The danger with shopping for players in the ‘relegated’ department is that most of them have had a pretty stressful and shambolic season. Quite how goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, for example, recovers his confidence after sitting behind the worst performing ten players in recent Premier league history is anybody’s guess.
Relegation as West Ham fans will remember from ’03 and 2011 can be traumatic and exhausting for players, fans, owners and all associated with the failed side.
The same is apparently true of West Ham ‘s target, relegated Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes. Linked with the Hammers in recent reports, the Portuguese Under 21 international echoed what many West Ham fans must be feeling after their own traumatic season. As per sport witness.co.uk, in their article:
“I’m completely fed up with football” – Southampton player has had enough”,
Fernandes details his own traumatic season and ensuing failed u21 campaign :“It was a tiring season for me, I’m completely fed up with football. Many defeats, it was a year of learning and that’s it, learning from football. …….Now it’s time to forget about football for a while”
He’s not alone, I suspect West Ham fans from around the world share his sentiments. Trouble is, pre-season is just a couple of weeks away now and then the whole emotion-sapping process starts all over again.
He certainly wouldn’t pass the Moyes MOT and so Westham should pass on all such losers .
It’s something I think we don’t realise as fans, is that players can get burnt out, mentally especially.
The pressure on them would be huge as well from fans, media & their families.
So that is interesting if we look at relegated players in what shape mentally they will be in.
Absolutely,
Elite professional athletes are human beings too.
This is why all professionals would benefit from psychological support, be that counselling, psycho-education or personal coaching.