Monday 28 November 2011

We Could Be Heroes


When my mobile buzzed on Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t expecting to see the news that greeted me on the text.  Wales manager Gary Speed had been found dead, it was a shock. 

Even more shocking was the circumstances in which the former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle and Bolton midfielder had died.  Although Speed was never one of ‘my players’, he was a player who garnered respect even from opposition fans.  Not flashy, just a good honest pro with no little ability.  The kind of player that would give you a consistently great performance every week.  He was a hero to so many, and his recent Wales record had given a whole national cause for optimism.  Gary Speed as Wales manager just seemed to fit.

He was, on the surface, a person who had it all.  The successful career, the money garnered from his Premiership playing days, the gorgeous wife and kids, and a new managerial career that was just taking off.  Yet, the perfect life wasn’t so much for Speed, he was obviously suffering in silence, I’m not sure how else you could explain it. 

It is so often the way for men in particular to suffer in relative silence when something isn’t right.  Sometimes, the more successful you are, the harder it gets to admit to such feelings.  Often the loneliest place to be is surrounded by friends and family, it becomes a battle within yourself to try and balance the basic human need to be physically part of a group with a feeling that you are better alone.

As someone who does suffer, it is an incident that makes you think.  The men in our lives are so often our ‘heroes’ whether they want to be or not.  I think it is this basis which can make it so difficult for a man, especially a man like Gary Speed, to seek help.  Our Dads, Granddads, Uncles, footballers, rugby players, businessmen, firemen, soldiers, policemen all look and feel to us like heroes.  I remember when I was in the primary school playground ‘being Gary Lineker’ or ‘Frankie Bunn’, and my Dad could do anything (though he wasn’t bigger than your dad obviously).  Though I’m older than almost all of the Oldham team these days, I can still be heard every Saturday praising another ‘hero’ on the pitch, it is ingrained.  Surrounded by that kind of pressure (loving pressure but pressure none the less) it is not surprising that so many men find it difficult to admit they can’t cope.  Particularly when on the surface they have no need for help.  Indeed, it is often suggested that we should just ‘pull ourselves together’ or ‘get over it’.  Often that isn’t easy.

I met a psychologist once who told me that so often it is the most successful people who are the most vunerable.  I’m not suggesting that I am successful by any means, but what the chap was trying to say was that often we create circumstances where to ask for help with such a problem becomes impossible to us. 

So much of this is down to unhappiness with us, whatever the material rewards have brought.  Being happy within ourselves and being true to ourselves is ultimately the best way to be content with life.  It sounds so easy to say, but for so many people, men and women, it is a concept that the pace of modern life will never ‘allow’ them to achieve.

So whatever really happened to Gary Speed I hope that it will make all those other heroes out there realise that sometimes being happy with ourselves is the biggest battle we face.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

B+ your Public Speaking

Public speaking.  Various studies have shown time and again that the majority of people are frightened of undertaking any kind of public speaking.  Understandably, people fear the whole process of standing up in front of a group of others and talking.  Yet sometimes get those same people in a group of friends, and they'll have no qualms holding court, often being witty, funny and entertaining. 

Even those people that don't speak even to a group of friends tell a fantastic story when one-on-one.  Put an audience in front of them, or make the 'speech' a formal occasion however and they go to pieces.  Public speaking is considered by so many to be an art form in itself.  Some of the worlds great orators past and present such as Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs are considered 'other worldly' because of the quality and polish of their public speaking skills.  However, it is possible for anyone to become a good public speaker, I should know. 

I probably got the kind of introduction to public speaking that many others would've loved. From a very early age my mum (a teacher) was keen on me learning the art of speaking to an audience, purely I should add, as a way of getting me past my innate shyness.

However, it probably wasn't until my Sixth Form and University days that I began to gain confidence in public speaking skills.  I'd often volunteer to be the person who did the presentation or make the announcement.  Though I did find this was frequently because I just wanted to keep the lesson / event moving and hated the kind of 'no you, no you' conversation that followed a request of 'Can I have a volunteer to go first'.

Public Speaking doesn't have to be a nightmare though.  Here's my 3 B's  of public speaking:

Brain

Your brain is a wonderful thing.  The creativity contained within it is amazing, well it is for nearly all moments apart from the public speaking moment.  Even before you've stood up your brain has switched into maximum negative imagination mode and you're running through hundreds of scenarios of what might go wrong.  Fly's down, fainting, falling over, accidentally swearing...to be honest its a wonder you're still sat there.  Sound familiar?  It doesn't need to be like this, it just requires a couple of basic techniques and you can overcome it.

1. Visualise a fabulous reaction at the end of your speech, concentrate on how delightful and fun it will be to share the knowledge you have
2. Be in the moment, you've practised so even if you think you can't remember it you can.  Concentrate on what you want to say...it quietens the brain's more 'creative' thoughts.

Get your brain working for you when you're public speaking and you're onto a winner.

Body

Your body and posture can make an instant difference to your speech.  Imagine an invisible piece of string running up your spine and out of the top of your head and give it an imaginary tug.  You'll feel your head up, shoulders relax and a straight back.  Not only does this give you an added air of authority to your audience, it will instantly make you feel confident. 
The old adage which is so true with public speaking is Look confident, feel confident and you'll be confident.
Now isn't the time to slouch in your seat or cower away, head up, shoulders back (and relaxed) and you're already winning!

Breathing

The human body cannot survive without oxygen for more than 3 minutes, yet in our haste to rattle through our speech we seem to forget that.  Breathing not only keeps you alive (seriously listen to me people), it also helps in two major ways.
Firstly maintaining your breathing at a regular rate will slowly calm you down and counteract the adrenalin that will be shooting through you as you prepare to speak.  It helps to give your conscious mind something else to concentrate on too (further distraction from the 'creative' thinking).  Secondly, if you've practised your speech correctly you'll have your natural breaks/breathing breaks.  Adding these gives your speech a fantastic flow allowing you to emphasise points and gives the whole thing a more natural rhythm.  It also gives your audience a chance to take in the speech without worrying for your health as you rattle through without taking a breath.

Three simple points, but three very effective B's to remember the next time you are speaking in public.



Wednesday 2 November 2011

From 3-3 to 3-3, 3 things for Paul Dickov to learn from


Like two perfectly formed book ends there was certain symmetry about Oldham’s 3-3 draw with Carlisle United at the weekend.  Not just in the final score, but with another 3-3 draw 46 league games ago.  Both finished 3-3, both saw late, late equalisers from the opposition and perhaps most tellingly both had seen Oldham race into 3-0 leads playing some of their best football of the season.
One thing Oldham manager, ex-Manchester City striker, Paul Dickov will be hoping is that the two results book-end a poor conventional season of results.  In the 46 games between the 3-3 draw with Exeter City at Boundary Park last November, and the 3-3 draw with Carlisle, Dickov oversaw a period of relatively poor results and football littered with defensive errors and goal-less attackers.  This contrasts hugely with what had gone before when Dickovs’ side started last season in such a fashion they were quickly nicknamed Galadickovs, including previously shot-shy midfielder, Dean Furman scoring the Football League goal of the season, also nominated one of the European goals of the season.

In between these two games, Oldham have gone from Galadickovs at the top of League One  earning over 1.7 points per game, scoring 1.4 goals per game to just avoiding relegation at the end of last season and starting this one as the model of mid-table mediocrity (win 2, lose 2, draw 2).  The overall record for the 46 games in between would have Oldham on 51 points from 46 games, possibly (just) enough to stay up in a conventional League One season (though 51 points hasn’t been enough in the past).

So what can we learn from Dickov’s tenure so far...here’s my own 3-3 draw, 3 positives v 3 improvements.

3 For
Scouting and Signing
Dickov and his scouts have proved they can pick a player.  He’s also shown he has a very useful list of contacts currently in some big clubs.  Some good loan signings last season Oumare Tounkare, Aidy White, Jason Lowe, Cedric Evina (turned to permanent) all unknowns who performed very well last season until the lack of quality replacements took there toll on the youngsters .  He’s continued to show the touch this season with the signings of Smith, Diamond, Simpson, Clarke and Kuqi.  All better known, but all have fitted in well to Dickovs system showing he’s certainly done his homework.  His signing failures have been few and far between. 

Football
Some of the football Oldham has played has been the best since Joe Royle’s legends graced Boundary Park.  High tempo, high pressure games built very much in the image of Dickov, but allied to some beautiful passing is the hallmark of Dickovs side at its best.  He admitted early in his tenure that he had been advised from some very experienced heads that 4-4-2 was the best way to get out of League One, and he has stuck fairly rigidly to this.  However, with players such as Chris Taylor, Fillipe Morais and even youngster David Mellor he has the ability to flex the formation during the game.  He’s also not averse to sending the big centre half up front when chasing a goal.

PR
Dickov has brought the polish of a man brought up in the goldfish bowl that the Premier League has become.  He exudes natural enthusiasm, is clear and concise in his interviews and, despite understandably relying on a few clichés and regular phrases, his honesty whilst still backing his players is clear.  So too his willingness to help promote the club, and get the players involved in promotion and PR, all crucial at League One level where a ‘big name’ like Dickov in a town like Oldham can make a real difference.  PR may sound like an insignificant point to raise, but with fans as sceptical as Oldham’s can be, it makes a refreshing change from what has gone before.

3 Against

Half Time / Full Time
Dickov’s playing style was, let’s say, combative.  Ok, scrub that, it was an all-out assault every time he took to the field.  Non-stop from the 1st minute until the last, which makes one of his sides biggest failings all the more surprising. 

Since he took the reins, Oldham have developed the disturbing habit of regularly conceding goals in the 5 minutes either side of half time and in the last few crucial minutes of games.  Games the side have been in total control of have swung entirely on a goal just before/after half time.  Even more worrying is the sheer number of goals conceded in the second half of games, with around 60% of goals conceded throughout Dickov’s tenure happening in the second period.  For a side that on the surface seems extremely fit, this trend is difficult to explain.  It does point to a certain lack of concentration, but is it something more?  Just what happens in the Oldham dressing room at half time?

Experience
Dickov’s backroom staff should be complemented on the way they have helped create a team that plays the way it does at it’s best.  Former Leicester City and Bolton centre back Gerry Taggart as Dickov’s assistant brings the defensive experience to complement the striking experience of the manager, and they obviously get on extremely well.  However, what does strike many Oldham fans is the lack of management experience in the coaching team.  Certainly Dickov has admitted himself on more than one occasion that he has got substitutions and tactical changes wrong.

Perhaps some experience around the coaching team, maybe even a Joe Royle type figure would aid Dickovs development.  I’m not advocating a change to the coaching staff, merely the addition of some experience, even just in the form of an advisor which could enhance the team.  Almost in the same vain that the likes of Brian Horton, Lennie Lawrence and Gerry Francis have aided the managers they’ve worked with.  A strong man like Paul Dickov will do things his way, and quite rightly, but adding that experienced voice may just make that crucial difference at key times. 

Set Pieces
Set pieces play such a key part in any game both offensively and defensively that there isn’t a single manager worth his salt that doesn’t put the training hours into perfecting them.  Dickov is no exception.  However, Oldham have suffered almost the perfect ‘negative’ storm over the Dickovs tenure, regularly conceding from set pieces and never scoring from them themselves.

It isn’t an area that Dickov and his team aren’t aware of, and is regularly mentioned by Gerry Taggart in his musings, but still the problem persists.  Certainly this specific problem was a consideration in some of the pre-season signings this summer with height and experience brought in.  However, set pieces are all about concentration and ‘switching on’ quicker than the opposition (see the earlier section on Half Time/Full Time).  It is getting this right that can make a massive difference for Paul Dickov’s side.

3-3
I’ve been hugely impressed with the way Paul Dickov has gone about the job over the past season.  His command of the role and the way he has the side playing has been a joy to watch at times, particularly after many years of stagnation in League One.  As an Oldham fan I’m hoping Paul can stick around for a few more years yet and finally give this old club a reason to smile once again.