Not rotating the players for the Forest game was why we did so badly imo. Some clearly needed resting. The opposite of rotation for the sake of it is not rotating for the sake of it and I think that's where Slot's game plan fell apart.
The sout american players were jaded yet produced thr only quality. Diaz hit post and macca set up Jota. The problem is what's behind these players. Jones wasn't fit enough and gakpo played all thr dutch games too
He stuck with the same lineup and it was clear from quite early on that it wasn't working. Macca and Diaz weren't the worst which shows it isn't a foregone conclusion that those travelling the furthest will have poorer performances.
But then 9 of those players played again 4 days later so woukdnt they be even more tired for Milan? Yet everyone looked fresh and on it
I think the Forest game was down to Slot's experience in management; he's not used to every team being competitive
You're addressing a different point. Tiredness doesn't rack up and up and up over several games until you're completely out of energy. Different players recover at different rates. I think we did badly v Forest because we used the same players, some of whom had heavy legs from playing for their national teams. I could be wrong but that is what it looked like to me. You may have a different explanation. The fact they played again fairly quickly after has nothing to do with how they played previously or how tired they may or may not have been. Some players can play and play and play and not look tired, some can't. Some players having played a full game flat out can become re-energised within the same game if say, their team scores and it looks like they can win. A fatigued player can dig deep and find the extra they need to keep going. Some obviously can't.
Would you not expect those same players that were tired v forest to have been tired against Milan a few days later given would have got no more rest than they did between internationals and forest game? Sometimes a team can just play bad. Given how much medical staff play into football clubs these days, anyone that’s showing signs of fatigue I’d imagine are always flagged and rested
No, not at all. Mental and physical health are very closely connected. Tired minds can produce tired legs. Once refreshed and over jetlag, for instance, the body will follow through and start performing to its usual capacity. Have you ever sat through a long day's conference? You go home feeling more tired than if you'd just done a physical activity. Your mind has switched off somewhat and your body wants to go to bed. We've seen it so many times how players coming back from internationals aren't up to the next league game but are raring to go again a few days later. It's nothing new. Slot has to learn this.
learn what? What should we have done played the under 21s? Near enough every player in our squad is away at internationals - and most of forest squad
Well if he'd done what Forest did and started with just four of the players who'd been away, (not fielded a whole team of them) and rested the others, who knows.
Could we have assembled a decent team from those who weren't back from internationals? Genuine question because I haven't given it much thought. I've read a rule of thumb that says you need one day of recovery per hour of jet-lag for circadian rhythms to realign, if that's true then some players never get enough time before they're thrown back in.
I haven't looked into it either so I really don't know. Given that the whole team was away, as were some of the younger players with the U21's, it would have been difficult. A couple of examples though, there was no reason why Nunez and Gomez couldn't have started. The bigger question is, do we have real strength in depth if we can't manage to put out a team to take on and beat Forest?
Over thinking goes with the territory Joking aside, yes sometimes you do just have an off day. I think seeing the same team, who battered utd away, struggle against a poorer team at home, bearing in mind we rarely lose at home, automatically leads to what, for me at least, was the obvious reason. It's sort of backed up by the fact that Forest took the opposite approach, the one I'm arguing that we should have used. Played four of their usual starters and added in those who had been away. Obviously this isn't a failsafe winning formula but it was that day.
It's just that every plauer had an off day. Not one of them make the right calls once macca went off someof the passing particularly szobo and salah was atrocious Given gakpo played 2 games and Jota played 1.5 I was surprised thst nunez was not selected but I suppose it's pointing to something. Jone wasn't fit and Elliott injured so there was no real option in midfield either.
When players are having off days it's beholden to the manager to try and fix it. He didn't. He made it worse. Absolutely not the manager's fault that so many players were off their game though.
How’s it not the managers fault if he made it worse? Surely by making it worse, it’s the managers fault that many had an off day?
Are you sure Liverpool were playing AC Milan or a side masquerading under false pretences? It is not the AC Milan that I admired years ago. .
