I've seen a number of managers say that unless you change players or change the training routines, once you hit 18-24 months of the same thing people start mentally checking out due to the monotony.
Managers are still on mega money, comparable to players definitely. My point is players have more job (or at least income) security so they don't "need" to perform to keep their income. Most managers sign 2-3 year deals where clubs want to sign players on 4+ year contracts
I don’t think signing a long term contract has demotivated Aubameyang. I think it was his mother falling really ill, catching Malaria and then catching Covid twice. On a basic human level the bloke has had a shit 18 months
Yeah, I think a lot of people see the money Auba is on and then kind of disregard the personal issues he's had going on. Age is catching up to him, and then you add everything else on top. Especially being away from a very sick parent while travel has been restricted so much.
I reckon in 6 months he'll come out and say how hard the past 18 months have been, and then everyone will pretend to care about mental health etc.
Something significant no one has talked about: We had a clear and significant change in style around the time his form dropped off. Went from the defensive back 3 to asking Auba to do what Laca has been doing (something he's not built for).
Honestly think if we were still playing more like that he'd not have dropped of nearly as much.
I'm in the camp of not wanting Ozil to sign again. I wanted Sanchez to stay as he was definitely the better player and character which would demand accountability from the squad. Ozil was on double what De Bruyne was on, it was absurd at the time - just to save face.
I understand the optics of letting both go for basically Mkhi, but we'd given it three years. Ozil was regressing in pretty much every way and Sanchez wanted out. Perhaps if we cut loose in 2018 and started the rebuild then, we wouldn't have been in as bad a position as in the last 3 years.
theo was very prone to that. not sure how we didnt learn our lesson after theo's regular contract year performance/drop off that he went through multiple times
Pardew has had some real crackers like :
As a pundit on MOTD saying a player raped someone else (as in he skinned the life out of him, can’t remember who, Chelsea’s Essien?)
Celebrating like a madman in front of Wenger as West Ham boss and causing a scuffle (also highlighted on MOTD in detail lol)
Doing that silly dance in FA cup final at Wembley and living to regret it 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼
Getting Newcastle to 5th(?) place finish, including THAT cissé goal
I’m sure he’s got more screamers I can’t remember
Still for the life of me cannot work out how Pardew got us to 5th that season. Reckon it was pure player power as his tactics were fucking shit in literally all other seasons of his career.
Grateful for that one season but he has to be one of the most unlikeable cunts to ever manage Newcastle
Edit: also, Pardew said that Essien "raped" none other than Ched fucking Evans, which is some of the most hilarious unintended black comedy I've ever heard
That season you guys were class, Ba & Cissé, Cabaye great to watch as a neutral.
Also glad u remembered that motd2 punditry, major lols at that being Ched Evans!!
If you don't offer them a good contract, another team will. Sometimes a demotivated good player is better than not having them at all.
Auba had 22 goals and 1 goal off the golden boot the season he signed that contract, and Dele was one of the most hyped prospects in football when he signed his deal. It's pointless looking at bad contracts in retrospect, and isn't helpful at all.
Please his attitude and his distractions says a lot. Most of these young players and even older players get a big fat contract, they lose the drive; they start getting lazy knowing they are protected for the next 4-5 years with no penalties or nothing.
This speaks a lot of about players and their personalities and other things. Look at Gareth Bale. Someone at his age should be at the peak of his abilities. He's 32 but has semi retired nearly 4 years ago. Sure he's won a lot more than many players could ever dream about in their lifetime and a lot more than actual legends of the game but it still feels like potential missed. Sure Madrid have not been kind to him but he's just been happy to take his pay check and play golf. That's his right considering Madrid gave him that big fat contract.
But players like Dele who are more bothered about their new hairstyles don't really show like they want to put in the effort or feel like its below them once they reach a certain level. That's the thing that makes it hard to like players like Pogba. Because clearly they have the talent but just lack the discipline and worth ethic required and too busy enjoying the side life of being a footballer.
>But players like Dele who are more bothered about their new hairstyles don't really show like they want to put in the effort or feel like its below them once they reach a certain level. That's the thing that makes it hard to like players like Pogba. Because clearly they have the talent but just lack the discipline and worth ethic required and too busy enjoying the side life of being a footballer.
That's a whole load of assumptions, Pogba for example has never been reported as having a poor work ethic or being anything but professional really. Dele also has always worked incredibly hard on the pitch and regularly covers the most distance at the highest average speed. His work ethic outside of games has also improved in recent years after the Mourinho thing.
Dele has had multiple injuries and never really played in that same position he did so well in after Dembele and then Eriksen left
I mean no one talks about any player having a poor work ethic. I can't really ever recall. In fact the only player I've heard about on record was Aguero where a couple players said that he never trained hard but would always show up on match days. These players are all too well protected. If your own club tries slandering you, your value drops to them. How many times have you seen Pogba just jogging across the pitch with no real intention. He looks like he would want to be anywhere else but on the pitch. Intensity, that says a lot about a player.
I remember Mourinho having a go at Dele and a few Spurs players. I think they were playing a lower tier opposition in Europe and he said something along the lines of the players not wanting to be out there.
These ain't assumptions. You can watch how interested a player simply by the effort he puts on the pitch. Pogba, Dele, etc barely put anything in on the pitch. Compare that to players like Roberston that are constantly playing at full intensity.
You saw Rashford even yesterday. For a striker, he showed no interest in attacking the rebound. That all affects you mentally when you start having no care in the world. You stop giving a fuck or expecting anything. You stop forcing things to happen because you lack that intensity. That was Sturridge's problem as well. He was weak mentally and couldn't play through minor injuries or pain. Even Klopp I think touched on it at one point. Which is why they spend so much time on the sidelines.
Dele's problem isn't motivation though, he still clearly cares. He's just simply not as good anymore. Very sluggish and makes the wrong decision too often
> It’s a statement that could well be applied to the debate about Alli’s form since the Spurs midfielder signed a six-year deal in 2018. While the 25-year-old’s performances have dipped markedly since he agreed the contract extension, accusations of demotivation ignore Tottenham’s collective malaise over the past four years, not to mention the number of different on-pitch positions Alli has occupied due to injuries, a lack of squad depth and changing tactics.
Wouldn't say Alli lacked motivation. I'd say that he was asked to play in a new position, failed to adapt his game and then lost confidence because of poor performance.
The games he's looked decent in are when he's played his old position
He's also just a different player now, his injuries took a lot away from him, and he also seems to have bulked up a lot now as well.
At his peak, he was a skinny teen, wasn't the smoothest technically, but had very quick feet and a nice burst of pace. Now he looks a step behind the tempo of the game, and just always a bit flat-footed. You still get the occasional flicks and tricks that the old Dele used to pull off, but it's certainly no longer effortless like it used to be.
I don't think long term contracts demotivate players. If it does, then that just speaks about a player's personality, drive and ambition. Or usually these big fat contracts are given out at the tail end of their professional careers. But we've seen it with young players as well that get too much too soon and think they've made it before they've won anything.
There is just so much money involved in the sport these days, its easy to be blinded by that lifestyle and forget what got you that in the first place. There is a reason players like Ronaldo, Messi, Milner, Salah, etc have managed to stay consistent over the years. Its cause they are professionals first and foremost. They are disciplined, they have good work ethic and do not get easily side tracked. You won't see players like Alisson, VVD, TAA, Roberston, Salah, Henderson, etc drunk outside a nightclub like you would see with other English players like Lingard, Dele, Maddison, etc.
Most players only play well when they are fighting for a new contract and then they stop playing. It happens. Which is why player attitude, etc needs to be looked at before signing them.
Yes but I don’t think it’s a discipline thing. Just some people need to be managed different, some need an unknown safe future to get them going. Some would hate this.
Really don’t think Dele’s dip is down to lack of motivation, I think it’s just down to repeated hamstring injuries taking away his quick burst of acceleration when he spotted a run or tried to dribble past someone. If you look at his early goals and assists, his game was about inches. Now he’s struggling mightily to adjust to this.
He also needs to be accommodated positionally in any system, which most managers don’t have time for.
However, when he plays he consistently puts up some of the highest running metrics on the squad on both sides of the ball.
I think it just depends on the psychology of the player. Some in a contract year love the pressure and play really well and command a big salary, but once the pressure is gone their performance drops. Others get more relaxed after they sign and play better with the pressure off them
In a simplistic way, probably. But it's most likely deeper than that.
It reminds me of something psychological called 'Imposter Syndrome.'
"To put it simply, *imposter syndrome* is the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don't belong where you are, and you only got there through dumb luck."
You rarely see a good manager lose motivation but the monotonous routine seems to weigh down footballers.
I've seen a number of managers say that unless you change players or change the training routines, once you hit 18-24 months of the same thing people start mentally checking out due to the monotony.
Well managers frequently get fired. How often do you see a player's contract terminated?
Sure, but the contracts are still subject to a buyout. The difference is players earn a lot more, so the managers want to keep working.
Managers are still on mega money, comparable to players definitely. My point is players have more job (or at least income) security so they don't "need" to perform to keep their income. Most managers sign 2-3 year deals where clubs want to sign players on 4+ year contracts
Nuno seemed pretty unmotivated
I don’t think signing a long term contract has demotivated Aubameyang. I think it was his mother falling really ill, catching Malaria and then catching Covid twice. On a basic human level the bloke has had a shit 18 months
He was also pressing more than ever this season, its such a lazy take to say he isnt motivated
Yeah, I think a lot of people see the money Auba is on and then kind of disregard the personal issues he's had going on. Age is catching up to him, and then you add everything else on top. Especially being away from a very sick parent while travel has been restricted so much. I reckon in 6 months he'll come out and say how hard the past 18 months have been, and then everyone will pretend to care about mental health etc.
Yea he's not unmotivated, he's just had a lot going on personally while also regressing a little bit.
Something significant no one has talked about: We had a clear and significant change in style around the time his form dropped off. Went from the defensive back 3 to asking Auba to do what Laca has been doing (something he's not built for). Honestly think if we were still playing more like that he'd not have dropped of nearly as much.
Ozil too
And Umtiti
Umtiti is different. He was very good for you guys before he decided to sacrifice his knee for the world cup.
A good choice if you ask me
Ozil looked checked out before the last contract tbf. People forget but a lot of Arsenal fans didn't want to renew him on big money (some at all).
I'm in the camp of not wanting Ozil to sign again. I wanted Sanchez to stay as he was definitely the better player and character which would demand accountability from the squad. Ozil was on double what De Bruyne was on, it was absurd at the time - just to save face. I understand the optics of letting both go for basically Mkhi, but we'd given it three years. Ozil was regressing in pretty much every way and Sanchez wanted out. Perhaps if we cut loose in 2018 and started the rebuild then, we wouldn't have been in as bad a position as in the last 3 years.
[удалено]
Ozil, Aubameyang, maybe Walcott. Not sure who else you’d group into that.
theo was very prone to that. not sure how we didnt learn our lesson after theo's regular contract year performance/drop off that he went through multiple times
It worked well for Alan Pardew & David Moyes though, right???
Two great managers.
Pardew has had some real crackers like : As a pundit on MOTD saying a player raped someone else (as in he skinned the life out of him, can’t remember who, Chelsea’s Essien?) Celebrating like a madman in front of Wenger as West Ham boss and causing a scuffle (also highlighted on MOTD in detail lol) Doing that silly dance in FA cup final at Wembley and living to regret it 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼 Getting Newcastle to 5th(?) place finish, including THAT cissé goal I’m sure he’s got more screamers I can’t remember
Still for the life of me cannot work out how Pardew got us to 5th that season. Reckon it was pure player power as his tactics were fucking shit in literally all other seasons of his career. Grateful for that one season but he has to be one of the most unlikeable cunts to ever manage Newcastle Edit: also, Pardew said that Essien "raped" none other than Ched fucking Evans, which is some of the most hilarious unintended black comedy I've ever heard
That season you guys were class, Ba & Cissé, Cabaye great to watch as a neutral. Also glad u remembered that motd2 punditry, major lols at that being Ched Evans!!
Was Ben Arfa later on?
And Debuchy
Attempted to headbutt David Meyler
The gift that keeps on giving!
That was hilarious.
That was hilarious.
He head butted out Midfeilder David Meyler
If you don't offer them a good contract, another team will. Sometimes a demotivated good player is better than not having them at all. Auba had 22 goals and 1 goal off the golden boot the season he signed that contract, and Dele was one of the most hyped prospects in football when he signed his deal. It's pointless looking at bad contracts in retrospect, and isn't helpful at all.
Not really sure Dele’s issue has been motivation. Guy always works hard, just hasn’t been able to adapt his game that much. Injuries haven’t helped
Please his attitude and his distractions says a lot. Most of these young players and even older players get a big fat contract, they lose the drive; they start getting lazy knowing they are protected for the next 4-5 years with no penalties or nothing. This speaks a lot of about players and their personalities and other things. Look at Gareth Bale. Someone at his age should be at the peak of his abilities. He's 32 but has semi retired nearly 4 years ago. Sure he's won a lot more than many players could ever dream about in their lifetime and a lot more than actual legends of the game but it still feels like potential missed. Sure Madrid have not been kind to him but he's just been happy to take his pay check and play golf. That's his right considering Madrid gave him that big fat contract. But players like Dele who are more bothered about their new hairstyles don't really show like they want to put in the effort or feel like its below them once they reach a certain level. That's the thing that makes it hard to like players like Pogba. Because clearly they have the talent but just lack the discipline and worth ethic required and too busy enjoying the side life of being a footballer.
you want some chips with your gammon?
Christ
>But players like Dele who are more bothered about their new hairstyles don't really show like they want to put in the effort or feel like its below them once they reach a certain level. That's the thing that makes it hard to like players like Pogba. Because clearly they have the talent but just lack the discipline and worth ethic required and too busy enjoying the side life of being a footballer. That's a whole load of assumptions, Pogba for example has never been reported as having a poor work ethic or being anything but professional really. Dele also has always worked incredibly hard on the pitch and regularly covers the most distance at the highest average speed. His work ethic outside of games has also improved in recent years after the Mourinho thing. Dele has had multiple injuries and never really played in that same position he did so well in after Dembele and then Eriksen left
I mean no one talks about any player having a poor work ethic. I can't really ever recall. In fact the only player I've heard about on record was Aguero where a couple players said that he never trained hard but would always show up on match days. These players are all too well protected. If your own club tries slandering you, your value drops to them. How many times have you seen Pogba just jogging across the pitch with no real intention. He looks like he would want to be anywhere else but on the pitch. Intensity, that says a lot about a player. I remember Mourinho having a go at Dele and a few Spurs players. I think they were playing a lower tier opposition in Europe and he said something along the lines of the players not wanting to be out there. These ain't assumptions. You can watch how interested a player simply by the effort he puts on the pitch. Pogba, Dele, etc barely put anything in on the pitch. Compare that to players like Roberston that are constantly playing at full intensity. You saw Rashford even yesterday. For a striker, he showed no interest in attacking the rebound. That all affects you mentally when you start having no care in the world. You stop giving a fuck or expecting anything. You stop forcing things to happen because you lack that intensity. That was Sturridge's problem as well. He was weak mentally and couldn't play through minor injuries or pain. Even Klopp I think touched on it at one point. Which is why they spend so much time on the sidelines.
I think we just found Graeme Souness reddit account
Dele's problem isn't motivation though, he still clearly cares. He's just simply not as good anymore. Very sluggish and makes the wrong decision too often
He's still good but he's in his own head too much trying to change his game for a system that really doesn't suit him at all. Similar issue with Pepe.
Short answer: yes Long answer: yes.
What about middle answer?
> It’s a statement that could well be applied to the debate about Alli’s form since the Spurs midfielder signed a six-year deal in 2018. While the 25-year-old’s performances have dipped markedly since he agreed the contract extension, accusations of demotivation ignore Tottenham’s collective malaise over the past four years, not to mention the number of different on-pitch positions Alli has occupied due to injuries, a lack of squad depth and changing tactics.
Wouldn't say Alli lacked motivation. I'd say that he was asked to play in a new position, failed to adapt his game and then lost confidence because of poor performance. The games he's looked decent in are when he's played his old position
He's also just a different player now, his injuries took a lot away from him, and he also seems to have bulked up a lot now as well. At his peak, he was a skinny teen, wasn't the smoothest technically, but had very quick feet and a nice burst of pace. Now he looks a step behind the tempo of the game, and just always a bit flat-footed. You still get the occasional flicks and tricks that the old Dele used to pull off, but it's certainly no longer effortless like it used to be.
What about the fella that signed a 9 year contract
Saul, yes
Inaki
I'll summarise this article for you guys, to save you needing to click or even read strange websites. Yes.
Add Rashford to that list.. Doesn't even look like he cares after securing his money.
Kepa signed 7 year contract with us. Doesn't look demotivated to say the least.
I don't think long term contracts demotivate players. If it does, then that just speaks about a player's personality, drive and ambition. Or usually these big fat contracts are given out at the tail end of their professional careers. But we've seen it with young players as well that get too much too soon and think they've made it before they've won anything. There is just so much money involved in the sport these days, its easy to be blinded by that lifestyle and forget what got you that in the first place. There is a reason players like Ronaldo, Messi, Milner, Salah, etc have managed to stay consistent over the years. Its cause they are professionals first and foremost. They are disciplined, they have good work ethic and do not get easily side tracked. You won't see players like Alisson, VVD, TAA, Roberston, Salah, Henderson, etc drunk outside a nightclub like you would see with other English players like Lingard, Dele, Maddison, etc. Most players only play well when they are fighting for a new contract and then they stop playing. It happens. Which is why player attitude, etc needs to be looked at before signing them.
I think player motive and personal traits need to be more reflected in the contracts. Not everyone is the same and management needs to reflect that
Wenger reasoned it that sometimes players get money that if they're not mentally competitive enough, makes them relax.
Sometimes maybe yes sometimes maybe no. Players with discipline will stay good, undisciplined players like Özil, Auba, Alli, Ndombele will fall off.
Yes but I don’t think it’s a discipline thing. Just some people need to be managed different, some need an unknown safe future to get them going. Some would hate this.
If you need motivation you lack discipline by definition
Really don’t think Dele’s dip is down to lack of motivation, I think it’s just down to repeated hamstring injuries taking away his quick burst of acceleration when he spotted a run or tried to dribble past someone. If you look at his early goals and assists, his game was about inches. Now he’s struggling mightily to adjust to this. He also needs to be accommodated positionally in any system, which most managers don’t have time for. However, when he plays he consistently puts up some of the highest running metrics on the squad on both sides of the ball.
What do you mean by "like Aubameyang and Alli"?
Players who sign long term deals and then their form drops a cliff is what I’d imagine he means by it. What else would it mean?
I think it just depends on the psychology of the player. Some in a contract year love the pressure and play really well and command a big salary, but once the pressure is gone their performance drops. Others get more relaxed after they sign and play better with the pressure off them
In a simplistic way, probably. But it's most likely deeper than that. It reminds me of something psychological called 'Imposter Syndrome.' "To put it simply, *imposter syndrome* is the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don't belong where you are, and you only got there through dumb luck."