The upcoming tenth anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in management may well spark a fresh round of reflections on the formidable team-building abilities of the retired Manchester United boss. A personal favourite from the vast trove of stories focuses on his earlier spell at Aberdeen and the lead-up to their European Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Real Madrid 40 years ago this May. I once heard Peter Weir, the ex-Dons winger, recall how Ferguson organised a quiz the night before that final during which a row broke out over the spelling of Hamilton Academical – namely, whether there is an ‘s’ at the end or not. “He wanted a riot among the players, a lot of arguing to take our minds off the game,” said Weir.
Ferguson continued the quiz tradition at Old Trafford and, into the Noughties, is said to have played cards on the bus with his players. Yet in today’s age of smartphones, of player entourages that can encompass not just an agent but a personal physio, psychologist, chef and masseur, it is tempting to ask how team bonding has changed even in the space of the decade since his retirement.
Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić, another man with a Manchester United connection, told Champions Journal how dressing rooms have evolved over his playing career. “It was easier before,” he says. “There were no smartphones – we had to talk to each other and play board games. We’d have fun hanging out in camps, preparing for matches.”
And how about that generation of young players who have grown up with their phones? “It’s difficult but I think there’s a way,” he says: “You can’t come to a club and order the players to lock their phones, because that is today’s means of communication for the younger generation; everything goes through social media platforms. But those of us who are a bit older are trying to communicate, and we’re able to. We arrange dinner together. We tell them how phones suck and how we should hang out and talk. And everybody enjoys it when we hang out together.”
Matić’s point about arranging social events is interesting. Gone are the days when team-mates would socialise together as a matter of course – not when dressing rooms are such multinational melting pots featuring a diversity of languages and cultures. As David Moyes asked recently, alcohol is no longer acceptable as a social glue, but how do you replace it?
Some teams in England use a wheel of fortune to bring a light-hearted touch to punishments for minor indiscretions, involving a series of forfeits. At one club in Spain this season, the coach responded to the threat of relegation by organising a series of team lunches. And before Atlético de Madrid away matches, Diego Simeone likes his squad to all eat around one big table.
The upcoming tenth anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in management may well spark a fresh round of reflections on the formidable team-building abilities of the retired Manchester United boss. A personal favourite from the vast trove of stories focuses on his earlier spell at Aberdeen and the lead-up to their European Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Real Madrid 40 years ago this May. I once heard Peter Weir, the ex-Dons winger, recall how Ferguson organised a quiz the night before that final during which a row broke out over the spelling of Hamilton Academical – namely, whether there is an ‘s’ at the end or not. “He wanted a riot among the players, a lot of arguing to take our minds off the game,” said Weir.
Ferguson continued the quiz tradition at Old Trafford and, into the Noughties, is said to have played cards on the bus with his players. Yet in today’s age of smartphones, of player entourages that can encompass not just an agent but a personal physio, psychologist, chef and masseur, it is tempting to ask how team bonding has changed even in the space of the decade since his retirement.
Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić, another man with a Manchester United connection, told Champions Journal how dressing rooms have evolved over his playing career. “It was easier before,” he says. “There were no smartphones – we had to talk to each other and play board games. We’d have fun hanging out in camps, preparing for matches.”
And how about that generation of young players who have grown up with their phones? “It’s difficult but I think there’s a way,” he says: “You can’t come to a club and order the players to lock their phones, because that is today’s means of communication for the younger generation; everything goes through social media platforms. But those of us who are a bit older are trying to communicate, and we’re able to. We arrange dinner together. We tell them how phones suck and how we should hang out and talk. And everybody enjoys it when we hang out together.”
Matić’s point about arranging social events is interesting. Gone are the days when team-mates would socialise together as a matter of course – not when dressing rooms are such multinational melting pots featuring a diversity of languages and cultures. As David Moyes asked recently, alcohol is no longer acceptable as a social glue, but how do you replace it?
Some teams in England use a wheel of fortune to bring a light-hearted touch to punishments for minor indiscretions, involving a series of forfeits. At one club in Spain this season, the coach responded to the threat of relegation by organising a series of team lunches. And before Atlético de Madrid away matches, Diego Simeone likes his squad to all eat around one big table.
According to a player from one of the semi-final teams in this season’s Women’s Champions League, togetherness requires weekly attention. “It doesn’t come by itself,” she told me. “You have to work consciously towards it and the biggest thing is to create a culture in the team, to say, ‘We all come from different cultures and we accept that. In this team, this is how we treat each other with respect.’”
Danny Donachie, a performance coach working with Premier League footballers, highlights the importance of “no-phone zones at the training ground to encourage players to communicate more and make better connections with each other. It’s also important to set up the building to encourage people to mix and discourage smaller groups from forming.”
Communication with the manager tends to come via leadership groups and, as Donachie remarks, “all subgroups within the team must be represented”. But although players want to feel part of the decision-making process, some are reluctant to accept critique in the way previous generations would have taken it in their stride. “Players seem more sensitive to criticism and coaches need to work hard to create spaces for players to give each other feedback.”
This chimes with the view of a former Premier League analyst, who says players no longer accept being shouted at; a manager raises his voice at the risk of losing a player forever. So how do you prepare the coaches of tomorrow for a world where they must assert authority while being sensitive to players’ shifting demands, at a time when a manager’s shelf life is shorter than ever?
David Adams, technical director of the FA of Wales, is worth listening to on this count. The FAW has a much-respected UEFA Pro Licence course whose alumni include Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, as well as Gunners legends Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. Adams’ view is that bringing a group of players together for the long haul requires creating a “higher purpose” for them to buy into.
“Managers need to create a more negotiated environment where values and behaviours are formulated in collaboration with players and staff,” adds Adams. He admires how Arteta has created a culture at Arsenal, albeit noting that the process involved removing players who did not buy into it: “The successful coaches, at the top level, have a disciplined approach.” For another example of that, look at Erik ten Hag’s message to Cristiano Ronaldo: my way or the highway. You suspect Sir Alex would approve.
The upcoming tenth anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in management may well spark a fresh round of reflections on the formidable team-building abilities of the retired Manchester United boss. A personal favourite from the vast trove of stories focuses on his earlier spell at Aberdeen and the lead-up to their European Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Real Madrid 40 years ago this May. I once heard Peter Weir, the ex-Dons winger, recall how Ferguson organised a quiz the night before that final during which a row broke out over the spelling of Hamilton Academical – namely, whether there is an ‘s’ at the end or not. “He wanted a riot among the players, a lot of arguing to take our minds off the game,” said Weir.
Ferguson continued the quiz tradition at Old Trafford and, into the Noughties, is said to have played cards on the bus with his players. Yet in today’s age of smartphones, of player entourages that can encompass not just an agent but a personal physio, psychologist, chef and masseur, it is tempting to ask how team bonding has changed even in the space of the decade since his retirement.
Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić, another man with a Manchester United connection, told Champions Journal how dressing rooms have evolved over his playing career. “It was easier before,” he says. “There were no smartphones – we had to talk to each other and play board games. We’d have fun hanging out in camps, preparing for matches.”
And how about that generation of young players who have grown up with their phones? “It’s difficult but I think there’s a way,” he says: “You can’t come to a club and order the players to lock their phones, because that is today’s means of communication for the younger generation; everything goes through social media platforms. But those of us who are a bit older are trying to communicate, and we’re able to. We arrange dinner together. We tell them how phones suck and how we should hang out and talk. And everybody enjoys it when we hang out together.”
Matić’s point about arranging social events is interesting. Gone are the days when team-mates would socialise together as a matter of course – not when dressing rooms are such multinational melting pots featuring a diversity of languages and cultures. As David Moyes asked recently, alcohol is no longer acceptable as a social glue, but how do you replace it?
Some teams in England use a wheel of fortune to bring a light-hearted touch to punishments for minor indiscretions, involving a series of forfeits. At one club in Spain this season, the coach responded to the threat of relegation by organising a series of team lunches. And before Atlético de Madrid away matches, Diego Simeone likes his squad to all eat around one big table.
The upcoming tenth anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in management may well spark a fresh round of reflections on the formidable team-building abilities of the retired Manchester United boss. A personal favourite from the vast trove of stories focuses on his earlier spell at Aberdeen and the lead-up to their European Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Real Madrid 40 years ago this May. I once heard Peter Weir, the ex-Dons winger, recall how Ferguson organised a quiz the night before that final during which a row broke out over the spelling of Hamilton Academical – namely, whether there is an ‘s’ at the end or not. “He wanted a riot among the players, a lot of arguing to take our minds off the game,” said Weir.
Ferguson continued the quiz tradition at Old Trafford and, into the Noughties, is said to have played cards on the bus with his players. Yet in today’s age of smartphones, of player entourages that can encompass not just an agent but a personal physio, psychologist, chef and masseur, it is tempting to ask how team bonding has changed even in the space of the decade since his retirement.
Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić, another man with a Manchester United connection, told Champions Journal how dressing rooms have evolved over his playing career. “It was easier before,” he says. “There were no smartphones – we had to talk to each other and play board games. We’d have fun hanging out in camps, preparing for matches.”
And how about that generation of young players who have grown up with their phones? “It’s difficult but I think there’s a way,” he says: “You can’t come to a club and order the players to lock their phones, because that is today’s means of communication for the younger generation; everything goes through social media platforms. But those of us who are a bit older are trying to communicate, and we’re able to. We arrange dinner together. We tell them how phones suck and how we should hang out and talk. And everybody enjoys it when we hang out together.”
Matić’s point about arranging social events is interesting. Gone are the days when team-mates would socialise together as a matter of course – not when dressing rooms are such multinational melting pots featuring a diversity of languages and cultures. As David Moyes asked recently, alcohol is no longer acceptable as a social glue, but how do you replace it?
Some teams in England use a wheel of fortune to bring a light-hearted touch to punishments for minor indiscretions, involving a series of forfeits. At one club in Spain this season, the coach responded to the threat of relegation by organising a series of team lunches. And before Atlético de Madrid away matches, Diego Simeone likes his squad to all eat around one big table.
The upcoming tenth anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in management may well spark a fresh round of reflections on the formidable team-building abilities of the retired Manchester United boss. A personal favourite from the vast trove of stories focuses on his earlier spell at Aberdeen and the lead-up to their European Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Real Madrid 40 years ago this May. I once heard Peter Weir, the ex-Dons winger, recall how Ferguson organised a quiz the night before that final during which a row broke out over the spelling of Hamilton Academical – namely, whether there is an ‘s’ at the end or not. “He wanted a riot among the players, a lot of arguing to take our minds off the game,” said Weir.
Ferguson continued the quiz tradition at Old Trafford and, into the Noughties, is said to have played cards on the bus with his players. Yet in today’s age of smartphones, of player entourages that can encompass not just an agent but a personal physio, psychologist, chef and masseur, it is tempting to ask how team bonding has changed even in the space of the decade since his retirement.
Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić, another man with a Manchester United connection, told Champions Journal how dressing rooms have evolved over his playing career. “It was easier before,” he says. “There were no smartphones – we had to talk to each other and play board games. We’d have fun hanging out in camps, preparing for matches.”
And how about that generation of young players who have grown up with their phones? “It’s difficult but I think there’s a way,” he says: “You can’t come to a club and order the players to lock their phones, because that is today’s means of communication for the younger generation; everything goes through social media platforms. But those of us who are a bit older are trying to communicate, and we’re able to. We arrange dinner together. We tell them how phones suck and how we should hang out and talk. And everybody enjoys it when we hang out together.”
Matić’s point about arranging social events is interesting. Gone are the days when team-mates would socialise together as a matter of course – not when dressing rooms are such multinational melting pots featuring a diversity of languages and cultures. As David Moyes asked recently, alcohol is no longer acceptable as a social glue, but how do you replace it?
Some teams in England use a wheel of fortune to bring a light-hearted touch to punishments for minor indiscretions, involving a series of forfeits. At one club in Spain this season, the coach responded to the threat of relegation by organising a series of team lunches. And before Atlético de Madrid away matches, Diego Simeone likes his squad to all eat around one big table.
According to a player from one of the semi-final teams in this season’s Women’s Champions League, togetherness requires weekly attention. “It doesn’t come by itself,” she told me. “You have to work consciously towards it and the biggest thing is to create a culture in the team, to say, ‘We all come from different cultures and we accept that. In this team, this is how we treat each other with respect.’”
Danny Donachie, a performance coach working with Premier League footballers, highlights the importance of “no-phone zones at the training ground to encourage players to communicate more and make better connections with each other. It’s also important to set up the building to encourage people to mix and discourage smaller groups from forming.”
Communication with the manager tends to come via leadership groups and, as Donachie remarks, “all subgroups within the team must be represented”. But although players want to feel part of the decision-making process, some are reluctant to accept critique in the way previous generations would have taken it in their stride. “Players seem more sensitive to criticism and coaches need to work hard to create spaces for players to give each other feedback.”
This chimes with the view of a former Premier League analyst, who says players no longer accept being shouted at; a manager raises his voice at the risk of losing a player forever. So how do you prepare the coaches of tomorrow for a world where they must assert authority while being sensitive to players’ shifting demands, at a time when a manager’s shelf life is shorter than ever?
David Adams, technical director of the FA of Wales, is worth listening to on this count. The FAW has a much-respected UEFA Pro Licence course whose alumni include Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, as well as Gunners legends Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. Adams’ view is that bringing a group of players together for the long haul requires creating a “higher purpose” for them to buy into.
“Managers need to create a more negotiated environment where values and behaviours are formulated in collaboration with players and staff,” adds Adams. He admires how Arteta has created a culture at Arsenal, albeit noting that the process involved removing players who did not buy into it: “The successful coaches, at the top level, have a disciplined approach.” For another example of that, look at Erik ten Hag’s message to Cristiano Ronaldo: my way or the highway. You suspect Sir Alex would approve.
The upcoming tenth anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in management may well spark a fresh round of reflections on the formidable team-building abilities of the retired Manchester United boss. A personal favourite from the vast trove of stories focuses on his earlier spell at Aberdeen and the lead-up to their European Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Real Madrid 40 years ago this May. I once heard Peter Weir, the ex-Dons winger, recall how Ferguson organised a quiz the night before that final during which a row broke out over the spelling of Hamilton Academical – namely, whether there is an ‘s’ at the end or not. “He wanted a riot among the players, a lot of arguing to take our minds off the game,” said Weir.
Ferguson continued the quiz tradition at Old Trafford and, into the Noughties, is said to have played cards on the bus with his players. Yet in today’s age of smartphones, of player entourages that can encompass not just an agent but a personal physio, psychologist, chef and masseur, it is tempting to ask how team bonding has changed even in the space of the decade since his retirement.
Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić, another man with a Manchester United connection, told Champions Journal how dressing rooms have evolved over his playing career. “It was easier before,” he says. “There were no smartphones – we had to talk to each other and play board games. We’d have fun hanging out in camps, preparing for matches.”
And how about that generation of young players who have grown up with their phones? “It’s difficult but I think there’s a way,” he says: “You can’t come to a club and order the players to lock their phones, because that is today’s means of communication for the younger generation; everything goes through social media platforms. But those of us who are a bit older are trying to communicate, and we’re able to. We arrange dinner together. We tell them how phones suck and how we should hang out and talk. And everybody enjoys it when we hang out together.”
Matić’s point about arranging social events is interesting. Gone are the days when team-mates would socialise together as a matter of course – not when dressing rooms are such multinational melting pots featuring a diversity of languages and cultures. As David Moyes asked recently, alcohol is no longer acceptable as a social glue, but how do you replace it?
Some teams in England use a wheel of fortune to bring a light-hearted touch to punishments for minor indiscretions, involving a series of forfeits. At one club in Spain this season, the coach responded to the threat of relegation by organising a series of team lunches. And before Atlético de Madrid away matches, Diego Simeone likes his squad to all eat around one big table.
