid up front were in a minority. Fans think a lot, and via mediums like this and FB they have their say. It makes no difference to the professionals but it does not mean the fans are always wrong.

Balham Green · May 18, 2015

Gary_Wills":m333w9lm said:
If employed at a football business, perhaps a relevant collection of some thoughts.
There are two managers each game. If to give a damn what one's thinking, and not really analyse at all what the other is doing, that's strange, because all the information is there online to do the same 'audit' of each, and both orchestrate to the same extent the entertainment paid for.

Why dont you talk normally?

philevs · May 20, 2015

Think the OP has put things very well.
But in the list of 12 factors that managers apparently fixate on, there are two missing requirements for a good manager: the ability to motivate, and tactical nous.
When you have a manager with both tactical and motivational ability, then you have a good 'un.

gandalf the green · May 20, 2015

Balham_Green":2zzm47rb said:
Gary_Wills":2zzm47rb said:

If employed at a football business, perhaps a relevant collection of some thoughts.
There are two managers each game. If to give a damn what one's thinking, and not really analyse at all what the other is doing, that's strange, because all the information is there online to do the same 'audit' of each, and both orchestrate to the same extent the entertainment paid for.

Click to expand...

Why dont you talk normally?

I look forward to trying to understand the answer.

Mannamead Green · May 20, 2015

Point 3 and point 12 are literally the same point.

Dan Ellard · May 22, 2015

MannameadGreen":390b7dd0 said:
Point 3 and point 12 are literally the same point.

Ok, point taken!

Mork · May 22, 2015

gandalf_the_green":1qd8e0in said:
Balham_Green":1qd8e0in said:

Gary_Wills":1qd8e0in said:

If employed at a football business, perhaps a relevant collection of some thoughts.
There are two managers each game. If to give a damn what one's thinking, and not really analyse at all what the other is doing, that's strange, because all the information is there online to do the same 'audit' of each, and both orchestrate to the same extent the entertainment paid for.

Click to expand...

Why dont you talk normally?

Click to expand...

I look forward to trying to understand the answer.

Gary Wills posts are fantastic, I look forward to his posts more than any other, not sure though whether he's a genius or a complete nutter! Maybe both.

Mdgreener · May 23, 2015

MannameadGreen":1s7kza0n said:
Point 3 and point 12 are literally the same point.

That was intentional - I thought about making the first point too. I don't want that to sound cynical because almost everybody in the sport behaves irrationally with respect to money - there are few career paths that make less sense from a financial point of view as sports. There are few investments less sound than a football team. That said, money affects everything. I read the book Socceromics a few years back and it included a graph of league standing to player payroll foe every club in the top three divisions - the correlation is frightening - a few teams under performing the curve and a few over performing - but a really good line.