Momentum and all that....

[colinwhite]

We seem to have put the inconsistancy of the autumn months behind us. I actually think we played well in most of those games and were unlucky not to have taken more points from more of them .The difference at the moment   (that is there for ,players ,coaches, fans and even the opposition to see )  is that we believe , indeed `know` that we are going to win. Even after that first half against Barnsley where the pitch made it very difficult to play our football you could sense that we were going to turn it around.
When you have momentum everything seems to go your way. Goals seem to come at the right time ,referees suddenly seem to feel the rightiousness of your cause and award your team penalties and free-kicks whilst not being afraid to send off opposing players at crucial stages of games !

"Momentum" has become something of a catchphrase for football  managers. The idea that a collection of good results somehow plays forward to the next game. This is actually a psychological phenomenan . Confidence and collective belief are at its core. When a team pulls together the collective capacity of the group far outweighs the sum of its individual parts. Winning  several matches  on the bounce makes it easier to be optimistic on your chances of finishing the game with 3 points  even if you are a goal down and not playing particularly well. It also creates an optimism in the fans where we forgive all but the poorest of performances , encourage our players and are much less likely to get on their backs.The team can literally feel us willing them on.
Yesterdays performance was ok for me ,but in my view we have played alot better and failed to win ,  during sept,october and november,on quite a number of occasions.
Had we lost yesterday and were mid- table its not beyond the realms of imagination that Fonte  or even Sessingon could have come in for serious criticism from us.

The vital difference between now and earlier in the season is that we can all feel the momentum, that force
of  mental faith that has got us dreaming that we are not only going to make the play-offs but are almost nailed on for second place.