Rob Robson's Blog: Sport and.. ..stuff.

Athletes Missing the Point on Lottery Funding?

Rob Robson — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:37:19 GMT

I was distressed to read this week that Andy Turner, the British 110m hurdler has decided to appeal against his lottery funding. When UK Athletics start making the tough decisions that they can't avoid if they are to produce the goods in London, the athletes start whinging to the press. Turner strikes me as a decent international athlete, but he's not World Class. Stating that he'd need to find a sponsor or work part-time he complained, "It's going to be tough but I have to do it as I've still got dreams of winning a medal in the Olympics." You know what, maybe he will, but it doesn't strike me that he's demonstrated his that to date. Meanwhile many other athletes that narrowly miss out will accept that a ruthless focus on the athletes that can bring back medals is what this country needs, if it is to build on the success of Beijing. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

Should Joe Calzaghe Retire?

Rob Robson — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 09:08:48 GMT

Joe Calzaghe achieved one of his dreams by comprehensively beating Roy Jones Jr last night at Madison Square Gardens, his 46th straight win as a professional boxer. In the past he suggested that he woudl retire if he did. So should he? Well, he is 36, and perhaps his opponent hould be considered as one reason why not. At 39, Jones Jr is not the boxer that he has been through a glittering career. Calzaghe has the opportunity to retire at the top of the sport, an unbeaten and undisputed champion. Lennox Lewis certainly agrees. Claiming that Calzaghe has "nothing left to prove" he saidd he should go now. His former promoter, Frank Warren, thinks that even though he has no need for the money, Calzaghe will opt to fight on. Many of the arguments for retirement are 'ego' arguments. Go while your record is unblemished, while you have nothing to prove. What if Joe Calzaghe simply feels that he can challenge himself further to go on? What if he loves to box, and will do so as long as he is allowed? So what if he might lose along the way? Of course, the decision is not simple. It certainly isn't purely a rational one. Lennox Lewis also said that Calzaghe needs to have other things in his life other than boxing. Life after professional sport is hard if you are unprepared. Actually, it can be hard even if you are. The mature athlete does have other interest, be it family, business or simply a hobby. Their sport is not all-consuming, not identity-threatening. But a lot of athletes are not in that place when they retire. Athletes can suffer emotional problems as they 'grieve' for their loss - of status, of success, of pride, of many things. Research has shown that drug an alcohol problems are common for former athletes. So perhaps the question for Joe Calzaghe is "are you ready to retire?". Has he planned for it, has be prepared for the physical and emotional 'come down' from such an exciting and rewarding career? Does he know how to proceed with the next stage of his life? Does he have the emotional and social support to get through any difficult times? If he can answer "yes" to those types of question, then his answer should be "yes". But then, if he is not ready, what then? Like having a baby, maybe you can't be competely prepared. In boxing, that must be better than shuffling around the ring, waiting to take a battering, or worse, because that's the reality of boxing. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

DIY Promotion and Roy Jones vs Joe Calzaghe

Rob Robson — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 02:57:42 GMT

The BBC this morning is reporting that tonight's Roy Jones Jr versus Joe Calzaghe fight at Madison Square Gardens has been suffering from a low-key build up and sluggish ticket sales. Some might say that the problem is that the two guys involved are both 'nice guys', while both counter that you don't have to have bust ups to sell a fight. One thing's true. There's no professional promoter for this fight. No Frank Warren, no.. ...dare I say it... Don King to raise the temperature. This fight was agreed with a text message, the takings are being split 50:50 and in many ways this fight is the antidote to the ills of the sport. On the other hand, sometimes you just have to accept that there are professionals who, despite appearing to take a lot of money for their input - whether it be promoting a sports event, selling a house, or or marketing a product, do actually create value. They may take a larger slice of the pie, but if they are good the whole pie is big enough for everyone. Check out more sports marketing blogs & articles. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

Experience and Sports Performance: A Personal Insight

Rob Robson — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:16:54 GMT

Why is it that an overweight, undertrained 35 year old can do the times he did as a 17 year old swimmer? And no, the answer isn't "the suit"... --- I've just come back from the British Masters Swimming Championships, where on Saturday I swam within 1/100th of a second of the time I did for 100 metres Breaststroke 18 years ago (I'm 35). At the time I wasn't world class or anything, far from it, but I was in Scottish National Squads and training around 10 (or more) times every week. Incidentally, my split time was the fastest I have been from a standing start (i.e. not a relay) over 50m. So what's going on? Well, I'm certainly a bit stronger than I was. My technique may be better, but then my range of movement and flexibility isn't quite what it was. After all, I've been sitting at a desk more than anything else for the last 10 years or so. I'm pretty sure that my anaerobic fitness is not what it was and aerobically, well, there's no comparison. Indeed, for most of the intervening years I haven't even been a regular exerciser. Yet, in a little over a minute's swimming, there's no significant difference between what I did then and now. The biggest item in the credit column must be psychological. Then, I took it all very seriously and overanalysed poor performances. I used to be conscious about what other people thought of me and where I stood in rankings. Of course, now I have the benefit of hindsight so I race for fun. Sure, it's competitive, but if it wasn't fun I wouldn't bother. The other psychological aspect is that I really try and learn from my races. I don't waste energy going back over things to the point where I'm beating myself up, but I do treat every race as a learning experience. I look for something to improve and move on. My mantra going into the meet this week was "trust the process" because as I rested (from my massive 3 sessions a week) I could feel my stroke coming together. I hit the first wall on my 100m and thought "nailed it" and from there just went on automatic until I felt myself tying up a bit, then it was "keep it long". At the end I was dying a bit and didn't time my finish well, but hey, that's for next time :) (And in case you are wondering, no I didn't wear a LZR bodysuit!) -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

Stade Francais \'Warhol\' Kit: What is the psychology of team colours and outfits?

Rob Robson — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:38:04 GMT

I had an interesting call yesterday from a journalist yesterday. In the run-up to the Heineken cup, French rugby team Stade Francais released yet another in a line of 'garish' kits.

The Adidas shirt depicts the face of Blanche de Castille, the wife of Louis VIII, in a multi-coloured design described by the club as "in the fashion of Andy Warhol."

Stade's shirt for 2008-09 follows three previous designs that mixed pink, brown and blue. Last year, the club went for pink lilies to continue the distinctive designs that were started for the team's away kit.

The shirts are down to owner Max Guazzini's promotion of a club that up until six or seven years ago, played to a small, fashionable crowd, and his attempt to challenge the 'macho' image of rugby.

Could there be any positive or negative psychological effects of wearing kits like this? Perhaps it helps to unite the team, as part of a coherent brand or identity? Or if players do not feel comfortable could that harm performance? What do you think? Please share any insights or opinions. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

Spanish Star Etxeberria Signs a New Contract - To Play for Free

Rob Robson — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:43:51 GMT

For a sport better noted for its greed than its good, it was wonderfully refreshing today to read about Spanish international midfielder Joseba Etxeberria who has signed up for one final season (his 15th) with Athletic Bilbao - and will play for free! Exteberria (31), who joined as a 17 year old, has represented Spain at three major championships, and should play his 500th game for the club, wanted to give something back to the fans. Athletic's president Fernando Garcia Macua said of the gesture: "From the club's standpoint there are not words enough to thank such a gesture." Here's the full story from the BBC. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

18106 views (and counting) for a blog post on iStadia? How?

Rob Robson — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:59:51 GMT

What did I do to get 18106 views for my post on Michael Phelps, when most only get into the hundreds? 1) I chose a topic that was guaranteed to be a popular search term 2) I wrote about it early (in the run up to the Olympics) - you can't always predict hot topics but you can get in on the act early on 3) I made sure that keywords were in the title, text and tags 4) I started with an introductory sentence, and not with a link or image. 5) I included a photo with a description and title (this seems to help - it may be that the post shows up for google images searches). 6) I bookmarked my post extensively - I use socialmarker.com 7) Forgot to mention this firs time round - as a Premium Plus* member my latest blogs appear on my profile, which keeps my profile more 'current', brings the search engine spiders back more often, and in turn means my blogs get crawled more quickly. (*This is also true of Premium members) You don't always have to blog about your area of expertise - just something that captures your interest, and might serve as a 'bridge' to help members of the public to find YOU. Include a link in your signature to your own website, or to your profile and you will find that your blog posts generate traffic. This post won't get many hits. Why? 1) The title doesn't have popular keywords in it. 2) I've not bookmarked it. 3) The tags and keywords I have used are very competitive and generic and probably many other reasons. But what's important is that you've read it, and I hope you found it useful. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

Director of Football: The end of Football Management as we know it?

Rob Robson — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:05:42 GMT

This week has seen two managers from the English Premier League, Alan Curbishley and Kevin Keegan, leave their clubs (West Ham and Newcastle United, respectively) quit their posts. In both cases the issue appears to be their loss of control over transfers, and perhaps other aspects of the club management. This has caused a great deal of debate about management, and the role of the Director of Football in particular. Both Curbishley and Keegan had been working in a structure that included a Director of Football. Both are very experienced managers. Importantly both were in position when Directors were appointed 'above' them. Both men were used to running the football side of the club. They reported into the board. They had a backroom team, including an assistant manager, that reported to them. Then, they found that their powers were diminished by the appointment of another man, a Director of Football, who took some of their resonsibilities from them. So what is a Director of Football? Dave Bassett, a long-time football manager, described the role as " ..... a buffer. The director of football is answerable to the board but there to assist the manager. He's experienced in football and there to help the board members who don't have that experience." (Source: Wikipedia) This description, for me, captures one of the key problems that occurs when a Director of Football is introduced into a British club, particularly when there is an incumbent manager. Fundamentally, the Director of Football should not be there to "assist" the manager, but to manage the football division or function of the club (including "the manager"). Because of changes in the game, professional football clubs are now complex organisations, with huge commercial and match-day operations. One might argue, therefore, that there is a need to create an executive team, like any large corporate, that works together to create and deliver the whole organisation's strategy, who manager their function "down the line". In this respect, the Director of Football should be the equal of, say, the Finance Director, or the Operations Director and creates the Football Strategy. This should include such things as setting the strategic direction for coaching, talent identification, recruitment (transfers) and youth development (the academy). Different clubs will define the role of the Director of Football and the head coach, or manager, differently, and I would argue that it doesn't matter what titles you use. But one thing should be clear, the manager reports to the DoF. You simply cannot have any confusion, as there seems to have been at both West Ham and Newcastle. What this says is that the role of manager is also different. They no longerr report straight to the chairman. They don't set the overall strategy, necessarily. They don't oversee the academy, the scouts, and they may not negotiate contracts. But they might. They might have the final say on who is recruited. They should have some say. After all, they have to manage the team's performance. Just like when I was recruited I was interviewed by my prosective manager, and by her line manager - but my line manager ultimately has to manage me and probably, therfore, made the ultimate decision. What absolutely must be clear, however, is where the accountabilities and responsibilities lie. Someone has to make the decisions. In my experience, the person that will "get it in the neck" if the decision is wrong, must be allowed to make it. The relationship must also work to the advantage of the club, too. This is why it ultimately needs to be a manager-report relationship. That does not mean that it should not be collaborative, open and even friendly. It simply means that ultimately, someone is in charge. I would imagine that both Curbishley and Keegan would have a problem with this, and understandably so with their experience, especially given the retrospective nature of the changes made at their clubs. So, is there a place in the modern game for the likes of Curbishley or Keegan? The manager that does it all? I'm going to stick my neck out and say no. Not in a top professional cub. I don't think that a senior football manager, whatever you call them, can do everything from strategy setting to coaching the team and leading them out on matchday. In every career path you have to make a choice. Are you a manager or a doer? To take the step to the strategic level, every manager has to put behind them - at some point - the hands-on skills that got them where they are. In management, it is often the things that mark you out as sucessful at the start of your career that can get in the way of success as you progress. In a large, complex footballing operation I believe that's a choice that has to be made. You can be a coach (maybe the equivalent to a middle manager, as you also have reports - the coaches and players, maybe support staff), or you can truly become a senior manager. Indeed, that's what Alex Ferguson is. When Carlos Quieroz was assistant manager, Sir Alex left first team training to him. Yes, he took charge on match day, but he'll have made decisions using the input from his "operational" assistant manager. Call them Director of Football and Head Coach, if you like. Sir Alex manages transfers, and built the struture that has become one of the most productive football factories in modern times. But he doesn't do anything. At lower levels, even in the professional game, I don't think the complexity is there to necessitate having a Director of Football. In many ways the lower tiers of professional games are the SMEs to the corporates that top the Premier League. So, the football manager isn't dead. Every club needs someone to manage the football operation. Different clubs will use different models. Director of Football and Head Coach, Manager and Assistant Manager, Director of Football and Manager. It isn't the model that ultimately matters, so much as the implementation. And that's what Newcastle and West Ham got wrong. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

Steve McLaren\'s fake Dutch accent :)

Rob Robson — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:49:41 GMT

I know that this is a fairly serious website, and we tend to talk in earnest about sport and exercise, but let us savour for a moment, the joy of Steve McLaren's fake Dutch accent. For those who don't know, Steve McLaren was the England football manager after Sven Goran Eriksson, and was dubbed "The Wally with the Brolly" ater failing to reach Euro 2008. He returned to football management this summer with dutch side FC Twente. In a matter of weeks, he appears to have picked up a comedy Dutch accent and started speakign in broken English. This really is fantastic. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com

Does a race get any closer than this?

Rob Robson — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:28:14 GMT

You know who.. Here's the finish from the 100m butterfly in Beijing (Michael Phelps vs Milorad Cavic). That's a horrible finish from the Serb. Threw it away. -- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com