Discipline At The Heart Of Every Successful Sporting Team

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Those of you that follow football may have seen the incident on Monday night in the match between Chelsea and Everton. What occurred was not only embarrassing, but also gave an insight into the team psyche and this does not reflect well on the players and especially the manager.

Chelsea were 4 nil up at the time and cruising when they were awarded a penalty which resulted in two players squabbling over the ball because they wanted to take the penalty. The problem is neither of these players were the designated penalty taker for the team and should never be thinking they had any rights to attempt this. Eventually after a few wasted minutes the rightful penalty taker took the penalty and scored.

I have read a few comments with regard to this incident with people saying they were stepping up and it was good to see players taking responsibility. I am thinking the total opposite and what a disgrace these players are to the team and to their profession.

The manager of Chelsea is no other than Mauricio Pochettino the same manager who somehow allowed the Tottenham dressing room to take over whilst in charge .I know he went on to PSG afterwards and did not last long there either with rumors circulating he had lost the dressing room and respect of the players there as well.

You may be a good coach, but part of being a good coach is man management and controlling your players making sure you get the best out of them. I have seen other managers in football and other sports teach their players the respect required making sure no one thinks they are bigger than the team. If you are not a team player you are shown the door no matter who you are.

Last year in the Rugby World Cup semi final the South African coaching staff subbed a player after only 20 minutes and it was mainly for tactical reasons. That player never complained as it is about putting the team first over personal performances. No one player in that squad felt superior over another and if not selected for a game had to play a supporting role for those selected.

I was thinking after the Chelsea game and Pochettino has a couple of urgent matters he needs to resolve. Firstly this is the third time this type of incident has happened this season with players going against team orders. Palmer is the designated penalty taker being 8/8 and a 100% success strike rate and Sterling has taken the penalty on two other occasions missing one of them. He was not paying in this game otherwise is suggest we would have had 3 players fighting for the ball.

Pochettino says the players are young and that is no excuse and is more of an excuse for himself for lack of having a disciplined squad. The two players should be suspended and sold at the end of the season and Sterling should be included which will go to setting down a marker in the dressing room. Players need to know what the coach says is law and if you go against his rulings you are shown the door.

I think this is a reasonable action because one it sends a clear message to the players and future players and it also sends a message to the fan base that you are up for the job. The coach saying it will never happen again is the wrong response because it has already happened and being professional athletes they need to know the consequences. Discipline is at the heart of every successful team because everyone knows where they stand and this allows the team to function as it should.

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