Pickle Rick Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 From a Wolves fan who seems reliably informed? On O'Driscoll His coaching style is very good and unique. Rather than explaining what players and the team are doing wrong he allows them to see for themselves.On his first day he got the lads in a circle and asked them to just knock the ball around and across the circle, one touch football. The lads did this for a while regularly getting over 30 consecutive passes.He then asked the lads what they were doing and after some dumb looks they said they were passing the ball, one touch. He asked what their aim was, how many etc.. Nobody answered. One or two threw some numbers out, one said 15 would be good, another said 20. SOD asked them to get to 15 but this time he would watch and count.They couldn't do it, they got to 10,11,12., sometimes less. He stopped the session and asked why.Pressure. When they were relaxed, confident and were just trying to do as many as they could it was easy. Suddenly he put a number on it. They then started panicking, trying too hard, trying to be too precise, they were scared of making a mistake.He explained this was their problem on a Saturday. They were great in training but as soon as thre was a crowd, pressure and expectation it all went wrong.He has since addressed that in ways which I don't think would be appropriate, or fair to talk about on here but he is one clever guy and whilst his training isn't the most exciting the lads feel they learn something after every session. Link: http://www.molineuxm...ead.php?t=79708 (Credit to 'cityexile' for finding it). Thought this deserves a separate thread as it would partially answer how our players have improved so much and are playing at their potential effectiveness. That is of course, unless it's some well made bullshizzle... We have our best shot at staying up with O'Driscoll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glynriley Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 That's obviously come from one of our players. The poster who wrote this says he has a mate who plays for us in the first post of the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityexile Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 This bit did get me scratching my chin just a tad mind. He has since addressed that in ways which I don't think would be appropriate, or fair to talk about on here but he is one clever guy..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cider red Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 There on about having him at the end of the season? hands off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle Rick Posted March 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 There on about having him at the end of the season? hands off Its ridiculous, their fans have grown deluded much like the tool in charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redtucks Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Sean O’Driscoll’s programme notes - Brighton & Hove Albion edition on March 5th 2013. Sean O’Driscoll writes notes for each and every home game, printed in the Well Red matchday programme. Here are his views, first published in the Brighton & Hove Albion edition on March 5th 2013. Welcome to the players, staff and supporters of Brighton & Hove Albion FC for this evening’s npower Championship fixture at Ashton Gate. On Saturday, having just watched arguably the most consistent 90-minute performance since I’ve been here, keeping our first away clean sheet of the season, picking up only a second point in nine away games and my first away point at Bristol City – and all of this in extremely tricky conditions – a journalist asked my reaction to being bottom of the league. I wasn’t sure how I was meant to react. Should I have been filled with despair at the news and let doom and gloom descend? Did it render everything that had happened at Bloomfield Road in the previous 90 minutes a waste of time? Was I meant to have done something different to try to win the game? Was I now meant to have a go at the players for not winning? Should I start blaming the assistant referee for not awarding Steven Davies’ valid goal? Later that evening, local BBC journalist, Caroline Chapman, tweeted that she disagreed with my stance, stating that ‘in a relegation scrap it is definitely about results rather than performances’. She’s right of course, it is about results. But how do you get results – consistent results – without first addressing performances? I’d love to know. To some people, saying you focus on performances not results has the implication that you aren’t actually trying to win every game you play, or you are less bothered about the result. Of course, that is completely not the case. But results can be in the lap of the gods. Does anyone think Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Sir Steven Redgrave or Sir Ben Ainslie have enjoyed all their sustained Olympic and sporting success simply because they have hoped and kept their fingers crossed harder than their rivals? Or they have been luckier? Talent obviously comes into it, but at that level every athlete is extremely talented. More critical is the fact that every great sportsperson understands completely every component part of what they need to do in training and in competition to give themselves the best chance of performing at their highest possible level. They know if they look after all those component factors then more often than not it then comes down to talent and ability. Sometimes factors outside of your control will determine the outcome. Sometimes you don’t get the luck, sometimes you do just have to accept that, on the day, you were beaten by the better opponent, sometimes one mistake – whether player or official – can be costly. But over a sustained period of time, if you maintain a certain standard of performance then you will increasingly get the outcome you desire. All we’ve focused on since we’ve been here is trying to find a way to maximise the individual and collective ability we have in the squad and get consistent performances that give us the best chance of winning every game we play. So far it’s stood us in good stead. Consistent performances only come from players understanding every day on the training pitch what they need to do to contribute fully to the team effort, then taking that into a match and having the confidence to apply it in a pressure situation. If players are confident in not only their understanding but also that of their team-mates, and if they believe what they are trying to do are the right things to give them the best chance of winning the game, you give yourselves an opportunity. In our situation, the absolute last thing you need is players playing with fear, players hiding on the pitch because they are too scared to make a mistake, players who berate rather than support a team-mate who does make a mistake. You don’t need players going into a game consumed by nothing but ‘we have to win’ and then losing focus on the immediate task at hand; fulfilling the roles and responsibilities they need to on the pitch to give the team the best chance of securing a positive result. You want pressure to give you an edge, an additional incentive and determination; not kill you. What does a good performance look like for us at this moment in time? That we’ve been hard to break down and defended as a team, have shown good game intelligence and an understanding of what has actually been going on in the match, have played to our strengths and been bright and innovative in our attacking play. To build and maintain confidence you have to give players boxes they can tick in a game. The more boxes that get ticked individually, the more you tick collectively. The more you tick collectively, the more chance you have of winning football matches. It also means that if you do lose a game, which is one of football’s inevitables, you have things to fall back on, things to build on, things to help you maintain belief. Judging a performance solely in terms of whether you won or lost the game is self-defeating. The lows feel disproportionately low, the highs disproportionately high. Saying results are more important than performances at this stage of the season is just rhetoric. It’s a given that they are. It then comes down to all those things you have to nurture; confidence, belief, understanding, character, responsibility, motivation. All of them contribute to whether a team is likely to consistently produce performances at a certain level or not. I cannot affect what the other teams around us are doing, just as I can’t wave a magic wand and decree we are going to win every game between now and May 4th. The only things I can influence are the components that contribute to what, for us, constitutes a good performance. That will evolve as the team does and I’ll always be the first to admit when I believe performance levels have dipped. But I’ll also always understand why they may have dipped, because I understand what we are trying to achieve and how. As we continue to try to win every game we play, please keep supporting your local team. Sean O’Driscoll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cider Queen Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 There on about having him at the end of the season? hands off What's interesting about this is that SO'D wanted the Wolves job before they decided to go for Saunders. It was one of the most strangest decisions by the Wolves board. You had a very respected manager, wolves boy who was out of a job, but they ended up paying compo to Doncaster to get a useless welshman... Oh well, there loss our gain! Hopefully he's happy with us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 O'Driscoll is one of games thinkers and his management style has been respected wherever he's been. Its surprising that he hasn't managed a 'bigger' club by being headhunted by a PL outfit. That said, maybe he has been approached but wasn't interested. He very different to all the managers I can remember at AG. He's honest, doesn't suffer fools and his interviews are usually very revealing assuming he gets asked the right questions.We've heard no platitudes or cliche's at all from him and that alone is very refreshing. So far his 'style' has had a positive effect on City's players and that could partly be down to the fact its a new situation for both parties. He's got the lads motivated and playing the way he wants ( with room for significant improvement) but I wonder what will happen when the honeymoon is over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123456789000 Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 There on about having him at the end of the season? hands off Why would he leave a Championship team to go to a League 1 team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheshire_red Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Why would he leave a Championship team to go to a League 1 team? Grayson did, because it was the team he supported as a boy and they were a far bigger club. Hmmm the same could be true next season, I can't see both us and Wolves staying up, one has to go.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Red Planet Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 SOD is well, DIFFERENT ! I mean of course, different to your average football manager. As has been said on many threads here, you only have to read his match day programme notes to know that. They are like an essay submitted for a University degree. All that is interesting but of course what really matters is what happens on the pitch and for me, three clean sheets on the trot in our last three games says it all. This from a totally transformed defence that was leaking goals for fun for most of the season before he joined us. I think we will look back and think we were lucky to have held on to Mcinnes as long as we did. Because SOD was not available until after he got sacked by Forest. OK Robbored. Could still be the honeymoon period, but I have a feeling that this is a marriage that is going to last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle Rick Posted March 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Grayson did, because it was the team he supported as a boy and they were a far bigger club. Hmmm the same could be true next season, I can't see both us and Wolves staying up, one has to go.......... There is a fair bit of difference with regards to brain power between Grayson and SO'D. O'Driscoll ain't no fool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
You Do The Dziekanowski Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 What SoD says is completely true, On the pitch the best players are the ones who are composed, But not over composed ala Balotelli, Most Champ players have Prem skill but lose there head on Matchday and miss place passes and shots and then there confidence drops causing them to lose composure whilst on the ball e.g. Fontaine earlier in the Season. Well done SoD, Someone in charge who knows the mental side of the game as well as the tactical side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheshire_red Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 There is a fair bit of difference with regards to brain power between Grayson and SO'D. O'Driscoll ain't no fool! AGreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tins Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 Everything I read about him, from his programme notes to stories of his training, to watching his interviews, just really impress me. Ok he is dull to listen to due to his voice, but to properly listen to what he is saying, wow the man is a genius. I could listen/read what he does all day, easily one of the cleverest managers around. Don't think there is another manager I'd rather listen/read more, not even being bias! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Bristol-City-striker-Steven-Davies-reveals-plans/story-18382616-detail/story.html#axzz2NDWnzZ9e Is this really approach really new? Hasn't Davies and the squad come across this type of thorough management before? Surely O'Driscoll is just doing the job he's paid for? If his approach is all new to the squad what does that say about our recent managers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dolman Pragmatist Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Bristol-City-striker-Steven-Davies-reveals-plans/story-18382616-detail/story.html#axzz2NDWnzZ9e Is this really approach really new? Hasn't Davies and the squad come across this type of thorough management before? Surely O'Driscoll is just doing the job he's paid for? If his approach is all new to the squad what does that say about our recent managers? It says they had different ideas and a different approach, and were less successful as a result. I would have thought that was clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 It says they had different ideas and a different approach, and were less successful as a result. I would have thought that was clear. My point is that almost all of City's players have been at other clubs and would have encountered many different management styles on their travels. It might a fresh approach at City but surely O'Driscoll's approach is similar to other managers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dolman Pragmatist Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 My point is that almost all of City's players have been at other clubs and would have encountered many different management styles on their travels. It might a fresh approach at City but surely O'Driscoll's approach is similar to other managers? I really don't know if it is. I've supported Bristol City for a long long time, and I can't recall anyone with O'Driscoll's approach before. The notion of looking at process rather than outcome is not something I've heard much before. and nor have I heard many other managers talk in the same purely management-related terms that O'Driscoll does. I'd be interested if anyone can think of another manager who adopts anything like the same style - John Ward perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretSam Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 "Analytical" is the word that occurs to me when describing SO'D's style. Also: "insightful", "thoughtful" and "unique". Saturday against 'Boro was, I admit, my first game of the season (I know, I know) but one thing stuck in my mind - other than the team being more organised than I've ever seen any City team - and that was the way he kept the players on the pitch to have a chat with them after the game, rather than let them trot down the tunnel and applaud the fans (and get the applause). Why he did this I don't know, but it seems to sum him up - he does things his way, which may not follow the managerial norm. They must have got bloomin' cold mind, standing there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid in the Riot Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 What I've heard is that most weeks the players don't train at all on Sunday and Monday, train intensively on Tues and Weds and then spend Thurs and Fri concentrating on tactics. Seems to be working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portland Bill Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 "Analytical" is the word that occurs to me when describing SO'D's style. Also: "insightful", "thoughtful" and "unique". Saturday against 'Boro was, I admit, my first game of the season (I know, I know) but one thing stuck in my mind - other than the team being more organised than I've ever seen any City team - and that was the way he kept the players on the pitch to have a chat with them after the game, rather than let them trot down the tunnel and applaud the fans (and get the applause). Why he did this I don't know, but it seems to sum him up - he does things his way, which may not follow the managerial norm. They must have got bloomin' cold mind, standing there... S'OD says that as soon as the players get back in the dressing room you "lose them". He likes to de-brief on the pitch when the players minds are still on what's just happened. It makes good sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Cyril Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 What I've heard is that most weeks the players don't train at all on Sunday and Monday, train intensively on Tues and Weds and then spend Thurs and Fri concentrating on tactics. Seems to be working... I drove past Failand this morning at 8am and saw the players heading out to training with a skip to their walk. Fair play given an early start in freezing weather. ...I only wish my manager made me feel that excited to go to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphindevon Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 They were in for training early because they were all off to Cheltenham races after. Might explain the skip on their step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Peacock Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 Well some were in David Lloyds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy273 Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 We have always been linked with SOD, and he had applied for the job before. Obviously he was keen to come to us amongst other clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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