Motivation
Ted Neeson on just how much the manager motivates the players and how much that is their own responsibility
4 May 2004

Many words have been written recently regarding the ability of David Moyes  to "motivate" the players and his apparent inability to exact the best from the squad as he achieved last season. 

DM does not motivate the players, conventional wisdom will tell you that only the individual concerned can motivate him or herself and the buttons that are successful for one individual may not work for another.

What DM has to do week in and week out is pick a team of players who he feels IS motivated and capable of doing the job.  Some individuals are motivated by playing for the club they have supported as a child and are happy just to pull on the shirt and give it their all, Rooney being the obvious example of this but such other examples of this can be found in the likes of Michael Ball and Gary Speed in recent years.

There are the bands of footballing mercenaries who are purely motivated by financial reward, and we have had more than our fair share of those from Anders Limpar right through to Pistone in the present day.

Although most of them are recruited from abroad Richard Gough was a notable exception who freely admitted that he only accepted the offer because of the money involved but such was the professional attitude of the man that he did make quite an impact at the back of the defence. 

Some "seasoned" professionals are motivated by the chance to get back into the spotlight that playing in the premiership offers.  Players like Richard Wright, Nigel Martyn, Don Hutchinson and even Nicky Barmby were/are motivated by the opportunity that Everton can maybe be a stepping stone to something greater or to re-ignite a flagging career.

Their motivation is transitory as if they achieve their goals they will move on or if they do not then that motivation is lost and the for slips back into lethargic performances.

Then finally there are those who are at the start of their careers, motivation is generally not a problem and it is often the case that the youngsters are trying too hard to impress and end up achieving the opposite.  In this category I would suggest Tony Hibbert, Nick Chadwick and Peter Clarke, young players with ability, yet nestling on the edge of a make or break season that may eventually see them having to be let go.

So DM has to gauge who is motivated and capable each week in his continual tinkering with the team formation.  There are some players who are instantly on his team sheet having both motivation and capability Tommy Grav, Kevin Kilbane, Nigel Martyn, Joey Yobo  and of course Rooney.  That leaves another 5 places up for grabs as to who will start and another 4 on the bench.  Perhaps the bench is more easily a place to start, the second keeper automatically fills a spot leaving 4. 

Who has motivation but lacks ability?....... Unsie gets the shout for one of the subs spots, a good squad player that can shore up a defence for the last half hour and hang on to what we have got.  Stubbsy has to be another definite - plenty of motivation but into the sunset of his career and physically can only maintain the pace of premiership football for 45 minutes.  For midfield cover Li Tie fits the bill for motivation but lacking the physical presence to impose himself on the game, is best
used to tighten up when in a winning position.  The final spot on the bench would go to Dunc.  I still believe he has the ability but lacks the motivation to do the job for Everton and getting himself constantly sent off is not fooling anybody, but he does terrify defenders and is the type of person to bring on in the final 30 when you need their defenders to be distracted.

So back to the starting places.  Alternate between Radz and Chads up front, Hibbert or Watson at the back, Osman or Linderoth in the middle. The one that gets the shout starts while the other has to prove themselves in the reserves to dislodge one of those on the bench. The final two starting places will come from either McFadden, Nyarko, Naysmith,  Weir or Carsley depending on how DM wished to start (Fadders and Narky for a more adventurous opening gambit or Carsley and Naysmith for a more cautious beginning.

With all the changing round of positions it may be the time to pit each player against a contemporary, providing a possibility of starting if they can out perform their immediate adversary rather than attempt to rise above the team collectively.  At the very least it will identify the players who are not motivated enough to fight a one on one challenge.

It was noticeable that players failed to perform to the same standard as last year, had they been informed that they were not part of DM's plans and would be found other clubs?  A lot has been said regarding this possible explanation but if that was the case should not the players in question redouble their efforts in proving him wrong?  I would suggest that if this year's display was their response to such a situation then the decision to get shut of them was absolutely correct.
DM is one of the very few British managers who are professionally and technically qualified to the highest coaching standards, the players
that he has brought in are all highly motivated and one can only dream of seeing what a hand picked squad of his own may achieve in the Everton
colours. 

There is a greater danger to our club in that what would happen if DM actually lost his motivation? Only verbal support from the board rather than practical help, disquiet from some of the fans who hold DM responsible for players playing way beneath their capabilities and a team full of players that you could not give away given the contracts that some of them are on (with a few obvious exceptions of course).   If the board fail to provide any significant funds for team improvement (I
would call 5 to 7 million significant in our situation) over the summer would you think we would still deserve to have Moyes?  What would motivate him next season - there are only so many ways you can serve up shite - a change of ingredients is called for not a new chef. 

Ted Neeson


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