Fitness

[robbiez666]

When Wilder first came and we stormed the league we looked miles fitter than any other team.

That carried on for the first half of last season but faded towards the end, which I put down to simple tiredness.

We've looked unfit the second halves of the last couple of games. Like they've all been out the night before and sunk 10 lagers and smoked 20 Mayfair.

It's not like we were breaking a neck in the first halves. What's happened?

 

[SwissBlade]

When Wilder first came and we stormed the league we looked miles fitter than any other team.

That carried on for the first half of last season but faded towards the end, which I put down to simple tiredness.

We've looked unfit the second halves of the last couple of games. Like they've all been out the night before and sunk 10 lagers and smoked 20 Mayfair.

It's not like we were breaking a neck in the first halves. What's happened?

Last season our excellent fitness started to show around mid sept.

We peaked around December and the season took its toll from Jan onwards. Looking at the squad we have much more depth and the likes of Washington, Clarke, Johnson, coutts and Woodbury will all be building their fitness during the season.

We’ll need those players as much as the likes of Billy and McG.

Last season we didn’t have the players to rotate

 

[Ricky]

We're not one of the fitter sides.

Who are our fit players? Basham, Freeman/Baldock, Stevens, Fleck?

Fitness and athleticism certainly isn't a defining characteristic of ours.

 

[robbiez666]

We're not one of the fitter sides.

Who are our fit players? Basham, Freeman/Baldock, Stevens, Fleck?

Fitness and athleticism certainly isn't a pdefining characteristic of ours.

We were though. That's the strange thing.

 

[Ricky]

We were though. That's the strange thing.

I don't think we were. It was likely energy, confidence and a good system rather than fitness.

We'd usually end games on the back foot last season too. We also seemed to run out of legs in the second half of the season.

A lot of the clubs in this league have squads full of players who've been used to Championship or even PL level intensity for a number of seasons, it's not the case with our players.

 

[SwitchBLADE Smiles]

I don't think fitness is the issue. The system we play demands alot, from everyone physically. Its no surprise we tend to tail off towards the end of games, especially our wing backs. Freeman has looked absolutely dead on his feet in some games & there's good reason for this (hint, it's not because he's unfit).

 

[SwissBlade]

To suggest that fitness has not contibuted to success in league one and championship last season is extremely disrespectful to the people behind the scenes.

We’ve been consistently one of the fittest sides in the league for two years and that has helped us see teams off

It also contributes hugely to injury and post match recovery. Something which since wilder has come in has meant we’ve not had that many soft tissue injuries - pulls and tears

Strength and conditioning is also key to fitness and were in better shape than I can remember any previous side

Of course everyone else is doing the Same so it’s fine margins.

The final thing to note is that peak fitness won’t come in the first month of the season, nor do you want it to. You’d expect that we’d hit peak fitness around jan/ Feb.

 

[Caseh]

I don't have a problem with our fitness, we have such a marauding playstyle, it would be amazing if we didn't tire. It wasn't a problem in league 1 because we were against lesser players, now if we slow down for a few minutes it becomes obvious, because we can quickly get overrun. Maybe this is in part why CW was trying a flat 3 in midfield? Trying to find a more sustainable style? Something to slow the tempo.

 

[LS16Blade]

Completely agree that, far from being one of the fitter sides in the division, we are arguably one of the least fit sides in the division. I thought this last season and believe it still to be the case.

Very few sides in the Championship are as good at knocking the ball about as us, but the majority of them are fitter and have a sprinkling of players with the pace and athleticism that we simply don't possess.

The late winner that we got against Norwich this season was such a rare instance of us scoring at the death to win points. More typically, we tend to find ourselves being pushed back in games from 75 minutes onwards, so that we have everyone defending the 18 yard line with no outlet. And this retreat usually coincides with taking Duffy and/or off - 2 of the cleverer players who are capable of getting on the ball or holding it up.

Why the management persist in this belief that Duffy and Sharp, in particular, are the players that can't play for 90 minutes, I don't know. To my mind, other than Basham and Baldock, all of our players hit the wall after 75 minutes, and Duffy and Sharp look no less capable of lasting the 90 than the others...and furthermore, Duffy and Sharp, unlike some others, might actually do something to affect the game in the closing stages.

 

[BushBlade]

There’s a difference between athleticism and fitness. We’re fit but most of our players aren’t particularly athletic. The higher up the leagues you go, the more athletic the players are. We’re now competing with teams that have equal to or better resources than us; fitness coaches, top facilities etc and the richer teams can afford players who are both athletic and can play a bit.

 

[super_pig]

people should lay off duffy.. he clearly has some kind of issue that means he can’t do a full 90

 

[Bert]

people should lay off duffy.. he clearly has some kind of issue that means he can’t do a full 90

Agreed. It's called being unfit.

 

[super_pig]

Agreed. It's called being unfit.

reminds me of fletcher at man united

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

To suggest that fitness has not contibuted to success in league one and championship last season is extremely disrespectful to the people behind the scenes.

We’ve been consistently one of the fittest sides in the league for two years and that has helped us see teams off

It also contributes hugely to injury and post match recovery. Something which since wilder has come in has meant we’ve not had that many soft tissue injuries - pulls and tears

Strength and conditioning is also key to fitness and were in better shape than I can remember any previous side

Of course everyone else is doing the Same so it’s fine margins.

The final thing to note is that peak fitness won’t come in the first month of the season, nor do you want it to. You’d expect that we’d hit peak fitness around jan/ Feb.

Sweeping comment here, but I wouldn't be surprised that is the reason why some of Tufty's chosen signings have failed miserably? I'm thinking Holmes, Leonard, Carruthers especially.

The Championship is a relentless division and I'm sure the fitness levels demanded by our coaching staff reflect this.

 

[robbiez666]

people should lay off duffy.. he clearly has some kind of issue that means he can’t do a full 90

He only has little legs

 

[Houston_Blade]

'kin hell Foxy don't these people know there's a Fitness thread in General Chat, if they want to know about the latest HiiT workout or how far the Runner Blades have jogged this week they should send Duffy there. Merge the threads please.