Shoaib Akhtar - getting the best out of him

Lawson should have a chat with Sir Alex Ferguson of ManUtd about how to get the best out of so called 'trouble-maker superstars'.

Eric Cantona had a similar, if not worse, reputation to that of of Shoaib Akhtar re-making trouble, not getting along with managers/coaches/players..etc.etc.

With Sir Alex's handling of Cantona, ManUtd achieved great things, became Champions again after 25 years and became a force to be reckoned with.

Eric Cantona became the lynchpin of the whole team, and ManUtd were Champions in each of the years (except one) that Eric Cantona played for them. The exception being the year Cantona was banned for the 2nd half of the season due to the Kung-Fu kick against a racist spectator.

Cantona, it is said, also had an enormous influence on the young up-and-coming players at ManUtd - the likes of Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, The Nevilles...

If Lawson could do a 'Sir Alex' on Shoaib Akhtar, imagine the impact on the performances of the Pakistan team.

Some players need a kick-up-the-backside, whilst others need a friendly-pat-on-the-shoulder.

Maybe Shoaib Akhtar has simply not had a manager/coach who could get the best out of him - just like Cantona until he met Sir Alex.

What do you think?

club games are different. You get rid of a player he joins the opposition and plays against you. Big club players probably have bigger egos/issues seen it also in NBA, NFL etc. And sometimes it seems the ego or superstar thing can bring a team down, like Jason Kidd or Iverson, who went to finals one year got some issues and coach left, team changes and both teams went down rapidly.

different people have to be treated differently but discipline is important

Ferguson BOUGHT Cantona. And he sold him when he thought it was time to.

No ones buying Shoaib....

Is anyone selling him?

How much would punters be willing to put up for him?

I'll start the bidding at £750

750 pounds?


How about 750 rupees?

120 Million is not enough for him so donno

only bill CLINTON can buy him

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True, discipline is important. But there are different ways of achieving that. It's called man-management.

In the Eric Cantona example, every coach, prior to Sir Alex, said that Cantona was 'un-manageable'.

Since Sir Alex disproved this fallacy, it suggests that, perhaps, it was the other coaches/managers who were the ones actually at fault - by lacking man-management skills.

I suspect with Shoaib Akhtar, it is the same. (who, within the PCB has ANY skills, never mind man-management!)

I think what you are saying does make sense. Similarly analogy used in big organizations, where you identify strengths of our staff rather than finding there weakness. IF you could identify strengths, each person has a unique set of strengths, and use those strengths rather than pointing their weaknesses, you could achieve more.

Similarly, coaching is no more about teaching techniques to players, especially if they considered themselve as a big star, then they close their ears and eyes, and believe they know enough. In that kind of scenario you need people skills as a coach and each individual requires different way of treatment.

Yes it is correct a national team is different than club team, where players have options to join other clubs; but in a country you are on the mercy of board officials including selectors, and if you know your officials are incompetent, inconsistent, unfair then you use every opportunity to cash on it.

To extract more out of Akhtar will need a consistent, fair and competent policy from PCB. That should send a clear signal to Akhtar that board needs him to be fit and playing for country instead of acting. We have seen Imran, Wasim, Waqar et al retired but Pakistan cricket is still there, so PCB should treat Akhtar fairly but if doesn't mend his acts then they should forget about him and work on youngsters. You don't need a super man who will only perform if he feels like performing instead of being up and ready for the need of his team.

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Get your facts right.

Cantona was not sold by ManUtd - he chose to retire from the game, and take up acting (+ beach football) as a career instead. Sir Alex actually tried to persuade him to stay on.

bad comparison between cantona and shoaib.

shoaib's only REAL problem is that he gets injured often .. when healthy he is the best bowler in the world .. but unfortunately do to his loose joints he doesn't stay healthy for long.

if lawson is smart he'd pull shoaib out of this 20/20 nonsense and only have him playing test and selective odi matches.

Right, even in test matches, they should play him in the morning session and then keep him off the field between lunch and tea to rest him and massage him. Then on second day he should be total off to give more rest to his weak joints.

Similarly in ODIs captain should ask him whenever he wants to bowl since he is the only one who knows when his joints (mood) is good for bowling instead of asking him to bowl when team needs him.

hmmm - so these constant confrontations with the PCB and/or coaches are due to injury alone ?

Or are you saying it is due to injury - injury to the head that is ?

Otherwise, why is it a bad comparison? You have a better one ?