Homepage Update: The Keys to Success - Intensity, Passion, Desire...

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AndyC

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The Keys to Success - Intensity, Passion, Desire...
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The keys to success – Intensity, Passion, Desire.

A summer of squad rebuilding is almost upon us.



The club, media and us the fans will discuss and debate at enormous length what Everton need to offer credible challenges for every competition and trophy next season.

We’ll talk about ‘number one’ goalies, attacking wing backs, centre backs - any number of playing positions where we need to strengthen.

We’ll talk about and we may recruit some of the most attractive names.

Players who can play at a level above that we’ve seen for some years.

But how do you recruit and more importantly maintain intensity, passion and desire?

In recent weeks, especially after the games at West Ham and Swansea, we’ve heard Ronald Koeman quite legitimately and very honestly lament, ‘we didn’t have the right intensity’.



It would be interesting to hear his views on the qualities he looks for in players.

The qualities for him to work with and on in order to create intensity, passion, desire.

What qualities engender an attitude of ‘No way we lose today’.

Look at the champions Chelsea, they have that attitude.

Last season they were a shambles.

What qualities has Antonio Conte instilled and worked on that have swept them to the title?

To a lesser degree, Jose Mourinho has done the same at Old Trafford.

Man United are not great to watch, and they certainly don’t play with the freedom and entertainment value they did under Alex Ferguson.

But they rarely lose, have won a cup, are favourites to win the Europa League and will finish one place ahead of us.

It’s often said that locally born players exude more passion and will run through walls for ‘their’ club and team mates.

It’s probably true; local players will feel more attached to the club and its fan base.

Tom Davies for example appears willing to run through walls for Everton.



But, how does the manager engender that attitude in a squad that will, like most other club squads these days, largely have no actual geographical attachment to the locality?

So how do you instil those qualities... except as a collective?

The players can play and the coaches can continually coach formations and tactics to improve their physical games.

Developing the intensity, passion and desire within the squad to win, win again and win some more is essentially The Job of the manager.

Ronald Koeman had all those qualities as a player in a stellar career.

He’s improved Everton this season.

We’re clearly the best of the rest.

We now need to encroach upon and become ‘the best’.

Ronald, this is arguably the biggest challenge and opportunity of your career.

Ronald, find and sign the players with the qualities to work on and with to develop the intensity, passion and desire.

Ronald, harness those elements into an indomitable spirit to win, win again and win some more.

Do it playing football with style and panache and you won’t need to hanker after the Camp Nou, Bramley Moore will be your Elysium.
 
You dont get intensity and passion by:

Telling our star striker he's better off elsewhere
Stating our mission this season was to be 'best of the rest' (a phrase he's used umpteen times)
Scapegoating individual players and carrying on a debate about them in the media
Saying (as he did after the United away game) that 'you of course accept 1 point before a game like this'
Remaining bolted on to a seat in the dugout once the game turns against the team
Intimating that another football club is your destination and not this one
 

Nice piece, reminds me of "Motherhood, Apple Pie and The American Way*" as an aspirational statement that no-one can really argue with.


*note I am not espousing this, it is just a saying.
 

..players need both talent and the right attitude. In respect of attitude I use a phrase that they 'play like the game matters'. Walsh hinted at this interview when he said you can do your homework and ask about a players character but you can discover a lot by watching them play.

Talent is vital but do they play like the game matters is the question worth considering.
 
You dont get intensity and passion by:

Telling our star striker he's better off elsewhere
Stating our mission this season was to be 'best of the rest' (a phrase he's used umpteen times)
Scapegoating individual players and carrying on a debate about them in the media
Saying (as he did after the United away game) that 'you of course accept 1 point before a game like this'
Remaining bolted on to a seat in the dugout once the game turns against the team
Intimating that another football club is your destination and not this one

I know we are not going to agree, but reason says

1 Our star striker has performed better this season - in all round play and goals scored. 1 to Koeman
2 This was our mission following the two previous poor seasons. Start by improving, go on from there. Another to Koeman
3 I assume you mean Barkley. Did he play better as a result? 3 to Koeman
4 You have to accept a point because it is what we got, rather unfairly, best performance there for some time. Another to Koeman
5 Fair point - one to you.
6 Who believes there is any such thing as a job for life any more? It is society, not Koeman. A score draw on this one.

So from my perspective (clearly not yours) 4 to Koeman, 1 to you, one draw. He wins.

Not looking for a debate, just showing another fan's perspective. It was honestly pants in the last 2 seasons under Martinez and I supported him as manager up until the day he was sacked. Just as I will Koeman, as I did all the rest. It's called being a supporter. I don't slag off current players, managers, owners - I have high expectation and live with the outcome. I cannot change it anyway, for the last what seems like era, I have lived in disappointment. I want it to be so much better and I truly believe we are going in a better direction. get on board, it's much more fun than living in a past that won't re-emerge.
 
I know we are not going to agree, but reason says

1 Our star striker has performed better this season - in all round play and goals scored. 1 to Koeman
2 This was our mission following the two previous poor seasons. Start by improving, go on from there. Another to Koeman
3 I assume you mean Barkley. Did he play better as a result? 3 to Koeman
4 You have to accept a point because it is what we got, rather unfairly, best performance there for some time. Another to Koeman
5 Fair point - one to you.
6 Who believes there is any such thing as a job for life any more? It is society, not Koeman. A score draw on this one.

So from my perspective (clearly not yours) 4 to Koeman, 1 to you, one draw. He wins.

Not looking for a debate, just showing another fan's perspective. It was honestly pants in the last 2 seasons under Martinez and I supported him as manager up until the day he was sacked. Just as I will Koeman, as I did all the rest. It's called being a supporter. I don't [Poor language removed] off current players, managers, owners - I have high expectation and live with the outcome. I cannot change it anyway, for the last what seems like era, I have lived in disappointment. I want it to be so much better and I truly believe we are going in a better direction. get on board, it's much more fun than living in a past that won't re-emerge.
1 - what has Lukaku's form got to do with his manager telling him he'd best make the most of his career by leaving?...something he's persuaded him to now do, it appears.

2 - to state you wish to be best of the rest is not exactly stoking the flames of intensity or passion really. What player would be inspired by that lame call to arms?

3 - Did Barkley play better? No, he didn't. He's still not been found a settled place and that's what he's currently getting stick about as he ponders his next move.

4 - the point is he stated that a draw would have been acceptable to him before the game.

6 - who's talking about a job for life here? It'd be nice if he was here more than a few weeks before we started getting the 'everyone knows I am closely attached to Barcelona' line when fielding questions about moving there. He's not tried to hide that. If you;re a player like Barkley or Lukaku and hear that why would you think: "this is the club for me, we can build on this"?
 

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