The Turning Tide
Snooker has in my opinion reached a crossroads this week. Even without O’ Sullivan in the mix, top seed players are failing to progress in this week’s China Open. Day,.Selby, Higgins ,Hawkins and Williams have so far fallen to the sword and at the time of writing this blog, Judd Trump is battling to get over the line with Robbie Williams in a deciding frame, subsequently crashing out in defeat, 6-5.
I have been predicting a reoccurrence of the 1992 seismic moment for some time and it seeems we are really on this brink again. China does seem to create burnout fever for some players but this really seems to be something more grave.Players have been blaming their bad form on playing conditions, saying the pockets are too generous, favouring their opponents. This may be true but is only part of if a wider problem that has been bubbling to the surface for a while.
My take on it is that the likes of Selby and Higgins are reaching the end of their careers. Like Davis and Hendry before them,they should now look carefully at whether now is the time to hang up their cues.When your game goes in your 40s, it rarely comes back and only Mark Williams has managed to keep consistent form with the help of Sight Right. I believe they should retire before it becomes an embarrassment. No one wants to see such great players constantly fall to lower ranking players. Not that I am saying that I don’t applaud an underdog but having constant egg on your face is not a pretty sight.
For the likes of Hawkins and Trump, this is a different issues and largely boils down to a lack of confidence. Losing a match or even playing badly and getting over the line, leaves deep scars for these players that frankly don’t seem to heal in their game. Until they can flick that mindset switch, they will never win any silverware again. A harsh fact but a true one.
When I first started watching snooker in the late 1980s, people such as Griffiths and Thorne we’re reaching that retirement point and it was frankly embarrassing to see them limp around the table.Rather than carrying on, they did see this for themselves and retired. Concentration had abandoned them and so it really was time to put their cue at the back of the wardrobe.
If I had the answer on how to solve this snooker impasse, I would be a rich man or at at least have the decency to tell you you all but unfortunately I don’t. The sad fact is that snooker is in a good place but the players are not. Of course O’Sullivan plays the game at another level but he is only playing half the tour. The top 16 are flagging and are not able to capitalise on any early round battles. They crash out and their victor usually does in the next round, making the defeat even more embarrassing.
The tour now has twenty tournaments in the season yet no player is able win consecutive tournaments barring Ronnie. Yes, they can opt to not play a certain tournament but I feel the only way to improve is to play the whole tour. Lower rank players have no choice because without it, their bread and butter is at risk. For the top 16 and especially the top 8, you really have to be in it to win and until they fully compete they will never capitalise in this sport.
I have been predicting a reoccurrence of the 1992 seismic moment for some time and it seeems we are really on this brink again. China does seem to create burnout fever for some players but this really seems to be something more grave.Players have been blaming their bad form on playing conditions, saying the pockets are too generous, favouring their opponents. This may be true but is only part of if a wider problem that has been bubbling to the surface for a while.
My take on it is that the likes of Selby and Higgins are reaching the end of their careers. Like Davis and Hendry before them,they should now look carefully at whether now is the time to hang up their cues.When your game goes in your 40s, it rarely comes back and only Mark Williams has managed to keep consistent form with the help of Sight Right. I believe they should retire before it becomes an embarrassment. No one wants to see such great players constantly fall to lower ranking players. Not that I am saying that I don’t applaud an underdog but having constant egg on your face is not a pretty sight.
For the likes of Hawkins and Trump, this is a different issues and largely boils down to a lack of confidence. Losing a match or even playing badly and getting over the line, leaves deep scars for these players that frankly don’t seem to heal in their game. Until they can flick that mindset switch, they will never win any silverware again. A harsh fact but a true one.
When I first started watching snooker in the late 1980s, people such as Griffiths and Thorne we’re reaching that retirement point and it was frankly embarrassing to see them limp around the table.Rather than carrying on, they did see this for themselves and retired. Concentration had abandoned them and so it really was time to put their cue at the back of the wardrobe.
If I had the answer on how to solve this snooker impasse, I would be a rich man or at at least have the decency to tell you you all but unfortunately I don’t. The sad fact is that snooker is in a good place but the players are not. Of course O’Sullivan plays the game at another level but he is only playing half the tour. The top 16 are flagging and are not able to capitalise on any early round battles. They crash out and their victor usually does in the next round, making the defeat even more embarrassing.
The tour now has twenty tournaments in the season yet no player is able win consecutive tournaments barring Ronnie. Yes, they can opt to not play a certain tournament but I feel the only way to improve is to play the whole tour. Lower rank players have no choice because without it, their bread and butter is at risk. For the top 16 and especially the top 8, you really have to be in it to win and until they fully compete they will never capitalise in this sport.
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