Wellock's World
Problems on pitch – not at office
ACCORDING to a picture
caption in The Times, Jonny
Wilkinson had a bad day at
the office on Saturday.
And
according to Andrew Strauss,
writing his diary column in
The Sunday Telegraph, last
Friday was a tough day at the
office.
As there is nothing at all
witty about this phrase it is
impossible to imagine why it
has become so popular, except
that it offers some kind of
excuse for a poor
performance, along the lines
of "it can happen to anyone."
As a Durham graduate
entrusted with a column in a
reputable newspaper, Strauss
ought to do better than this.
He should remember that
office workers everywhere
would far rather be in his
privileged shoes and they
don't want to hear pathetic
excuses for failure, especially
ones alluding to their own
working environment.
Yet if professional
sportsmen really do see the
playing surface as their office,
it perhaps offers an insight
into the sort of mindset
which can strangle
performance. It's usually
called paralysis by analysis
and it results from overcoaching.
I have no doubt it has
afflicted Jonny, who seems to
have spent too much time
contemplating the meaning
of all aspects of life during
his injury-induced periods of
idleness. When he talks of
learning to embrace triumph
and disaster just the same, we
can conclude that he has
either been reading too much
Kipling or he's talking utter
bollocks.
While he might think it's
good for him to have a more
relaxed attitude, the fact is
that the vast majority of the
world's greatest sportsmen
hate losing with a passion.
The fear of failure is their
greatest motivation.
The key is
to strike
the right
balance.
Be
passionate about winning
and about performing for
your country, but not to the
extent that you seize up,
which is what appears to
happen to Steve Harmison.
Apparently he was the best
bowler in the nets the other
day, and come mid-April he
will doubtless perform well
for Durham in a relaxed
atmosphere at Riverside. But
England obviously couldn't
risk a repeat of his first Test
flop. At least they haven't
said he's going back to the
drawing board.
WHILE Liverpool duly
completed the Fab Four in
the last eight of the
Champions League, none of
them will be gracing the FA
Cup semi-finals, thereby
hinting at their contempt for
the old pot. Whether this is
good for the FA Cup is a
matter of opinion, but
personally I'm delighted,
although I'd rather Barnsley
were playing Boro than
Cardiff.
The amazing thing about
this semi-final pairing is that
both Barnsley and Cardiff
are in the bottom half of a
Coca Cola Championship
distinctly lacking in fizz, as
shown by the reluctance of
any team to win it. Watford
led comfortably for a while
but then slipped, Stoke
surged from well behind only
for top spot to induce vertigo,
and now the minnows of
Bristol City are struggling
against the tide. What price
them in the Premiership?
The romance of the
Cup was initially
rekindled this season by
Chasetown's
marvellous run,
which was
sadly
ended
by
Cardiff,
whose
notorious
fans earn them
little love this side
of Offa's Dyke, not
to mention their
chairman.
Peter Ridsdale was
largely responsible
for taking Leeds
down the pan, and
now Cardiff will be
following them into
administration if the
High Court rules
that they must repay their
£24m loan to previous
chairman Sam Hamman.
The club claim it was a
long-term loan, but Sam
wants his money back now.
Having two such dodgy
chairmen in succession is
certainly enough to throw
the club into disrepute, if not
administration, and it's a sad
twist of fate which has taken
them to Wembley. Come on
Barnsley!
I AVOIDED watching the
Calcutta Cup match because I
knew what to expect. But it
didn't spare me from reading
the Scotland captain's
comment that the conditions
had prevented them from
playing the rugby to which
they aspired.
Does he think we were all
born yesterday? Other than
the odd flash of flair from
Gregor Townsend on the rare
occasions when he was fit and
in the mood, there has been
nothing exciting about
Scottish ruby since Gavin
Hastings retired.
This is not to exonerate
England, who do not
currently have the
imagination to overcome the
sort of frantic defence and
spoiling tactics which were
inevitable from the Scots. But
what I find really pathetic is
that Scotland are generally
woeful yet still manage to
play like dervishes at home to
England because of ancient
grievances.
Someone should
have told the
England players
that our taxes are
helping to give
the Scots unfair
advantages and we
are the ones who
should bear
grievances these days.
NO WONDER Wales
are going to win
the Grand Slam.
They wear red
shirts, and
teams wearing
red in any
sport tend to
do best,
probably
because the
aggression
and passion
associated
with the
colour fills the
opposition with
fear. So says a
professor as a
result of research at
that mecca of
academia, the
University of
Plymouth. Have they
nothing better to do?
9:14am Friday 14th March 2008
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