Fitness levels?

[The Widow's Son 399]

Watched the highlights last night and I noticed towards the end we were noticeably less fit than they were.  McGregor saved us a few times but our defence was ragged and uneven.  Fitness or less than judicious use of the bench?  Maybe this merits attention in the summer too.  

[Negri's lovechild 12,542]

Fitness looks like it's improved since Beale came in, but the apparent lack of conditioning / fitness training pre-season has had an impact, potentially alongside the players half arseing it.  

One thing Gerrard's team was, was fit and i think come next season when Beale has been able to spend a pre-season with the squad we will be in a better place fitness wise, especially if we return to the higher press. The legs in midfield have gone too. 

[OrangeRab 1,968]

Think fitness levels have looked a lot better since Beale arrived. Would lay the problem more at the 70% possession they had first half. Much more difficult to press when you have to do it for twice the time as the opposition. And especially given how disjointed our press is.
 

Would be interested to see the distance covered stats from the final. I’d guess our midfield covered more ground than theirs

[KingKirk 24,901]

Beale has said before that pre season will be tough to make sure we are mentally and physically ready for next season. 

I do blame the pre season this year for many of our injuries tbh. Why GVB thought it would be a good idea to lower the fitness levels I'll never know. Football fitness he called it if I remember rightly fucking bonkers. 

Beale has said before on RTV our style next season will be different. It's about making sure he gets to the summer still in a job then the real work can begin. 

[esquire8 39,675]

Preseason fitness and conditioning work was a fucking mess. It was basically left to players to do in their own time. Fully Prioritised tactics and ball work instead.

This compounded the injury risks and players being able to reach a good level of match fitness.

Beale comes in and brings in the new guy and he tries to get as much of that recovered as possible but short time frames limit it.

It wont be fixed until next season properly. 

[KingKirk 24,901]

15 minutes ago, Negri's lovechild said:

Fitness looks like it's improved since Beale came in, but the apparent lack of conditioning / fitness training pre-season has had an impact, potentially alongside the players half arseing it.  

One thing Gerrard's team was, was fit and i think come next season when Beale has been able to spend a pre-season with the squad we will be in a better place fitness wise, especially if we return to the higher press. The legs in midfield have gone too. 

A fit Rangers team gets closer to that scum team even before you start tweaking things like tactics etc. John lundstram obviously was not fully fit but he was pulling a carevan all afternoon and has been all season. Compared to the lundstram in the Scottish cup semi last April it was night n day. 

[Negri's lovechild 12,542]

4 minutes ago, KingKirk said:

A fit Rangers team gets closer to that scum team even before you start tweaking things like tactics etc. John lundstram obviously was not fully fit but he was pulling a carevan all afternoon and has been all season. Compared to the lundstram in the Scottish cup semi last April it was night n day. 

100% mate, and as you said in your earlier post, next season we should see a team much closer in fitness levels to previous seasons. 

[bluenoz 29,332]

Our fitness has improved, but the application with the same few remains the same.

The breakaways at the end were a result of us chasing a goal and were not fitness related.

[LegendofCoop 16,437]

The drop from last season was noticeable from first game of this season.

Every one of our outfield players were like machines last season. Look at the fact that we went to ET in the Scottish Cup Semi, Europa Final AND Scottish Cup final. Not one of them looked as if they were breaking sweat in any of those games. All were played within a month of each other, alongside league and Europa semi. 

 

[Madina 3,401]

Surely not?! I mean loads on here said the scum blew out of their arses after 60 mins of their games, despite them scoring many many late goals 🙄

[King Jela 19,220]

Clearly far fitter than what we are.

 

It was like da's fae the scheme giving it big licks and then getting rings ran round them from the young team. 

[Dickie 12,905]

1 hour ago, The Widow's Son said:

Watched the highlights last night and I noticed towards the end we were noticeably less fit than they were.  McGregor saved us a few times but our defence was ragged and uneven.  Fitness or less than judicious use of the bench?  Maybe this merits attention in the summer too.  

If you bring on 5 subs then they will obviously be fitter than defenders who have been playing for an hour or so.

[SPWF 7,796]

We’ve got the the wee wet wipe and his pre season to thank for our fitness and injury problems. 

[Negri's lovechild 12,542]

55 minutes ago, Madina said:

Surely not?! I mean loads on here said the scum blew out of their arses after 60 mins of their games, despite them scoring many many late goals 🙄

I think initially that was the case as their players upped their fitness levels. They've also got their bench to the point where there isn't a massive drop off in terms of player quality, so they can keep up the same style of play and energy.

Our bench players on the other hand are much weaker than our best starting 11, and aren't so much like for like. 

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,058]

1 hour ago, LegendofCoop said:

The drop from last season was noticeable from first game of this season.

Every one of our outfield players were like machines last season. Look at the fact that we went to ET in the Scottish Cup Semi, Europa Final AND Scottish Cup final. Not one of them looked as if they were breaking sweat in any of those games. All were played within a month of each other, alongside league and Europa semi. 

 

Easy to give a lot more when you have big games coming up and fighting for a spot

Most of these players know they'll play against killie or are going to be binned, so why burst a gut now

[GA1972 8,232]

The breakaways at the end weren’t fitness related, they changed their full front line when they were on the back foot to keep a bit of a press going and it largely worked as we struggled to bypass them and get at the tired defence/midfield of their team. They do this literally every time and the 5 sub rule benefits them massively, subs being yet another thing they do better than us 

We were chasing the game (poorly) towards the end and let them in a few times 

[Big Al 55 8,904]

2 hours ago, The Widow's Son said:

Watched the highlights last night and I noticed towards the end we were noticeably less fit than they were.  McGregor saved us a few times but our defence was ragged and uneven.  Fitness or less than judicious use of the bench?  Maybe this merits attention in the summer too.  

Think that’s was as much to do with us pushing for an equaliser tbf 

[LegendofCoop 16,437]

3 hours ago, Jimbeamjunior said:

Easy to give a lot more when you have big games coming up and fighting for a spot

Most of these players know they'll play against killie or are going to be binned, so why burst a gut now

Yeah, I take your point about current levels, but I was meaning levels at the start of the season. We looked punch drunk in the first game v's USG. Not much better in the return leg.....and it never really got much better as the season went.

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,058]

1 hour ago, LegendofCoop said:

Yeah, I take your point about current levels, but I was meaning levels at the start of the season. We looked punch drunk in the first game v's USG. Not much better in the return leg.....and it never really got much better as the season went.

As much as the players said there was hardly any physical work done pre season, i wonder if the sports scientist guys recommended that given we had just finished a season of 64 competitive games iirc, 

Thats a shit load of games in the space in 10 months

Always remember the year the league got shut down, we went to dubai and came back looking very lethargic and spent, and reports were that the players were ran into the ground in dubai, managers cant really win can they 

[folkestoneger 7,581]

Bring back the sand dunes 

[bluenose244 2,559]

9 hours ago, folkestoneger said:

Bring back the sand dunes 

This!!!

It's actually pretty easy to get fit (hard work, very monotonous, unglamorous) but not rocket science and does not require an entire pre season.

When I boxed as an amateur I won all my bouts because I was fitter than my opponents, I beat far better boxers because I had a bigger engine, I ran double the miles of my peers, I stayed behind in the gym and did stair runs and hill sprints on the nights the gym was closed and everyone else was playing FIFA, I was never going to be a world champion but just being fitter than the boys I faced was a huge equaliser and made the task a lot easier.

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" our players are already on paper at least more talented than anything we play domestically, to not be the fittest team in the league is unforgivable and a huge detriment to us.

[Negri's lovechild 12,542]

8 minutes ago, bluenose244 said:

This!!!

It's actually pretty easy to get fit (hard work, very monotonous, unglamorous) but not rocket science and does not require an entire pre season.

When I boxed as an amateur I won all my bouts because I was fitter than my opponents, I beat far better boxers because I had a bigger engine, I ran double the miles of my peers, I stayed behind in the gym and did stair runs and hill sprints on the nights the gym was closed and everyone else was playing FIFA, I was never going to be a world champion but just being fitter than the boys I faced was a huge equaliser and made the task a lot easier.

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" our players are already on paper at least more talented than anything we play domestically, to not be the fittest team in the league is unforgivable and a huge detriment to us.

You obviously had the passion and desire to go alongside your work ethic. It's that drive to not be beaten that will have made you a difficult opponent. 

Sadly that isn't the case with some of our players, shown with the lack of effort from the midfield tracking back for their 2nd goal on Sunday. We need more players with that never beaten attitude. Its been an issue with the squad and the club for several years. 

[The Dude 20,026]

9 hours ago, folkestoneger said:

Bring back the sand dunes 

Yes, let’s take another step backwards just because it’s what worked 50 years ago. 

[left winger 13,055]

30 minutes ago, bluenose244 said:

This!!!

It's actually pretty easy to get fit (hard work, very monotonous, unglamorous) but not rocket science and does not require an entire pre season.

When I boxed as an amateur I won all my bouts because I was fitter than my opponents, I beat far better boxers because I had a bigger engine, I ran double the miles of my peers, I stayed behind in the gym and did stair runs and hill sprints on the nights the gym was closed and everyone else was playing FIFA, I was never going to be a world champion but just being fitter than the boys I faced was a huge equaliser and made the task a lot easier.

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" our players are already on paper at least more talented than anything we play domestically, to not be the fittest team in the league is unforgivable and a huge detriment to us.

Wonder how many top class professional teams get their players running up and down sand dunes? I'll guess zero. 

 

[bluenose244 2,559]

2 minutes ago, Negri's lovechild said:

You obviously had the passion and desire to go alongside your work ethic. It's that drive to not be beaten that will have made you a difficult opponent. 

Sadly that isn't the case with some of our players, shown with the lack of effort from the midfield tracking back for their 2nd goal on Sunday. We need more players with that never beaten attitude. Its been an issue with the squad and the club for several years. 

It's an issue in modern football in general, theirs no fear of losing anymore and it's a lot more easily accepted. 

I'm sure you've seen the quote by Gattuso about how he was physically sick after a defeat and wouldn't speak to anyone for days, but now he sees players taking selfies for their social media then they go home to their mansions.

2 minutes ago, The Dude said:

Yes, let’s take another step backwards just because it’s what worked 50 years ago. 

If fitness and the building of character is your top priority it works.. 50 years ago, today and in 50 years time this will still be the case.