Did this have an effect on the players and manager? It must have in my opinion. So much so that it was discussed before the game where Tuchel was forced to defend himself in the press conference “There was nothing to blow up” and he and Bellingham were “Closer than ever”. Even our captain Harry Kane was forced to comment “English mentality to manufacture stories”. So, the wide coverage was getting through.
So for me, and most others, Tuchel got it badly wrong. Attempting to shut down the game so early. He had success doing it twice, but the circumstances were different and this opposition was much better. Plus, we have them scared, we may well have made it two and put the game beyond them. We had taken a tactical booking on Messi, I felt that a fresh midfielder like Mainoo could have gone in and done the same again in that pocket. It’s easy sat on the sofa though. So for me this is less “Tuchel got it wrong”. We know he did, so does he. This is more “What state of mind was he in when he made that crucial decision”?
I’ve managed under pressure. Perhaps less than 1% of the attention that the England Manager gets. But my team’s position was on Sky Sports. I imagined the local headlines. I would see reports and they didn’t cover our average age, injuries, experience, no money, challenges…just the criticism, and in truth, it was in my mind. That 1% was enough to make me question myself. I sat on the bench in the football league and seen managers decisions under pressure and scratched my head. So, I can only imagine the pressure of the nation and hundreds of millions around the world and vast recent questioning affecting your mindset.
Pressure changes us.
This isn't
opinion. It's proven psychology. When people experience extreme pressure, the
body releases cortisol and adrenaline. Heart rate increases. Thinking narrows. Risk
assessment changes. Some people become overly cautious. (Maybe our previous
Manager, frozen at times)
Others become
more impulsive. The fight or flight reaction. Neither reaction means someone
has suddenly become a poor decision-maker. It means they're human, regardless
what they are paid. Football managers aren't robots. They're people making
enormous decisions under extraordinary pressure and yes, you get better at it,
as do fighter pilots.
Our media has enormous influence. ‘Same old England’
I enjoy
football debate. Managers should be questioned. Players should be analysed.
That's part of
professional sport. But there is a difference between analysis and creating a
daily narrative that becomes bigger than the football itself. Sometimes it
feels as though we search for conflict because conflict attracts attention. Every
tournament seems to need a crisis. A rift.
A dressing room
split. A manager under pressure. Whether those stories are ultimately true
almost becomes secondary to the discussion they generate.
Imagine a
different week.
Imagine every
newspaper. Every radio station. Every television programm. Every podcast.
Instead of
asking whether Thomas Tuchel had lost the dressing room, they all ran the same
headline. "Thank You, Thomas Tuchel." Thank you for taking
England this far. Thank you for accepting the responsibility that comes with
leading this country. Whatever happens tomorrow, we know every decision you
make will be made with the best intentions and whatever happens, we won’t write
any different. Imagine if we didn’t force our Manager and Players into explaining
their relationship in the days leading up to it? Would England definitely have
won? Of course not. Football doesn't work like that. But would the atmosphere
surrounding the camp have been calmer? Would the manager have walked into the
dugout carrying one less burden? I think that's a fair question.
We all share responsibility. Including the media, and us that chose what we consume. Leadership is difficult. Decision-making under pressure is difficult. We should remember that before judging every choice with the benefit of hindsight. Football is easy from the sofa. It's much harder from the dugout. And perhaps next time, before we spend a week looking for the next crisis, we should try something different. Just accept our heroes are still humans, they will make mistakes. Let it go, get behind them, trust them, support them. Yes this might be unrealistic, but if we don’t change, this will keep happening to the next Manager and the next, as it has done over recent history.
The next big show is in England. What if we tried blanket loyalty? What if we write tomorrow's headlines today.
"Whatever
happens, thank you."
And leave the
guys alone to perform!
Tony McCool
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one – John Lennon
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