The Sports Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog comes as Barnsley face up to an FA Cup semi-final against Cardiff City.
Football: Simon Davey - The Dilemma
'I would have swapped three points for a win at Wembley next week'. The words of Barnsley manager Simon Davey, after a defeat at Burnley, that leaves his team hovering dangerously over the relegation trap-door. One point out of the bottom three. Three successive defeats. And now a Wembley FA Cup semi-final to negotiate.
Davey has been keen to point out that the forthcoming Wembley visit has not impacted on his team's performances. But that is open to debate.
This FA Cup semi-final must present him with a dilemma. Should Barnsley win, the players would then have to negotiate the rest of the season, knowing a once in a lifetime FA Cup Final awaits them. Who would want to miss that? Who would want to be injured for that? Who would want to risk a booking or sending off for that?
Knowing that it would be possible to come back from a relegation. Sure. But an FA Cup Final? That's a one-off for a club like Barnsley. It is inevitable that players minds would be on it. On a May Wembley date, and therefore, not 100% totally focused on the relegation dog-fight.
Simon Davey knows that if Barnsley make it to the FA Cup Final, but get relegated, then the season will be considered a failure. If however, they lose to Cardiff at Wembley, but retain their Championship status, then this season will be a memorable one. So, he must be the first manager to, deep down, not mind, if his team lose an FA Cup semi-final.
If they should overcome The Bluebirds, then the S. Yorkshire town will be buzzing. But it will provide a major headache for Simon Davey. The headache of simply not knowing how the euphoria of Wembley will impact on his side's Championship performances. It's a headache, that he may prefer not to have.
