Tired Footballers

[Swampdog]

I just finished my exams for the year so im a bit bored and i started to think about that common excuse we all keep hearing every summer about footballers being tired..

So, i looked at the team england put out on saturday and looked at how many games they played this season and it looks as follows..

Joe hart - 54

Glen Johnson - 35

Ashley cole - 48

John terry - 45

Rio ferdinand - 27

Jack wilshere - 49

Frank lampard - 32

scot parker - 38

James milner - 28

Theo Walcott - 38

Darren bent - 39

Then i thought.. "well, a lot of players have played less then 40 games in a year.. doesnt seem that much"... The average amount of games played (not including the keeper as outfield players and keepers have different physical requirements) is just over 37 games which is less then a premier league season.. so why are they so tired as we keep hearing??

I cant figure it out.. i looked the spine of barcelona team which did not look tired at all when they played man u and there players have played more games then all of those england players..

messi - 50+ game every season for the last 3 seasons

xavi - 50+ every season over the last 5

iniesta - 2 seasons of 50+ games and 3 seasons of 40+ games with an average of 48 over 5 seasons

gerard pique - 45,49,51 over past 3 seasons

So with that you gota wonder why we keep hearing it.. is it just a sad excuse or is it a sad reality that even with few games our best players are still just not that good..

[RedHux]

It's because saying we were rubbish because we ARE rubbish would be a bit of a PR disaster.

[StanSP]

Saying we're dogshite wouldn't do much for confidence, either.

[Swampdog]

Bad excuse then i take it..

[Fox92]

I hate it when the media use the word 'tired'. They are professional footballers, what the hell is 'tired' all about. Most of them won't know the meaning of the word untill they see what professions such as doctors and police men go through.

Plus, look at the comparrison in the newspaper today, most of the better teams and players, such as Barcelona as you mentioned, have played just as many minutes, or even more, therefore, I think I'll always see 'tired' as an excuse for something else.

[davieG]

If they passed the ball more accurately the wouldn't get so tired.

[Bert]

The best thing about this is the player who played the most games (outfield) was easily our best player.

[shailen]

Sorry but you cant blame tiredness for a draw against the swiss. We simply didnt perform on the day. This england team puzzles me, on paper its the best we have had in years, world class players everywhere, but yet we cant do well in competitions. Maybe the extra pressure that is put on english players by press is a factor, but still we have underperformed greatly in every tournament for years. I think the english team needs to be told to play with freedom, without the burden of a nation, and for me capello isnt the right man. Someone like rednapp, who is cool under pressure, may be the right man

[gazfox9]

It is a pathetic excuse, what beggars belief is how they expect you to swallow it. Imagine they had 40 hour a week jobs, (the whole of the year, not just august to may) and then had to play weds, thurs, fri, sat and sunday like many who play at amatuer level do towards the end of the season. Granted they play at the very top level but if they can't manage one full 90 minutes each week of the football seasson, its a desperate tale.

[Haydos]

Sorry but you cant blame tiredness for a draw against the swiss. We simply didnt perform on the day. This england team puzzles me, on paper its the best we have had in years, world class players everywhere, but yet we cant do well in competitions. Maybe the extra pressure that is put on english players by press is a factor, but still we have underperformed greatly in every tournament for years. I think the english team needs to be told to play with freedom, without the burden of a nation, and for me capello isnt the right man. Someone like rednapp, who is cool under pressure, may be the right man

World class players everywhere? No chance.

Young, Bent, Walcott, Downing, Baines, Johnson, Parker, Milner & all the subs (some would argue a few more as well, Ferdinand, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard all past their peak etc).

[Swampdog]

World class players everywhere? No chance.

Young, Bent, Walcott, Downing, Baines, Johnson, Parker, Milner & all the subs (some would argue a few more as well, Ferdinand, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard all past their peak etc).

To be honest i have to agree with that, however i do think that the likes of Young could become a very influential player in the future.. Glen johnson on the other hand i cant understand the reason he even plays for england, it must be that we really dont have anyone else to choose from.

The thing is regardless of whether the players are world class or not, why do they need to be making excuses like the players being tired?? if a player that knows he is not tired and hears his manager saying he didnt play we because he is tired then surely he knows that the reall fact is that he didnt play well.. surely it would be better to use a more positive excuse such as the opposition team had a good game etc..

[Haydos]

To be honest i have to agree with that, however i do think that the likes of Young could become a very influential player in the future.. Glen johnson on the other hand i cant understand the reason he even plays for england, it must be that we really dont have anyone else to choose from.

The thing is regardless of whether the players are world class or not, why do they need to be making excuses like the players being tired?? if a player that knows he is not tired and hears his manager saying he didnt play we because he is tired then surely he knows that the reall fact is that he didnt play well.. surely it would be better to use a more positive excuse such as the opposition team had a good game etc..

Oh yeah, back on topic I think that this tiredness excuse is a load of shit really.

There are a couple of players (Young and Wilshere are all that I can think of) that need to push on and become top class. Wilshere is a big possibility but Young is already 25. I don't think we're going to get any success in the next 2 tournaments at least tbh.

Soon the world class players we do have will be gone (Terry, Ferdinand, Lampard, Gerrard, Cole) and we are only left with 1 current world class player in Rooney. Where does that leave us? Rather than blooding young players into a good squad we've got to develop a good 10 or 11 at the same time to compete with other top international teams.

[shailen]

Oh yeah, back on topic I think that this tiredness excuse is a load of shit really.

There are a couple of players (Young and Wilshere are all that I can think of) that need to push on and become top class. Wilshere is a big possibility but Young is already 25. I don't think we're going to get any success in the next 2 tournaments at least tbh.

Soon the world class players we do have will be gone (Terry, Ferdinand, Lampard, Gerrard, Cole) and we are only left with 1 current world class player in Rooney. Where does that leave us? Rather than blooding young players into a good squad we've got to develop a good 10 or 11 at the same time to compete with other top international teams.

I still think our team is world class

J. Hart

A. Cole terry ferdinand g.johnson

Parker gerrard

Walcott. Wilshere. Young

Rooney

There arent many teams that are better then that team IMO. We have the players to beat almost any team except for spain( too good). I dont think theres an argument to whether they are good enough. They have all performed at club level, in the PL the supposed best league in the world, so why cant that form be reproduced in an england shirt. At times you wanna say the team isnt good enough...but it is, well on paper at least.

[Brainy]

I think some people think that footballers work 90 or so minutes a week.

[BrummieFOX]

I still think our team is world class

J. Hart

A. Cole terry ferdinand g.johnson

Parker gerrard

Walcott. Wilshere. Young

Rooney

There arent many teams that are better then that team IMO. We have the players to beat almost any team except for spain( too good). I dont think theres an argument to whether they are good enough. They have all performed at club level, in the PL the supposed best league in the world, so why cant that form be reproduced in an england shirt. At times you wanna say the team isnt good enough...but it is, well on paper at least.

Are you a fan of Andy Gray's work by any chance?

There's a huge argument to be had over whether they're good enough. I'd argue that there are 2 world class players in that side. Rooney and Cole. The rest are either nowhere near or have the potential to be in the future.

[shailen]

Are you a fan of Andy Gray's work by any chance?

There's a huge argument to be had over whether they're good enough. I'd argue that there are 2 world class players in that side. Rooney and Cole. The rest are either nowhere near or have the potential to be in the future.

Currently gerrard,cole,rooney,terry,ferdinand are world cladd IMO.

Wilshere and young are making it to that level. Wilshere is one of the greatest talents in the game. He will be a star. Im not too bothered about the future because we have got good youngsters coming through...a team that got to the final of U21 world cup? I think! They could potentially become world class.

I havent heard what andy gray has said about this, but i would like to hear what he said! I respected him as a pundit! Real passion for the game, shame about the lineswoman thing!

[Haydos]

I think some people think that footballers work 90 or so minutes a week.

I think you're missing the point. Refer to posts about other top international teams and whether they're making excuses about being tired or not. These are elite athletes who, from what I've read about modern training methods, aren't training at maximum or anywhere near it during the playing season.

Are they going to be saying this at the end of every year? If you hadn't noticed the 2 major international championships are at the end of the season. It's another pathetic excuse that is unacceptable if we're to be a top 10 nation.

[Corky]

I think the english team needs to be told to play with freedom, without the burden of a nation, and for me capello isnt the right man. Someone like rednapp, who is cool under pressure, may be the right man

It's probably been said for 40 years. The burden of the nation will always be on the England team.

And I can't see Redknapp doing better than Capello really.

[shen]

Didn't Capello say that the team looked sharp and full of energy prior to the game as well, noting that they had had a week or so off after the end of the domestic season? The excuses are pathetic...

[accessory]

Didn't Capello say that the team looked sharp and full of energy prior to the game as well, noting that they had had a week or so off after the end of the domestic season? The excuses are pathetic...

Agreed - especially as the Republic of Ireland, many of whose players have played even more games than their English counterparts, have just played and won four games in a row.

[Swampdog]

So i think its quite evident that most people are agreeing that it is just a pathetic excuse.. but whats the solution to the weak performances we seem to get??

Some people say a change of management is necessary and we've all seen how managers can make a difference in the character of the players..

Otheres say that the players simply are not good enough... probably true with some members of the squad too but who else is there to pick??

Ive also noticed in recent years that the players are becoming less and less interested in the international competitions and more focused on club competition.. i remember an interview on tv with ashley cole where he was asked if he would prefer to win the premier league title with chelsea or the world cup with england and he said that he would prefer to win the league.. to me that has shown the mentality of players now and its quite unbelievable as the league is there to be won every year and the world cup only comes around every 4. Only 1 england team has ever won the world cup so surely wouldnt it be a bigger achievment to become a member of a select few englishmen that have lifted the world cup??

I think that the younger players we see now have a lot more ability then the current squad but not necessarily in all areas of the field.. the U21's and below i think show improvement in technique compared to squads of past competitions so im confident England will get better but when??

[Haydos]

So i think its quite evident that most people are agreeing that it is just a pathetic excuse.. but whats the solution to the weak performances we seem to get??

Some people say a change of management is necessary and we've all seen how managers can make a difference in the character of the players..

Otheres say that the players simply are not good enough... probably true with some members of the squad too but who else is there to pick??

Ive also noticed in recent years that the players are becoming less and less interested in the international competitions and more focused on club competition.. i remember an interview on tv with ashley cole where he was asked if he would prefer to win the premier league title with chelsea or the world cup with england and he said that he would prefer to win the league.. to me that has shown the mentality of players now and its quite unbelievable as the league is there to be won every year and the world cup only comes around every 4. Only 1 england team has ever won the world cup so surely wouldnt it be a bigger achievment to become a member of a select few englishmen that have lifted the world cup??

I think that the younger players we see now have a lot more ability then the current squad but not necessarily in all areas of the field.. the U21's and below i think show improvement in technique compared to squads of past competitions so im confident England will get better but when??

No idea

It takes years of building to get a system in place, which we did, we were bringing through great players and it was a solid start. The 'golden generation' epitomised this. But since then there has been a trickle of talent Spain and Germany spring to mind as nations who have a production line of potentially top class players coming through year on year, the same as Brazil and Argentina actually. I think Holland will soon be in a similar boat to us unless they start producing players again soon.

Wayne Rooney made his debut 8 years ago. EIGHT. Since then Jack Wilshere, who only started his first game recently, is the only player (to a certain extent Walcott) who appears to have the potential to achieve big things. Eight years between the production of top class players (Wilshere may yet falter) is ridiculous and it is here I think our downfall (so to speak) has come.

[ajthefox]

England fans expect too much.

[shailen]

England fans expect too much.

Yeah i agree, but we have one of the best teams in the world i believe, only spain have a better squad IMO, we should be doing better then we are for sure!

[eye666]

The players just aren't good enough. Ferdinand has had it. Terry is going that way. Johnson is shocking - why, oh why, Micah Richards isn't in the squad I don't know. Parker isn't the solution to the midfield. Lampard and Gerrard are both knackered. Walcott has no end product. Would prefer Aaron Lennon who has only a marginally better final ball. Milner is not a winger and was hopeless until he was moved in-field.

I remember pre-game in the build-up Andy Townsend saying he liked the 4-3-3/-4-5-1 formation of England, but when I thought about it, the lone striker would be Rooney - so essentially, we would have no striker on the pitch as he'd run back to defensive midfield to pick the ball up. The tactics of Capello leave a lot to be desired, but the players themselves aren't good enough.