The Football Psychology Blog
This Football Psychology blog, comes after England exit the women's World Cup on penalties.
Football Psychology: Hope Powell - Cowards!
It's the aftermath of England's penalty shoot-out defeat to France in the women's World Cup. And coach Hope Powell is pulling no punches!
She is accusing some of her players of cowardice, in not volunteering to take penalites ahead of the shoot-out.
Whilst the coaches frankness is to be appreciated, it raises certain questions. The most obvious is, why was Hope Powell asking for volunteers directly before the shoot-out?
Surely they had spent part of their preparation practising? Simulating the walk from the centre circle to the penalty area. Picking up the ball. Making their decision. Committing to their technique. Repeated until automatic.
Clear about which player was to take which pen. The best penalty takers going first and fourth.
Hope Powell's comments suggest that none of this was done. That is came down to who felt good on the night. A very high-risk strategy indeed.
And the fact that so few players were up for the challenge, raises question about the fear to be found within the team. Fear of failure.
If the culture of this team was right, surely players would have no hesitation in raising their hands. Facing the fear head on. Staring down the beast!
Why? Because an environment had been created in which players had no fear of failure. That they would do anything for each other, regardless of personal feeling.
It's good to hear a coach go public about their team's failure. But Hope Powell needs to be a little more analytical in understanding her teams World Cup exit. Yes there may have been elements of cowardice. But Hope Powell should know precisely how and why this happened on her watch.
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