The Sports Psychology Blog
Today's Sports Psychology blog comes as Sheffield Wednesday fight to stave off relegation to League One.
Football: Sheffield Wednesday - Takeover!
There are twelve games left in Sheffield Wednesday's season. Currently they stand in the bottom three of the Championship. Four points adrift of Coventry City. Surely the Owls are not going to take another backward step? They finished last season in tremendous fashion. All the signs were, that this time around, they would kick on for promotion. But no.
The loss of key players at the start of the season was bad enough. A disastrous run of early defeats, threatened manager Brian Laws with his job. And then there has been the constant talk of a takeover at Hillsborough. Very few clubs flourish when there is takeover talk in the air.
Takeovers create a sense of uncertainty. Managers will say that they are able to keep players focused on the job in hand. And that may be true. But the influence of uncertainty is still at large in the football club. It acts like a virus. Infecting behaviours.
Players may think they are immune from it. But they are not. Uncertainty off the field, leads to uncertainty on the field. Uncertainty affects decision-making. It affects concentration. It affects confidence. It is the antithesis to clarity of mind. Uncertainty creates uncertainty.
When you are fighting relegation, you need as much certainty as you can muster. Unless The Owls resolve this takeover issue quickly, any new owners could be taking charge of a League One team.
