: Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:41 am
Adeybull wrote:
Yes, they may well have done. And probably a lot more emotions too. And on that showing most of them could have few grounds to argue.
But have you ever had any success in motivating people on your team through humiliation? I haven't in all my God-knows how many years of managing people. I'm not sure how you DO motivate some of that lot (a bazooka may be one option, but its probably a little too anti-social) but I'm sure there must be more effective ways. The trouble is, we as fans have limited options compared to the coaching staff, and as paying customers the players will surely realise why some fans reacted the way they did.
I heard little booing in the area of the stand where I am, although you could hear some pockets of it. Some Localised Macca Out shouts near the end. If fans want to vent their feelings that way, they have every right to.
But what was far more worrying to me was the general look of stunned despair on so many faces, and the number of people leaving early saying I've had enough of this. It was the silence, the numbness, that was scary. In the long run, we are going to lose dedicated supporters, and unfortunately that could be the real legacy of what we saw last night.
Great post.
I believe that truly great players motivate themselves. They have pride in what they do and they have pride in the shirt and the club. As people have stated many times on this forum, this seems to be lacking in spades amongst many members of the current squad. It is an indication of how things have slipped in terms of recruitment perhaps but a good coach should be able to instill some of that passion into this team (see Wakefield for further details). Unfortunately, the only way supporters can vent their frustration is to get onto the team's collective back which will have one of two effects: galvanize them to do better or crush their confidence still further. The difference between sides of the Super League past and what we have now is that we had great players who responded with the former not the latter (2005 season a great example).
The current malaise at the club is the aggregate of many issues which have combined to produce a severe downward spiral. The players cannot be held responsible for much of that but if they're not prepared to commit 100% to the cause on the field then they shouldn't be wearing our colours. And if the coach can't get the best out of them, then he has to go.
