Malangsob 1,216 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 8 hours ago, JFK-1 said: I think we can read into it that they're fit enough to play 90 minutes of professional football and much fitter than we are but in Gerrard's view not as fit as they could be. I have seen players running out of gas and effectively slowing down as the second half progresses. If we're going to be playing the high intensity Liverpool style that's hard to maintain for 90 minutes if you're not as fit as you possibly can be. And if indeed that is the way we're going to be playing which as yet is still an unknown i'm going to be interested to see if it pushes any opposition into the realms of exhaustion in the last quarter or so of the game. Because they're going to have to keep up with that high intensity if that's how we play it. mmm...yeah thanks. I think that is a good point...very good. They are unfit for the style he would prefer. Yes...I think that is another thing to ponder. A high paced style based upon sheer fitness can be a distinct advantage in the latter stages of a contest. Cool...thanks main! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 3 hours ago, Gaffer said: I listened to that too. Our club really was in the dark ages when it came to fitness. When I listened to Durrant and Ferguson talk about the running they had to do during pre season for Rangers it made me think about how much time was wasted during pre season. Running up and down the dunes at Gullane only really develops their ability to run up and down sand dunes, but it doesn't really help them in a game of football. Footballers require a specific type of fitness which requires balance, sharp changes of direction, and bursts of speed. Running for 15km on sand doesn't help with that. So when SG says they weren't fit enough, he means for a game of football in the style he wants them to play. They would all have been fit enough to run a marathon, but that's useless. MW understood the theory too, and there's no doubt our team under him and Weir was very fit. We just lacked the ability to change the plan. The ironic thing about the way SG wants us to play is that if you do chase the ball down and win it back early, it's the other team that needs to be fit because they'll spend more of the game without the ball. Last season, especially against Celtic, it's no wonder we tired. We allowed them to play and didn't press them. There is no team fit enough to manage that. There's a reason most top teams score goals in the last 8 minutes of games. It takes about an hour of intensive work to tire a pro player. After that they don't concentrate as well and gaps open up. We need to get back to that, and being in our opponents' faces from second one of the game will help us win more games, even if it is towards the end of the match. That's a big part of what the football winning mentality is. It looks like Stevie G has got that into their heads now. If anyone has read the Andre Agassi autobiography he attributes the vast majority of his success in the majors on Nick Bolletieri - and the single biggest factor he gave for his rise to stardom, winning majors, was the fitness regime. Bolletieri, upon becoming Agassi's coach asked him "what is your training regime" to which the response was "My Dad gets me to run 8 miles up the hills on the outskirts of Vegas and back again. Bolletieri asks "and how many times do you run 8 miles in one direction on a tennis court". Agassi was clearly confused. Bolletieri then says "tennis is a game of short, sharp sprints and lunges. Your fitness coaching needs to focus on short, sharp lunges". Whilst we all reminisce about the Gullane sands... the reality is that they were virtually a pointless pre-season routine (in fairness to the managers who had the players do that.... research and sports science weren't even invented back then ). They made you physically fit, but not for a game of football. How many times have you, or I, changed our workout routine and, even though it is shorter, we feel worse than our regular routine ? Some of that is because we get used to the regular routine as does our body. All of the above is why I was happy to see the players with resistance bands around their ankles and calves, forcing their legs into the type of motion you would have when trying to explode with pace from a standing start. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill 13,717 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I always assumed the Gullane sand dunes business was as much about mental toughness and team bonding as physical fitness. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster. 4,808 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I don't think you can dismiss the Gullane sands approach and the benefits that brought to the team. It might not have been the complete approach but IIRC Jock Wallace brought in a specialised sprint coach as he appreciated the need for a varied programme. The thing about the Gullane Sands pre-season was that it was more than just fitness, it was about character as well. Jock came from a military background and appreciated the need for a group of lads to get through difficult challenges so as to make them mentally stronger. The other thing was that the Gullane sands pre-season without Jock Wallace wouldn't have been the same. It was a more holistic matter. You needed a combination of things to come together. - Fitness (stamina) - Character / Belief - Dressing room 'Motivation' from Jock - Team spirit - Ability and Talent 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster. 4,808 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 7 minutes ago, Bill said: I always assumed the Gullane sand dunes business was as much about mental toughness and team bonding as physical fitness. Agreed ! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I think we should have a sprinting coach now. He does not have to be a full time coach just a few hours a week. More sprinting technique than fitness. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I don't believe the players fitness could have increased all that much in such a short space of time - especially within a group of already fit people. What I took from SG's interview/comments was that he had already formed an opinion that the squad were unfit (he'd previously said similar). He's then started working with them & found out that their general fitness levels are higher than he expected. Hopefully he has raised the fitness standards higher & will demand players maintain that standard. IF that is the case, then the teams poorer performances will be more down to mental performance - they can run all days long, but are unable to maintain concentration for 90mins. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaffer 1,665 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 51 minutes ago, Darthter said: I don't believe the players fitness could have increased all that much in such a short space of time - especially within a group of already fit people. What I took from SG's interview/comments was that he had already formed an opinion that the squad were unfit (he'd previously said similar). He's then started working with them & found out that their general fitness levels are higher than he expected. Hopefully he has raised the fitness standards higher & will demand players maintain that standard. IF that is the case, then the teams poorer performances will be more down to mental performance - they can run all days long, but are unable to maintain concentration for 90mins. I agree with you Darthter. At the start of this thread I said that SG's opinion that the team was unfit "may" have been correct, but I believe it is more about their mentality. Anyone (including SG) watching our games, especially against Celtic, could have been forgiven for thinking we weren't fit enough. Afterall, why else would we not be closing them down all over the pitch, in particular when they went down to ten men. I think he's underestimated the mental fragility and that's something that a ten day trip can't fix. That'll take much longer. SG now needs two or three games at Ibrox (where the pressure and intensity is greatest) to truly assess the 'fitness' of our players. I suspect at that time his opinion of some of our players will change. I hope we get off to a good start, but I also believe he needs the team to lose a couple of games in a row too before he sees who has the mentality to recover, and who hides under those circumstances. That's why I think he will need at least one more full transfer window to sort the team out. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill 13,717 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 1 hour ago, Gaffer said: I agree with you Darthter. At the start of this thread I said that SG's opinion that the team was unfit "may" have been correct, but I believe it is more about their mentality. Anyone (including SG) watching our games, especially against Celtic, could have been forgiven for thinking we weren't fit enough. Afterall, why else would we not be closing them down all over the pitch, in particular when they went down to ten men. I think he's underestimated the mental fragility and that's something that a ten day trip can't fix. That'll take much longer. SG now needs two or three games at Ibrox (where the pressure and intensity is greatest) to truly assess the 'fitness' of our players. I suspect at that time his opinion of some of our players will change. I hope we get off to a good start, but I also believe he needs the team to lose a couple of games in a row too before he sees who has the mentality to recover, and who hides under those circumstances. That's why I think he will need at least one more full transfer window to sort the team out. At least 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott7 5,232 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Were the players not moaning early last season that Pedro’s training made them tired? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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