Post by QPR Report on Dec 12, 2009 7:50:57 GMT
But obviously not everywhere...
The Times/Alyson Rudd December 11, 2009
'Everybody knows that what goes on there stays within those four walls'
Eyebrows were hardly even raised when allegations of bad behaviour involving managers were made public this week
Dressing-room culture was laid bare this week after it emerged that two high-profile managers had allegedly behaved aggressively towards their players.
The reaction from the football world was one of shock — not shock at the reported violence, but despair that details of such behaviour had been leaked in the first place.
Football clubs are not, it is widely held, like the shop floor or hospitals or IT suites. Without a little belligerence at half-time, teams would never improve their performance.
“A dressing room is not an ordinary working environment,” Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Managers Association, said.
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“It is the only sanctuary at the place of work [that is private, so it is obviously the place for the release of emotions in a very intense, volatile and public working environment, and everyone in there understands and respects that — in 99 per cent of cases what goes on in the changing room stays in the changing room.”
John Aldridge, the former Liverpool striker and Tranmere Rovers manager, says there is no place for whistleblowers. “What goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room one hundred percent,” he said.”
Aldridge has powerful evidence that mayhem at half-time works. In 2001, in a replay against Southampton in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Tranmere found themselves trailing 3-0 at the interval. “I went for three players I had never gone for in the past,” Aldridge said. “They were underachieving. It was a controlled verbal attack. That was what was needed and afterwards we had a couple of drinks and it was forgotten.”
Tranmere won the match 4-3. Aldridge argues that managers should control their vitriol, but says he does not regret the time he was out of control.
“I once threw tea all over the place,” he said. “Dave Kelly [the former Tranmere captain] said I’d scalded him and he wasn’t happy. I made a mess of a few of the players’ suits and I paid for the dry cleaning.
“I can’t remember what the match was and I think it was the referee’s performance that got to me rather than the players. But I don’t regret it. You’ve got to do things to get a reaction.”
Overseas players, according to Aldridge, do not understand the British changing-room mentality and foreign signings are, he says, part of the reason why incidents such as those allegedly involving Tony Pulis and Jim Magilton have escaped into the public domain.
Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, blames social networking sites and increased media exposure for the leaking of dressing-room spats. “It’s one thing that’s changed about football,” Bruce said.
“What happened in dressing rooms never used to leave the dressing rooms. Managers used to get a hold of you and there would be a fight every other week.”
Bevan argues: “The standards of conduct acceptable in a private working environment are set by the team within it. There is a long and cherished tradition, that is as important to players as it is to managers, that what goes on in a changing room is sacrosanct and private.”
If a filing clerk was hit on the head by a stapler thrown by his office manager, his union representative would probably be apoplectic. But the PFA is calmly equivocal. “The football environment is very competitive, there are pressures on everybody and sometimes it boils over,” John Bramhall, the PFA deputy chief executive, said. “It doesn’t excuse it, but it happens. Physical contact is part of the game and there is a level that is acceptable. You have to understand what the pressures are.
“Players always have the right to complain if the line is crossed. If a player is assaulted, then that is not acceptable. For the PFA, the line is reasonably clear. If a manager reacts in the heat of the moment and has reached ‘boiling point’, then that is very different to long-term victimisation. The PFA would expect an apology to be the end of the matter if the event was a simple flaring of tempers. The LMA stance is similar.”
Bevan said: “If unacceptable behaviour occurs in a changing room, whether from a player or a manager, that will be self-regulated in 95 per cent of cases because the relationships need to work on the field. Where things go too far, one party ends up leaving.”
Overseas players can soon become acclimatised, however. “In other countries it will make big headlines because people don’t really understand it, but I think it’s the nature of the game,” Roberto Martínez, the Wigan Athletic manager, said of Tony Pulis’s row with James Beattie. “It doesn’t surprise me because I have been in a British dressing room for many years. I know that emotions run high and it goes with the culture.
“Have I come close to head-butting anyone? Not yet.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article6952321.ece
The Times/Alyson Rudd December 11, 2009
'Everybody knows that what goes on there stays within those four walls'
Eyebrows were hardly even raised when allegations of bad behaviour involving managers were made public this week
Dressing-room culture was laid bare this week after it emerged that two high-profile managers had allegedly behaved aggressively towards their players.
The reaction from the football world was one of shock — not shock at the reported violence, but despair that details of such behaviour had been leaked in the first place.
Football clubs are not, it is widely held, like the shop floor or hospitals or IT suites. Without a little belligerence at half-time, teams would never improve their performance.
“A dressing room is not an ordinary working environment,” Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Managers Association, said.
Related Links
Football cannot be a law unto itself
Managers face hardest of balancing acts
“It is the only sanctuary at the place of work [that is private, so it is obviously the place for the release of emotions in a very intense, volatile and public working environment, and everyone in there understands and respects that — in 99 per cent of cases what goes on in the changing room stays in the changing room.”
John Aldridge, the former Liverpool striker and Tranmere Rovers manager, says there is no place for whistleblowers. “What goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room one hundred percent,” he said.”
Aldridge has powerful evidence that mayhem at half-time works. In 2001, in a replay against Southampton in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Tranmere found themselves trailing 3-0 at the interval. “I went for three players I had never gone for in the past,” Aldridge said. “They were underachieving. It was a controlled verbal attack. That was what was needed and afterwards we had a couple of drinks and it was forgotten.”
Tranmere won the match 4-3. Aldridge argues that managers should control their vitriol, but says he does not regret the time he was out of control.
“I once threw tea all over the place,” he said. “Dave Kelly [the former Tranmere captain] said I’d scalded him and he wasn’t happy. I made a mess of a few of the players’ suits and I paid for the dry cleaning.
“I can’t remember what the match was and I think it was the referee’s performance that got to me rather than the players. But I don’t regret it. You’ve got to do things to get a reaction.”
Overseas players, according to Aldridge, do not understand the British changing-room mentality and foreign signings are, he says, part of the reason why incidents such as those allegedly involving Tony Pulis and Jim Magilton have escaped into the public domain.
Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, blames social networking sites and increased media exposure for the leaking of dressing-room spats. “It’s one thing that’s changed about football,” Bruce said.
“What happened in dressing rooms never used to leave the dressing rooms. Managers used to get a hold of you and there would be a fight every other week.”
Bevan argues: “The standards of conduct acceptable in a private working environment are set by the team within it. There is a long and cherished tradition, that is as important to players as it is to managers, that what goes on in a changing room is sacrosanct and private.”
If a filing clerk was hit on the head by a stapler thrown by his office manager, his union representative would probably be apoplectic. But the PFA is calmly equivocal. “The football environment is very competitive, there are pressures on everybody and sometimes it boils over,” John Bramhall, the PFA deputy chief executive, said. “It doesn’t excuse it, but it happens. Physical contact is part of the game and there is a level that is acceptable. You have to understand what the pressures are.
“Players always have the right to complain if the line is crossed. If a player is assaulted, then that is not acceptable. For the PFA, the line is reasonably clear. If a manager reacts in the heat of the moment and has reached ‘boiling point’, then that is very different to long-term victimisation. The PFA would expect an apology to be the end of the matter if the event was a simple flaring of tempers. The LMA stance is similar.”
Bevan said: “If unacceptable behaviour occurs in a changing room, whether from a player or a manager, that will be self-regulated in 95 per cent of cases because the relationships need to work on the field. Where things go too far, one party ends up leaving.”
Overseas players can soon become acclimatised, however. “In other countries it will make big headlines because people don’t really understand it, but I think it’s the nature of the game,” Roberto Martínez, the Wigan Athletic manager, said of Tony Pulis’s row with James Beattie. “It doesn’t surprise me because I have been in a British dressing room for many years. I know that emotions run high and it goes with the culture.
“Have I come close to head-butting anyone? Not yet.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article6952321.ece