Modern day footballers and excuses

Wasn't sure what topic this might fit in so I hope a new topic is ok.

Its based around the excuses we get for failure in the modern game. An era when players have top of the range facilities for training. They have the best facilities for recovering from injury. They have superb playing pitches. They have dieticians nutritionists physiologists fitness experts and so on. Plus they have ridiculous money on top of it all to live lives of luxury.

Yet were told the demands are too great on them physically and perhaps mentally. Seasons are too long with not enough rest time. If I may id like to ask why this wasn't a.problem 30 years ago? A comparison the Liverpool squad of 83/84. In football terms an unfair comparison but compare the stats rather than the quality of squads.

83/84 we had a squad of 21 of which 14 or 15 would have been used more than a handful of times. They played 42 league games winning 22 losing 6 on the way to the title. They played 12 league cup ties when every round was 2 leg. They won that. 2 fa cup games went out to Brighton I think. And 9 European cup games on the way to winning that losing 0.

In the league at Christmas they played 4 games in 7 days including 2 in 2 days December 26 and 27 and didn't lose any of the 4.

Most if not all were international footballers so there was no rest on international weeks.

The point of all this is not just to show up what a poor excuse for Liverpool the Christmas period and the small squad stuff we hear regularly but for football in general are.

When you look at how most tennis players are thrashing it out on the tennis court every two-three days of the year sometimes going 4-5 hours in a 5 setter then there's no excuse. Tennis players also don't get the luxury of a nice 4-6 week summer break like footballers and they certainly, after a break, don't reenter the fold a few kilos overweight like some footballers do in pre season training. Compared to other sports like tennis you realise that footballers are relatively unfit. One look at Wayne Rooney proves that.

Wasn't sure what topic this might fit in so I hope a new topic is ok.

Its based around the excuses we get for failure in the modern game. An era when players have top of the range facilities for training. They have the best facilities for recovering from injury. They have superb playing pitches. They have dieticians nutritionists physiologists fitness experts and so on. Plus they have ridiculous money on top of it all to live lives of luxury.

Yet were told the demands are too great on them physically and perhaps mentally. Seasons are too long with not enough rest time. If I may id like to ask why this wasn't a.problem 30 years ago? A comparison the Liverpool squad of 83/84. In football terms an unfair comparison but compare the stats rather than the quality of squads.

83/84 we had a squad of 21 of which 14 or 15 would have been used more than a handful of times. They played 42 league games winning 22 losing 6 on the way to the title. They played 12 league cup ties when every round was 2 leg. They won that. 2 fa cup games went out to Brighton I think. And 9 European cup games on the way to winning that losing 0.

In the league at Christmas they played 4 games in 7 days including 2 in 2 days December 26 and 27 and didn't lose any of the 4.

Most if not all were international footballers so there was no rest on international weeks.

The point of all this is not just to show up what a poor excuse for Liverpool the Christmas period and the small squad stuff we hear regularly but for football in general are.

Maybe one of the techy stat geeks has a computer programme that can rerun one the games, or all of them, from that season and find out the distances each player ran.  Find out the heart rates, pulses, energy used etc then do some sort of fitness comparisons.

I guess it's one of those old against new things that can't really be compared, as like you say Brian with all the monitoring that the fitness guys do, the different nutritional requirements for the players dependant on position played and just the fact players are fitter means they put more into each game so need more rest and recovery time between games.

It's a pity but they don't make them like Gerry Byrne any more .

They work harder and more intensely than the footballers of earlier years. Strength and conditioning is light years ahead of what it used to be and they facing a team of super athletes each week at a minimum.

That being said they're becoming millionaires to do it so no F***ing excuses should count. They knew what they were signing up for

They work harder and more intensely than the footballers of earlier years. Strength and conditioning is light years ahead of what it used to be and they facing a team of super athletes each week at a minimum.

That being said they're becoming millionaires to do it so no f**king excuses should count. They knew what they were signing up for

And the aim is still the same,put the ball in the opposition goal and stop the opposition putting the ball in your goal.Also players should want the same as supporters and that is to be successful in winning the league and cups.Most kids would love to have the chance to be a professional footballer.

Excuse's are exactly that. It was Wenger who first started ' the old chestnut ' of players being tired because they play two games in a week !!   That is on average of any players only being actively involved in the game for no less than 35 minutes . That's 70 minutes of intense activity a week , combined with 3 training sessions of 3 hrs .

This demand is placed on athletes who have been conditioned using  sport science since they were children . Also they have the stress taken out of their life to such a limit , all they need to do is concentrate in football. Clubs find their homes , cars , nurseries and supply cooks for their food. Agents book their holidays , restaraunt reservations , theatre tickets and in some case's pay the Utility bills for them .

Their money and finance's are handled by top accountants and their family and friends are even looked after by the agent and club.

Turning up twice a week to do your job with the highest degree of effort and professionalism is what they should be all about. Everyone has something going on in their lives and WE deal with it . So should they.

If it's the pressure that get's to them , then they are not of a high calibre sportsmen that they might be getting told that they are.

I simply can not think of any job in the world that can come close to being a top professional Footballer. Unless you 're injured , GROW A f***in PAIR AND SHOW US WHAT YOU CAN DO !!

Excuse's are exactly that. It was Wenger who first started ' the old chestnut ' of players being tired because they play two games in a week !!   That is on average of any players only being actively involved in the game for no less than 35 minutes . That's 70 minutes of intense activity a week , combined with 3 training sessions of 3 hrs .

This demand is placed on athletes who have been conditioned using  sport science since they were children . Also they have the stress taken out of their life to such a limit , all they need to do is concentrate in football. Clubs find their homes , cars , nurseries and supply cooks for their food. Agents book their holidays , restaraunt reservations , theatre tickets and in some case's pay the Utility bills for them .

Their money and finance's are handled by top accountants and their family and friends are even looked after by the agent and club.

Turning up twice a week to do your job with the highest degree of effort and professionalism is what they should be all about. Everyone has something going on in our lives and WE deal with it . So should they.

If it's the pressure that get's to them , then they are not of a high calibre sportsmen that they might be getting told that they are.

I simply can not think of any job in the world that can come close to being a top professional Footballer. Unless you 're injured , GROW A f***in PAIR AND SHOW US WHAT YOU CAN DO !!

What if this is all that they can do? If you are average no amount of top 'dieticians nutritionists physiologists fitness experts' can make you world class.

Sturridge ...I believe ...has still missed more complete games than he has played for us.

Training photos for Melwood this week show the white Roller has gone ...  its now the black Bentley.

Or does he own both ?


Boss drives a Vauxhall.


My point is  ........... ?

Obvious.

Sturridge ...I believe ...has still missed more complete games than he has played for us.

Training photos for Melwood this week show the white Roller has gone ...  its now the black Bentley.

Or does he own both ?


Boss drives a Vauxhall.


My point is  ........... ?

Obvious.

Michael Jordan drove a Ferrari...didn't seem to affect his ability to score.

There is no excuse for players  to not be fit and ready even playing 2 games a week. Back in the 90's and 2000's Jordan use to play an 82 game season, 2 sometimes 3 games a week, plus  practices, plus traveling (many times on planes, sometimes on buses) and he was the best athlete in the world and the most dominant one as well.


Not all players are Michael Jordan mind you, but  it wasn't just him, there were plenty that adhered to that schedule and performed.

I used basketball because that's probably the only sport I can think of that has the aerobic and endurance aspect that "soccer" does.

NFL players get a week off between games, but they usually need that because of the pounding their bodies endure.

Sturridge ...I believe ...has still missed more complete games than he has played for us.

Training photos for Melwood this week show the white Roller has gone ...  its now the black Bentley.

Or does he own both ?


Boss drives a Vauxhall.


My point is  ........... ?

Obvious.

There is a bloke out there with an 18 inch dick but he can't have sex, your point is ?

Sturridge ...I believe ...has still missed more complete games than he has played for us.

Training photos for Melwood this week show the white Roller has gone ...  its now the black Bentley.

Or does he own both ?


Boss drives a Vauxhall.


My point is  ........... ?

Obvious.

Your point on the cars would only be valid if Danny was the only pro footballer driving flash cars.

They all do.

My point is  ........... ?

Pointless?

Pointless?

Irrelevant?

Haha not arsed about his car he could get a chopper to the ground if he could back it up.

Issue is Sturridge is finished as the force he used to be. To even continue his career at the top level he would have to remould his game.

Won't be for us though.

Mad thought, but he actually impresses me when he comes short and looks to pick a pass. Perhaps there is a number 10, false 9 in there.

They work harder and more intensely than the footballers of earlier years.

I don't agree with that.

25 years ago they were playing more games more often, and usually at the same speed, on worse pitches and less advanced medical treatment. Remember when there was 2 games in 24 hours at Christmas, and 2 games on Easter weekend? Everyone just accepted it and got on with it. Today's players have the Life of Riley by comparison.

English football has always been 100mph for 90 minutes, and schedules have always been heavy this time of year. They're even more so in lower divisions. But that is the challenge and it's your responsibility to have enough resources to cope. You will have to play twice in 2 days, you will have to play three games a week, you will have to play several away games in a row, you will have to play in hail, rain, and/or snow, you will be asked to play just after breakfast one day and just before midnight the next, and you can either relish it or put up with it. No point complaining about it, as it will never ever ever change. If players want to complain though, there are plenty of other less demanding leagues out there for them.

I don't agree with that.

25 years ago they were playing more games more often, and usually at the same speed

That's your perception  of it, but the truth often is in the people who lived it and you only need to listen to almost any footballer from a different generation who freely admit that the game has got faster and that the players are mor like athletes than in previous generations
Maybe 25+ years ago they played on poorer pitches and played more games around certain times of the seasons but maybe in those points of the season they all played at 60% fitness levels

To be honest I'm with you all in that I don't think they are tired or shouldn't be, certainly not in reletive terms they aren't but the key is how fit or tired They are in comparison to the players they are playing against.. Every team nowadays are fit but with the levels of fitness if you are 5% off the team you are playing against for any one of numerous reasons then that can make a big difference

It's not tired it's tired as opposed to their contempories

However I do think it's like most things a self fulfilling cycle,  these players nowadays train with heart rate monitors on,  they have blood tests taken to see if they're at their peak training levels.. They are rested if they get in certain training zones.. you often hear about managers talking about players entering red zones and can't be risked
They are brought up to think they need to be at 100% to play and in their heads I'd they don't feel it then they don't play or its their at the backs of their minds

But is it so much worse with all that? I don't know, in the past none of that was around and if they were injured then they were given injections and told to get out there,  how many old players now struggle with knees and ankles and backs because they had injections to get them on the field?

I'm kind of in the middle on this if I'm honest because when we hear of a player is tired I can't be arsed with the argument of oh he's on 100k a week he shouldn't be tired.. Well he isn't in comparison to you or me, he's 100 times fitter and fresher, but against his contemporaries? If a player goes out there and is second best to a player on the opposition because he's 5% down on him and just can't keep up in that split second we are the first to get on their backs for performances too..

They work harder and more intensely than the footballers of earlier years. Strength and conditioning is light years ahead of what it used to be and they facing a team of super athletes each week at a minimum.

That being said they're becoming millionaires to do it so no f**king excuses should count. They knew what they were signing up for

I was watching a documentary a few years back now.

It was set on a US Army Base in the States.

It showed everyday life that the GIs and the families were living.  How each US base is a mini America whether in the States or abroad.

Their own shopping malls  , Macs KFCs and Burger Kings.

Massive discounts on new vehicles bought .
Cheap ciggies and booze.
Cheap discounted food at the base supermarket.
Incredible healthcare , dentists , counsellers . The lot

A cotton wool existence protected from the real world outside of those gates .


Then came a day when some of the families received a letter.
You then saw a few of the women go into dramatic meltdown.

"Mah husban has been called up for Eye Rak "   one screamed.   

The kids were crying , even the family terrier was having a breakdown next to his feeding bowl.




I remember thinking then.
Lady .
Your husband signed up for active duty.  Its a part of the deal.

A cotton wool existence protected from the real world outside of those gates is what you want .........without the other side of it.






Sturridge ? Rollers ,Bentleys and wont even run for the ball .

Out on the bikes alà TDF, Veulta, riders are pushing 100's of miles daily and reaching 200bpm and over.

Saying footballers are fatigued is just nonsense and anyone who falls for that is daft. Footballers have NEVER been so fit as they are in today's game...

Anyone that says Footballers are drained and fatiqued are as wet as an Otters pocket.

They play 2 games a week, 90 Minutes, and Probably do 4 hours Training 4-5 Times a week, in total about 22 hours a week Physical activity and then have massages, spas everything needed to recover....

I go to the Gym 5 times a week, Train on mondays after going to work for 8 hours, play Badminton on Tuesdays play 5 a side on Wednesdays and Fridays and then have a match on Saturdays all on a diet of Greggs Breakfast deals (Sausage and Bacon roll with a coffee for £2) and an Asda Meal deal for lunch. I definitely don't get a rub down after every session, I'm lucky if i get a rub down from the Mrs once a week!
IM NOT FATIGUED!
Get over it you bunch of wet wipes! You're paid more in 2 days then I am in a whole year. Bust your balls and earn your rest.

Michael Jordan drove a Ferrari...didn't seem to affect his ability to score.

There is no excuse for players  to not be fit and ready even playing 2 games a week. Back in the 90's and 2000's Jordan use to play an 82 game season, 2 sometimes 3 games a week, plus  practices, plus traveling (many times on planes, sometimes on buses) and he was the best athlete in the world and the most dominant one as well.


Not all players are Michael Jordan mind you, but  it wasn't just him, there were plenty that adhered to that schedule and performed.

I used basketball because that's probably the only sport I can think of that has the aerobic and endurance aspect that "soccer" does.

NFL players get a week off between games, but they usually need that because of the pounding their bodies endure.

Best athlete in the world? I'm sure Marco Pantani might have disagreed, but I get it 😎