“My manager only wants one thing from me”

corner Hello Mab-fans, Gary here. What a couple of months it’s been in the world of sports psychology! First Robbie Earle was diagnosed with chronic agoraphobia after it was revealed that he’s spent the last four years living ITV’s Tactics Truck. Then a confidante of Robbie Keane told the tabloids that the striker’s poor form for Liverpool is down to him developing acute body dysmorphia. Keane’s condition is reportedly so bad that whenever he looks in the mirror, he sees Dirk Kuyt.

Finally it seems people are coming to terms with the fact that us footballers have feelings too, feelings often accompanied by deep psychological traumas. Here are the problems of two troubled players for me to safely clear into row Z this week.

Dear Uncle Gary,
Being a defender, I’m hoping you can relate to my experience. I was recently asked to man-mark a world class midfielder in a Premiership game. For 90 minutes, I was everywhere he was, nipping at this heels, fouling him occasionally. When he went up for corners, I’d jostle with him playfully. It was exhilarating. I was so close to him that I times I could smell the Powerade on his breath.

Once the final whistle blew though, I found that those intense feelings of closeness didn’t go away. I needed to be next to him all the time. Since then I’ve made any excuse to be near him, I’ve even begun following him in my car after training. I lose sleep worrying that I might not be picked for the return fixture. Things have gone too far. I’ve man marked other players but none have made me feel the same way. What should I do?
F. Muamba, Bolton

Mabbutt says: I remember going through the same thing back in the early nineties. I was asked to man-mark Jürgen Klinsmann in training for a few weeks and something about his hair, something about the way he moved, it fascinated me. We were real men then, not like today’s group of overpaid and underperforming stars with their hair gel and their OK photoshoots. I knew I could be honest with him. I confronted him, told him about my feelings, and he promptly put in a transfer request and moved to Bayern. I felt rejected, but I was true to myself, and that’s what counts. I still think about him sometimes… Good luck!

Dear Uncle Gary,
I’ve been playing under my current manager for about three years now. We’ve had a pretty steady relationship and he’s always made me feel rated as a player. When we started off he’d let me do all sorts of things, he absolutely loved it when I was adventurous in my play. Whether I was scurrying up the wing or hitting 50-yard diagonal passes, I knew he felt satisfied with my performance. Recently though, he’s only become interested in one thing, long throw ins. It’s always been a part of my repertoire but I feel like I have so much more to offer. I’m worried that our relationship is becoming monotonous and stale. What can I do?
R. Delap, Stoke

Mabbutt says: Relationships are tricky things, especially the one you have with your manager. If you trust him, and he trusts you, then why not give him what he wants? You’re never going to recapture the spark of when you first started playing for him, everything was unfamiliar and new back then. As you get older, your body just can’t perform in the same way it used to. And if you complain, he’ll only think about replacing you with a newer model with a longer throw in the youth team. If you’re really unhappy, think about moving in the transfer window, but relationships are all about compromise. Maybe if you speak to him he’ll let you take the odd corner?

“My manager only wants one thing from me”

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