I know that many of you may see this as rich coming from me, but I am genuinely astounded at the amount of negative perspectives being taken on the performance today. So far I have read comments such as:
-we were slow and predictable
-the coaching staff acted as though they were coaching an under 12s team
-Parker does not trust his players or give them enough responsibility.
-we were okay but Barnsley are very poor, a better team would have probably beaten us.
Among others.
Jesus wept. Bear in mind this is coming from a self confessed cynic, cheer the f**k up! If you can seriously watch us utterly dominate a side that have only lost once before today, completely outplaying them in every department and not even gifting them a corner, let alone a shot on target, and still find it in yourself to be able to put a negative slant on the day, then I genuinely don’t understand why you would bother going to the game in the first place. I am as cynical as they come, but even I cannot understand the amount of negativity on here tonight.
I think you need to get some context and appreciate the difference between negativity and observations that are intended to create discussions which can lead to greater positivity.
If you want everyone to see through your eyes and only comment with the things you would say you will find yourself better off with an echo chamber. The spirit within which comments are made is just as important.
I actually see significant upside with Parker and if he fulfills potential could not just fill Eddie's boots but also be England Manager. I can't articulate it. However, he's not alone and much can wrong. That doesn't mean if you see an area for improvement in any aspect of our play even after a resounding victory that it's wrong to share that if can say amongst 'friends'.
I may have exaggerated, but when I was doing my badge, I spent some time with a UEFA B license holder who coached at Doncaster at the time. He told me that one of the most challenging but powerful coaching sessions was when they were required to manage a team for a match without talking to the players at all during the game. The purpose is demonstrate the value of detaching and letting the players get on with it, at times letting make mistakes that they will learn from but hopefully don't cost you. And then you have to have the ability at half time to offer measured advice and know what to fix on the training ground later. In the end he told me you are supposed to learn how to pass information and coaching to players when they are off the ball and not involved, far less frequently. This makes sense but is really hard when it's your team and you need 3 points.
Pep is really good at this, among other things. Parker is just in his 3rd season, so I am not critical, it's more an observation of where he and his coaching team are at. If they continue that way it won't necessarily impact results to the negative, and it's an old school method that has worked for others. I just saw it and was interested what motivates say Gary O'Neill to be shouting at Ben with 2 minutes left, rather than sit him down later to show him the video.
Overall I accept some people swing from super high to super lows if we win or lose, but some of us are less emotional in our reaction, and look for positives to build on when we lose and know that when you're winning that's the right time to find the areas where improvement, however marginal can take you forward.so when you read comments with balance but draw out only certain parts, it's more indicative of your narrative than the person who wrote it.