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A Century United

Highland Exile
"Mechanistic" v "Psychological"


I have read the threads debating both Tilson's wisdom over signings, and the perceived demise of Shrimperzone with interest.

Here is a thought. Tilson, Brush and Martin know exactly what they are doing, and are working to a plan which balances success on the pitch with financial survival off it. My reason for stating this (at length, be warned) is as follows:

Most of those criticising the lack of purchases during the transfer window have a "mechanistic" view of football. This view says - You look for better players, you make "realistic" offers, you pay whatever the going rate for that player is in wages to get them in. They are better footballers than the ones we currently have, and they either replace the unlucky pro, or they "encourage" him to perform better by their presence. This is often based on the critic's experience of playing for or managing at Sunday league level, or of watching football for X years. The problem I have with this is that it might work for the bigger teams, who can afford big wages across the squad and can attract a number of better players. But it will never work for the likes of Southend or Colchester. Attempting to compete like that leads to disaster, as we discovered in the mid-90's, and paid for for many seasons after.

I believe (and of course this is just my opinion, not "FACT" or "End Of!", my least favourite post-conclusions) that our management team understand this very well (and this applies largely to Colchester too) and instead of applying a doomed mechanistic approach are succeeding with a Psychological approach.

This approach calls for getting the most out of admittedly limited players on (comparitively) poor wages by ensuring that only players who want to play for the club are brought in, and the squad are made to feel part of something special And any player who seems likely to upset the ethos is shipped out smartly, regardless of size of the squad or available replacements. Hence the ruthless disposal of Ricketts, Guttridge, and Smith, and the reason that we were never going to sign Knight. This also dictates that no player can come in if their wage requirements are going to make other players aggrieved - however good they are, if they make significantly more than the other players resentment will abound. So wails of indignation because we have made loads of money this season and aren't spending it miss the point - unless we can afford to pay ALL the players more, we won't pay a priveliged couple more just because it might be available. So don't go looking for too many loanees from the Prem for exactly the same reason. This isn't just Tilson's approach, either - I have felt that this is the way that RM wants to go since he sacked Wignall because he couldn't see the passion in his eyes.

The problem with this is that such players are few and far between, especially in this age of inflated wages and panicking over-bidding managers trying to buy their way out of trouble. Thus, the risk is that not enough players can be found who fit the criteria, and we have to work with a small squad. However this isn't all bad - the very fact that we work with a small squad makes the "Us against the World" ethos easier to maintain, and if we ever switched to the "Mechanistic" approach advocated by so many on this board then in my opinion we would be doomed!

And my final point - Tilly and Brush are very, very good at operating this system, and finding the sort of players we need to work it. So when they bring in the likes of Hooper, Harrold and Paynter they do so because they believe that they will be assetts to the squad, and that they have the ability to perform at this level. Sadly, too many of our fans seem to have a belief that their judgement is vastly superior to our management's, and do their best to destroy the confidence of some of our new players before they have even had a decent chance to prove themselves. Paynter is a classic example of this, and Clarke, Francis, Hammell, and JCR have all suffered at the hands of these experts.

We as a club survive only because of tight financial control of RM and the brilliant Psychology of Tilly and Brush. Every time someone exercises their "Right" to boo or abuse a player they are directly opposing all the work that the coaching staff are doing.
 
Very wll put ACU.
I am however, slightly worried about the lack of bodies at the moment, but I'm sure loan signings are easier to get in and less of a financial commitment.
I would never critise one of Tillys signings as he and Brush has done an excellent job so far. I wouldn't even write Paynter off yet.
Should we stay up, unlike the likes of Hull, Leeds and others (excluding Barnsley I guess) we get to keep the club on a good financial footing.
Better to go down with a future rather than financial suicide which 'might' pay off short term.
 
Brilliant. A post with points of view from both sides of the fence, supporting evidence and personal opinion all well put. I pretty much agree.

I also despise the 'FACT' and 'end of...' usage.
 
Good post ACU and I'd like to think your words echo the thoughts of the vast majority of our supporters but, alas, there will always be a minority that they don't.
 
Couldn't have put it better and is exactly what so many people have been trying to get across.
 
I couldn't agree more, and well said. I am sure your views mirror the majority on here, and also what many of us have been trying to out across for many months.
 
"Mechanistic" v "Psychological"


I have read the threads debating both Tilson's wisdom over signings, and the perceived demise of Shrimperzone with interest.

Here is a thought. Tilson, Brush and Martin know exactly what they are doing, and are working to a plan which balances success on the pitch with financial survival off it. My reason for stating this (at length, be warned) is as follows:

Most of those criticising the lack of purchases during the transfer window have a "mechanistic" view of football. This view says - You look for better players, you make "realistic" offers, you pay whatever the going rate for that player is in wages to get them in. They are better footballers than the ones we currently have, and they either replace the unlucky pro, or they "encourage" him to perform better by their presence. This is often based on the critic's experience of playing for or managing at Sunday league level, or of watching football for X years. The problem I have with this is that it might work for the bigger teams, who can afford big wages across the squad and can attract a number of better players. But it will never work for the likes of Southend or Colchester. Attempting to compete like that leads to disaster, as we discovered in the mid-90's, and paid for for many seasons after.

I believe (and of course this is just my opinion, not "FACT" or "End Of!", my least favourite post-conclusions) that our management team understand this very well (and this applies largely to Colchester too) and instead of applying a doomed mechanistic approach are succeeding with a Psychological approach.

This approach calls for getting the most out of admittedly limited players on (comparitively) poor wages by ensuring that only players who want to play for the club are brought in, and the squad are made to feel part of something special And any player who seems likely to upset the ethos is shipped out smartly, regardless of size of the squad or available replacements. Hence the ruthless disposal of Ricketts, Guttridge, and Smith, and the reason that we were never going to sign Knight. This also dictates that no player can come in if their wage requirements are going to make other players aggrieved - however good they are, if they make significantly more than the other players resentment will abound. So wails of indignation because we have made loads of money this season and aren't spending it miss the point - unless we can afford to pay ALL the players more, we won't pay a priveliged couple more just because it might be available. So don't go looking for too many loanees from the Prem for exactly the same reason. This isn't just Tilson's approach, either - I have felt that this is the way that RM wants to go since he sacked Wignall because he couldn't see the passion in his eyes.

The problem with this is that such players are few and far between, especially in this age of inflated wages and panicking over-bidding managers trying to buy their way out of trouble. Thus, the risk is that not enough players can be found who fit the criteria, and we have to work with a small squad. However this isn't all bad - the very fact that we work with a small squad makes the "Us against the World" ethos easier to maintain, and if we ever switched to the "Mechanistic" approach advocated by so many on this board then in my opinion we would be doomed!

And my final point - Tilly and Brush are very, very good at operating this system, and finding the sort of players we need to work it. So when they bring in the likes of Hooper, Harrold and Paynter they do so because they believe that they will be assetts to the squad, and that they have the ability to perform at this level. Sadly, too many of our fans seem to have a belief that their judgement is vastly superior to our management's, and do their best to destroy the confidence of some of our new players before they have even had a decent chance to prove themselves. Paynter is a classic example of this, and Clarke, Francis, Hammell, and JCR have all suffered at the hands of these experts.

We as a club survive only because of tight financial control of RM and the brilliant Psychology of Tilly and Brush. Every time someone exercises their "Right" to boo or abuse a player they are directly opposing all the work that the coaching staff are doing.

Cheers Ron, we've been trying to get something like this (or at least bits of it!) for a while now! Much better when explained by someone who knows

:angel:
 
Good post. I have one question for you. Do you think Tilly and Brush are deliberately trying to build for the future by signing young players (other than Ricketts most of our signings were 21-24 years old), or that it was only younger players who have that hunger and desire that we are looking for?

Col Ewe seem to have a much older and therefore more experienced squad, which I'm sure helped them to settle in better in this division. Players like Francis, Harrold, Paynter, McCormack, JCR, Hooper and even to an extent Clarke and Hammell are all inexperienced and young with their best years still to come.

We went from a team with most players, other than Freddy and Gutts, at or past their prime (Flahavan, Jupp, Wilson, Barrett, Sodje, Maher, Guttridge, Gower, Bentley/Bradbury, Eastwood and Goater) to one where players are still developing and learning their game (Flahavan, Francis, Hammell, Clarke, Barrett, Maher, Guttridge/McCormack, Gower, JCR, Eastwood, Paynter/Harrold/Bradbury). I'd say only Flahavan, Gower, Maher and Bradbury were at or past their prime.
 
Top post ACU - great read!

If only some of the boo boys realized that their actions effects not only the players mental state but also the work the coaches do as well, as you suggest in the last part of your post.
:cool:
 
Good post. I have one question for you. Do you think Tilly and Brush are deliberately trying to build for the future by signing young players (other than Ricketts most of our signings were 21-24 years old), or that it was only younger players who have that hunger and desire that we are looking for?

Col Ewe seem to have a much older and therefore more experienced squad, which I'm sure helped them to settle in better in this division. Players like Francis, Harrold, Paynter, McCormack, JCR, Hooper and even to an extent Clarke and Hammell are all inexperienced and young with their best years still to come.

We went from a team with most players, other than Freddy and Gutts, at or past their prime (Flahavan, Jupp, Wilson, Barrett, Sodje, Maher, Guttridge, Gower, Bentley/Bradbury, Eastwood and Goater) to one where players are still developing and learning their game (Flahavan, Francis, Hammell, Clarke, Barrett, Maher, Guttridge/McCormack, Gower, JCR, Eastwood, Paynter/Harrold/Bradbury). I'd say only Flahavan, Gower, Maher and Bradbury were at or past their prime.

I'm not sure that I am qualified to answer that, not actually being RM despite Spiff's flattery! However my guess would be that it is easier to attract the younger players, perhaps because they have fewer financial obligations, to take a chance on a lowish wage with Southend. It clearly works to our advantage, assuming that we can hang on to them. I think Colchester have played the game quietly and brilliantly, not least because the brains behind their team turned out to be Williams and not PIG and, as you suggest, they are further down the road with it than we are. Should we avoid relegation, then I would hope that we would be similarly successful over the next few seasons.
 
To look at football this way, is different, but do you really think footballers think this way. We have a budget, and within that budget we have to bring players in to do a job... and that's win game's. This time of the year we need cover because of injuries, suspension's, lack of form especially as we are at the bottom of the table. Loanee's are ok at filling a gap but I've seen many of those at the blues who just can't be bothered, it seem's to be like a punishment for them. I bet Tilly wouldn't have expected to be in this position re squad size after just one game, and I wonder if he was thinking how you posted it, I bet he would say well that's that buggered.
I would like to think Tilly is the lower league Wenger, but I do recon that he tried to get players in, but they wouldn't come to Southend, If only he had lowered his sight's a tad he might have been a bit more sucsessfull and we wouldn't be down to bare bones so soon.
 
Tillson has taken a slagging on here for mainly beng out of his depth, but he has never managed in this division before so of course he wil be out of his depth until he gains more experience. Now we are playing teams we have already played, hopefully he is picking things up and getting them right.

IMO Paynter was a poor siging but can a manager really tell how a player is going to perform before he buys him? No he cant, theres always a risk involved. Hammel has done well, Francis OK and Sodje and Maca excellent. Hooper and Harrold have showed potential and are still very young, so balance Tillsons signings and overall he is well ahead.

If we do manage to stay up, I would think next season we could hope to finnish 15-16th and a lot of the credit will go down to Tilly.
 

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