It was an ugly crowd scene. As Blackpool players trooped off after a dismal away defeat at Oakwell, a group of disgruntled fans gathered to register their disgust at manager Paul Ince. They have witnessed their club, top of the league earlier in the season, plummet headlong towards the lower end of the table. Many expected Ince to be relieved of his duties after a sequence of only one point in nine games. But no, despite emergency weekend crisis talks with the Chairman, he remains in his post. It’s a surprising decision by Karl Oyston to maintain faith and trust […]
Read More...Sports Psychology Blog
Welcome to the Sports Psychology blog. Here you will find insights on current sporting events, from the perspective of a sports psychologist.
The purpose of this blog, is to get inside the sporting drama…why the player or team do what they they do…their thinking…mindsets…attitudes…their fluctuating state of confidence…and all the other mental and emotional pieces that create the psychology of sports.
The most recent articles are at the top of the List Of Sports Psychology Blogs Index.
Cricket Psychology: England – The Batting Collapse!
It’s an Ashes tour that has shown England to be adept at something they would definately prefer not to be known for. Batting collapses. Clusters of wickets going down for next to no runs. It happened in Melbourne with six wickets being lost for a mere nine runs. A position of strength was surrendered, and with it went the Fourth Test. The number of times England’s batting has dramatically collapsed on tour, suggests that they have not built a reservoir of collective inner strength to handle adversity. Thus one person’s dismissal leads to another. Why? Kevin Pietersen was dismissed in […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Andre Villas Boas – The Code For Tottenham Hotspur…
For the second time Andre Villas Boas has been fired from a high profile Premier League job. A shocking home drubbing to a rampant Liverpool proved the final straw for Daniel Levy. With unseemly televised personal spats with the media, and his grumblings about the home support, Villas Boas was looking increasingly uncomfortable at the helm at White Hart Lane. But after his failure at Chelsea, his appointment was surely a high risk strategy. Levy assumed that the Portugese must have learnt from his challenging time at Stamford Bridge. But it’s a big assumption. And an incorrect one it appears. […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: England – Forgetting How To Win!
It’s almost time to get the plane home! After their eleventh defeat in twelve games, England appear to have lost the will to compete against The Australians. In sport, winning is a habit. And so is losing. Players can take the field, somehow expecting things to go wrong. A mood envelopes the group, whereby no one is prepared to take responsibility for team outcomes. That mood can create a defeatist atmosphere. Past defeats hang heavy in the air. Doubts and uncertainty hold sway. Players talk bullishly about taking the postives or working hard, but it makes no difference. Jade Dernbach’s […]
Read More...Football Psychology: David Moyes – Beyond Everton
It was always going to be one of the most difficult jobs in football. How do you follow someone who has achieved managerial mastership? For David Moyes, the Manchester United job was hardly one he could say no to. But, at what stage in his steady career progression from Preston North End to Everton, did he begin preparing in his mind to take over the mantle from Sir Alex? Perhaps he never did. In other words, that he never projected into the possibility of being manager of Manchester United. And thus since he took the job, an huge internal alignment […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: England – Soul Searching & Harsh Reality!
It’s England wicket-keeper Matt Prior, speaking ahead of the third test at The WACA. England are on the verge of losing the Ashes. And Dr Reality has come to town. Matt Prior is speaking frankly. He is explaining that the players have been brutally honest with each other, and telling it like it is. And this is good. And how it should be. But is it too late? The Australians have developed a high level of confidence, belief and bullishness. They know how to beat England. They have done so twice. And will feel they can do it again. Frankness […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: England – Finding Defiance!
Sometime through the first Ashes test in Brisbane, it looked like little had changed. Stuart Broad, supremely focused and positively thriving on the uninhibited insults from the tetchy locals, was putting Australia to the sword. The dominance England had established in the home series, looked set to continue. Then the game dynamic was turned upside down. Brad Hadden and Mitchell Johnson dug in for a crucial partnership, and the Australian bowlers had a total to defend. Then the carnage began. Johnson’s pace and unforgiving hostility had England on the back foot and as wickets fell cheaply and tamely the hosts […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Artur Boruc – Pictures!
It’s the first half of the Premier League encounter between Arsenal and Southampton. The Saints are keeping their hosts at bay, when keeper Artur Boruc receives a innocuous back-pass. Under instruction from his manager to control possesison and play the ball out, Borus tries to bring the ball under control, looking for a pass to a team-mate. But he can’t find an easy ball to play, so dithers. Under pressure from Olivier Giroud, the keeper tries to dribble to ball away from the striker, but he panics and loses possesion to concede the ultimate in soft goals. It’s a mistake […]
Read More...Cricket Psychology: Jonathan Trott – Strength In Vulnerability
It’s the first Ashes test at Brisbane and Jonathan Trott is being peppered by short pitched hostile, aggressive Australian bowling. There is also no shortage of sledging and verbal intimidation. Trott has founded his England career on a rock-solid temperament and mental clarity. But out in the cauldron of Brisbane, he appears to be desperately short of confidence and self-belief. The subsequent announcement of his premature return home, perhaps explains why he appeared so uncomfortable out in the middle. To stand up to an arrogant, in your face, physical and verbal Australian assault, requires maximum mental toughness. Not only do […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Paolo Di Canio – Sacked!
It’s just after the final whistle at The Hawthorns. Sunderland have suffered a defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion. And manager Paolo Di Canio is on the pitch. He stands in front of the away end, offering an array of hand gestures. It turns out that he is fielding the fans wrath and anger. Which is a laudable position for a leader to take. But it looks strange and altogether out of place. So it’s no surprise that Di Canio is sacked twenty-four hours later, with Sunderland bottom of the Premier League. Stories of senior players telling him […]
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