How important is 'team spirit'?

hoof_it_up_to_benty · August 2019

I have always wondered how big a factor it is? Some of the bigger teams seem to lack it and you can get a team of highly paid players going through the motions.

Some managers seem to have a gift of elevating and uniting players who may not be the most gifted individuals.

Pedro45 · August 2019

17.3%

cafctom · August 2019

If it’s enough to turn around results on just 1-2 games a season then it’s pretty massive if you’re fighting for promotion or to stay up.

se9addick · August 2019

Probably the lower down the pyramid you go the more important it is. A group of average players are unlikely to beat a team of world class stars on team spirit alone (although sometimes of course there are upsets) but it could give them an edge over evenly matched opponents.

ForeverAddickted · August 2019

Think its hugely important

Talent and budget will only get a team so far in the game - Whilst I hate to compare Football with the standard workplace I think that spirit is the one aspect that is similar in both

i.e. I've worked in some toxic atmosphere's and cant imagine Footballers working well together on a Saturday afternoon if they've got issues amongst each other

Charlton_Stu · August 2019

It's something money can't buy, Curbishley based his teams on team spirit which i think we lost until Parkinson took over, Chris Powell continued it albeit with a new squad, and Bowyer has definitely installed it.

SantaClaus · August 2019

We had some decent players in the years after we came down from the PL (and later from the Championship to League 1) but we were consistently beaten by teams that were hungrier, fitter and who clearly wanted to play for each other. If we play as underdogs with a point to prove we'll do the same and roll over plenty of highly rated teams this season.

jacob_CAFC · August 2019

The phrase "team spirit" is only thrown around when players are winning, if they are not winning, the team doesn't have it

ShootersHillGuru · August 2019

We saw last season exactly how important it is. Can be massive. Could make the difference this season too.

Garrymanilow · August 2019

It's huge. Team spirit and momentum are absolutely key when it comes to pushing a team on. That's what the new manager bounce is really; it's usually players feeling rejuvenated and happy that the manager they didn't like is gone more so than a genius tactician coming in and changing everything in a few days. You see it with Pardew; he's great at coming in, lifting the weight off players' shoulders and trying to make them enjoy the game again with his matey matey smiley smiley brand of management. Once that wears off he's always exposed as a charlatan but he's had real success getting jobs at the top level based on his ability to trade on that positivity that comes with the new broom.

addick05 · August 2019

Charlton_Stu said:

It's something money can't buy, Curbishley based his teams on team spirit which i think we lost until Parkinson took over, Chris Powell continued it albeit with a new squad, and Bowyer has definitely installed it.

True. I was having a chat with Cubs (many years' ago) and he told me how so much of the game is played with the head - if players have a positive mental attitude and team spirit you can sometimes work miracles.

ShootersHillGuru · August 2019

It’s why signing the right sort of players is so important. Prima Donnas and sulkers can divide a dressing room. You need the right sort of characters. Seems Bowyer just like Curbs is well aware of that. Who would you rather have in a trench with you. Joey Barton or Jason Pearce ?

hoof_it_up_to_benty · August 2019

I always think Warnock is a master of getting the most out of pretty average players.

seth plum · August 2019

Bowyer said some interesting things post match that I think applies particularly in this point in time. he said he wanted any signings to be able to buy into the team ethic (hard work and togetherness) and he put it rather well...almost as if he is aware of the players marks system on Charlton Life!
He said he doesn't want to sign a player that would be 9/10 for two matches, but 5/10 for the next seven.
He is right.
Clearly we all want 9/10 players in every match, but Bowyer has to deal with the present reality.

paulsturgess · August 2019

jacob_CAFC said:

The phrase "team spirit" is only thrown around when players are winning, if they are not winning, the team doesn't have it

Don't agree with that. I think it was a well accepted factor in our managing to stay up in the 13/14 season when we just survived in the championship, and despite really struggling it was evident there was a good spirit amongst the players / squad. And looking further back the same applied in our relegation year in 98/99 and even arguably in the latter part of 06/07.

Team spirit can be evident and crucial in losing / struggling teams where they have a togetherness and a fight to the death attitude even against the odds / with a side that isn't really good enough, and it can help them nick a couple of crucial extra points. It was clearly evident amongst those 3 sides I mention, and was clearly lacking amongst the sides relegated in 2009 and 2016 who were all full of lost individuals and got turned over in pitiful fashion often by teams who were weaker than them on paper. Managing to nick that 4-3 away win at Villa in '99 when it looked like we were already down was the mark of a side full of team spirit, and whilst ultimately relegated, was the sort of result that the team that got spanked 5s and 6s at huddersfield and hull simply would never have been able to achieve hence they were relegated months before the season ended.