maurice wrote:
Not really, it takes bad management to not identify and remove the bad apple before it spoils the barrel
Correct Maurice. There has to be rules and all must buy into them. Being a FT professional RL player is no different from going to a FT job outside of sport. As long as the employers / Clubs' rules are fair to all, and legitimate, then everyone who is employed must understand them and abide by them. I found it sad to hear previous accounts on this Messageboard of some players not turning up for training at 7am, whilst others did turn up. If 7am was the agreed time set by the coaching staff to meet up for training then all the players should have been there at that time. We all know that sometimes things happen out of our control that may make you late, and I am sure that is understood. Rare exceptions can be made if justified. However, the onus must be on everyone, coaches and the players, to stick to the rules. Some people in this world are what I would describe as 'high maintenance'. That person identifies the poor manager and cultivates a friendly relationship with them. Once they have them in their pocket, so to speak, they make their play. Sympathy is obtained from them over whatever story they spin to their advantage. The advantage being to make their own life easier. One problem away from work follows another, and then one excuse follows another. An inch taken becomes a mile, and then that person will ask for exemptions from doing the hard work or the crap job, or ask to come in late or leave early. This happens over and over. We have all worked with these people and they cause unrest in any proverbial camp. They are the "bad apples" and if they are allowed to go too far you get trouble in the workplace. Some people like to think of them as 'likeable rogues', the proverbial 'cheeky chappy'. They are not, and they will upset any good team ethic that ever existed in the first place, presuming that it ever did. The grafters get upset watching what they get away with and focus is lost. It is ultimately down to poor management. If NJ and the other Coaches saw this happening last season and weren't getting a grip of the situation before it got out of hand then they were all at fault.
Hopefully KC will bring good discipline to the Club and hopefully all will understand how important it is overall.