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Somewhere in the Hallowed Halls of our Glorious Club is a small room with technical and tactical advisors, I know not what they look like, nor am I sure of the tools of their trade, but I know this. They are the individuals that are infuriating so many of us seasoned supporters.<\/p>\n
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Let us assume for a moment that I actually know what I am talking about, I know to some that may seem unlikely, but roll with it.<\/p>\n
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All of our players are thoroughly analysed by this team of advisors; how they dribble, how they shoot, how they pass, how they cross, whether or not they come to meet the pass or wait for the ball to trickle to them etc. Not to mention a whole host of tactical requirements; when should a wide player sit in, when should the full-back make his overlap, whether or not the rotating holding midfielder rotated at the right time, whether the center back was sitting too far wide at a counter attack etc.<\/p>\n
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This team of analysts meet with the coaching staff to discuss the player\u2019s strengths and weaknesses. Then this team of analysts and the coaches meet with the players to discuss the previously mentioned strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n
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During the training week there are several technical exercises that are carried out by the whole squad (hopefully how to rush forward to meet a pass before the opposition sneak in and steal it is one of them).<\/p>\n
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There is also time set aside for players to work on their weaknesses in small groups and individually. Perhaps they work on shooting with their weaker foot, crossing with their weaker foot, or just plain passing 15 meters to an open player.<\/p>\n
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Finally the coaching staff really like to focus on the player\u2019s strengths, they feel that working on the player\u2019s strengths should not be neglected as these strengths can also be improved (apparently my spelling of strengths cannot be improved; thank goodness for spell check).<\/p>\n
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Now this last point is what I would like to focus on here. I do not disagree with the fact that a player\u2019s strengths can be improved, of course they can, there is always room for improvement. We have all heard that the magic number to be an expert at something is about 5000 hours. To put that in perspective that\u2019s 5 years in a full time job. So many of us after 20 years + of hard drinking on the weekends are only now getting close to being experts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell that\u2019s fine!\u201d I hear\u00a0you shout. \u201cAll of our players have been doing this full-time for 5 years by the time they hit 21!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Unfortunately that is only partly true; as there are so many different technical and tactical requirements to be a Total Footballer many players who join our Glorious Club at a young age are excellent at some skills, but those skills are only a requirement for 1 or 2 roles and they are not even proficient at a number of other skills that would be required for a change in role. So what we end up with is a group of players that can only play in 1 position doing only a handful of things.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWell play them in their strongest role so we can win games!\u201d come shouts from the terraces.<\/p>\n
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Again that may seem like a great idea in the short term however, it is every coach\u2019s and manager\u2019s duty to help and encourage players be the best they want to be. Some Football Associations even make you take a right hand raised oath to such an end. Furthermore in modern football a player that can only play in 1 position and fill 1 role is not seen as a complete player by managers who are constantly trying to get the upper hand tactically over the opposition. Therefore these players are not worth as much to the big money teams.<\/p>\n
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“So what are you getting at “Jock?””<\/p>\n
There are times when our players are going to play in positions and roles that were unnatural to them upon arrival, if a player sits out for a while don’t always expect him to come back in and play exactly the same role he played before. Don’t always expect Kris Commons to be allowed to roam half the field looking for space, don’t always expect Gary Mackay-Steven to be making darting runs to the byline then crossing the ball in. This will benefit the players, the club and the support in the long run whether it be because our manager can switch from 2 inside forwards to a winger and an inside forward with a single shout. Or just because our attacking players are valued more due to their versatility.<\/p>\n
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Now that I have convinced you all.\u00a0*cough*<\/p>\n
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Back to what concerns me about what is happening at our club. We have all heard of the learning curve haven’t we? Even wee Callum MacGregor spoke about it much to the disgust of a former player.<\/p>\n
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It looks like this.<\/p>\n
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As you can see after a certain point the gains of practise taper off. Meaning after 20-25 hours our players gain less and less from whatever it is they are working on by the time they hit the 50 hour mark the gains are seriously insignificant. Sure if they keep at it eventually they will be full on experts, but they have a whole slew of weaknesses that could be worked on so they become proficient at every part of the game. I am not saying they will be experts at everything, but they will be proficient (as proficient as some players in clubs lower down the league table) and who knows with practise, \u00a0game time, training matches and more free flowing training excersises they might end up being experts at more aspects of the game!<\/p>\n
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What I am saying is I want to see our players become proficient technically with no gaping holes in their game. I don’t need them to be experts at every tactical role, I don’t need them to be experts at everything they try,\u00a0but I do want them to try, I do want them to improve and most of all I don’t want them to be scared to try something they have been working on and I’m willing to accept the odd defeat if it means our players are improving.<\/p>\n
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I’ve said it before and I will say it again.<\/p>\n
“I don’t care if we only win the league on goal difference and we lose the Cup. I want to see more evidence of improvement. I am a stakeholder as are all supporters, we want more openness on improvements made and we want everyone at the club to learn from mistakes.”<\/p>\n
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That includes us “The Support” these players are trying to remember so many things at once. Often their natural instinct will be pulling them one way while training will pull them the other. Who remembers learning to drive? There will be mistakes…. \u00a0Get over it already, and if you are going to criticize try to be specific (game\/minute\/what happened) and try to think about what the player should have done. Get behind the players, even if the manager goes it will still be them playing for us!<\/p>\n
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Hail, Hail!<\/p>\n