MacDougall recalls Bournemouth team bonding and promotion

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Ted MacDougall suggests that training in his day on the mental side of the game was perhaps not as beneficial as how players work on that side of the game today. John Bond's training method though were slightly unusual in that he tried to use the Coverdale system that had players doing all kinds of strange things.

Ted has me laughing at the Coverdale system.

"That was a waste of time," recalls Ted. "That was on Panarama of all places, because Bournemouth was big news. Every week were in the national press for something. And we did this piece when it was about coming together (team building). There would be two groups and it was basically working together with other people that's really what it was. But in this one instance we had to go and find how many fire hydrants there were around the ground? That sort of thing.

"Then there was this funny one, where we we had those big clipboard like you'd have at a meeting. An okay, I want you to talk about you and what your strengths are. So we'd say okay, he's good at this or good at that. Now you're going, this is great. But then they'd say, now I want you to tell him about what he's not good at. So I'd say something negative about you and you'd turn round and you'd say, that's not right! So everything would kick off!

"Harry (Redknapp) would go round and say to the chairman, Mr Walker, I have a problem with this because I can't write. I can't write he says.. Oh, I thought this is great!" said Ted. 

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"The whole club of course was nothing like it is today. But it well celebrated when the Bournemouth were promoted back to the third tier in Ted's second season at the club. "It was a big deal. It was a season when only two teams went up, and we really needed to go up that next season into the second division, because the momentum was growing. And then it was just like a balloon getting deflated.

"We were good enough and we proved that over the years as a lot of those players who were playing in the lower division, a bit like the boys today that came through the different divisions here, like Steve Cook and these people who have proved they can play in the Premier League. 

"Well it was the same with these people as they went on to play with me at Norwich when John Bond to me and a number of players from Bournemouth to Norwich, and they ended up playing in the first division or the Premier League as it is today. So they'd proved the point that they were good enough to play in the First Division."

If you would like to read more about Ted MacDougall's career and his amazing football tales make sure you pick up a copy of Neil Vacher's Ted MacDougoal! from Pitch Publishing, with its new Reflections chapter.