dannyboy wrote:
so he's got us winning clearances, tackling and contested ball not bad for a bloke who can't coach. mind you, he should be out there kicking the !@#$%& thing for 'em.
What the stats say is he has the cattle on the field. Turnovers and errors are just a part of the human trait of making a mistake. We all make them. My point is that
1) Hellas Blue is right on the mark. You will make more mistakes from stagnant play rather than a more urgent play. There are lots of reasons, too much time to think, losing instictiveness, your momentum and that of the person you are passing to, having your opponent halfway up your backside because you've given him the time to man up, and the perceived pressure that comes with that. Running into space camouflages turnovers cause if the target isn't perfect, you may have 1-3 seconds to collect the ball. Think about it. If Thornton passes to Simpson on a wing and misses him by 5-10 metres, and there's no one within cooey of him, Simpson, by the very fact that he is in motion will probably pick up the ball in a couple of seconds and the crowd won't care as much that Thornton missed the target in the first place.
2) Turnovers and errors can also be influenced by the mental state of the player. If there is any confusion about the message coming from above or the script that needs to be followed, players are much less forthright and much more anxious with their decision making
I don't know if the players are confused or not, or if that dreaded 'gameplan' comes into question. I'm happy to admit, I don't know. What I do know is that we have been beaten consistently by at least 4 four teams in Ratten's tenure. That is a worry. Another worry is that I have now heard from two different sources in the newspaper over the last 12 months that there is a perception that Ratten's structures are disorganised, and that two senior players last year were cautioned/punished for mouthing off to other players that Ratten's message was confusing and constantly changing. Yes it's just the media, but sometimes you have sit up and listen
Good post...surely there is not a great difference in skill level between our list and other mid table teams...the turnovers come from negative reactive plays....why is it when we play direct reckless abandon footy that our skills suddenly improve??? It is all about confidence and this confidence is instilled via confidence in the coach and in the methods and plays being used...
We are greatly lacking direction at the moment and this stifles player confidence and errors occur because of it. The players mindsets are not right...they need to be encouraged to back themselves at all costs and play instinct footy....this is a good place to start and once team confidence rises then you can tweak all you want....