Can a sport team initiate its own loss?

[Julien_Olynpic]

The question this topic is dedicated to in full looks like this: can a football team (or a team from another sport) initiate a loss or a series of losses of its own free will in order to achieve some of its goals?
In one book about sports betting, I read an interesting case about an English football team. I will not mention its name, since not everyone agrees that this is exactly how it happened. As the author of the book wrote about it. In short, the matter was that the players of the football team did not like its coach and they really wanted to change this coach. But since they did not have the legal right to do such things, they resorted to a cunning tactic. They deliberately began to lose one match after another in order to change the coach and thus ruin his reputation. Do you believe in this version of events?
The second case happened with one regional Russian team, whose funding was sharply reduced. In protest or simply because there was no point in playing better (according to some authors), this team also began to deliberately lose matches with equal teams.
Do you think this is the right explanation?
Do you think it is possible for a team in modern football to want to initiate a loss of their own free will? I mean by their own free will, not by the will of a coach or match-fixing agents from outside.

[Frankolala]

Of course, it is possible for a football team to deliberately initiate its own losses if they don't like the coach, and they want a new coach. Since the players knows that it is unprofessional to complain about the coach or tell the management to fire him, they will do it their own way by intentionally losing their matches so that the management and fans will believe that the coach is incompetent and fire him.

It happened last year with Roma, when Mourinho was complaining that he needed new players in addition to the old ones. Roma players from my own understanding were deliberately losing their matches so that Mourino will be fired and after Mourinho got fired and De Rosi took over, the team won straight three matches to make the club feel that Mourinho was their problem. Whose tactics did they use to win those three consecutive wins, was it not Mourinho game tactics. De Rossi finally got sacked because he couldn't improve the club's performance after sometimes.

[mirakal]

I’ve heard stories like this before. What they did isn’t really the best way to get rid of their coach, but sometimes it happens because they feel unheard. Still, I think it’s unfair since it’s not handled through proper communication. This is what we call a silent rally, and to make their plan work, they just let their losses do the talking so the coach takes the blame.

That’s why, as a coach, it’s crucial to stay calm in decision-making and be open to all the players' suggestions. This way, communication stays smooth, and everyone can be productive together.

[_act_]

Are you talking about Chelsea in the past? I think when José Mourinho become their manager again that time if I remember very well. There are many other clubs that the players will be playing well after their coach has been changed after series of their poor performance. They will start playing good after the manager has been changed.

I was thinking like this in the past but I changed my mind. You should also know that the new manager will make some changes which can alter the performance of the team.

[Russlenat]

It happens not only in football but in other sports as well. In basketball, for example, in the NBA, teams might deliberately lose to secure a specific ranking to face an opponent they believe they have a better chance of beating. This kind of strategic positioning happens with playoff standings, teams might aim to have a certain seed, whether it’s to gain home-court advantage or even a perceived disadvantage, all to face a more favorable matchup in the first round.

[viljy]

There is nothing surprising in this. But the second case is surprising only because it happened at all - a reduction in funding. Usually the opposite happens in Russian football: the worse they play, the more funding they receive.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Yes, OP, you are right; it was about the coach "draining" that I thought when I started reading your post. In my country, such an incident occurred recently. The champion team at the local championship either lost or drew several games in a row in the first round, sacrificing their bonuses, because everyone was unhappy with the coach. After several unsuccessful games, the coach, due to failure to fulfill his professional duties, was asked to leave. And what happened next? The team won away with a good score. Coincidence? I don't think so, since these players have always been successful, but the coach's attitude toward the players did not satisfy them.
And although this case is not announced publicly, people who are close to the management communicate with each other, and as you know if two people know one secret, then it is no longer a secret.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

Yes, there have been such cases, although they are not very frequent. The aforementioned case of the team that doesn't buy the coach and worsens its performance until the new coach comes in, or the team that has mathematically won the league or a qualifying round and lets itself lose to face a rival in the next phase, or favours another team because it has received the offer of a juicy briefcase full of cash, things like that.

[swogerino]

Yes, there have been such cases, although they are not very frequent. The aforementioned case of the team that doesn't buy the coach and worsens its performance until the new coach comes in, or the team that has mathematically won the league or a qualifying round and lets itself lose to face a rival in the next phase, or favours another team because it has received the offer of a juicy briefcase full of cash, things like that.

I have witnessed this first person because where I live doing business with matches of football is a very profitable business, presidents of different clubs do what they want and get the result they want even putting correct scores in it. They do the same even when they qualify in the preliminary Champions League rounds when they tell the players what kind of result they won, many of the times, well I think not in the recent years as UEFA has punished them, yet in those years they lost like 1-4 or 0-4 even in home stadium when they were playing an equal or lower performing team. Now they still do it but in a more subtle way, so these things are normal and happen from a lot of time, I call this theater football as they are not playing football but rather theater.

[Hewlet]

Do you think it is possible for a team in modern football to want to initiate a loss of their own free will? I mean by their own free will, not by the will of a coach or match-fixing agents from outside.

it happens and sometimes, it's not just the collective agreement of the team but sometimes, a player can instigate this kind of thing because he feels he's not being treated right and so he can underplay so it can affect the performance of the term. Thier are instances when we hard that certain team are underperforming because they want to do away with a certain coach that they are not comfortable with. My concern in this case is if such performance won't affect the overall rating of the players?

For instance, as a goal keeper, you agree with your team to loose a certain game just to punish your coach and you consistently conceed goals upon goals, and in the process, it gets recorded for you as part of the goals you've conceeded and and it might affect your reputation in the process. It only means that while trying to punish your coach, you're in the same process punishing yourself.

[Yatsan]

The question this topic is dedicated to in full looks like this: can a football team (or a team from another sport) initiate a loss or a series of losses of its own free will in order to achieve some of its goals?
In one book about sports betting, I read an interesting case about an English football team. I will not mention its name, since not everyone agrees that this is exactly how it happened. As the author of the book wrote about it. In short, the matter was that the players of the football team did not like its coach and they really wanted to change this coach. But since they did not have the legal right to do such things, they resorted to a cunning tactic. They deliberately began to lose one match after another in order to change the coach and thus ruin his reputation. Do you believe in this version of events?
The second case happened with one regional Russian team, whose funding was sharply reduced. In protest or simply because there was no point in playing better (according to some authors), this team also began to deliberately lose matches with equal teams.
Do you think this is the right explanation?
Do you think it is possible for a team in modern football to want to initiate a loss of their own free will? I mean by their own free will, not by the will of a coach or match-fixing agents from outside.

At first glance it appears to be an idea of some football team with very deliberate refusal to get rid of the coach. Though this may sound as quite drastic measures, but not that hard to understand the dynamics of a team, especially on such professional sport grounds. It may just make you lose your mood. And if there is a severe confrontation between the players and the coach Players may feel that failure is the only reason for the fundamental transformation, but intentional ruining of one's career comes with high risks. So it is not something that has come to people easily, nor happens to many even though they may desire a change in training. But a defeat hurts them in terms of their potential as a player. Still, it can happen when the situation with the coach becomes unsustainable and the player sees no other option.

It also does not make a lot of sense that intentionally puts the team into the second losing streak due to insufficient funds. Where sometimes a player's motivation may be tied directly to his financial support. When players feel underpaid or underappreciated It is not too hard to imagine they would lose motivation or even come up with poor arguments.

As mentioned in modern football especially at the highest level. It's hard to imagine a team intentionally losing for these reasons without repercussions. Because the stakes are so high sponsors, fans, and events are all at stake, several steps are taken to prevent this type of thing from happening too often. The player is under contract. The media must be carefully examined. and various clubs There are big financial goals tied to performance. Even if the players have problems with the management. But losing on the field tends to backfire.

Do you think it is possible for a team in modern football to want to initiate a loss of their own free will? I mean by their own free will, not by the will of a coach or match-fixing agents from outside.

it happens and sometimes, it's not just the collective agreement of the team but sometimes, a player can instigate this kind of thing because he feels he's not being treated right and so he can underplay so it can affect the performance of the term. Thier are instances when we hard that certain team are underperforming because they want to do away with a certain coach that they are not comfortable with. My concern in this case is if such performance won't affect the overall rating of the players?

For instance, as a goal keeper, you agree with your team to loose a certain game just to punish your coach and you consistently conceed goals upon goals, and in the process, it gets recorded for you as part of the goals you've conceeded and and it might affect your reputation in the process. It only means that while trying to punish your coach, you're in the same process punishing yourself.

I agree with you. When players or the team as a whole work hard to eliminate the coach. This doesn't just affect the coach's future. But also their own reputation and career. As you said, for example, if a player intentionally concedes a goal. Those points will remain. It may damage their career in the long run. This is because performance evaluations are crucial to contracts, transfers and even securing a spot in the team in the future.

Although it may seem like a short-term punishment to the coach, But the long-term effects can be detrimental to the players involved. It is worth noting that the world of football, especially in the professional sector, is very interconnected. News about players' deliberate underperformance may spread. This makes it difficult for them to find new opportunities.

That's why, I believe it's dangerous for the players to embark on that path. They may want to send a message to the hierarchy. However, in so doing They undermine their own position in the game. The same logic works for a team's ranking. Due to successive lower efficiency It can rub off on the league ranking reputation and even put the financial stability of the club at stake. It finally bites the players again in the back. It's a short-term process, but with long-time implications on everyone around.

[Oasisman]

Possibly, yes. I mean in the NBA, it is more common to fire a coach when a series of loses is obtained. So, it is very possible that the players could deliberately throw away every game possible to get rid of their coach. Now, as much as we view it as an isolated case against match-fixing, but it is definitely considered as one, because there are bettors who expect them to win especially against a weaker team, but with the things happening with them internally, they will again deliberately throw away the game.
If a team is proven to be doing it, I believe they'd surely face a serious consequences.

[Kelward]

Yes, there have been such cases, although they are not very frequent. The aforementioned case of the team that doesn't buy the coach and worsens its performance until the new coach comes in, or the team that has mathematically won the league or a qualifying round and lets itself lose to face a rival in the next phase, or favours another team because it has received the offer of a juicy briefcase full of cash, things like that.

I believe that a team can initiate it's lose if they have a very good reason to do so, in agreement a team can achieve their goals. It's sounds weird that a team will deliberately lose their matches for any reasons to proof a point but I won't argue it if they do so for their own welfare. Deliberately losing a match must be a last resort to get what they want because nobody will ordinarily lose in anything just to proof a point. I'm sure that coaches must also know that their job security depends on the performance of the team that they're coaching, so it's a balanced equation for the players and their coach to give their best performances at anytime.

[Hatchy]

 I've come across this kind of story before and I think it's actually true and possible. If the team is displeased by the action of the coach, don't want him anymore but wasn't approved or others can't see anything wrong, then they just will have to go through other possible means to get rid of him. Definitely it's not the right thing to do as what ever loss they make in a roll will create another history for them in the sports scores probably making them losses in the eyes of others. But if they feel that they can go through such hard times to liberate them self then it's up to them.

[crwth]

I don’t think it’s wise to do it, but it could happen. I think it’s not implausible for teams to do it. It might be somewhat of a last resort for them to do this because I don’t see any motivation. It’s weird to do, but it can happen, in my opinion. The stories that do it might be hard to believe. It’s unethical, IMO.

There can be gambling issues that arise with it or something.

[Accardo]

I've come across this kind of story before and I think it's actually true and possible. If the team is displeased by the action of the coach, don't want him anymore but wasn't approved or others can't see anything wrong, then they just will have to go through other possible means to get rid of him. Definitely it's not the right thing to do as what ever loss they make in a roll will create another history for them in the sports scores probably making them losses in the eyes of others. But if they feel that they can go through such hard times to liberate them self then it's up to them.

Definitely, If the team is performing well, nobody would admit their complaints, most coaches who bit the dust was as a result of bad performance from his players. Since footballers now capitalize on this as a criterion to remove a coach, it shows they do not care much about the club's success. Because losing few more games until the coach is removed would affect their position in the league, and what if the next manager is not competent? would they continue losing? why not play good football, and deliberate on the existing coach's flaws.

[Fiatless]

Do you think this is the right explanation?
Do you think it is possible for a team in modern football to want to initiate a loss of their own free will? I mean by their own free will, not by the will of a coach or match-fixing agents from outside.

That is a costly way for them to air their complaints, but it does happen. Football players can express their dissatisfaction with the coach's actions in any way they see fit. Adopting this pattern, though, could cost you money and goodwill. Sponsors may be reluctant to contribute to such a club, which could harm the club's finances and reputation.

Rumors have surfaced regarding similar incidents in football. These, however, are internal problems that have been resolved internally and are kept quiet from the media due to the possibility of unfavorable outcomes. Since they have nothing to lose, retired players are often the ones who leak this news.

[EarnOnVictor]

-snip-
Do you think it is possible for a team in modern football to want to initiate a loss of their own free will? I mean by their own free will, not by the will of a coach or match-fixing agents from outside.

I thought it was a match-fixing when I first read your post, they are being discussed on many threads already. I'm glad it's a different discussion entirely and I say it is happening in the world of football. I believe it would be happening in the world of other sports too. The sports team you see has factions, those they are loyal to themselves, though this may not be plain to all of the team, the key areas of the team may be affected when a few of them have deliberately reduced their performance. This may not even happen as a group but a selective player who didn't want to perform well due to one reason or another. This is illegal and often happens with a price because the players will be demarketing themselves as well. For this, it is stylishly done. It's obvious at times when another management is constituted, with the same team, you may now see a brilliant performance.

[ethereumhunter]

Yes, I believe with that version because it is normal if players doesn't like their coach and want to get rid of him. If the team lose in many events, the manager or even the owner of the club will thinks that is something wrong happen to their team and will discuss it with coach and players.

Maybe that also happen in other club out of Russian team because we never know about the real things that happen to all clubs. But if we have relationship with one player on that team and he said about that, we will know for sure the details.

[danherbias07]

"Tanking." - to lose on purpose to gain advantage.

In basketball, specifically the NBA they do this so they can get a better Draft Pick for the next season, just like what the Spurs did to get Wembenyama and other known players in the league now. They will keep on losing games if they know they will not able to enter the playoffs. That way, they will have a better pick and most of those at the top picks are soon to be stars in the league.
It's a popular strategy but there's also a battle there as other teams who think they cannot win with their roster will do the same. Rebuilding teams will trade their stars and do this.