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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

‘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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

So England finally move into the world of 21st century football. A sports psychologist should be a critical part of any high level performance team. Not a late after-thought. There has been a strong consensus of support for the appoinment of Dr Steve Peters. England’s big tournament failings have consistently been caused by psychological weakness. And it is expected that his work will focus on the psychology of the penalty shoot-out. But there are other key areas that he can focus on to help England overcome their long-standing tournament inhibitions. The first and most important task should be to work […]

It’s one of the great unresolved riddles in world football. That is, the inability of England to win penalty shoot-outs in big international tournaments. There are many interesting theories, psychological and scientific based resolutions being raised to overcome this problem. But there is one that rarely gets spoken about. In 1990 Stuart Pearce famously missed from the spot, in the World Cup semi-final shoot out with Germany. It took six years before this passionate and proud Englishman, had a chance to put things right. The Euro’96 quarter final with Spain went to pens. Manager Terry Venables gathered his players around […]

Managerial mind-games. Can they win football matches and league titles? Unto themselves no. But can they be influential? Yes they can. That’s why Jose Mourinho’s broadside at Arsene Wenger yesterday, was significant. Mourinho called Wenger a ‘specialist in failure’, after the Frenchman suggested the title was Chelsea’s to lose. Once the players cross the white-line you would imagine that such jibes carry no weight. But they are subtle. Mourinho knows his players are watching him. And so they go into the run-in, knowing that their manager is currently holding the mental edge over his Emirates rival. Thus their trust in […]

It’s the closing minutes of Manchester United Champions League game at Olympiakos. Two goals down, a priceless chance suddenly falls to Robin Van Persie. You expect him to score. But no. Lacking his normal composure, he blazes the chance over the bar. Afterwards, The Dutchman complains about other United players occupying the spaces he would normally take up. Mounting frustration has clearly caused him to strike wildly at his chance. The pressure is mounting on David Moyes. The journey to grow into being a Manchester United manager is a slow one. It may take a few years. In the meantime, […]