Managing can be more discouraging than playing, especially when you're losing because when you're a player, there are at least individual goals you can shoot for. When you're a manager all the worries of the team become your worries.
Happy the man who, removed from all cares of business, after the manner of his forefathers cultivates with his own team his paternal acres, freed from all thought of usury.
We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We just need to keep battling. We're a team that has stuck together through the good times and the bad times. Our reward is near.
If there are dominant teams, people enjoy discussing whether that's good or bad for the game, and if there aren't any dominant teams, then people enjoy discussing that.
The .350 hitter expects, and also deserves, a big payoff for his performance - even if he plays for a cellar-dwelling team. And a .150 hitter should get no reward - even if he plays for a pennant winner.
I would not want to be the Europa League in the current format, that's for sure. Thursday night games are difficult to contend with given the level of physicality we deal with in the Premier League. We struggled with it at Newcastle and we were not alone in that among the English clubs. Until that issue is addressed, no Premier League team wants to be in the Europa League. That's the reality, even if some don't want to admit it.
My job is exhilarating. It's challenging. I find that the governance part of it, the decision making part of it - actually comes - comes pretty naturally. I think I've got a great team. I think we're making good decisions. The the hardest thing about the job is staying focused. Because there's so many demands and decisions that are pressed upon you.
It bothers me that the average fan, the average sportswriter for that matter, pays so much attention to what's in a box score. A box score does not properly represent the most important thing - team play. It shows some guy scoring 27 points, but it doesn't show that my 27-point man let his guy score 30.
You want to come in and prove yourself early. Obviously, it is a responsibility being drafted that high to come in and play well and to make an impact. If not, youre going to get cut. So you have to come in, make the team, have an impact and do something special. And I feel that, obviously, internally. I feel an obligation to myself to do that but obviously the organization, the fans, this community. I mean, they dont want to see a first-round draft pick be a bust, so I feel I have to come in and hopefully make an impact early.
You can't motivate a group of people or a Team. You have to motivate people individually, and that motivation has to be in an environment in which that person has a goal - something they want to accomplish in their lives.
I'd like to think that on a lot of teams, I'd be a No.1. The thing I do know is that every time I take the mound, in my mind I'm the best pitcher in the league.
We hope we're better. The reality is we had a pretty darn good team last year. But you can't just throw your gloves out there and be good again. We want to take that next step as a team.