Fitness

[davidblade]

Are we fit enough , because we can’t seem to keep our high pressing game for 90 minutes.
Is there a drinking culture at the Lane , I think we as a team need to get back to basics

 

[JohnDenver]

Speaking of drinking cultures...

 

[sitwell]

Are we fit enough , because we can’t seem to keep our high pressing game for 90 minutes.
Is there a drinking culture at the Lane , I think we as a team need to get back to basics

Drugs ,that's usually the answer.

 

[Bladesman]

it is not easy to press high for a full 90 minutes.

 

[wizadry]

Game management is a big problem for us, knowing when to press as a unit and not blowing ourselves out early doors. Nobody can do this continually for 90 minutes.

 

[GrayBlade]

I think we are physically fit enough, my concern is if as a group we are mentally strong enough to manage some games.

 

[Ricky]

Our fitness is average. The way we start means we consistently tire a lot towards the end.

 

[blade.i.am]

If we made it count early on by getting 2 or more goals ahead we wouldn't need to do it for 90 mins. Think how many games we've dominated in the first half but not been more than one goal up.

 

[sheff_blade90]

half of squad is near 30 or over 30. theres your answer

 

[Sheff de party]

half of squad is near 30 or over 30. theres your answer

That and the gaffer hardly ever makes a sub when someone’s knackered unless his name is Mark Duffy.

 

[Davalon]

The players who cover the most ground don't tire that much.

Others seem to quite badly though.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Mentioned this elsewhere, we dropped off this time last year and put it down to Coutts' injury, could be fitness catching up due to our high temp approach (and training).

 

[shrubbery]

I don't think that a team exists that can press for 90 mins like we did for the first 20 on Friday.

It is more about game management for me and knowing when to press and when to just keep the ball to tire the opponent. When we went at West Prom for 20 mins they just sat back and soaked it up. In fact, they didn't really put a shift in until the second half and by then we were spent.

There is probably an argument that we should try and tire the opponent by keeping the ball and then only go hell for leather at the end of the game when they are knackered but that is considerably harder to achieve than coming straight out of the blocks at 100%.

I do also think that age is a limiting factor plus we don't have any players in the first team that have ever been blessed with blistering pace in the first place.

 

[SUFC Guy]

The pressing game needs to be managed in spells. For instance:

First Half:
0-25 - press
26 - 35 - chill
36 - 45 - press

Second Half:
46-59 - press
60-70 - chill
71-90+ press with the addition of fresh legs on the pitch

Would obviously need to mix it up a bit from game to game. Pressing for an entire first half will take it's toll on most of the players in the latter stages of the second half - the older end especially.

Sounds easy doesn't it? but you can bet that it isn't

 

[FriethBlade]

Agree with all the above...the other key factor is we don't have enough strength in depth in midfield and attack which I feel makes Wilder reluctant to pull players when they are knackered.

 

[Sheffsteel]

half of squad is near 30 or over 30. theres your answer

We play a high tempo pressing game
So it’s not about being fit.....we need the whole team to be super fit.

If we lowered the tempo and paces ourselves then the whole team could last 90 minutes.
However CW doesn’t want us to pace ourselves, he wants high tempo pressing football and it’s tough for over 30’s.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

As I said onoanother threadt our pressing game is so intense what we ultimately need is to spend on a striker, as an immediate priority. My thinking behind this is because it's about being clinical with the chances we create, even if this is via a loanee in January.

Simply put, the squad we have are excellent but can't go full pelt for 90 minutes twice a week. With a clinical striker, last night's 35-40 minute spell sees us 2-0 up and were then focusing on game management and controlling the opposition. Game management in its own right is tiring as it requires discipline, but it's not hell-for-leather stuff.

If we take our chances, this side and squad is more than adequate, if you assume tharst all we can largely afford. We had the same scenario in league one, albeit against a much lower standard of opposition, where we would take the lead, ensure we were safely in front and then dictate the tempo of the game. I genuinely believe we can do that most teams in this division, but at the moment we aren't taking our chances, so we're faced with going full pelt just to try and stay in games.

League One we had Billy, he was clinical and we then managed games. We need a similarly clinical striker this time to help Bill out and then we can ease the tempo at times and prioritise focusing on discipline and a shape.

 

[ElephantBlade]

Drugs ,that's usually the answer.

We need more of them.

 

[FriethBlade]

Problem is everyone is after clinical strikers and they come at a premium. The ones potentislly available on loan like Defoe are attracting premiership interest and Long was on the bench for Southampton yesterday so it's going to be very interesting to see who we sign.

I think we need a box to box midfielder too. Fleck is off his game at the.minute and I don't think Coutts is an adequate replacement as he's too similar to Norwood.

 

[madeinsheffield]

You don't get as tired when you're a couple of goals up

 

[finlaytheblade]

You don't get as tired when you're a couple of goals up

Game management is our biggest problem.When the impetus is wrestled away from us regaining it or holding onto what we have is beyond us
It happened many ties last season and although we have a better team we have not solved it.
needs to be solved this window or I see us fading away again.

 

[itsinyerblood]

I watched Southampton beat Arsenal yesterday. The have a new manager, and he clearly loves his players to be on the front foot at all times. None more so than Danny Ings, hardly what you'd call a junior, yet he pressed throughout the game and it worked a treat. Whether Southampton can maintain this approach remains to be seen, but it proved to be the significant factor against an Arsenal side who've been doing exactly the same to other sides recently.

The point is this, levels of fitness are a given if you want to play this style of football - to be honest it's a tactic that is featured throughout the various divisions, and if played well is difficult to counter. Wilder has the right approach where he wants us to play, but we lack the quality to play this way for a full 90 minutes.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

As I said onoanother threadt our pressing game is so intense what we ultimately need is to spend on a striker, as an immediate priority. My thinking behind this is because it's about being clinical with the chances we create, even if this is via a loanee in January.

Simply put, the squad we have are excellent but can't go full pelt for 90 minutes twice a week. With a clinical striker, last night's 35-40 minute spell sees us 2-0 up and were then focusing on game management and controlling the opposition. Game management in its own right is tiring as it requires discipline, but it's not hell-for-leather stuff.

If we take our chances, this side and squad is more than adequate, if you assume tharst all we can largely afford. We had the same scenario in league one, albeit against a much lower standard of opposition, where we would take the lead, ensure we were safely in front and then dictate the tempo of the game. I genuinely believe we can do that most teams in this division, but at the moment we aren't taking our chances, so we're faced with going full pelt just to try and stay in games.

League One we had Billy, he was clinical and we then managed games. We need a similarly clinical striker this time to help Bill out and then we can ease the tempo at times and prioritise focusing on discipline and a shape.

It's a fair point, how many times have we been 2-0 up or comfortable with, say, 30 mins to go. We almost let it slip at home to PNE from that position but were able to kick on again but yeah, if we had taken our early chance in games or at least gone in front when dominating, we would make it easier for ourselves.

As we keep saying, it's not major surgery, we're not far off.

 

[BushBlade]

I watched Southampton beat Arsenal yesterday. The have a new manager, and he clearly loves his players to be on the front foot at all times. None more so than Danny Ings, hardly what you'd call a junior, yet he pressed throughout the game and it worked a treat. Whether Southampton can maintain this approach remains to be seen, but it proved to be the significant factor against an Arsenal side who've been doing exactly the same to other sides recently.

The point is this, levels of fitness are a given if you want to play this style of football - to be honest it's a tactic that is featured throughout the various divisions, and if played well is difficult to counter. Wilder has the right approach where he wants us to play, but we lack the quality to play this way for a full 90 minutes.

Ings got subbed.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Ings got subbed.

Cheers, just shows how difficult it is to play at such tempo for 90 minutes.

 

[Ricky]

I wonder if we still have the players training at match intensity? If so that surely needs looking at.

 

[BushBlade]

Cheers, just shows how difficult it is to play at such tempo for 90 minutes.

I think he may be coming back from injury but yes, even Klopp and Guardiola have to manage their players’ fitness.

 

[itsinyerblood]

I think he may be coming back from injury but yes, even Klopp and Guardiola have to manage their players’ fitness.

And they have some of the most accomplished athletes in the professional game, so it just shows what we've come to expect from the modern day player.

 

[Addison]

I wonder if we still have the players training at match intensity? If so that surely needs looking at.

We do thats the reason Woodburn got injured. We were saying it needed looking at from around game 35 last season. Not got to 23 yet and a lot of players looked knackered after an hour.

 

[Ricky]

We do thats the reason Woodburn got injured. We were saying it needed looking at from around game 35 last season. Not got to 23 yet and a lot of players looked knackered after an hour.

Given that the management seem to place a big emphasis on sports science and statistics, that surprises me.

When we're competing in a demanding division and don't have the most naturally fit squad, it would seem absolutely ridiculous to waste so much energy in training. If it's full tilt day in, day out I bet the players are unhappy with it.