Something that is winding me up

I have an all conquering Man Utd team (this is not me bragging I know its easy with the big teams) and I am aware of overconfidence becoming an issue but there has been a real problem with my team recently. Its probably got something to do with the teamtalks but every time I play I have certain players who are "playing nervously" and it normally results in a disaster.

I cant believe that these players are nervous because we are only playing West Ham away for goodness sake- its hardly a big game in the calender. My team are on a winning run but its coming under threat and we are drawing more and more games and its starting to annoy me.

What can I do?

Change your teamtalks.

If your players are nervous on the pitch then its to do with demanding results.

In the longterm I suspect you are probably talking about new players/newgens that you've signed and they are probably lacking the mental strength of Man Utd current players. In future you need to give more thought to your signings, its not just about the attributes you can see. How do they fit into your current squad? Do they have weaknesses? What thought did you give to their personalities?

It depends on team talks and whether you rotate the first eleven a lot.

If you tell your players that you expect them to win every game then the younger players are bound to be nervous.

Also, if you chop and change your starting line up all the time the players may fear for their place and play nervously as a result.

Just a thought.

Yeah, as has been said it's your team-talks... and your media skills, you're putting too much pressure on to your players.

Is it getting towards the business end of the season, i.e. "squeakey-bum time"? Try taking the pressure off the players by playing down your chances or just be easier with the team-talks. Either way, the most probable reason for the nervousness is pressure (media, managerial, peer or fan pressure).

Also note that new signings particularly from other football cultures (like South America) will be more difficult to motivate than your established, already adapted players. Team talks like "for the fans" or "expect a performance/win" is likely to malfunction with these players. The same goes for players with "Ok" or lower morale, as well as youngsters.

I have had success with both "you can win (team)", "you have faith" and "none" with these players, and I use "no pressure" when fielding under 19s even though they often handle expectations when I sometimes forget doing this.

Just a quick update folks- I decided to adopt a more sympathetic approach to my players and went with "We can win this" for a number of games- it has performed well. 6-1 vs Chelsea and 11 CCC and my team are back on track.

Thanks for the help folks, I didnt realise my confidence was having a deterimental effect on team performances. If they get complacent I will give them a boot but I will use the "Expect to win" more sparingly

Also note that new signings particularly from other football cultures (like South America) will be more difficult to motivate than your established, already adapted players. Team talks like "for the fans" or "expect a performance/win" is likely to malfunction with these players. The same goes for players with "Ok" or lower morale, as well as youngsters.

I have had success with both "you can win (team)", "you have faith" and "none" with these players, and I use "no pressure" when fielding under 19s even though they often handle expectations when I sometimes forget doing this.

This!! I use these teamtalks and my team perform the way I want to. Same with youngsters, no pressure is the best way to go.. Got a Brazilian winger a few months back and he get's nervous even when I state "we can win this". I play in the Swedish league and all the other players respond perfectly but it's like Biggus wrote, he's from another culture so I've changed my approach in teamtalk towards him and he scored two goals instantly and are now consistantly performing good

That's why I form a team of Determined and Professional players (Hopefully both high), because you can mount plenty of pressure on them and they get the job done. I love when your pre match explains that players are cocky because you know all you need to say is "Expect a victory" and they will deliver.