Swansea's appointment of a full-time performance psychologist comes none too soon, but the importance of psychology within football has been plain to see for some time
I've often mentioned how I feel about the psychological aspect of football, and how it can be the difference between a player competing in League Two as opposed to the Premiership. Confidence and belief in the ability of both yourself and your team are integral to the success of any club, and the Swans' appointment of Dr Ian Mitchell as a full-time performance psychologist seemed a good reason to talk about the growing appreciation of the science within football.
I first started noticing the effect a positive atmosphere could have thanks to the feelgood factor that's surrounded the club since the current regime took charge, but it really kicked on when Roberto Martinez took charge. Things had started to stagnate on the field prior to his arrival, but his introduction provided a real boost and the impact was obvious - everybody was enjoying their football again but crucially you could see the players believed in what Martinez wanted to do, and this allowed them to perform with freedom and confidence. The result? Improved football and the beginning of a fairytale story which is (we would all hope) far from over.
Bobby's arrival at the tail end of the season didn't quite see us make the playoffs, but over the summer months the passing philosophy we're now so used to was further instilled in the club. Again, belief and confidence were key (as were a couple of inspired signings in Rangel, Bodde, Scotland & De Vries), and we tika-taka'd our way to the League One title with ease.
The players' confidence in our game allowed us to attack the Championship with zeal, and once Sousa had been and gone (a spell in which our defence improved markedly), Rodgers once again got us flying forward - not least thanks to a young chap he signed from Chelsea called Scott Sinclair.
At this juncture we'll look away from team performances and focus on the individual aspect of psychology within sport. Scott Sinclair was a player who, before the Swans, had flittered around on loan to six different clubs as his parent club (Chelsea) didn't think he was good enough to make the grade at the top level. Whether their evaluation was correct is still debatable, but the fact remains that under Brendan Rodgers at the Swans - a coach he'd worked with previously in the Chelsea youth setup - his performance levels skyrocketed and in his first season with us he scored twenty-seven goals. Previously, the most he'd managed was two whilst on loan at Crystal Palace.
The difference was that he had a coach who puts lots of faith in psychological support, and Brendan has since gone on to show at Liverpool that if you can get players believing in the system, then it doesn't necessarily matter if they cost £35million. They'll still be able to perform. Sinclair was plucked from obscurity, and clearly has a lot of talent, but aside from his spell with us his career can hardly be described as impressive. I firmly believe Buck's use of psychological support is one of the main reasons he will be - if he isn't already - one of the top coaches in the game.
You see so many young players at top clubs having to down through the leagues in order to get first-team football. There are clubs with a history of blooding youngsters - Arsenal, Man Utd & Everton spring to mind - but they're in the minority and for most seventeen & eighteen-year-old players the chances of establishing yourself in the first team are slim to none. At most clubs, there is no chance that, if an eighteen-year-old plays well, he'll be retained in the team. He'll typically be marked down as one for the future, before being earmarked for a season-long loan at a club one or two levels below his current employers, and only if he performs there would he normally be considered for inclusion in a Premiership lineup.
The problem I see with this is that by eighteen, lots of players are good enough. In other countries if someone comes into the team and performs outstandingly he'd be at least considered for a start the next match, but in Britain it seems the supposed risks surrounding the inclusion of youth players in a starting eleven mean most managers choose to go with experience every time. Not that there's anything wrong with that - I do feel though that young players should be given more of a chance in the Premier League, as at any level only through regular exposure to competitive football will they gain the attributes necessary to perform week in week out at the top level. They need to believe they are good enough, and shipping players out to League One rarely produces excellent results.
Ben Davies is a great example of what I'm getting at. For most youth products coming through at a Premier League club the chances of being guaranteed first-team football are almost non-existent, but due to Taylor's injury (and our lack of other options at the time) he was thrust into the first-team. He knew that as long as his performance level was solid, then he'd be guaranteed to be in the team next week - and that for me is massive.
Knowing if you make a rookie mistake you'll get a chance to make up for it next week is huge - for most youngsters one high-profile mistake and you'd be straight back in the U21's, and the club's "more experienced" player would come back into the team. Ok, you need to be pushed for your place but young players need support and nurturing - something I'm not convinced happens at most Premier League clubs. Plus, this isn't a cushty office environment where the HR lady looks after you - this is football. Any youngster coming through will be subjected to the same abuse following a mistake that any seasoned pro would expect to receive, and in such a high pressure environment it's no wonder you see young players seemingly bereft of confidence.
Michael Laudrup deserves credit for giving Davies his chance, but his reign in general saw the club, for the first time in years, devolve on the field. Our football started to stagnate, and it seemed everyone was looking for someone else to score a wonder-goal - as opposed to taking the initiative themselves. What I saw was a team low on confidence, and the worrying thing for me was that we seemed to be forgetting what it was that had got us to the Premiership in the first place, and what had kept us there until now. We were clearly short on confidence, and it wasn't until The Monk came in and reinstilled our tika-taka leanings that confidence - and subsequently performance - levels started to improve.
The club's recent appointment of Dr Ian Mitchell as a full-time performance psychologist is something that should be championed. It's an aspect of support for footballer's that's been growing steadily for the last few years, and it's good to see the Swans at the forefront of this field. It's another step forward for the club, as having someone there who can support players when they are going through rehabilitation, or fighting their way back into the team, could be crucial in a player coming into training every day wanting to give 110%.
You need to have the right mindset to apply yourself correctly on the field, and having the correct support off it is crucial. Ok, there's lots more that can influence a player's mindset - such as the working environment at the club, other players etc - but the appointment of a full-time psychologist can only mean good things for Swansea City. It's the latest in an impressive string of off-field appointments by the club, and it appears we're now building a formidable backroom team.
The Swans are a great example of the difference belief and confidence make to a team's overall performance. Having someone like Ian Mitchell on board allows you to transfer that to players on an individual basis, and maximise player's performances week in, week out.
Why wouldn't you have a performance psychologist?!