Mariners Squad 2024/2025 ALM and ACL Elite

[Corsair]

So if they’re regularly seeking extra skill work or confidence boosters outside the club, doesn’t that suggest the club isn’t providing enough of that?

Yes. Answered!

 

[Corsair]

If I had money in my budget to coach shooting skills I wouldn't spend it on Niz, I'd spend it on my strikers. So he's investing in himself instead.

 

[bikinigirl]

I think everyone’s answering a different question to the one I’m asking.

I get that players want to do more - and that’s great. But why is that necessary? Their entire job is to train and play football. The club literally exists to manage their development. So if they’re regularly seeking extra skill work or confidence boosters outside the club, doesn’t that suggest the club isn’t providing enough of that?

In most of our jobs, yeah, you upskill outside hours because you’re busy doing work during the day. But for footballers, the training is the job. If they have spare capacity and they’re using it on private coaching, then why isn’t the club doing more to fill that space with better, individualised development?

To me, that reflects more on the club than the player. If the player needs it, the club should own it - they should be identifying those needs, planning that development, and providing the resources directly. Otherwise, what are they actually managing?

Is this just a resourcing issue, or are clubs genuinely leaving it up to players to sort out for themselves?

. not enough resources - i.e. we don't have specialist coaches because we can't afford them

. before this discussion blew out, i was actually going to take the opposite view (with no foundation in truth) ... that our underperformance this year was in part due to the players not willing to do the extra work

. i'm not suggesting things are as they were when, say, Mulvey had them training about the same as an amateur side or Paulo and Ivan did most of the 'coaching' on the commute from SW Sydney - but i still assumed the boys were only doing a couple of hours a day ... hardly what most of us would consider 'full-time' professional

. what i reckon is that many of them are enjoying the life of a professional footballer with plenty of spare where they spend most of their day at a cafe, playing video games or talking about american sports, watching tik-tok or something

. Max and Niz, for example, were often quoted as saying that they were always talking football together - analysing their game, and others. this, they said, contributed to their on-field understanding. by comparison - many people aren't even sure if Alfie and Harry have met one another, let alone spent hours off the pitch coordinating their on-field approach

. if they were doing additional sessions - i would hope it was at least coordinated with the coaching staff or extremely low impact. as has been mentioned - like going to uni, reading trade journals or stretching when you get out of bed in the morning - it is what grown ups do ... and if your career is so short, surely you'd want to do as much as you can, while you can. i'm assuming since these boys are playing with the Mariners, in the a-league, they're earning bugger all (try to imagine how many would be earning above the national average wage) ... i think some of them will get a rude awakening when they 'retire' and have to get a real job. personally, i'd be doing as much as i could now - to ease the transition later

. i have often wondered how much Monty and Serg contributed to the mindset of some players. apparently Serg rarely slept and was always 'on' ... partly due to his military training i suspect. Monty i always saw as a committed professional, rather than a gifted footballer ... and look what he was able to achieve - do you thing he never did 'extra' sessions? what do you think was their message to the likes of Max and Niz?

... apologies if there is some repetition here, i started typing but other responsibilities got in the way

 

[Corsair]

Makes a bit more sense now how Max managed to find time to do a degree.

 

[Ozhammer]

Makes a bit more sense now how Max managed to find time to do a degree.

Two degrees, he is a really smart bugger

 

[FFC Mariner]

I did a master's while working full time. Just need to sacrifice and do the hard yards.
Like Max did and Anderson if IRC.

Isn't Redders now qualified as a teacher?

 

[Stuartmcateer]

It's not like uni degrees are 40 hours face to face.

Most lectures these days are online and just about every university has some form of flexibility for professional athletes - Olympians, NRL, football etc - so that exams and assignments can be worked around competition schedules.

Also the PFA has a large number of career or study assistance packages that players can access.

In reality it would be easier for a young, single, professional footballer to get a degree compared to someone working 40-60 hours a week and with a family.

 

[Stuartmcateer]

Two degrees, he is a really smart bugger

He is.... (Really, really smart is my understanding)

But double degrees aren't that big a deal.

I got one with honours so proof that you don't have to be smart 🤷🏻‍♂️.

 

[style_cafe]

I did a master's while working full time. Just need to sacrifice and do the hard yards.
Like Max did and Anderson if IRC.

Isn't Redders now qualified as a teacher?

yes at Wiggles HS. He specialises in advanced mechanics ( Big red Cars) and prehistorircs ( Dorothy type dinosaurs) 🦕…….