Football Psychology: Jose Mourinho – Injustice!

It’s Sky Sports weekly football show Goals On Sunday. Former Blackburn and Southampton striker James Beattie is due to be the morning guest. But at the last minute he is bumped off. On the sofa is Jose Mourinho. It’s not the Mourinho way to open himself up for a cosy chat, whilst blandly discussing the relevant issues from the weekends action. And sure enough he has an agenda. Virtually the first half of the programme is given to Mourinho, so that he can vent about Martin Atkinson’s refereeing mistakes from the previous days draw with Burnley. Chris Kamara and co-host […]

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Tennis Psychology: Andy Murray – Motivation!

It’s the Rotterdam Open and Andy Murray is playing Gilles Simon in the quarter finals. To maintain a mental focus, Murray reads from handwritten notes between games. Those notes were photographed by a Dutch sports journalist and published online. They make surprising reading. The notes are the sort of instructions you might remind a sixteen year old player to remember. For example the seond notation is ‘Try Your Best’. This is strange. Andy Murray always tries his best. It’s one of his most consistent qualities. Why does he need to remind himself of this? Notation three is ‘Be intense with […]

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Cricket Psychology: England – No Plans!

England coach Peter Moores has promised to review England’s death bowling, after they conceded a massive 105 runs in the final ten overs of Australia’s innings in Melbourne last week. England bowled to plans in allowing the Aussies to build an unreachable total. And plans are very much a part of contemporary cricket strategizing. But the down-side of plans, is that it means that experienced cricketers simply follow pre-set orders. We have a plan. We follow it. There appears to be little room in the modern game for players to simply work things out for themselves. Smart experienced players don’t […]

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Golf Psychology: Tiger Woods – The Comeback?

He was bulletproof. A giant of the game. King of the golfing world. Immune from weakness. Striking fear into the hearts of his opponents with his mental strength. Tiger Woods was a true trailblazer. He set the tone for others to follow. He changed how players physically and mentally prepared for tournaments. But that was then. Tiger’s game is currently no longer good enough to compete on the professional tour. Is it over for good for Tiger Woods or is the great American comeback around the corner? When you have been as good as Tiger was, the greatest challenge is […]

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Football Psychology: Stuart Pearce – Whatever Happened To Psycho?

He was a club legend. A man who defined his career as a player with character, tenacity and a fighting spirit, that endeared him to fans of all clubs. But as a manager he is falling well short. Stuart Pearce’s sacking as Forest manager came as no surprise. A home defeat to struggling Millwall put an end to his brief reign at The City Ground. The image of Pearce on the pitch in euphoric celebration after the late winner at Derby, was a reminder of what might have been. The driven passionate punk rocker…putting all his emotions out there. Managing […]

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Tennis Psychology: Andy Murray – The Meltdown!

Andy Murray’s pre Ivan Lendl career was blighted by moments of the Scotsman loudly berating himself. On court. Under pressure. For all to see. Especially in the big matches. The canny Lendl seemed to help Murray overcome this trait. No more beating himself up on court. No more letting his opponent know how he was feeling. Simply, putting the mistake behind him and staying right in the moment in a state of lucid concentration. A stronger mentality outweighing a highly charged emotion. So yesterdays meltdown to Novak Djokovic, came right out of the blue. Right out of Andy Murrays back […]

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Football Psychology: Jose Mourinho – The Campaign!

It’s the post match interviews at St Mary’s and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is not happy. Referee Anthony Taylor has not only denied Cesc Fabregas a penalty, but then booked the Spaniard for diving. Mourinho claims that the media, rival managers, coaches and referees are waging a campaign against his team. A campaign based on the notion that his team are prone to diving. It’s textbook Mourinho. Playing one of his favourite cards. It’s the Us v Them strategy! Whether there is or isn’t a campaign against Chelsea is irrelevant. But for Mourinho it’s the perfect vehicle to create a […]

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Football Psychology: Neil Warnock – Luck!

‘I thought Palace had a lot of luck last year in staying up. I don’t see us getting a lot of luck this year’. The words of Neil Warnock after his team had fallen to a bad home defeat to Southampton. So it’s comes as no surprise to hear that Warnock has been relieved of his duties this morning. His luck based assessment of Palace’s form last season suggested a manager fast running out of ideas. Hurriedly appointed at the start of the season, Warnock’s career will be defined by his success in the Championship. But like Ian Holloway before […]

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Football Psychology: Brazil – Blackout!

In the Copa America of 2007, the triumphant Brazilian team, led by Dunga had a mission and a cause. It was this: ‘’We came to rescue the self esteem of the Brazilian worker. Who wakes up in the morning and returns home at night. Whose only satisfaction in life, is seeing Brazil win a football match.’’ According to Dunga this cause was the main reason why his less than exceptional team triumphed over Argentina. In this World Cup of 2014, it was obvious that this Brazilian team cared deeply about wanting to deliver for their people. So why did their […]

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Football Psychology: Brazil – Over-Emotion!

It’s the anthems ahead of the Brazil/Germany World Cup semi-final. And the Brazilians are singing as if the match is to be decided there and then. They are putting all their emotions out there, as players and fans are joined in passionate spirit and heartfelt hope. It’s a powerful and evocative sporting moment. Unfortunately it’s the prelude to a calamity. Super-charged with emotion, Brazil are picked apart by the ruthless Germans in a clinical display of finishing. Brazil are playing with their hearts. But their minds are non-existent. Their minds are scrambled. It is as if their mental patterns have […]

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