04 Feb 2026 07:50:53
I go to Stamford Bridge as a fan. For a period of time I was fortunate to be siting next to highly qualified football coach. In the end it drove me bonkers and while he is still a good mate, I cannot be with him at a match.
He analysed virtually every situation, almost in real time, with a half time lecture that was invariably about “control. ” It almost sucked the life out of any enjoyment I got from the watching a game. I almost became too scared to show frustration or pleasure.
A post match drink was even worse. A forward just missing an open goal had about five different reasons attached to it.
Strangely a few days after a game he was just back to his normal self. He just gets totally wrapped up in any game of football he watches.
04 Feb 2026 09:31:38
Interesting experience Tom and well told. Can see why you couldn't take all that real time analysis when for most of us we want to be in the emotional present whether pleasurable, nerve wracking or painful. Would think the post match drink would have needed to be a strong one but perhaps the coach sucked the pleasure out of that too!
04 Feb 2026 11:49:17
JBS, he often used to admit that his analysis was just an opinion. He also once said that about the only thing coaches could ever agree on was “control. ” It was for this reason that so many modern coach’s have gone down the “Pep” route because they see his possession based brand of football as “control. ”.
04 Feb 2026 15:10:11
Again interesting Tom and if 'control' means possession that consists largely of lateral passing or balls out to the wing that then come back to defenders or midfielders again with v few shots on target then I think I've seen quite a lot of such football in recent years! Negative side of this is that it can encourage caution over potentially but rewarding taking on of opponents on the wing, dribbling through the middle etc that we so loved about Hazard and have seen such promising signs of in Estevao.