8 Jul 2009(Wed)

July 7, 2009: It’s easy to feel sorry for Oita Trinita, stuck at the bottom of the table with a long injury list.

The trouble is, they are feeling too sorry for themselves, and need to change their mindset rather than their manager.

This was my impression at Todoroki Stadium the other week, before they lost, predictably, to Kawasaki Frontale.

As the players warmed up before kick-off, the away dug-out resembled a sports shop with various Trinita shirts on display, in numerical order and all neatly on hangers.

At first I thought it was the shirts of the starting members, given an airing before the players put them on for kick-off.

But they were actually the shirts of the missing players, the injured, and they filled the dug-out from end to end.

The obvious aim of this ploy was to show that the players were united, that the injured players were with their teammates in spirit and soul, fighting all the way and suffering all the way.

Personally, I thought this had the opposite effect – and would recommend the Oita management to leave the shirts of the injured players behind and actually focus on the players who were there and on trying to win the match.

It all seemed unnecessarily soft and sentimental to me, as if to say: “Look at us! Look at all our injuries! Look at all the players missing!”

Perhaps they should have had a violinist in the dug-out, too, playing melanchoilc passages, to complete the sob story.

No wonder they went down tamely, feeling too sorry for themselves and already lining up their excuses before the first whistle, never mind the last whistle.

Come on Trinita! Where’s your fight?

Injuries happen, bad luck happens, but there’s no need to force it down everyone’s throat. Get on with it!

Instead of feeling sorry for them, I thought they were a bunch of namby-pambies, crying publically over their misfortune instead of rolling up their sleeves and scrapping for all they were worth.

Do yourselves a favour, Oita – and think positive, even after 13 straight defeats.

After Pericles Chamusca appeared to have been fired by the club, it now looks like he will be given another chance, maybe the last one, away to Jubilo on Sunday.

Before talking tactics, leave the shirts of the injured in Oita. Don’t take them and display them at Iwata!

ends