It’s a week after the infamous Leeds United / Derby County spygate sage. And Marcelo Bielsa has called a press conference. Speculation mounts that Bielsa is about to resign on a point of principle. But it’s nothing of the sort. For ninety minutes the Argentine lays bare the reasons why he likes to find ways to observe his opponents in training and how he integrates the information into his pre-match planning. He’s meticulous. Obsessive. Fanatical about detail. Leaving no stone unturned in making sure everything is in place. His openness and transparency directly challenges the orthodoxy of conventional football management […]
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.
Tennis Psychology: Andy Murray – Breaking The Stop Situation!
And so the final curtain is set to be drawn on Andy Murray’s tennis career. He may have one or two final games left in the tank. But he will be carrying on in glorious spirit, rather than in able body. Murray joins the likes of Freddie Flintoff and Jonny Wilkinson, in paying a big physical price for carrying the nations hopes on his shoulders. For years all the summer talk was of will we ever have a Wimbledon champion again? It’s been the 1930’s since Fred Perry ruled supreme. Roger Taylor. Jeremy Bates. Tim Henman and others couldn’t overcome […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Manchester City – Ruthless!
It’s the first leg of the Caraboa Cup semi final, and Manchester City are putting Burton Albion to the sword. Four nil up at half time, the match and a place at Wembley is already secured. Time to rest a few players. Play at a slower tempo. Control the game with plenty to spare. But Pep Guardiola is having none of that. If anything the intensity is greater in the second half. In a masterclass in Ruthlessness, City score a further five goals. But why? What’s the purpose to this demonstration of total superiority? It appears as if Guardiola has […]
Read More...Tennis Psychology: Naomi Osaka – Sulking!
It’s the aftermath of Naomi Osaka’s Brisbane Open loss to Leisa Tsurenko. A poor performance from the US Open Champion, has led to some frank admissions in the press conference. “I feel like I had the worst attitude today,” she said. “I feel like I didn’t really know how to cope with not playing well. I don’t know … I was sulking a little bit? There were moments when I tried not to do that, but then the ball wouldn’t go in and I would go back to being childish. These aren’t the sort of public utterances you would normally […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Manchester City – Will!
it’s the Thursday night Premier League showdown. And it’s Liverpool’s big opportunity to stretch their lead at the top of the table. But to do so they have to overcome a Manchester City team who have no intention of lying down and handing over their title. It’s a ferocious encounter with nothing left in the dressing room. But it’s City’s desire that wins through as they close the gap at the top. But this is no ordinary desire that City drew on. It had a special intensity to it. Like everything was on the line. Everything mattered and had to […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Claudio Ranieri – I Wanted To Kill Him!
It’s one of the most unseemly sights in football. A penalty has been awarded. Instead of the designated penalty taker picking up the ball and walking calmly and confidently to the spot, a melee breaks out. Another player has decided that he fancies it. And starts grabbing the ball off his team-mate. Players have to intervene to sort it out. But his will is so strong. He feels so certain. He has to have the ball. This was exactly the scene at Craven Cottage yesterday, as Aboubakar Kamara undermined his manager Claudio Ranieri and team-mates. In such a scenario, scoring […]
Read More...Golf Psychology: Justin Rose – Innocence!
He came to prominence at the 1998 Open. His fourth place finish as an amateur, alerting the golfing world to his emerging talent. Nineteen years later, Justin Rose returns to Royal Birkdale, Still without an Open title to his name. Ahead of the event, Justin is talking about the innocence he had in 1998. And his desire for a return to that same feeling this week. It’s an interesting observation. When you join the games professional ranks, the freedom you have as an amateur, can be negated by all the pressures playing the game for money brings. The need to […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Leicester City – The Psychologist
It’s been a turbulent week at Leicester City. The sacking of Claudio Ranieri, has led to much comment and analysis as to the rights and wrongs of that controversial decision. Greedy players; Impulsive owners all incurring the wrath of the football industry, as the games favourite uncle is perceived to be hard done by. Without being inside the Leicester camp, it’s all speculation. But one interesting revelation came to light today. In an article in The Telegraph, it was revealed that Ranieri released sports psychologist Ken Way at the beginning of the season. Ken had been at the club a […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Antonio Conte – Blind Faith!
It’s every managers dream. Where your players have blind faith in you as a leader. They trust in you. They feed off your man-management and emotional energy. They will go the extra mile for you. When the player – manager stars are aligned like this then everything is possible. And this is the dynamic that Antonio Conte has created at Stamford Bridge. Questions were being asked after the three-nil drubbing at The Emirates earlier in the season. Who was running the Chelsea dressing room….the senior players…the owner? Either way the passionate Italian’s finger prints were not visible on his group. […]
Read More...Football Psychology: Claudio Ranieri – Problems!
It was only a few weeks ago that he was crowned World Manager of The Year. Taking Leicester City to an unlikely Premier League title made him the toast of world football. Now his position is under critical scrutiny, as The Foxes find themselves drawn into a relegation battle. The finger has been pointed at his under-performing players…the corroding of team-spirit because of the change in salary dynamics…the loss of N’Golo Kante’s midfield presence…the challenges of going again after the career peak of winning the title…and all of this are plausible reasons for Leicester’s decline. But ultimately it all comes […]
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