Climb the hill and I’ll send somebody to shoot you
Yeah, there’s going to be some engagement farming like this on this one.
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The useless twitter updates make me sick.
Can we have a gentle PSA not to repost clickbait tweets about this?
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If the players club manager says he’s carrying a knock or is fatigued then that should be enough.
Ferguson was famous for doing ut, so if it worked for him, it can work for us.
Yeah that doesn’t sound open to abuse at all.
Great, said the squad planning left us fucked even more than last season if Odegaard got injured and here we are.
Most crucial player in our team should not have been playing for Norway after getting his ankle fucked against Brighton. Haven’t confirmed it’s the same one but I’m running with it starting there and being a stupid decision for him to play.
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I’m trying to look at the positives here. Odegaard has needed a rest for a couple of seasons. He’ll be on fire for the second half of the season.
Fuck Norway though, playing him when he wasn’t fit. Wankers. Hopefully this will change our strategy of allowing slightly injured players going away for pointless international breaks.
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Don’t take this as a personal shot at your point but where does this idea keep coming about players needing rest?
Odegaard has been average 45 or so games a season since signing for us and that seems about what you’d expect to get out of a player. It doesn’t seem like he’s played anywhere close to an extraordinary amount of games.
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No, it’s good question. At Martin’s age I was playing twice a week and refereeing one game and I was fine.
I think it’s more of a psychological thing. There’s a lot resting on his shoulders and I think he’ll spend more time with Arteta learning the craft of managing from the bench which will make him an even better captain and tactician.
Plus, we really need to work out how to play without our talisman, because next time he’s unavailable it could be the ECL semi-final.
Maybe slightly beyond your original argument.
I do think players are tired these days. I have seen so many Arsenal games where players looked just tired as fuck.
I used to think previously that our players are over tired because of our injury crisis forcing over reliance on select players.
But we have been fairly injury free lately and we still have so many games where players look lethargic.
Arteta’s unwillingness to rotate, PL’s squad limit, unnecessary international tournaments and increased friendlies have made it increasingly tiresome for players.
No way Sanchez should have declined the way he did at age of 29.
Didn’t Rodri also come out and say that the players might be considering striking because of the amount of games they’re expected to play?
For someone like him, it’s 60-70 games a season.
That’s just wild.
If they want players to play more games they need to expand the 25-man squad to at least 30. And give clubs first right of refusal for international friendlies and pointless games.
I think some of these players need to look at their fitness issues, I remember back in the day teams like Liverpool and Arsenal were playing 60-70 games a season for club and country. These were the times when squads were much smaller, training was less advanced and players could tackle from behind without the fear of being booked.
Too much money in the game has made these footballers soft, Maradona went out most games crocked requiring cortisone injections in his knees most games. Although I’m not saying this was right but I’m not looking for excuses that players need a rest.
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But what’s the difference between now and how it used to be??
If you play for a top team you’re expected to play more games that’s generally how it’s always been. Them Liverpool players in the 80s were easily playing 50-60 games a season not including international fixtures.
Like @Jesseviolin said this was also at a time when sports science was so far behind what it is now. English football had a serious drinking culture, nutrition was far behind what it is now and the way we understand recovery has changed so much.
Couple that with the heavier boots, shitty pitches and stuff…
Everything down to the way that football kits are designed these days is done to get that extra 0.1% benefit for players.
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I have sympathy for players and clubs with the amount of games they are required to play. I don’t think you can ever say to a player that they can’t represent their country but the key to solving this tension is to look at the schedule. The timing of those international fixtures right after the Euros and start of the PL season is just nonsensical IMO.
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Maybe the schedule has always been too heavy and it should have been an issue long before now.
I can only claim to see the difference from what I have seen in football since 2006.
Footballers have been running a lot more in the last 6-7 years compared to the 2000s.
Back then, the play would start with a long kick from the keeper, and the ball would be in the air for 10-15% of the game. Wingers wouldn’t defend as deep, and Strikers would walk around and stay onto the tails of the defender. The defending team would often fall back and start focusing on attack when it is inside their half.
These days, there is a huge need to press from the front and focus from the very first pass of the play. The physical and mental drain is far higher for attackers. They have to be switched on tactically for a pass made by the keeper towards the right and that to the left.
Previously, a ball passed to the keeper was a relief because he just sent it far ahead; now, the defenders have to assume the correct position for the next play quickly.
The kit efficiency and medical science are getting that extra 0.1% benefit, but the tactics have brought in 10% more fatigue.
To be specific, Why do we even need Nations League or Club World cup?
If not sympathy, we should know that the quality of each game won’t be high to justify the price fans pay for it.
I can only presume the frustration of having to pay a premium for boxing day match only to see players struggling to run 10 yards before quitting & passing it back.
Nah, I don’t think players are soft
They have been taking the piss specifically when it comes to players playing at the highest level.
This article highlights the topic quite well.
But as I already said in my original post top players from top teams were playing these amount of games under worse conditions, so for someone like Rodri to complain he is fucking soft. If he doesn’t like it retire from international football and play for someone like Southampton where he’ll play 40 games max
Besides anyone from Man City complaing won’t have to worry much since they won’t be playing many top games soon.