Fitter and quicker

[the vicar]

Regarding increasing the 8% shots on goal, anyone know the ratio in the friendlies so far, just wondered if it had started to increase

no to much better at the minute but it is early days at this time

[selby]

  Michael, the only thing I can see wrong, is your analysis of last season, did the players from Chelsea and Manchester City perform any better than our own players?
  We have just had reams of posts saying they did not bring a lot to the team, and Boyle played well for me when he did play, especially at Rotherham, but did not play that many games.
  And as for Wenger and fitness, the information coming out of Arsenal  is that the new manager is demanding better fitness, and has replaced nearly all the fitness side of the backroom staff, and has released Wiltshire for fitness reasons.
 In a circus it is no good having animals if they cannot do the tricks, that was Fegies problem, Houghton was not a wide right midfield player, where he played in his last few games, and he never found Rodney's best position.
  Square pegs in round holes was a saying used quite often on this forum in the last three seasons by quite a few different posters.  And they knew what they  were watching.

[ravenrover]

We had enough trouble with injuries last Christmas and yet we have shed 3 players, 3 loan players and 2 academy players. 8 out and only 3 in. See anything wrong with this pattern?

We had loans last season from Man City, Chelsea and Preston and now we only have 1 loan from Leeds. See anything wrong with this pattern? Without DF's contacts we can't pull in the same sort of loans.

With his wealth of Premier league and Championship experience I don't doubt McCann can drive us up into the Championship with the same players that just need to be fitter and quicker. Arsene Wenger couldn't do it, but I'm sure McCann will.

So all that hot air to say you don't rate McCann! You do know the way to Oakwell don't you? Oh do I remember you've never been there?

[Michael Shaw]

ravenrover, what's Oakwell got to do with anything?  I've known parents who were cousins and still had kids smarter than you.

[RedJ]

Were they yours?

[ravenrover]

ravenrover, what's Oakwell got to do with anything?  I've known parents who were cousins and still had kids smarter than you.

Marrying cousins is fine it's when you marry your sister that the problems start. Sad that a lot of your responses end up with attempted insults, sadly they aren't very good insults

[DonnyOsmond]

We had enough trouble with injuries last Christmas and yet we have shed 3 players, 3 loan players and 2 academy players. 8 out and only 3 in. See anything wrong with this pattern?

We had loans last season from Man City, Chelsea and Preston and now we only have 1 loan from Leeds. See anything wrong with this pattern? Without DF's contacts we can't pull in the same sort of loans.

With his wealth of Premier league and Championship experience I don't doubt McCann can drive us up into the Championship with the same players that just need to be fitter and quicker. Arsene Wenger couldn't do it, but I'm sure McCann will.

You have to be a WUM. We have to pointlessly sign loan players from top teams to prove our manager has contacts?

[RedJ]

It wasn't even a patient build up though. That, I don't mind, cos you can't go at every team 100mph for 90 minutes and you can't always get through teams that way anyway.

The problem was, it wasn't a patient build up. It was f**king about on the ball, passing it from side to side because they didn't have a f**king clue what to do next. It was the cluelessness that was the issue. That and the total lack of pace in any move we seemed to make. It was especially turgid when Coppinger and Rowe weren't involved.

[BigH]

Have to agree RedJ, the number of times we were geared up for a set play to develop in the opposition's half only to find that it degenerated into nothing became embarrassing; at times the opposition must have pi***d themselves laughing.

However, I do think that DF's tendency to muck about with formations and play players out of position didn't help. Also, an obsession with having players play to instructions took away the propensity for any flair.

If GM can overcome this and get the players to develop a confidence and freedom in how they play going forward then who knows; we could be pleasantly surprised.

[selby]

 Rj, I hope you didn't watch the England u19s tonight then. They were much worse than us at F*****g about  with the ball as you put it.

[RedJ]

It was painfully dull. Dreadful.

[sedwardsdrfc]

Weren't a lot of our better players missing from the game? something to do with timing of it I read somewhere

[JonWallsend]

Stephen Taylor reckons last season was the toughest pre season he had ever had and that he was fitter than ever. His weight went down 8 kg from what it had been at Newcastle and his body fat was 7% in comparison with 10%.
One day a week was 4 minute runs x 4 with a 2 min rest in between. Target was 12  full lengths of the pitch. ( I subsequently tried it with an under 18 team- the forth time is brutal)

Much of the focus in training was scoring goals. Small sided 3v3 games on a big pitch- losing side did another 4 min run.

All of which is only really relevant when you consider that on the back of it, Taylor played just shy of 50 games and invoked an appearance clause in his contract, which the club never thought he would given his  history and which ironically contributed towards his departure as they couldn't afford to pay him

Taylor full of praise for McCann, technostress he will have us on the front foot and wants to play good football. He felt from a defenders perspective ,that if anything, they were a little too open at times.

All positive stuff.