Is brain train guru behind Gareth Bale, Joe Hart and Luke Shaw's mind blowing start to this season?
- Gareth Bale, Luke Shaw and Joe Hart have received guidance from peak performance coach Jamie Edwards
- Welsh winger has been scoring goals again for Real Madrid and Wales
- Manchester City No 1 has been ranked among the world's best keepers
- Manchester United defender set up Harry Kane's goal against Switzerland
- Louis van Gaal doesn't want players to eat until he returns from serving
- Emmanuel Adebayor has irritated Tottenham staff after his failed move
Before the international break Gareth Bale scored twice and added an assist in Real Madrid’s 5-0 thumping of Real Betis. He followed it up with the headed winner for Wales in Cyprus.
Joe Hart has six successive clean sheets for club and country, a better record than Gianluigi Buffon (three), Manuel Neuer (two), and Thibaut Courtois (one). He must be feeling pretty good.
Then there is Luke Shaw, who has rediscovered his zest for the game after a difficult first season at Manchester United. On Tuesday, he set up Harry’s Kane goal for England against Switzerland.
Gareth Bale has rediscovered his form for club and country after a struggling second season in Spain
Manchester rivals Joe Hart (left) and Luke Shaw have both started the campaign in impressive form
All three players have received guidance from peak performance coach Jamie Edwards
So what are the secrets of this trio’s success, the reasons behind their improved performances for club and country?
It is possible that Jamie Edwards, a peak-performance coach who promises to train the football brain, is partly responsible for their good form on the field.
Edwards is a former basketball player who overcame the not inconsiderable disadvantage of being only 5ft 6ins tall to play for England at the Commonwealth Games in the 90s.ved guidance from
The use of performance coaches or professional psychologists is on the increase in the English game, with Bill Beswick’s association with Steve McClaren and Dr Steve Peters’ work with the England team gaining notoriety over the past few years.
Edwards, who has connections with Beswick because of their basketball backgrounds, works a little differently. He dismisses the perceived power of positive thinking and instead coaches his clients by telling them to be more realistic with their targets. It is his ‘deal with it’ mentality.
Bale celebrates scoring the winner against Cyprus that takes Wales to within touching distance of Euro 2016
The Welshman stoops to score the first of his two goals in Real Madrid's last league match against Real Betis
Cristiano Ronaldo (right) appeared turn on Bale after having some of his limelight stolen at the Bernabeu
Perhaps that is why Bale was such a success again in his second season at the Bernabeu, learning to deal with the negative dressing room environment that had been created by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The world player of the year turned on Bale when it became clear that the Wales flyer had failed to pick up the Spanish language to his own, exacting standards.
On the pitch Bale’s performances, including his stunning goal against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final and his strike in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid in 2014, were threatening Ronaldo’s standing at the club.
Ronaldo’s acolytes in the dressing room, such as the youngster Isco, also made life tough for Bale. That is when he turned to Edwards.
Hart makes a superb save at the feet of Xherdan Shaqiri to prevent Switzerland taking the lead at Wembley
Roy Hodgson ranks Hart - who has not conceded in six games this season - among the world's best keepers
The England No 1 has overcome his difficulties after slipping out of favour at his club last season
His courses promise to deal with anxiety, to help athletes cope with stressful situations by using a neutral mindset to succeed. Edwards’ reputation transcends others sports and his reputation was enhanced back in 2005 when he began working with the England cricketer Andrew Flintoff during the momentous Ashes series.
Golfers such as Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood have also benefited from the methods Edwards uses to help sportsmen meet their targets. ‘Positive thinking is a lie, a myth,’ he claims in one of the seminars he gives to a group of aspiring young sportsmen in a YouTube video. ‘Neutral thinking is more realistic, asking: “is it possible? Can I hit that shot? Can I score the goal? Yes”.’
Edwards also helps people trying to stop the ball going in the back of the net, with a reference to his work with Hart featuring on his website.
Two years ago Hart spent a short time out of the City team and was replaced in goal by Costel Pantilimon. Last season he saw off the threat of Willy Cabellero.
Hart is a commanding figure now, with England’s head coach even claiming that he is in the same bracket as David de Gea, Neuer and Courtois after the 2-0 victory over Switzerland on Tuesday.
Shaw is starting to overcome his own difficulties, taking control of his life again after a troubled period during his first season at Old Trafford.
Defender Luke Shaw (right) has established himself this term after making a stuttering start last season
The former Southampton full-back has looked a different player in Manchester United's opening games
Team-mates celebrate with Shaw after his cross led to Harry Kane scoring England's opener against Swiss
He has a difficult relationship with Louis van Gaal, never quite certain what the United manager wants from him following his £30million move from Southampton last summer.
Shaw certainly seems happier, partly because he has finally moved into his own house after spending months in a hotel at the start of his United career.
Edwards claims to help sportsmen reach the next level, to break the taboos about mental health and to train the brain to help them get there.
It will always be difficult to convince the sceptics, but his work with Bale, Hart and Shaw will help to back up his claims.
Louis van Gaal has taken leadership to another level after telling Manchester United’s players they must wait for him to return from the serving hatch before they can eat at breakfast or lunch.
United’s players are often kept waiting for Van Gaal to return from the buffet with his scrambled eggs before they can start to eat ahead of their rigid training sessions at Carrington.
Louis van Gaal has been laying down the law when it comes to table etiquette at Manchester United
More than a year after Van Gaal’s arrival at Old Trafford, the United players are still getting used to his idiosyncratic ways.
Until Van Gaal arrives in the dining hall and heads to the servery, the players have to wait at their tables. Once the Dutchman has piled his tray full of food, they can follow his lead.
WHAT I'M HEARING
Emmanuel Adebayor continues to rile Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy with his antics and now he is antagonising employees at Tottenham after refusing to leave in the transfer window.
Adebayor ambles around the training ground and routinely boasts to passers by that ‘life is good’, which it certainly will be with a £100,000-a-week pay packet. Sadly he is making life miserable for Spurs staff.
Tottenham misfit Emmanuel Adebayor has been picking up around £100,000 a week without playing at Spurs
England's goalkeeping coach Dave Watson is having an increasing influence on set-pieces with the national team after becoming something of a specialist in the area at Southampton.
Watson, a former keeper himself, is a keen student of free-kick and corner routines, and is the go-to man on the Saints training ground. England are now using him in a similar capacity.
The boorish, sometimes loutish behaviour on the touchline has become such a problem in Barclays Premier League matches that staff are now tagged before matches.
Each member of the manager’s backroom staff, including coaches, physios and doctors, must wear a pass around their neck with their role at the club stated on it in case there are any disciplinary issues.
However, when the time comes, it will not be difficult to establish the identity of Chelsea’s uppity assistant manager, Rui Faria.
Premier League coaching staff, including Chelsea's Rui Faria, must wear passes in case of problem behaviour
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