Squawka have teamed up with an EFL Insider to bring you some of the biggest stories within the EFL, as well as some gossip and news that you might not have heard before.
Our EFL Insider has over 20 years experience in England’s league system, both on the pitch and in the backroom and will look to bring us some expert knowledge paired with stories of his time in the game.
In the first in this series, he looks at the upcoming promotion and relegation fights and offers his unique view into what goes into success and failure.
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We’ve reached the period of the season where key games decide whether clubs are promoted or relegated.
EFL clubs like Bromley, Cardiff and Coventry are looking to move up the leagues while the likes of Barrow, Exeter and Oxford Utd are up against it to stay in their relevant divisions.
Relegation survival
When tasked with staving of relegation, its vitally important that everyone comes together and is pulling in the same direction. Managers need to galvanise a group and get them focused, organised and all committed to achieving the same goal. I’ve been involved in a few over the years, some successful and some not…
In one, unsuccessful, relegation battle you could tell immediately that we were struggling and there were a few reasons for that. The manager at the time wasn’t experienced in leading a group in this position and we had players that were selfish and not in it for the right reasons.
When that happens, you end up with half committed performances, players looking out for themselves and, ultimately, the team suffers. When you go on a losing run, players become frustrated and go one way or another – they either come together and work hard or they start blaming others and show their selfish side.
The team I was relegated with had a mixture of both, but not enough “good guys” to turn it round. We had some lads working their socks off but far too many who weren’t. We even had one or two players declare themselves ‘not fit’ for key games because they didn’t want to get injured ahead of their summer holiday or to keep themselves in contention for a move to another club. This led to constant arguments and even full on fist fights in the changing rooms after games because some were desperate to save the club and some visibly didn’t care, with things inevitably turning ugly.
This puts pressure on the manager to retain peace and give direction, and he just didn’t have the skills to do that. With all of these things combined, it was inevitable we would get relegated and that badly hurt the ones of us that did care.
In order to give yourself a chance of beating relegation you need players who are selfless, committed and all pulling in the same direction. You also need a manager who motivates the group, organises you tactically and gains belief and trust with effective leadership. These are key components in giving you an opportunity of achieving your goal of fighting off relegation.
Promotion races
Promotion is one of the best things that can happen to you as a footballer. It can change the trajectory of your career and give you friends and memories for life. But missing out on promotion can be one the worst moments in your career. The thoughts of what could have been can haunt you for years afterwards and leave deep psychological scars.
As with relegation fights, it can largely come down to team cohesion, leadership and momentum. But some small details in key moments can make all the difference. Key team meetings can sway the motivation in your favour or leave players demotivated and lacking belief in the team, the manager and even themselves.
I remember one team meeting before a key game, the manager asked us all who we were doing it all for on a personal level. He wanted to know the names of the family members we wanted to achieve promotion for.
We all wrote down our names and the manager then used these names to announce the team for the game ahead. We had fathers in goal, daughters playing up front and grandparents playing at centre back. He then hung this up in the changing room while we were preparing for the game. It was inspiring and emotive and led to the lads going out to the pitch feeling 10ft tall, ready for fight for their families, the people they cared about most. Needless to say, we won the match and gained promotion off the back of that.
Sometimes clubs dominate a league or fall miserably to the foot of the table but, more often than not, promotion and relegation are determined by fine margins. Things like refereeing decisions, momentum and luck all play their part. But having the right characters and leaders, both on the pitch and off it, makes all the difference.
Does your club have it at the right time?
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