Southampton post match thread

[halfcenturyup]

City ought really to print out this thread, roll it up and shove it up Pellegrini's arse.

Made me laugh, at least. Thanks for that.

 

[KDBestplayerintheworld]

Sorry but I was not agreeing with your point, I was enquiring as to whether you knew how long the recommended recovery period is based on all the sports science knowledge that is now available but it would appear that you do not know.

The reason Pellegrini did not start most of the players who will begin the game in Madrid is because they would not be fully recovered.

And yet a professional cyclist in the Tour De France can race 250 km every day for 3 weeks in a row.
A professional tennis player can play 5 sets on Sunday and pull the same trick on Tuesday.
A runner in the Marathon Des Sables can run 6 consecutive marathons in the desert.
...
I know you can't compare sports and all that, but I simply refuse to believe that a professionally trained football player would not be fully recovered on Wednesday from playing a game on Sunday, unless they picked up a serious knock of course.

 

[blueinsa]

And yet a professional cyclist in the Tour De France can race 250 km every day for 3 weeks in a row.
A professional tennis player can play 5 sets on Sunday and pull the same trick on Tuesday.
A runner in the Marathon Des Sables can run 6 consecutive marathons in the desert.
...
I know you can't compare sports and all that, but I simply refuse to believe that a professionally trained football player would not be fully recovered on Wednesday from playing a game on Sunday, unless they picked up a serious knock of course.

You know what, I agree with you.

The absolute best of sports science behind these players regards fitness, diet, recovery, injury treatment etc etc yet all of a sudden, we get told they cant play 2 games a week or 50 games a season etc?

I'm with you and I'm not having any of it.

its become a convenient excuse for teams, managers, players alike.

 

[OB1]

Yeah it is but you know the point Im making is more general, you know what I mean. It was a game that needed dynamism and some commitment and enthusiasm. I also know that actualy MDM did alright when he came on, but what Im saying is that in my opinion that selection was not the mindset we should have taken into that game

I see your point but I'm just pointing out it ain't always that easy. Yesterday was one of the rare games that I have not watched in some form as it happened and I can't bring myself to watch the recording, MotD was enough for me, so I can't comment on MDM's performance but in terms of mindset, Pellegrini fielded a set of experienced, often expensive, internationals so there is no excuse for anyone having anything other than a professional want to win mindset.

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

No problem with the team selection. On paper easily good enough to either get a result or if not know Saints have to have played great to win. Pellegrini has not played youngsters for 3 years so won't start now so no point in moaning. Well documented by most as to how tactically poor he is and the idiotic selections but what really made me almost feel like crying yesterday was that Kolarov, Sterling, Nasri, Bony, Fernandinho were COWARDS. They were nowhere to be seen, never went in for challenges, jogged around and were a disgrace to the shirt. Coupled with shit displays from Otamendi, Zabaleta and Delph gave us no chance.

Of course inner motivation comes from the person but Pellegrini telling the team they are second choice is not going to motivate anybody. There is no FUCKING FIRST CHOICE team- it is only ever comprised of good players on paper, their track record to a degree, the opposition, their fitness, their effort and their form. There are your world class players who may be exempt,Kun, KDB and Hart but even they can't play every game. I've excepted VK and David as they have not been fit all season

 

[Marvin]

You know what, I agree with you.

The absolute best of sports science behind these players regards fitness, diet, recovery, injury treatment etc etc yet all of a sudden, we get told they cant play 2 games a week or 50 games a season etc?

I'm with you and I'm not having any of it.

its become a convenient excuse for teams, managers, players alike.

Real Madrid did it. Bale played and scored but Pellegrini would say they had an extra days rest

The team we put out underperformed (again). That's the issue for me. They shouldn't need motivating, but that's why we have managers.

 

[Steve68]

And yet a professional cyclist in the Tour De France can race 250 km every day for 3 weeks in a row.
A professional tennis player can play 5 sets on Sunday and pull the same trick on Tuesday.
A runner in the Marathon Des Sables can run 6 consecutive marathons in the desert.
...
I know you can't compare sports and all that, but I simply refuse to believe that a professionally trained football player would not be fully recovered on Wednesday from playing a game on Sunday, unless they picked up a serious knock of course.

Absolutely.

 

[Dribble]

I had just finished watching Atletico Bilbao v Celta Vigo who were playing in the same probable kits of Southampton and City and I just had a bad feeling we'd end up getting beat just like Celta did.

I was on my way to a family function just as the match was about to start and as soon as I saw the line up, I knew we were fucked! 44 fucking 2 AGAIN with Bony as one of the 2. The only saving grace was Yaya not being available as this would have just compounded things.

Everyone aside from Iheanacho was poor and seemed unmotivated. Perhaps those who were playing were unmotivated because they're most likely not going to be playing against Real and couldn't sufficiently raise their game because they felt like the left over crap at the bottom of the pot. Out of the dross on show, Delph, Sterling, Zabs, and Bony were particularly poor albeit Bony picked up his performance in the 2nd half when he noticed Aguero warming up.

Aside from 10 minutes after the break, we were utter shite. Even with the squad selected, we could have made a better fist of this but for the shit tactics and formation. Nasri wide right? Why? Navas should have started instead of Bony and Nasri should have started alongside Fernandinho as a 2 behind Iheanacho with Delph being used to shield the centre backs.

This would have given us bodies, energy and creativity in the midfield where we were just getting swamped in the first half. Looks like my hunch may just be correct after all, we'll finish 5th but beat Bayern in the Champions League final.

I just feel sorry for all the fans who had to travel so far on a bank holiday weekend to witness that pile of crap.

 

[blueinsa]

Real Madrid did it. Bale played and scored but Pellegrini would say they had an extra days rest

The team we put out underperformed (again). That's the issue for me. They shouldn't need motivating, but that's why we have managers.

I wont play down the part of a manager in motivation but a professional footballer at a club like ours should never need external motivation.

Yesterday several of them downed tools and let everyone, including themselves down badly.

 

[OB1]

You know what, I agree with you.

The absolute best of sports science behind these players regards fitness, diet, recovery, injury treatment etc etc yet all of a sudden, we get told they cant play 2 games a week or 50 games a season etc?

I'm with you and I'm not having any of it.

its become a convenient excuse for teams, managers, players alike.

Well you'd all be at odds with Pep then. There's a a bit in Pep Confidential about him insisting that his players eat straight after a game and it includes this quote from one of the guys that I believe he will be bringing with him.

"Bueaventura agrees that this is vitally important: 'Like all big teams, Bayern plays a game every three days, and that affects the way we prepare. Medical studies in Italy have shown that the speed of post-match recovery depends entirely on the players' diet. If eat properly then they should have recovered 80% of the glycogen in their muscles within three days. Only 80%! Just imagine what it would be if they ate unhealthily! And after four consecutive matches in cycles of three days, the risk of injury increases by 60%'

In order to cope with the demands of these three day cycles, players must be rotated. Playing so often means that players never recover more than 80% fitness, injuries occur more frequently and dips in performance are common."

 

[halfcenturyup]

MP made the right decision today , we have potentially got the biggest game in our history on Wednesday (excluding Gillingham) , and he rested players , because if we will still have a chance to qualify for the top 4 , if it went t*ts up at Souhtampton. But it is a sad reflection on his management skills that he can select eleven players and watch them play so poorly , with no passion or concern for the football club , he sat on the sidelines today and accepted the inevitable , it was insult to the travelling supporters and every blue who witnessed that horror show.

It's also a sad reflection on his squad management.

 

[OB1]

I wont play down the part of a manager in motivation but a professional footballer at a club like ours should never need external motivation.

Yesterday several of them downed tools and let everyone, including themselves down badly.

Motivation really should be a very small part of the manager's job at a team in City's position.

 

[blueinsa]

Well you'd all be at odds with Pep then. There's a a bit in Pep Confidential about him insisting that his players eat straight after a game and it includes this quote from one of the guys that I believe he will be bringing with him.

"Bueaventura agrees that this is vitally important: 'Like all big teams, Bayern plays a game every three days, and that affects the way we prepare. Medical studies in Italy have shown that the speed of post-match recovery depends entirely on the players' diet. If eat properly then they should have recovered 80% of the glycogen in their muscles within three days. Only 80%! Just imagine what it would be if they ate unhealthily! And after four consecutive matches in cycles of three days, the risk of injury increases by 60%'

In order to cope with the demands of these three day cycles, players must be rotated. Playing so often means that players never recover more than 80% fitness, injuries occur more frequently and dips in performance are common."

I'm an old fart mate, jumpers for goal posts etc etc ;-)

Still think that too many, Pep included as he is not a messiah and does lose games think far too much about the science of it instead of just getting on with it.

Simplistic? Possible and wrong too but for me, if you cant play twice a week IF required, as I'm not against rotation completely then something is wrong.

 

[OB1]

And yet a professional cyclist in the Tour De France can race 250 km every day for 3 weeks in a row.
A professional tennis player can play 5 sets on Sunday and pull the same trick on Tuesday.
A runner in the Marathon Des Sables can run 6 consecutive marathons in the desert.
...
I know you can't compare sports and all that, but I simply refuse to believe that a professionally trained football player would not be fully recovered on Wednesday from playing a game on Sunday, unless they picked up a serious knock of course.

See my response to Blueinsa.

 

[malg]

For everyone saying the game on Wednesday is the biggest in the club's history - can you just qualify by saying that it's in your opinion. For me it isn't. If it was the final, then maybe. I'm sick to fucking death of being told that games in the CL are the biggest in our history. They fucking well aren't. The home game v PSG got the same fucking hype.

In my opinion, and I'm right, if we made the final then fair play, however the game on Wed is big, but nowhere fucking near the biggest in our history.

 

[BLUEMATT23]

Sad thing is I knew we would lose the match on Friday when MP started moaning, I think he knew it and the players also knew it.
I feel for the fans who wasted good money on that shit, the club should be utterly embarased.

I for one can't wait until Pellegrinis last day, he's fucking useless and should have been sacked at Christmas. This whole league campaign has been mismanged and abysmal since September.

 

[OB1]

I'm an old fart mate, jumpers for goal posts etc etc ;-)

Still think that too many, Pep included as he is not a messiah and does lose games think far too much about the science of it instead of just getting on with it.

Simplistic? Possible and wrong too but for me, if you cant play twice a week IF required, as I'm not against rotation completely then something is wrong.

Players can and do play consecutive games close together but the science is quite clearly pervasive in major teams for a reason. This is not about hokey theorising; it's about the application of intelligent accepted fact.

Now you can choose to be happy with a City team full of players who are 80% recovered playing a Real Madrid that are near or at 100% recovered or you can prefer that City field a team that are pretty much 100% recovered. I think that for a UCL semi-final that is going to be very tough but remains for now delicately poised, the latter option is not unreasonable given the science and the possible reward.

 

[CityBoy21]

Hart - IN
Kolarov - GONE
Mangala - UNCERTAIN
Otamendi - UNCERTAIN
Zabaleta - GONE
Delph - GONE
Dinho - IN
Sterling - UNCERTAIN
Nasri - IN
Nacho - IN
Bony - GONE

So, basically only 4 of the team today I can hand on heart say they 100% deserve to wear the shirt. 7 either don't or need to prove it. That's why we've been dicked today.

Hart - will be no 2 when Pep comes, one tip onto the bar, apart from that was found wanting and indecisive when called upon for the rest of the game
Kolarov - Gotta go, Worse game ever!
Mangala - can stay and may improve, had one of his best games, made plenty of tackles, only thing he didn't do was flatten that twat Long!
Otamendi - unsure , no leadership qualities but made a few good interceptions needs to take more control of situations.
Zabaleta - good bye and thanks for the past service, Yes his legs have gone.
Delph - Gotta go - how many times did he get caught out doing his one and only trick?
Fernandinho - can stay , just didn't have his best day
Sterling - can fuck right off, what a waste of money - passing the ball back and diving was not what we bought him for!
Nasri - can stay (if he loses the weight) was not his best but one man doesn't make a midfield.
Kelechi - must keep hold of him, bright spark all game, only one prepared to run at players and actually shoot, also showed great appreciation to the support - class act!
Bony - can fuck right off too along with his other fat lazy twat compatriot, lazy, 3 stone overweight, can't even get off the ground for a header - why did we ever buy him??????

 

[VOOMER]

For everyone saying the game on Wednesday is the biggest in the club's history - can you just qualify by saying that it's in your opinion. For me it isn't. If it was the final, then maybe. I'm sick to fucking death of being told that games in the CL are the biggest in our history. They fucking well aren't. The home game v PSG got the same fucking hype.

In my opinion, and I'm right, if we made the final then fair play, however the game on Wed is big, but nowhere fucking near the biggest in our history.

agreed, our priority every season should be winning the EPL. It now guarantees a pot 1 draw and that it in itself will make CL progress that much easier. If our aspirations are to join the "Elite", then regardless of the league, we should adopt the same win everything attitude. In Serrano and Txiki we have two slippery individuals who are milking the club for all its worth.

 

[Dribble]

But why can't we rest players & try to play in a way which perhaps protects our weaknesses & nicks a goal ?

Why do we have to set up like Brazil 1970 but with Kolarov Delph & Bony ? Why not set up like Arsenal under George Graham instead or even Leicester under Ranieri & win 1-0 ?

And there you have it, problem identified, solution found and you don't need to be a professional manager to see the fuckin obvious.