Sammy Lander: Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final, after only limited warm-ups.
Although it sounds good in theory, bringing in a substitute to "finish" a game seems like a bad idea. However, there have been many high-profile cases where it has backfired - mostly from the penalty spot.
When West Ham's Mark Noble, a West Ham player, was asked by David Moyes to take a spot kick against Manchester United last month, Mark Noble was still wearing a bib. David de Gea saved the bib.
In the Euro 2020 final, there was a heated debate about Gareth Southgate, England's boss, introducing Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho. With only minutes left in extra time, both players missed from 12 yards against eventual winner Italy.
Did the players have enough preparation to play such an important role in either match?
Sammy Lander, AFC Wimbledon's substitute coach, thinks otherwise in the cases of Rashford or Sancho.
He analyzed the activities of players before they were introduced to England's most popular game for 55 years as part of his pitch to Mark Robinson, Wimbledon boss.
Lander tells BBC Sport that he highlighted small parts of the final when Sancho Rashford and Sancho came off the bench. "They weren't warming down down the touchline, they were just walking," Lander says.
"I believe they were warming up for around 11 minutes. They were standing still for seven minutes, then they did groin stretching for two minutes. Then they sat and watched for around one minute.
"So I immediately thought that they weren't physically ready to go on a football game, not just to match the intensity but also to try to raise it."
Lander believes that this is where he can bring value to a sport that already has restart coaches and throw in coaches. He will get players physically, mentally, and technically ready to play on the field and help to improve the team. To make them 'finishers'.
Negative thinking can be overcome
Lander's main task with League One Wimbledon substitutes is to help them combat the negative associations with being named on the benches.
Robinson gave Lander a trial job at the club.
"One of these guys could be your match-winner. Look at their body language.
"So, it's all about engaging with other players throughout the game, asking questions about their opponents and possibly areas you could exploit, if possible,
Robinson is responsible for Lander's inclusion on the Wimbledon coaching team.
Lander already has a restarts coach who assists when the ball is out of play or free-kicks occur. It was his manager's openness for new ideas that Lander embraced, even though he had mixed feelings about the idea.
Robinson says that it makes players realize that we are player-focused and that we are working to improve them. Robinson speaks to BBC Sport.
"I believe that people have to feel valued. But I also believe that players must take ownership of their development. So I sort of sit between the two stools.
"As a professional, you should be looking at the game and preparing yourself properly." You might be disappointed that you aren't starting. That's okay. But I recognize that they're still human beings.
Sammy Lander (in black) states that his role is "to prepare our finishers to enter into the game as prepared as possible" as well as "to analyse their effectiveness."
The next step - a water bottle coach
Lander, who was an analyst and scout for Bournemouth, knows that it is possible to be skeptical about a job like this.
After a recent interview, one commenter under the online article asked "What next? A water bottle coach?"
However, Liverpool is one of the teams that has Thomas Gronnemark as a throw-in coach. This makes it seem like the pursuit for marginal gains seems endless.
Robinson, whose team is 14th in League One, admitted that it can be difficult to make substitutions with a clear mind, but he says he takes initiative and speaks to Lander before halftime to set up a warm-up to achieve a specific goal.
He stated that he had been in a similar situation. What does this actually mean?
Southgate's hope was that Rashford or Sancho would score from the penalty spot, and lead England to glory for first time since 1966.
Lander says that the players could have practiced stroking penalties at Wembley's warm up room to strengthen their muscle memory and prevent them from overthinking what was coming.
Lander said, "It's almost like if I haven't driven in a week. That first gear change isn't as smooth if I've been driving for 100 mile." It's the exact same with football.
"When you make 100 passes, the 101st pass is instinct. But when you make that first pass, I believe you are really thinking about it."
