It’s FA Cup third round Sunday, and as Emile Heskey finally breaks the sturdy Yeovil resistance, the BBC cameras pan to Gerard Houllier. The Frenchman puffs his cheeks in relief; relief that a giant killing will not now materialise; relief that he has bought time from those who, with each Liverpool under-achievement, demand his head. Failure to win a Champions League place will increase the pressure on Houllier, and the question remains as to why a man who restored pride and hunger to this famous club, has been unable to build on his early success. A few weeks ago, before […]
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.
The Loneliness of the Foreign Import
Its half time in the first Portsmouth-Southampton South Coast derby for years and the Sky punditry team of John Beresford and Ian Dowie are dissecting the action. Beresford is sorely tempted to cross the unspoken line and break the professionals’ code of honour. He is suggesting that, by Zivkovic giving the ball away cheaply in a dangerous area, leading to the opening Saints goal, by Srnicek attempting to save with his feet not his hands, Portsmouth don’t fancy the battle. The implication seems to be that this South Coast derby may be a matter of consequence for the fans, but […]
Read More...Graham Souness, Blinded By The Light
My name is Graham Souness, I will have my vengeance in this life or the next. For the gladiator, the fight against injustice is eternal, When victory is on the line you can be sure Graham Souness will be at your side, burning with pride and unquenchable will. In the recent Blackburn-Liverpool Carling Cup encounter, visiting fans taunted Souness, from the sanctuary of a 4-1 scoreline, with ‘Souness, Souness what’s the score?’ Mocking the iron-man legend who used to drive the Liverpool midfield engine with such high-octane authority. ‘You get in first before they get you’, was his credo. You […]
Read More...Premiership Postures
This report was created by Martin Perry, exclusively for the London Times. The aim of this special Sports Psychology report is to give insight into the body language and psychology of the Premiership managers It is obvious that the job of a Premiership manager is stressful; we dont need the evidence of Houlliers heart attack to convince us of that. Every time they lead their teams to the white line they are under the spotlight of the television cameras; they have to learn how to deal with that glare; it heightens emotions and bleaches out uncertainty in the viewers eyes. […]
Read More...Sven Goran Eriksson – Mission Impossible?
He arrived to a standing ovation at Upton Park. As if the East Enders, loyal to the national cause, sensed in the calm Swede the something else, the something different, the calming, indefinable ingredient x-the healing England needed after the emotional excesses of the Keegan era. And, initially, he delivered. Lifting the shadow of fear, encouraging his young charges to, in sports psychology parlance, dare to lose to win, the Germans were routed in memorable fashion in Munich. Prompting the belief that the World Cup could be taken from the French. It wasn’t just the freedom with which the players […]
Read More...Alan Pardew – The Psychology Of Management
When we hear performers talk about the flow state, they mean the point where they are able to go beyond perceived limits and achieve extraordinary outcomes. Think Beckham from the halfway line, Diego Maradona dribbling through England’s defence, Owen putting Argentina to the sword. We know that this flow state occurs when the performer and the game are as one. They perform without the internal background noise, which breeds self-doubt or anxiety. Being fully present in the moment, it’s peak performance made manifest. We are witnessing sporting synchronicity. If internal and external harmony coalesce we are approaching sporting excellence. It […]
Read More...Who Dares Wins?
In the high-wire relegation game between West Brom and West Ham, three solid gold chances fall to the man who, for all his wealth, can’t buy a goal. Three years ago Lee Hughes was the toast of the Hawthorns. Famed for his predatory instincts and endearing celebrations, Hughes had it. He frolicked in the adulation. He was the signature player. The player who defined the club; A big move to Coventry fails. Back in the Black Country, the goals have dried up. Far from frolicking, he trudges. From scoring goals for fun to scoring goals for credibility and salvation. Does […]
Read More...The Roeder to Perdition
Sixty-five minutes into the fourth round FA Cup Tie at Old Trafford, West Ham manager Glenn Roeder went for a short walk. From his pitchside technical area, which he had worn thin with worry, he made for the elevated visitors’ dug out. He climbed the six steps to the top. Ahead, to the left, sat his coaching staff. They kept their eyes fixed firmly ahead. Avoiding the boss. Avoiding answers to unanswerable questions. Roeder, as if sensing the wall of discomfort emanating from his staff, stopped. He put his hand over his mouth, looked back out onto the pitch and […]
Read More...Inside The Mind Of Kevin Keegan
Imagine that Kevin Keegan and a team of mountaineers set off to conquer the South West face of Everest. The expedition would leave base camp with boundless camaraderie, conviction and confidence. The party would advance up the mountain with spirit and optimism, until suddenly, with the summit in sight, conditions would get more difficult. Its at this point, on the verge of success, that Kevin, for no apparent reason, turns round and heads for base camp. When asked why he didnt keep going to the top, Kevin would struggle to offer a clear explanation, but an astute commentator might observe, […]
Read More...I’m A Superstar – Get Me Out Of Here!
The BBC opened the papers after the FA Cup third round to discover they were in the dock. Accused of excess caution. In their selection of live cup action the public were denied the schadenfreude of witnessing the cup’s romance as Everton were beaten at Gay Meadow. Viewers were forced to watch Tottenham’s meek submission in Hampshire.Yet it was easy to understand the BBC’s thinking. Everton’s transformation under the astute Moyes suggested they would be fully prepared for the Shrewsbury challenge. Professional enough to absorb the home side’s pressure and probably make class tell. Like the BBC, the Toffeemen failed […]
Read More...