One thing I have noticed over the last couple of weeks has been instances of managers publicly criticising individual players for their performances.
This is quite rare in the modern game, and I personally do not agree with it mainly because players - especially the ones at the top level - have their performances scrutinised enough through all the various modern-day media outlets such as internet message boards, radio phone-ins and email or texts to television football shows.
If a player is to receive criticism from his manager - which we all do at some time or another - then he expects it to occur in either the manager's office or the dressing room. The danger for a manager in such a situation is that he will lose the player's respect and that of his team-mates.
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Hi, hope you are all well.
While this transfer window is being dominated by , it is perhaps only to be expected that the has forced the vast majority of clubs to tighten their belts more than ever.
A quick glance at the transfer activities of and will show that very few are spending any money on transfer fees. It has got to the point that when a transfer fee is paid for a player in the lower leagues, it becomes a major talking point in our dressing room.
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Hi, hope you are all well.
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I have mentioned in previous blogs how the career of a professional footballer can be a rollercoaster of emotions and as a rule it is something that I have learned to live with.
But even I had underestimated just how quickly it is possible to go from one extreme to the other until last weekend.
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I scored my first goal for Notts County - and indeed my first goal since April 2007 - in our only for my elation to evaporate and turn to despair when I sustained another hamstring injury soon after!
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Hi, hope you are all well.
has caused a fair amount of disruption to the week's football fixtures.
We at were one of the teams to suffer at the hands of the weather. Our match at was called off at 1.15pm on Saturday when we were just six miles away from the ground.
From a psychological point of view, it was very strange. At that time on the day of a match, I am well into the process of getting mentally ready for the game.
The is on and I am trying to get as much fluid on board as is humanly possible (hence the fact that I try to get a seat near the toilet)! So to be told the game was off was a massive anti-climax.
Needless to say, the atmosphere on the bus was one of frustration.
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Hi hope you are all well.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and successful new year and once again thank you for taking the time to read this blog.
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The start of the 2009 also heralds the . There is no doubt that is a very exciting time in the modern football calendar for fans. It is also exciting from a player's perspective, although our excitement is tempered somewhat by that all too familiar feeling that a footballer has - uncertainty.
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This uncertainty can be apparent on two fronts. One is the thought that you could soon be moving clubs (again)! You tend to notice an increase in players making a bee line for their mobile phones after training during the transfer window, just to check if their agent has been in touch (agents - a subject we will touch on later). The other is the fear that whoever the club brings in will take your place.
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Hello, I'm Gavin Strachan. I describe myself as a "journeyman" player after 13 years in the game as a professional. I'm currently between clubs, having been released by Notts County. I'm also studying journalism and the aim of my blog is to provide an insight into the life of a footballer.
Here are some 