Quote Originally Posted by TSANHO View Post
IB even states his favourite bit of the week is being on the training pitch and match days are very stressful for him.
Not particular meaning to rubbish Ian Burchnall in the wake of a shocking result and display yesterday but I find this a strange aspect to his work and signs of it have been noticable at various times. He extremely often talks about and seems to take great store in a player 'training well' and 'doing well on the training ground' - more than any coach/manager I can think of. Now the guy is an experienced professional and I've only ever been an amateur player and fan so he undoubtedly has forgotten more than I have ever known about the game but I find his attitude a bit disturbing.

Surely it's all about what happens on match day? That's what every player trains for, it's the culmination of their working week and what they are judged on - not how good they looked in training when it ultimately doesn't matter. Can they do it on the day? Can they perform when it's demanded and necessary? Can they be winners, not just show ponies weaving pretty patterns on the pitch?

Watching footage of some of his training sessions with the players it he appears a very technical coach. That's fine but does the accent on that work help when you're 2-0 down in a crucial match and getting your arse kicked all over the park? Will that concentration on the technicalities and complicated tactics and systems help you stand up, be a leader and drag your team forwards?

As for him finding match days 'stressful', it might be questioned if he's in the right job because whether he enjoys it or not, that's what the hell this game is all about.

It's been said many times in so many different ways but basically Notts lack sheer balls and character at times. We all enjoy 'nice' football but makeno mistake this is the fifth division of football and it's high time Notts adapted to it in order to get the hell out of it.