“In my mindset, I believe that at the end of this we’ll be the greatest Socceroos team ever,” Graham Arnold said in the build-up to another World Cup campaign.
You know what? Good on him.
It’s not for me to sit here and bag a three-time A-League coach of the year, who has won championships with both the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC and who is now enjoying his second stint in charge of the national team.
I do, however, have some questions.
Starting with an elementary one: when did positive affirmations become such a thing in modern sport?
You know the ones I mean.
“Expect to win, done done done!” is spouted so often by the ironic memesters on Twitter you’d want to hope Bradley C Stubbs has trademarked the phrase.
I have a few questions about the self-appointed ‘Coach Whisperer’ while I’m at it.
Like what was going on in May last year when Stubbs tweeted that Sydney FC’s record-breaking campaign was the result of Arnold reading his book The Science Of Belief and asking his staff and players to do the same, before Sydney FC replied with a tweet of their own a few days later stating that their “emotional intelligence services” were actually handled by a bloke named Mike Conway.
Conway founded a company called XVenture and on their website he’s listed as Sydney FC’s “emotional intelligence, resilience and mental agility coach”.
He also works, according to the website, with current Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan.
But as Arnold himself told Kieran Francis of Goal.com, he was at one time frequently in touch with Stubbs.
And I should make it clear I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
Many years ago I played cricket to a decent level, and even back then we were exposed to sports psychologists whose goal it was to help us think positively about the game.
So I’m not mocking the concept of sports psychology, and I don’t doubt that some players respond positively to mental conditioning.
I just wonder what sort of impact some of Arnold’s proclamations are having on the Socceroos’ opponents – particularly in Asia, where a perceived lack of humility is a sure-fire way to stir up some strong sentiments.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
I’m hardly the only person to have noticed.
In February, Arnold’s friend and former Socceroos team-mate Robbie Slater told Fox Sports he thought Australia’s coach needed “to be humble” following Australia’s quarter-final exit at the Asian Cup.
That came after Arnold claimed the Socceroos would “dominate” Jordan in their tournament opener, only for the fired-up Jordanians to grind out a gritty 1-0 win.
“It’s very, very dangerous to talk like this,” said coach Vital Borkelmans in the wake of Jordan’s victory.
So what’s changed? Nothing much if proclamations about becoming “the greatest Socceroos team ever” are anything to go by.
And there are probably some pretty compelling reasons for that.
Who’s the biggest star named for the World Cup qualifier against Kuwait on September 11 (AEST)?
Mark Milligan? Mathew Leckie? Mat Ryan?
Because they are the three most experienced squad members by far, followed by new Maccabi Haifa signing and Arnold’s son-in-law Trent Sainsbury.
So the Socceroos aren’t necessarily blessed with an abundance of game-breaking talent.
And maybe trying to gain a psychological edge before a ball has even been kicked is the next most obvious tactic.
But in firing up the Socceroos, surely there’s a danger of firing up Australia’s opponents as well?
It’s happened a few times already. And the likes of Kuwait and fellow group-stage opponents Jordan are experienced enough to use Arnold’s words against him.
So the Aussies need to be good enough to beat their opponents on the pitch.
Let’s hope all the positive statements help, because we’re not the only ones who’ll take note of them.
Griffo
Guest
Arnold providing motivational material for opponents. Starts with selection. Why is Sainsbury in the side at all when Degenek is in such good form at centreback and why is Lyndon Dyke not in the side given Rogics absence and poor form. Dyke is ripping it in Scots Premier League where Rogic cant get a posi even on the bench. Some bad decisions coming out here. If they have negative consequences Arnold should be replaced immediately.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
It's a bit Donald Trump
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Nemesis - your last sentence is a veritable hornet's nest of ambiguities. Firstly, given we award zero points for a loss, that means - in your multiplicative universe - that drawing and winning are both infinitely more valuable than losing. At the very least, in multiplicative terms, the difference between drawing and winning is undefined. And secondly, the set labelled 'not losing' has 2 members: 'winning' and 'drawing'. So, logically, you are saying we value 'winning' 3 times more than 'winning'. I'm pretty sure that's not what you meant. One thing is clear, if you are going to be a nit-picking pedant, at least get it right.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Quark? Ferengi; big ears, sharp teeth and a nose for business.
Will
Guest
Futsal should be mandatory for every kid from 6-12 that comes through the system, like with SAP and Miniroos.
RF
Roar Rookie
Rarely in the public sphere will one see such a lame brained attempt by an alleged professional to set themselves up to fail. You can be positive without sailing out into la la land.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
read a similar story early in the year about a young Ausy kid who signed with a low ranked Brazilian club. It'll be interesting to see how they work out.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
And is probably an argument for not having one. They finished top therefore the best team over the course of the whole season. Had we had a GF I'm very confident the champions would have been different
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Congrats. We don't have a GF, more the pity as we absolutely had their measure
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Let's hope so - the Aloisi years are way behind us. But let's not forget that while JA didn't like to play our youth, he was instrumental in setting up Roar's academy. Noteworthy too, that two of the original coaches including the head of academy, have been snatched by other clubs (MV) to set up their academies. But I wouldn't get too far ahead of myself just yet, pre-season is just that, and means nothing.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
This qualifying might be a tad tighter than before due to two factors: (i) China naturalised one talented Brazilian (Elkeson) and is in the process of naturalizing several more, giving them real striking power. (ii) FIFA cleared Iraq to play home games in Iraq, something they have not been able to do for a very long time.
AGO74
Guest
No idea what a quark is either. I was clearly more of a humanities oriented student!
Waz
Roar Rookie
P9 W8 with 41 goals.
Waz
Roar Rookie
My U18’s went through this season unbeaten: W16, D2 and then lost 2-1 in the 1v2 final. Thankfully we recovered 4-0 on Saturday and now play away in the GF to the same team. So I know how you feel.
Nick Symonds
Guest
ANOTHER YOUNG WONDER KID WITH FUTSAL SKILLS - Remy Cho: https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/meet-the-cocky-aussie-rookie-with-the-la-liga-contract https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw1ctdptIyI
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Agree. Big on talk, small on walk. To this point. Very big on bluster though!
Fadida
Roar Rookie
I see what Arnold is trying to do, but he's gone about it the wrong way. When Ange came in he created a really postive mindset, a feel good factor. "We are Australia. We fear no one. We take everyone on". It was refreshing (initially). Ange, as far as I recall, never said prior to meeting an opponent, "we'll dominate them". I don't recall him singling opponents out. His message to his players was "fear no one, give it a go", motivating his team without adding pressure, or giving an inventive to his opponents (happy to be corrected).
Beach
Roar Rookie
As a twice national team coach, Arnold has conspicuously failed to walk his talk. In this context alone his comments are not just unwise but, frankly, absurd. The kind of psychological posturing that belongs on the back of a cornflakes packet. I will never forget Arnold refusing to face the media after the abject failure of his first Olyroos campaign. The man is big on bluster but not, when it is comes to the crunch, on substance in the national team arena. This latest offering is so patently disconnected from objective reality that it has to raise serious questions about Arnold’s suitability for the job.
Griffo
Roar Guru
...and got a nice, shiny glass goblet for the trophy cabinet with that win. Roar doing okay in pre-season tournaments. I suspect you would much rather be in the FFA Cup still as well. And is it correct Roar had a younger team out against Perth? I think your Aloisi years will seem well behind you when the league starts next month.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Perhaps this is Arnie's attempt at eeking out the final 10% to get them over the line...