Half Time Team Talks.

1

1950`spoolfan

Well-known member
Over the years much has been made of the transformation in a team`s performance an inspiring half time team talk can have.Last night and certainly not for the first time this season (Doncaster being the most extreme example of several) our second half performance was transformed but again unfortunately in entirely the wrong direction.

What I wonder is or is not being said in the dressing room and how effectively is it being put over? Why do we think this is happening and is it a worrying concern?
 
Last edited:
Can’t comment on the Doncaster game as I was working and didn’t see any of it. However last night I thought we came out second half ok until the injury which seemed to really unsettle us. However as poor as we were I felt we had Rochdale at arms length for the majority. Also Rochdale were a completely different outfit second half, hungrier, harried us and looked a half decent team. I’d imagine they got rollocked as they gave us far too much time and space first half.
 
These second half flops have happened too often to be a coincidence. When you see Critchley`s post match interviews there`s a big clue that he`s no Churchill.
 
Amazing what can either motivate or deflate a team.
The injury to EkpiTate did affect the team.
Different formation followed by a couple of subs.
Probably gave Rochdale hope as they knew he is a collosus.

Remember how we became motivated when down to 9 against Wimbledon.
That was deep in the second half.
 
I think it’s always easy to call it from the comfort of your armchair and hindsight. The truth is we don’t know what’s said and how it’s delivered at half time, and we dont know it’s just down to the players attitude or mentality. As supporters its really frustrating when you have dominated for long periods then for some unknown reason appear to fall apart, but it happens and it happens to the best teams in the world also.
 
Good question with no easy answer. The logical thing to think would be to say "go out and same again lads, you're playing well, keep doing what you're doing". And it's perfectly reasonable to say that. Of course, there could be a few minor tactical tweaks but generally I'd say it's a case of more of the same. But then it comes down to what is actually happening on the pitch in the second half and it didn't seem like the manager was able to do anything to stem the tide. Marvin going off didn't help of course, but he wasn't the reason that we failed to get a grip with their midfield and allowed them to run the game. That has to come from the manager on the sidelines. The only get out clause he might have for me, is that he didn't have the personnel to do it. But that would be an excuse because seemingly he did nothing..
 
GrahamwantshisOates said:
Amazing what can either motivate or deflate a team.
The injury to EkpiTate did affect the team.
Different formation followed by a couple of subs.
Probably gave Rochdale hope as they knew he is a collosus.

Remember how we became motivated when down to 9 against Wimbledon.
That was deep in the second half.
Click to expand...
That`s all true but the manager`s job during the game is to lift and motivate the team at half time and to make any tactical changes and substitutions needed during the game.Watching the Seasider`s blog and reading comments on here during the game there was widespread criticism that certain players were tiring and needing replacing but that never happened.

Scaramanga said:
I think it’s always easy to call it from the comfort of your armchair and hindsight. The truth is we don’t know what’s said and how it’s delivered at half time, and we dont know it’s just down to the players attitude or mentality. As supporters its really frustrating when you have dominated for long periods then for some unknown reason appear to fall apart, but it happens and it happens to the best teams in the world also.
Click to expand...

Hindsight is how you determine after reflection what is going right and what isn`t and so subsequently needs changing .It`s got nothing to do with where you watch a game from ,the evidence is in front of you if you care to recognise it from wherever you may watchand if there is a pattern of disappointing second half performances then obviously that needs addressing if we hope to progress.Of course another explanation for poorer second half performances could be poor fitness levels but there is clearly a problem there.
 
When things are going wrong on the pitch you need a good experienced captain to correct things , this would be helpful if our captain was an outfield player , this is not an attack on Maxwell !
 
I’m worried that the Head Coach was looking at the midfield and thinking it doesn’t need changing or re-arranging.
 
1950`spoolfan said:
That`s all true but the manager`s job during the game is to lift and motivate the team at half time and to make any tactical changes and substitutions needed during the game.Watching the Seasider`s blog and reading comments on here during the game there was widespread criticism that certain players were tiring and needing replacing but that never happened.



Hindsight is how you determine after reflection what is going right and what isn`t and so subsequently needs changing .It`s got nothing to do with where you watch a game from ,the evidence is in front of you if you care to recognise it from wherever you may watchand if there is a pattern of disappointing second half performances then obviously that needs addressing if we hope to progress.Of course another explanation for poorer second half performances could be poor fitness levels but there is clearly a problem there.
Click to expand...
Hindsight is a pejorative term for many on here, not reflecting on what happened and drawing conclusions from it.
 
20togo said:
Good question with no easy answer. The logical thing to think would be to say "go out and same again lads, you're playing well, keep doing what you're doing". And it's perfectly reasonable to say that. Of course, there could be a few minor tactical tweaks but generally I'd say it's a case of more of the same. But then it comes down to what is actually happening on the pitch in the second half and it didn't seem like the manager was able to do anything to stem the tide. Marvin going off didn't help of course, but he wasn't the reason that we failed to get a grip with their midfield and allowed them to run the game. That has to come from the manager on the sidelines. The only get out clause he might have for me, is that he didn't have the personnel to do it. But that would be an excuse because seemingly he did nothing..
Click to expand...
Seems too easy to say more of the same, 2nd half is rarely the same, usually a change in the score for a start so the opposition will be approaching things differently.
I dont think changing to a plan B, spotting problems and dealing with them or spotting weaknesses and exploiting them are Critchleys strong points at this stage of his career.
Also think covid might have been an issue with some of our midfielders leaving them jaded in the 2nd half.
There is definitely a tendency to weaker 2nd halves and we could do with sorting it out, whatever the problem is!
 
1950`spoolfan said:
What I wonder is or is not being said in the dressing room and how effectively is it being put over? Why do we think this is happening and is it a worrying concern?
Click to expand...
I actually thought we came out quite well on Tuesday and had the better of the ball and the chances until Ekpiteta went off (and don't forget that was after 54 mins) which clearly threw all our half time team talk plans out of the window!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top