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Joe Bryan Mental Health Week


Johnny Musicworks

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https://www.espn.com/soccer/fulham/story/4379421/premier-leagues-joe-bryan-opens-up-on-anxietyfear-and-football-he-wants-to-help
 

interesting article about Joe Bryan, opening up about anxiety and wanting to help others.

One of my favourite players to play for City and I never got the accusations on here that sometimes he didn’t care or try.  
 

Thankfully he seems to be dealing with it better nowadays.  Well done Joe for speaking out as the more that do, the more normal and acceptable it will be become.  There will still, even today, be people who think he shouldn’t have any worries as he’s a professional footballer 

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3 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/fulham/story/4379421/premier-leagues-joe-bryan-opens-up-on-anxietyfear-and-football-he-wants-to-help
 

interesting article about Joe Bryan, opening up about anxiety and wanting to help others.

One of my favourite players to play for City and I never got the accusations on here that sometimes he didn’t care or try.  
 

Thankfully he seems to be dealing with it better nowadays.  Well done Joe for speaking out as the more that do, the more normal and acceptable it will be become.  There will still, even today, be people who think he shouldn’t have any worries as he’s a professional footballer 

Thanks for highlighting this - as you say, a very interesting read and it’s an important subject that just can’t be swept under any carpet. I remember John Gregory dismissing Stan Collymore’s depression when he was Villa manager, basically saying that Stan had nothing to be depressed about. Despite what anyone thinks about Stan, he didn’t deserve that ignorant public reaction from his manager.

And, on a slightly different note, has there ever been a better example of an individual destroying City at home than Collymore and his hatrick in the 1-4 defeat to Forest at Christmas 1993?!

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Hopefully @Johnny Musicworks can cope mentally with this being posted 30 minutes after he put the same up.

A fair bit of what he talks about resonates with me, especially the bit about how you motivate yourself once you've achieved a goal that you've focused on for a very long time. Especially if you find that the goal isn't quite what you thought it would be. I suspect for him it was very, very tough to finally get to the Premier League only to have that incredibly awful season that Fulham had in 2018/19. In those opening games they were, as a team, being openly mocked for the number of goals they were conceding. To achieve a dream and then see it turn sour so quickly must have been tough.

The old imposter syndrome is also something I've had to learn to deal with. I'd never call it anxiety, but I often find myself querying my own judgement, albeit I don't do it in front of 20,000 people and countless TV cameras, and I don't get dozens of messages on my phone if I cock something up at work. It's still tough though, it can be for anyone.

Having said that, I know from personal experience that ultimately only an individual can truly turn their mental health around. Help should be sought, words should be spoken, if necessary then medication can assist. But, ultimately, unless the will and determination to heal and to find coping mechanisms is there, little progress will be made.

Based on that article it seems like Bryan has found some coping mechanisms, that is great to hear. I hope his 2021/22 season can be successful.

If I could ever talk to him I'd only offer some small advice to maybe ditch the self-analysis, self-help, non-fiction books he reads and switch over to some fiction or historical works for a little bit. 

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I think it's also worth saying that many of us forget this kind of thing when we discuss a player's performances for our own club. In the heat of a match I get it, we all want City to win and it can be frustrating to see a mistake or perceive a lack of effort. However, from time to time we do need to remember that the guys on the pitch and in the dugout are humans, and they no doubt sometimes have similar thoughts to those described in the article.

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1 hour ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

Thanks for highlighting this - as you say, a very interesting read and it’s an important subject that just can’t be swept under any carpet. I remember John Gregory dismissing Stan Collymore’s depression when he was Villa manager, basically saying that Stan had nothing to be depressed about. Despite what anyone thinks about Stan, he didn’t deserve that ignorant public reaction from his manager.

And, on a slightly different note, has there ever been a better example of an individual destroying City at home than Collymore and his hatrick in the 1-4 defeat to Forest at Christmas 1993?!

Not so sure about home games, but David bloody Kelly should suffice. Several times. ???

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50 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

Hopefully @Johnny Musicworks can cope mentally with this being posted 30 minutes after he put the same up.

A fair bit of what he talks about resonates with me, especially the bit about how you motivate yourself once you've achieved a goal that you've focused on for a very long time. Especially if you find that the goal isn't quite what you thought it would be. I suspect for him it was very, very tough to finally get to the Premier League only to have that incredibly awful season that Fulham had in 2018/19. In those opening games they were, as a team, being openly mocked for the number of goals they were conceding. To achieve a dream and then see it turn sour so quickly must have been tough.

The old imposter syndrome is also something I've had to learn to deal with. I'd never call it anxiety, but I often find myself querying my own judgement, albeit I don't do it in front of 20,000 people and countless TV cameras, and I don't get dozens of messages on my phone if I cock something up at work. It's still tough though, it can be for anyone.

Having said that, I know from personal experience that ultimately only an individual can truly turn their mental health around. Help should be sought, words should be spoken, if necessary then medication can assist. But, ultimately, unless the will and determination to heal and to find coping mechanisms is there, little progress will be made.

Based on that article it seems like Bryan has found some coping mechanisms, that is great to hear. I hope his 2021/22 season can be successful.

If I could ever talk to him I'd only offer some small advice to maybe ditch the self-analysis, self-help, non-fiction books he reads and switch over to some fiction or historical works for a little bit. 

Thanks Exiled I can cope with being pushed aside but seriously I feel so fortunate not to have suffered myself. Having worked with so many young people with mental health problems I know how important it is to share articles like this on so many levels. When a role model like Joe is able to talk so candidly about coping with the problem it can help so many people who feel trapped and isolated with their fears. One young man that I currently work with has lost his two best friends to suicide. All too often it is people that seem to be okay that are not. With this article we can see that Joe is a warrior on and off the pitch every day. Respect to the man !

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13 minutes ago, nickolas said:

Not so sure about home games, but David bloody Kelly should suffice. Several times. ???

David Kelly! Blimey - that name still makes me shiver - didn’t he score shedloads against us for just about every club he played for?! Or am I imagining that whilst fighting off the cold sweats?! ??

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It’s great to see guys like JB stressing how helpful just talking to someone if you’re troubled or anxious. He and other high profile people do a tremendous of good when encouraging others to talk to another person - talking really is the best medicine.

Over my career as a counsellor I must have facilitated literally hundreds of therapy sessions and benefit they have is truly remarkable. The first thing that participants  realise is that they are not alone and that gives a huge sense of relief and over time their confidence grows - its a great pleasure to see people gradually returning to their former selves.

I rarely think about my old job having been retired 11 years but it’s at times  likes this that I really quite miss trying to help others..........these days I concentrate on bowls, cricket and football.

 

 

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2 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

Thanks for highlighting this - as you say, a very interesting read and it’s an important subject that just can’t be swept under any carpet. I remember John Gregory dismissing Stan Collymore’s depression when he was Villa manager, basically saying that Stan had nothing to be depressed about. Despite what anyone thinks about Stan, he didn’t deserve that ignorant public reaction from his manager.

And, on a slightly different note, has there ever been a better example of an individual destroying City at home than Collymore and his hatrick in the 1-4 defeat to Forest at Christmas 1993?!

Agree.

But, as a fellow pedant, I just want to say that Collymore scored 2 in that game.

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9 minutes ago, David Brent said:

Agree.

But, as a fellow pedant, I just want to say that Collymore scored 2 in that game.

Fair play DB - thanks for putting me right ? - was it Ian Woan and Neil Webb who completed the annihilation that day? And Forest wore purple and lime green in that match - perhaps we gained inspiration from that?! ??

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3 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

Fair play DB - thanks for putting me right ? - was it Ian Woan and Neil Webb who completed the annihilation that day? And Forest wore purple and lime green in that match - perhaps we gained inspiration from that?! ??

Correct. My first game so I remember the details vividly ?

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2 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

I think it's also worth saying that many of us forget this kind of thing when we discuss a player's performances for our own club. In the heat of a match I get it, we all want City to win and it can be frustrating to see a mistake or perceive a lack of effort. However, from time to time we do need to remember that the guys on the pitch and in the dugout are humans, and they no doubt sometimes have similar thoughts to those described in the article.

Agree. I even recall some comments like that on here about some of Joe’s performances and it does make you wonder. It is a shame he does not remember much of his goal against Man Utd - the whole move and his finish was a thing of beauty and I’ll certainly never forget it. All the best to him. 

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9 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

I think it's also worth saying that many of us forget this kind of thing when we discuss a player's performances for our own club. In the heat of a match I get it, we all want City to win and it can be frustrating to see a mistake or perceive a lack of effort. However, from time to time we do need to remember that the guys on the pitch and in the dugout are humans, and they no doubt sometimes have similar thoughts to those described in the article.

They’re paid a fortune so must be completely perfect, infallible robots. I thought everyone knew that...

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10 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

And, on a slightly different note, has there ever been a better example of an individual destroying City at home than Collymore and his hatrick in the 1-4 defeat to Forest at Christmas 1993?!

Maybe this would be better as a thread in it's own right but....

As well as Stan Collymore, the two performances that I remember as standing out at Ashon Gate against us over the years were John Salako for Palace and Marco Gabbiandini for Sunderland. Can't remember dates or scores though, apart from we lost both matches.

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1 hour ago, richwwtk said:

Maybe this would be better as a thread in it's own right but....

As well as Stan Collymore, the two performances that I remember as standing out at Ashon Gate against us over the years were John Salako for Palace and Marco Gabbiandini for Sunderland. Can't remember dates or scores though, apart from we lost both matches.

Swansea took us apart 0-2 with Darren Pratley giving an immense performance too and notching a couple?

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8 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

Swansea took us apart 0-2 with Darren Pratley giving an immense performance too and notching a couple?

I thought Britton absolutely ran midfield that day. One of the best performances I’ve seen down the gate. 

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12 hours ago, Moments of Pleasure said:

Pleased for Joe he's not driving in to training with Callum Chambers every morning ....

Or it can beneficial to be around more Callum Chambers who will ask him why he is so moody, what is wrong with him ... Taking the piss, being positive, humanising is a improvement for some not all. Its not exact, people are divergent. 

Humans are naturally negative. Being around negativity creates? Generally more negativity. 

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13 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

I think it's also worth saying that many of us forget this kind of thing when we discuss a player's performances for our own club. In the heat of a match I get it, we all want City to win and it can be frustrating to see a mistake or perceive a lack of effort. However, from time to time we do need to remember that the guys on the pitch and in the dugout are humans, and they no doubt sometimes have similar thoughts to those described in the article.

Said this a lot on here. No one wants to go out in front of 20/30/40/90k people and play shit. THey don't do it deliberately (bare the very rare occasion) and it doesn't matter if they're getting paid £100 a game or £100k a week, it makes zero difference to a player devoid of confidence or struggling with other matters.

We'd do better to support our players, even when their form has dropped, than to abuse them but that's football/sports fans in general not a City issue as such.

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15 hours ago, And Its Smith said:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/fulham/story/4379421/premier-leagues-joe-bryan-opens-up-on-anxietyfear-and-football-he-wants-to-help
 

interesting article about Joe Bryan, opening up about anxiety and wanting to help others.

One of my favourite players to play for City and I never got the accusations on here that sometimes he didn’t care or try.  
 

Thankfully he seems to be dealing with it better nowadays.  Well done Joe for speaking out as the more that do, the more normal and acceptable it will be become.  There will still, even today, be people who think he shouldn’t have any worries as he’s a professional footballer 

Me neither, but he does have a peculiar running style that gives that impression.

So often, when he had lost possession and had to run back to cover/try and retrieve the ball, it would seem that he was merely jogging back, whilst blameless teammates appeared to be sprinting - I am convinced (hope!), however, that this was merely an optical illusion. 

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5 hours ago, richwwtk said:

Maybe this would be better as a thread in it's own right but....

As well as Stan Collymore, the two performances that I remember as standing out at Ashon Gate against us over the years were John Salako for Palace and Marco Gabbiandini for Sunderland. Can't remember dates or scores though, apart from we lost both matches.

You should have seen him when he was (IMO) man of the match against when playing for Swansea.

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17 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

David Kelly! Blimey - that name still makes me shiver - didn’t he score shedloads against us for just about every club he played for?! Or am I imagining that whilst fighting off the cold sweats?! ??

Correct. Guaranteed to score against us every time. ?

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4 hours ago, MarcusX said:

Said this a lot on here. No one wants to go out in front of 20/30/40/90k people and play shit. THey don't do it deliberately (bare the very rare occasion) and it doesn't matter if they're getting paid £100 a game or £100k a week, it makes zero difference to a player devoid of confidence or struggling with other matters.

We'd do better to support our players, even when their form has dropped, than to abuse them but that's football/sports fans in general not a City issue as such.

All true. I want to be careful though, I don't want mental health to become a shield against all criticism.

However, perhaps we need to consider whether there are these kind of factors at play when we lambast someone for "being shit".

I guess we have to trust that whatever we see as fans, behind the scenes the club are looking after this aspect. Bryan mentions that a physio at Fulham spotted his mental struggles and took him aside. Hopefully that is happening at Bristol City when required. 

I was typing that for obvious reasons I'd not expect to be informed of that as a fan...but on reconsideration wonder why we aren't more often told "oh player X won't play as he's taking a mental health break"? If mental health is to be treated as physical health is, and we are told regularly about broken bones, torn ligaments, and concussions, then we should be able to deal with a player missing a game or two in order to get their mind in order and under control.

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On 12/05/2021 at 22:20, BS4 on Tour... said:

David Kelly! Blimey - that name still makes me shiver - didn’t he score shedloads against us for just about every club he played for?! Or am I imagining that whilst fighting off the cold sweats?! ??

No he did always seem to score against us! Mostly for Walsall. We should have signed him, he was a decent player at L1/Div3 level and played for ROI internationally IIRC? 

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12 hours ago, fgrsimon said:

No he did always seem to score against us! Mostly for Walsall. We should have signed him, he was a decent player at L1/Div3 level and played for ROI internationally IIRC? 

I think you’re underestimating David Kelly - he played in the top flight/premier league for West Ham and Sunderland and he also spent many seasons in tier 2 in this country. He also won the championship (tier 2) with both Newcastle and Sunderland to get them promoted to the premier league and he was top scorer for the Geordies when they went up to the premier league under Keegan in 1992/1993 - he notched 28 goals that season! Furthermore, he was in the Ireland squads for Euro 88 and the World Cups of 1990 and 1994 - and he just loved scoring against us!

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