http://melbournefc.com.au/Season2007/News/...px?newsId=43307

in this article matthew bate talks about his lack of form at the beginning of the season to be due to a deficiency in proper mindset. in the past week i've heard bruce and someone else say it about our start to the season.

why is it that a team who has had to work hard to get to this position, who still after last year had (in terms of a premiership) achieved nothing, and yet we still managed to have the wrong mindset?

i wonder what happened to the guys in summer to have the 'wrong mindset' at the beginning of the year when knew we had so much work still to do. perhaps taking west coast's gameplan didn't help, but i don't see why our mindset would not be in the job. last year we proved we have the mental strength, including that game against the swans, the fightback against the crows and the elimination final.

how could collective mindset be so wrong at a time where the dees should have been fighting to reach the top?

  45hotgod said:

http://melbournefc.com.au/Season2007/News/...px?newsId=43307

in this article matthew bate talks about his lack of form at the beginning of the season to be due to a deficiency in proper mindset. in the past week i've heard bruce and someone else say it about our start to the season.

why is it that a team who has had to work hard to get to this position, who still after last year had (in terms of a premiership) achieved nothing, and yet we still managed to have the wrong mindset?

i wonder what happened to the guys in summer to have the 'wrong mindset' at the beginning of the year when knew we had so much work still to do. perhaps taking west coast's gameplan didn't help, but i don't see why our mindset would not be in the job. last year we proved we have the mental strength, including that game against the swans, the fightback against the crows and the elimination final.

how could collective mindset be so wrong at a time where the dees should have been fighting to reach the top?

they say that 99% of playing good sport is between the ears, too often in ND's tenure they failed the mindset test

i think its just another excuse for bad form

I don't think it is that simple condemned, but the two definitely go hand in hand......

Believing you can achieve something, or being told you will achieve something, and actually being able to do it are two very different things. And if the strength of mind is just not there (which goes along with self belief and confidence in the team, plan etc) then form is going to slide.

Confidence comes and goes and I would be surprised if any of our players had much of it left. Those showing signs of good form may have it in themselves but there are eighteen of them out there and not all of them will have confidence in each other or themselves.

Unfortunately this does seem to come back to the coach and leadership, especially in a team sport.

It has been a long time since I played competitive tennis (FWIW I was a nationally ranked junior before chronic health problems got the better of me) but in an individual sport like that it is very tough to go through a tournament, and remain mentally stronger than your opponents at all times.

But it can be a chicken and egg scenario - which comes first the lack of confidence or the poor form, or do you get one from the other?