The Sports
Psychology Blog
This Sports Psychology blog comes after Newcastle United sack manager Sam Allardyce.
Football: Newcastle United - Big Decisions
So Newcastle United and Sam Allardyce part company. Six months into his reign.There was no way of knowing whether, long-term, Allardyce was on the right track or not. No way of knowing whether his plans and methods would yield a rich harvest. The owners had seen enough.
Which is the dilemma inexperienced owners of football clubs face. How do they know what outcomes will come from current trends and patterns? What experience do they have to draw on, that tells them Allardyce's methods would be successful or not? How do they know? Or is it all down to hunches? Terrace emotions? The pressure of expectancy?
They don't know of course. That is the beauty of football. Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United career saved by a Mark Robins goal against Nottingham Forest. Howard Kendall's Everton reign by Adrian Heath against Oxford United. Single moments that turned matches, built confidence and created trophy winning momentum.
It takes patience to direct a football club. Patience and a very good instinct. An instinct that alerts you to the fact that current trends and patterns are leading nowhere. That tells you that now is the time to act. That this is the moment for change. Or not.
An instinct that must be experienced in the art of big decisions. The problem for Newcastle United is that their owners are not steeped in football. Football management. Football decisions. Which means that the big decision to sack Sam Allardyce can only be a guess. Or the owners have very good leadership instincts. For Newcastle United's sake, let us hope that their reading of the runes is not based on the fickleness of emotions.
