Interview with sports psychologist who was sacked by Ranieri

[Foxhateram]

19 minutes ago, Struwwelpeter60 said:

Mr Way was working for LCFC also in the 2014/15 season.

Just a reminder: we were rock-bottom for more than 140

days. What did he do during that time? Was he on strike?

 

Jamie Vardy scored in that season only 1 goal before the

Great Escape began. 1 goal in 29 games. Where was Mr

Way? Couldn't he help him to get back in form a little bit

faster?

I don't know, what exactly that guy is doing, but obviously

he doesn't work fast.

 

In other words.

Although Mr Way was at the club since 2011 and had

therefore enough time to work his magic on the players,

we  got almost relegated in 2014/15.

Not he made the Great Escape possible, but Huth,

Cambiasso and 352.

Why am I not surprised to hear from him again right

now?

I think you will find that he was keeping players belief high under extreme circumstances. We went out and stayed in games and always looked like we could win games with a bit more clinical tactics in the final third. The guy deserves a medal for keeping a team rock bottom of the table believing that they can compete. Then of course the great escape came, balancing the enigma of winning with the balance of focus is tough. 

 

Mental focus is a huge benefactor in football. Alongside fitness it can be the difference between winning in the final 20 minutes of a game or falling to your opponents. Decision making relies on physical ability but just as much relies on mental strength. Can't emphasise how important psychology in top level sport is. 

[Fox 4 Life]

Good article, interesting that the sport bible and all those other disabled pages on facebook aren't sharing the shit out of this one.

Edited 26 February 2017 by Fox 4 Life

[erlee]

21 hours ago, Fox92 said:

Good read, interesting. Been wanting to here from him.

 

There are many things Ranieri did wrong and sacking the psychologist was one of them.

>>Sure enough, a few days after Leicester’s 2-1 defeat at Hull City, Way got a letter from the club thanking him for his services but telling him he would no longer be needed.He admits the manner of his departure left him feeling “bruised” – mostly because Ranieri did not ring him to explain his decision.

 

yep he was literally dumped by CR.. he could have read the 'terroristic' activities - to cite the original article

[Vulpine Victor]

Really sad to see Claudio get sacked.I loved the guy he was like a favourite uncle. However I got the feeling we were sleep walking to the Championship. If you remember Peter Taylor took us to the top of the Premiership after taking over from Martin O'Neill. He did this by allowing the team to play as they had under MON. When asked about his successful start he said to judge him after he had got his own players in and playing as he wanted. We all know how that ended. This season Claudio was introducing more of his own ideas and personnel. More recently he seemed to be losing the plot with team selection and substitutions. In my humble opinion his sacking was; as Cromwell said of the execution of Charles I; "A cruel necessity!" 

[TheUltimateWinner]

My opinion is that psychology plays a massive part in the modern game.

 

We have a lot of egos in this club, but over previous seasons we've managed to get them to all sing the same song, this article shows that Way played a large part in that. It seems this season they're now going on their own individual agendas.

 

Unfortunately, you could argue that by sacking our psychologist, Ranieri was starting the makings of his own demise. 

[erlee]

19 hours ago, Struwwelpeter60 said:

Mr Way was working for LCFC also in the 2014/15 season.

Just a reminder: we were rock-bottom for more than 140

days. What did he do during that time? Was he on strike?

 

Jamie Vardy scored in that season only 1 goal before the

Great Escape began. 1 goal in 29 games. Where was Mr

Way? Couldn't he help him to get back in form a little bit

faster?

I don't know, what exactly that guy is doing, but obviously

he doesn't work fast.

 

In other words.

Although Mr Way was at the club since 2011 and had

therefore enough time to work his magic on the players,

we  got almost relegated in 2014/15.

Not he made the Great Escape possible, but Huth,

Cambiasso and 352.

Why am I not surprised to hear from him again right

now?

yes we have had up & downs.. but no major fire like now with revolting 'terroristic' players in the years Ken was there.

(so his 'magic' is not dealing with Football skills but personalities issues)

either CR is a minnow when it comes to dealing with player power or he's totally inept & clueless

maybe that's why he didn;t last long in most of his assignments

Edited 26 February 2017 by erlee

[Grey Fox]

This article was so sad to read.

 

Ranieri inherited an amazing set up and was praised over and over last season for keeping it all in place.

 

Why oh why in the summer did he suddenly decide to change it, when clearly nothing needed changing?

 

Ultimately he only has himself to blame for what has now come to pass.

 

I'll always be grateful for the part he played in our best ever season.  But for me it was time to say goodbye. 

[DJ Barry Hammond]

1 hour ago, StanSP said:

John Percy seems to be the only reliable journalist with in-depth details of what happens at our club throughout the season.

 

The only other people I trust out there are Gianluca Di Marzio and David Amoyal, although with those 2 it's usually just transfers.

 

He was in Seville speaking to fans and the like wasn't he? 

 

Certainly sounds like he's been in close contact with the club at least recently, possibly in the knowledge a story was going to break one way or another.

[volpeazzurro]

17 minutes ago, foxhateram said:

I think you will find that he was keeping players belief high under extreme circumstances. We went out and stayed in games and always looked like we could win games with a bit more clinical tactics in the final third. The guy deserves a medal for keeping a team rock bottom of the table believing that they can compete. Then of course the great escape came, balancing the enigma of winning with the balance of focus is tough. 

 

Mental focus is a huge benefactor in football. Alongside fitness it can be the difference between winning in the final 20 minutes of a game or falling to your opponents. Decision making relies on physical ability but just as much relies on mental strength. Can't emphasise how important psychology in top level sport is. 

I  think you're probably right but this individual was probably not one of the best proponents. As the person pointed out in your quote suggests, he was hardly the quickest of operators. I think Cambiasso did far more to lift the mood and instill confidence. There's a lot of false Messiah's in that trade.

Edited 26 February 2017 by volpeazzurro

[Kaewbudda]

Lots of interesting comments.

 

The general consensus amongst some fans seems here seems to be that CR dismantled the infrastructure and well oiled machine (created by NP) that served LCFC so well. That we have good players, and that CR benefitted from the recruitment, methodology and approaches of NP, including the recruitment and retention of a sports psychologist.

 

This obviously goes against the popular narrative in the national and international media which is that CR was some sort of genius who took a bunch of average journeymen pros and beat all the odds.

 

Now that CR has departed, is it unreasonable to expect an improvement in form and results?

[Clever Fox]

2 minutes ago, Kaewbudda said:

Lots of interesting comments.

 

The general consensus amongst some fans seems here seems to be that CR dismantled the infrastructure and well oiled machine (created by NP) that served LCFC so well. That we have good players, and that CR benefitted from the recruitment, methodology and approaches of NP, including the recruitment and retention of a sports psychologist.

 

This obviously goes against the popular narrative in the national and international media which is that CR was some sort of genius who took a bunch of average journeymen pros and beat all the odds.

 

Now that CR has departed, is it unreasonable to expect an improvement in form and results?

It just goes to prove you cannot believe everything you read in Newspapers.

[brucey]

2 minutes ago, Kaewbudda said:

Lots of interesting comments.

 

The general consensus amongst some fans seems here seems to be that CR dismantled the infrastructure and well oiled machine (created by NP) that served LCFC so well. That we have good players, and that CR benefitted from the recruitment, methodology and approaches of NP, including the recruitment and retention of a sports psychologist.

 

This obviously goes against the popular narrative in the national and international media which is that CR was some sort of genius who took a bunch of average journeymen pros and beat all the odds.

 

Now that CR has departed, is it unreasonable to expect an improvement in form and results?

I think everyone is expecting an improvement in form.

The ill informed pundits and media will expect things to improve now that 'player power' has triumphed and the players will suddenly want to play again.

The fans here will expect things to improve now that Ranieri and his questionable tactics are out of the way.

Also, form cannot do anything except go up from the current situation, having lost the past 5 league games without scoring..

[Countryfox]

2 minutes ago, brucey said:

I think everyone is expecting an improvement in form.

The ill informed pundits and media will expect things to improve now that 'player power' has triumphed and the players will suddenly want to play again.

The fans here will expect things to improve now that Ranieri and his questionable tactics are out of the way.

Also, form cannot do anything except go up from the current situation, having lost the past 5 league games without scoring..

 

And Shakey, who has been a rock during the tenure of the previous 2 managers, is at the helm .....        and needs to be left at the helm until at LEAST the end of the season ....   imo.

[brucey]

Just now, Countryfox said:

 

And Shakey, who has been a rock during the tenure of the previous 2 managers, is at the helm .....        and needs to be left at the helm until at LEAST the end of the season ....   imo.

I agree, have just put a tenner on it. I hope Shakey's given 2-3 games at least, but if the problem is as alluded to in the article, he would be the best option psychologically, which is what we need most. Even so I was really impressed at the 30 seconds of footage of Shakey's training working on tactics which never seemed to happen before.

[Countryfox]

1 minute ago, brucey said:

I agree, have just put a tenner on it. I hope Shakey's given 2-3 games at least, but if the problem is as alluded to in the article, he would be the best option psychologically, which is what we need most. Even so I was really impressed at the 30 seconds of footage of Shakey's training working on tactics which never seemed to happen before.

 

He's worked with 2 top managers and hopefully seen the best of their styles, he's highly respected by the players, staff and owners, he's also been pulled into the England set up .....       all the tools are there.

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

Well this is very interesting, obviously it's a cog in the machine that eventually ended Ranieri's time here

But as the owners said there is a million things wrong at the club, and this is obviously a part of it. But no doubt people will say this whole story is rudkins fault still

[Kaewbudda]

6 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

 

He's worked with 2 top managers and hopefully seen the best of their styles, he's highly respected by the players, staff and owners, he's also been pulled into the England set up .....       all the tools are there.

But isn't he too chummy with the players?

What if he needs to drop players? Change things around?

[z-layrex]

3 hours ago, daz*dsb said:

Just further cements my thinking that Ranieri was slowly dismantling anything progressive and forward-thinking at our club. 

 

I love the fact we have a Premier League title but I'm genuinely devastated that Pearson's hard work has been destroyed. We're a trophy better off but we've gone a long way backwards as a club. Such a shame. 

Which is why we should all be praying he comes back.

[Struwwelpeter60]

11 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

 

He's worked with 2 top managers and hopefully seen the best of their styles, he's highly respected by the players, staff and owners, he's also been pulled into the England set up .....       all the tools are there.

Okay, let's hope, that the owners give him their

"unwavering support", let us bring back Mr Way

and everything will be fine.

Right?

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

Would this be like other work places because they had said they would not need his services any more he must have been made redundant. And you can't re employ for the same job if that job is redundant 

[Countryfox]

5 minutes ago, Kaewbudda said:

But isn't he too chummy with the players?

What if he needs to drop players? Change things around?

 

4 minutes ago, Struwwelpeter60 said:

Okay, let's hope, that the owners give him their

"unwavering support", let us bring back Mr Way

and everything will be fine.

Right?

 Can't think of a better option at the moment.   And the last thing we want to do is make a hasty appointment.

[Jonno84]

I think they need serious mental assesment this season

The current one has probly all told them to chill and prescribe them a load of diazipam.the back four seemed zonked on it.

Edited 26 February 2017 by Jonno84

[AjcW]

Fair enough on some of his comments but reading reactions on here like "it's a shame we were clearly such a forward thinking club" pull the other one we're 5-10 years behind most clubs even some in lower divisions! He's a sports psych for Christ sake, even Allardyce has them! 

 

- Our director of football fell into the role and is crap at it.

 

- Our youth set up is run by two dinosaurs 

 

- Our marketing team are as backwards as possible with zero creativity or forward thinking.

 

- Our club shop and it's abilities resemble a jumble sale ran by your blind nan (were owned by a ****ing retail giant!!)

 

- Our website, ticketing and comms are stuck in the 2000's

 

.....oh and to top it all off we're currently playing football that would be frowned upon in the sodding national league! 

 

So forward thinking......

[inckley fox]

9 hours ago, Struwwelpeter60 said:

Okay, let's hope, that the owners give him their

"unwavering support", let us bring back Mr Way

and everything will be fine.

Right?

This is one of the silliest posts I've read yet. The suggestion made by others, as far as I understand, is that lots of people had a role in what made us successful. And remember that a 14th place finish in your first PL season represents success too, regardless of how the points are distributed. If people are so keen to take away credit for having finished 14th in 2015 on the grounds that we were bottom for much of the season, then perhaps they'd like to give us the credit for winning automatic promotion in 2013, on the grounds that we were in the top two until February. It's equally nonsensical, see?

 

The suggestion is that Way, like many, many others, played a part in our success, and his departure was indicative of a change in how the players were managed. The single biggest reason which has been given, again and again, for Ranieri's departure has been his man-management. Whether it's true or not, many people - yourself included, perhaps - bought into the idea that he was sacked because the players lost faith in him. So anybody who was seen to play an important role in combatting that is going to be relevant. Along with many, many other factors.

 

I saw a great post the other day which argued that players had a really tough set of psychological issues to deal with post-May, and our predicament was down to the fact that they had failed to overcome them. The loss of faith stemmed from that. It might be true, it might not. But if there is any truth in it, then it's possible - not certain, just possible - that we can add the dismissal of a popular psychologist to the list of errors Ranieri made.

 

As for your earlier post, I don't think you can ever attribute any single factor to a run of poor form. In a sense, I think you and I are in agreement on this. Way won't have been responsible, at least not alone, for us struggling for results mid-season 14/15. But that season ended up being perfectly successful, and the tremendous sense of belief that led to that may well have owed something, in some small measure, to him. And right now, anything which has a positive impact on our sense of self-belief would be welcome.

[Struwwelpeter60]

12 minutes ago, inckley fox said:

As for your earlier post, I don't think you can ever attribute any single factor to a run of poor form.

If that is true ( and I think, you are right) why are you and

many others in this thread  trying to put all the

blame for our dismal performance in this season on

a single person: Ranieri?

 

Why are you not blaming the owners for our chaotic

pre-season, those silly BMWs, those outrageous, new

contracts?

Why are you not blaming Rudkin for his inability to bring

in the players we needed?

Could it be, that it is so much easier to have one

scapegoat? Especially, if he is no longer part of 

the "family".