*WHERE* is our Sports Scientist!??

[Millsy]

Now I know this will sound like just another person to point the finger at, another scapegoat to find and it probably is.

But...

There is something seriously seriously wrong here. To go from incredible promotion-form team in the first half of the season to having the worst form in the division in the second half is VERY wrong. It's not simply a case of us having bad form. This is a f***up of MONSTROUS proportions with something very big quite clearly very wrong. I've not seen anything like this before.

Something MAJOR has bollox'd up somewhere from Coppell to coaches to team to fans. I've no idea what it is. Yes sure the buck stops with my hero Coppell.

But I'm just wondering....

One can't deny there has to be a strong mental component to this so my question is this: What is the f**king point of having a sports scientist if he can't stop the biggest mental slide most of us have ever experienced?

Did that niall clark chappie go? Did we get a half decent replacement? WTF is he doing???

[readingfc13]

Surely the sports scientist job is the analysis of stats from sources such as pro-zone rather than the work of a sports psychologist?

[loyalroyal4life]

I said it before that its down to the mentality of the players, everyone apart from the staff seem to realise confidence is fcuked up!!


get a bloody decent psychologist in to try rectify the problem. Not much point us even being in the playoffs as we will get battered

[Southbank Old Boy]

Niall Clark left years ago

We nicked the current bloke from Wolves when Jon Goodman left

Although I reckon we havent been as fit as we were when clark was here I dont the fragile nature of this squad is anything to do with him. His job is to get them fit and keep them fit

[readingfc13]

Niall Clark left years ago

We nicked the current bloke from Wolves when Jon Goodman left

Although I reckon we havent been as fit as we were when clark was here I dont the fragile nature of this squad is anything to do with him. His job is to get them fit and keep them fit

Agreed the role of a sports scientist and sports psychlogist are two very different things. Whether we have a sports psychologist at the club is one which I have no idea as to the answer.

[Millsy]

Oh ok stupid me I thought the sports scientist did the psych stuff.

If we don't have one WHY THE F*CK NOT????

[cmonurz]

Maybe I'm being a bit simplistic, but I always imagined that the manager and coaches instilled a winning spirit in our players, not some science boffin.

[Southbank Old Boy]

Probably the same reason most clubs dont have one, its the management teams job to manage the squad and that includes their head

We might get one in now and again, although I dont think Coppell is that type of manager, and we did have a team of consultants come in and review the way we did things a while back

[yappy]

Finally an explanation...

its not Madejski's fault,
its not Coppell's fault,
its certainly not the players fault,
it must be the Sports Scientist!

KUNLE ODETOYINBO OUT

[strap]

The Sport's Scientist advises on diet, warm-up and warm down and the impacts on the various muscle groups etc. In other words the physical impact of things. Psychology forms part of their learning syllabus, as does physiotherapy among other things, but more from a point of providing background knowledge to inform the main subject, rather than as a lead subject.

They are also taught bio-mechanics, statistics and whole plethora of coaching stuff.

However, Psychology is not their role. That should be the domain of the, er, Sports Psychologist!

Of course, in the "old days", (about 10 years ago!), the manager and coach did most of this "science" stuff!!

Another poor result today. "Bottle" does seem to have gone awol for the time being. Still, should give the youngsters a chance next year. If it means clearing out the deadwood, and non-footballers, (you kow who I mean!), in the squad, and giving a decent run in the team to young guys who actually feel it a privilege to wear the hoops, then next year will be worth watching.

[Millsy]

Hmm well I am surprised. I honestly thought in such a big money game and one which rides SO much on confidence an additional staff member (if not team) purely for purposes of keeping players' heads in gear is vital.

I honestly thought the sports scientist did this in this day and age and that it was common practice!

If not then why not get one? For all Coppell's amazing strengths, picking players up when they're down is NOT one of them so knowing this but oh why did we not get some psycho-treehugger consultants in?

This to me seems to be Coppell's main/only weakness but potentially fixable. Is it so unreasonable to suggest it could/should have been addressed?

[y26 royal]

I've studies sport science to a degree level and sports psychology is a one part of the sport science field, so anyone who thinks the sport scientist is just in control of the physical side of things are mistaken. The work of a sports scienctist traditionally incorporates areas of physiology, psychology, biomechanics but also includes other topics such as nutrition and diet, sports technology, anthropometry kinanthropometry and performance analysis. However, normally a specialist is brought in to cover each of these as the Sport Scientist is normally an expert in one area with a brief knowledge of the other areas . I know Reading use specialist Sport Psychologist as i've been lectured by them and the guy there are the moment 'Kule' knows his stuff! With a phd in sport science he knows hes stuff after also being lectured by him! Anyone who reads his blog on the club website would understand this...making some of the posts on this topic irrelevant!!!!

I'd suggest the reason there in this slump is there simply not good enough, end off!

[SHORT AND CURLY]

To the tune of Michael Jacksons "Blame it on the Boogie"

"Dont blame it on Sir Stevie
Dont blame it on Madejski
Dont blame it on Kunle
Blame it on the tea lady "

[Snowball]

If a side finishes 3rd, is it good enough to be third?
If a side finishes 4th, is it good enough to be fourth?
If a side finishes 5th, is it good enough to be fifth?
If a side finishes 6th, is it good enough to be sixth?


We ARE good enough to be 5th, right now, with a game in hand. If we finish in the play-offs, we deserve to finish in the play-offs.

Some sides start well, some finish well, some are steady throughout. Of course how we've faded feels disappointing, but what ACTUALLY matters is the total points at the end of the season.

SIXTH PLACE

70 Points 2007-8
73 Points 2004-5
73 Points 2003-4
74 Points 2002-3
75 Points 2006-7
75 Points 2005-6
75 Points 2001-2

[Terminal Boardom]

I blame Stephen Hunt

[Sarah Star]

I think it's more of a case of knowing we should be beating these sides and not knowing what to do when we aren't. Our high came to an end when we beat Birmingham - the only team other than Wolves that we perceived as a threat. We expected to continue this run of form against everyone else and when Cardiff, Southampton and the rest proved not to be pushovers, we started to worry when we didn't score within the first twenty minutes. Today we were ahead in the first half, but it was at the start of the second half that Blackpool surprised us with a goal against the run of play and then the doubts seemed to start to set in again.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I've written things that I've thought were so brilliant that nothing else has seemed to match up to them and that's been quite demoralising, but as yet I haven't managed to work out how to get back to that...maybe it wasn't so brilliant after all and meanwhile, everyone else is moving on and getting better. If someone does know where you go from there, perhaps they'd be so kind as to let me know.

[Sarah Star]

From Gavin Strachan's blog at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/gavinstracha ... .html#more
about relegation and promotion battles at the end of the season.

I have witnessed both the advantages and disadvantages of teams having a large following. When things are going well for the team there is no better feeling than being cheered on by a big crowd.

Every player wants to get on the ball and show what he can do. The flip side is when things are not going well for the team, fans become frustrated, causing some players to go into their shell.

I have found that this situation is often apparent at "big" clubs who have slipped down the football ladder and are now playing at a lower level.

It can understandably be very frustrating for the fans of such clubs to watch football which might be of an inferior standard to what they saw from their teams in better times.

[Hoop Blah]

Murty was asked about this on the radio this morning.

He comfirmed that there is a Sports Psychologist that is available to the players but it is purely down to the individual players as to whether or not they use them.

[Forest Gump]

He'll be in the museum with the rest of the go ahead ideas that Pards brought in. Still at least we've got Waitrose now.

FFS what is going on at this pathetic excuse for a football club?

[Sir Rodney Effing]

[quote="Forest Gump"]He'll be in the museum with the rest of the go ahead ideas that Pards brought in. Still at least we've got Waitrose now.

FFS what is going on at this pathetic excuse for a football club?[/quote]

If it is a "pathetic excuse for a football club" methinks you have answered your own question.