Looking at the scoring combination of Amond and Matt it struck me that one of the reasons why they are so successful is because they like each other. As such they work as a team. To me it gives that tiny edge.

Only an observation I would as ever be interested in the views of others.

I think it's bound to help if you get on
Less bitching at each other if one of them is having a bad game and happy to see each other play well and score
No animosity if one of them is getting the headlines
Only my opinion of course

Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham had a great partnership but they hated each other.

Exile 1976 wrote:Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham had a great partnership but they hated each other.

Yorke and Cole was the first choice partnership though and they were best buddies.

Whether you like each other or not has absolutely no relevance to how well you understand each other's game on the pitch. Where you run and move, and what the other person is going to do can be understood through repetition and training whether you have the same tastes or sense of humour or whatever.

It probably matters less nowadays due to the various fixed patterns of play reducing the some of the off-the-cuff actions, though I'm sure it's more enjoyable to celebrate with someone you actually like, so arguably there's that motivation to consider.

I think that Worksop Amber is bang on. A team depends on a blend of abilities and personal drives and any good manager (and captain in sports) knows that the trick is to gel and harness these individual attributes to achieve the common goal. Empathy is the value added bit but incredibly vital to see the team through bad and good times - we like to work, play and deal with people we like (and trust). Look it's like having sex. I think that there is one hell of a difference (an exponential difference) between doing it with someone I like and someone I really really really like! This is only my opinion, I'm 66 years old and I speak from memory. I'm probably about to be sin binned from this site!

I'm older than you NH but thankfully my memories are still very recent.I agree what you say though.