Match Day Thread Play Off Final. Hull City v Boro

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Kalman II said:
I haven’t seem him say ‘they’re falling about injuring themselves’. He said it’s a poor choice to drink alcohol as an athlete. I actually agree with that. There is no healthy amount of alcohol for humans to drink, let alone humans whose careers depend on optimal physical fitness. But they’re adults and it’s their choice so I don’t really care unless it’s during the season itself and could impact performances and results.
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This is a very strange hill you're choosing, and if you think that most athletes don't enjoy their time off in precisely the same way then you're as naive as he is.

Villa's players were on the piss constantly after the Europa league and came out and beat Man City in a game I suspect City were quite motivated to win to send off Pep. Didn't seem to harm their preparation or performance too much and I suspect they've drunk since that game too, even with some of them off to the World Cup, where they will be quite ok. Yes every athlete in the world could exist on a diet of water and some sort of basic grain diet to maximise their potential, but most athletes aren't boring ****s who have nothing going on in their lives.
 
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Heimdallr said:
When the metrics are so fine now, down to milliseconds, a week on the piss could result in making a difference when the season starts. Proven that alcohol inhibits recovery and rest.

Up to the individual to decide on their own choices, but for players who are on the borderline of maybe/maybe not getting a place in a PL squad, bit stupid in my opinion.
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If it was me I would seriously look at a week or two away in some exclusive retreat where there’s loads of massages n yoga etc etc
 
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SydneyTiger14 said:
This is a very strange hill you're choosing, and if you think that most athletes don't enjoy their time off in precisely the same way then you're as naive as he is.

Villa's players were on the piss constantly after the Europa league and came out and beat Man City in a game I suspect City were quite motivated to win to send off Pep. Didn't seem to harm their preparation or performance too much and I suspect they've drunk since that game too, even with some of them off to the World Cup, where they will be quite ok. Yes every athlete in the world could exist on a diet of water and some sort of basic grain diet to maximise their potential, but most athletes aren't boring ****s who have nothing going on in their lives.
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In the words of your own slim dusty

A pub with no beer is no good
 
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SydneyTiger14 said:
There's plenty of things that are objectively poisonous that in moderation are perfectly fine to deal with and process.

I also didn't suggest there was a healthy amount of alcohol, just that the recovery time needed to deal with ingesting it is afforded to the players.

Fatty foods, sugars, hell even just living in a city and ingesting fumes from cars aren't good for you either but human beings cope.
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Human livers have an enzyme that is responsible for breaking down small amounts of naturally-occurring alcohol in fruits. That happened millions of years ago. Humans have been recreationally drinking concentrated alcoholic drinks for tens of thousands of years but our livers haven’t adapted to that.

For comparison, Europeans developed an enzyme for lactose tolerance 5,000 years ago because our Indo-European ancestors were pastoralists who raised cattle and drank their milk in significant quantities. If humans were meant to drink even moderate amounts of concentrated alcohol, we would’ve developed an enzyme in our livers for it as humans have actually been drinking alcohol longer than they’ve been drinking cows’ milk.
 
Heimdallr said:
Just opinions, but I disagree. It's a short career that can hinge on one bad injury. One missed tackle can result in failure for the whole team. You don't usually see professional swimmers, cyclists or track athletes on the piss and they're paid far less, yet maintain a higher discipline. Drinking was tolerated in many team sports, but those days should be over. There's many years to drink in retirement.
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I actually broadly agree with your point, but can also attest that ‘see’ is the operative word here. A mate of mine was comprehensively drunk under the table by an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer who was still competing at the time, although it was in the off-season. She was very much able to both swim and drink like a fish, but did so in her home town amongst lifelong friends who didn’t plaster images of her doing so all over the internet.
 
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Kalman II said:
Human livers have an enzyme that is responsible for breaking down small amounts of naturally-occurring alcohol in fruits. That happened millions of years ago. Humans have been recreationally drinking concentrated alcoholic drinks for thousands of years but our livers haven’t adapted to that.

For comparison, Europeans developed an enzyme for lactose tolerance 5,000-6,000 years ago because our Indo-European ancestors were pastoralists who raised cattle and drank their milk in significant quantities. If humans were meant to drink even moderate amounts of concentrated alcohol, we would’ve developed an enzyme in our livers for it as humans have actually been drinking alcohol longer than they’ve been drinking cows’ milk.
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Bloody hell.

And we're also not meant to eat red meat but we do.

You've taken this down such a weird path for someone who was annoyed at someone else's strawman.

No one is denying alcohol is bad for you. As I said, there are plenty of things that are bad for you.
 
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Help! said:
I actually broadly agree with your point, but can also attest that ‘see’ is the operative word here. A mate of mine was comprehensively drunk under the table by an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer who was still competing at the time, although it was in the off-season. She was very much able to both swim and drink like a fish, but did so in her home town amongst lifelong friends who didn’t plaster images of her doing so all over the internet.
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Yes, and part of the backlash to Coyle was he was so visibly out during the season, when there would be countless players at all levels of the game who would drink greater amounts in season but do so out of the public eye. You just have to think back to some of the stories that have come out in recent years about City players under Bruce in those PL years and how much they would drink on away days for instance.

“He was only 20 years old and was staggering under the weight of two huge Tesco carrier bags when he tried to get on the coach with them. Two bags - rammed full of Carlsberg. He clambered aboard and I’ve stopped him and said: ‘Where do you think you’re going with them?’ He just looked at me and said: ‘What’s the matter?’ I said: ‘You’re supposed to be elite athletes - get that ****ing beer off this ****ing coach.’ He was absolutely terrified. Petrified. I think he thought I was going to sack him - or smack him. The lads were absolutely howling with laughter at the back. Did I let them have the beer? What do you think? But he learned a lesson. Next time, he asked.”
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www.mirror.co.uk

Robertson told to "get that off this f****** coach" after taking beers onto bus

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has become one of the best full-backs in world football and his former boss Steve Bruce recalled how he signed him and a pre-season prank
www.mirror.co.uk www.mirror.co.uk
 
SydneyTiger14 said:
I think it's very naive to think there's many sports let alone athletes in the world who don't celebrate particularly during the off-season.

I also think you're vastly over-stating the impact of drinking excessively other than the night before a match or directly after a match.

I'm sure some of them will return for pre-season to a rude awakening of the fitness standards required, but they'll have time to get up to those levels.
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I used to train womens håndball (my daughters) and amateur athletics up until 2025. I advised all the athletes not to drink alcohol, whether they won or not. It's a personal choice whether to drink or not and I'm not saying it's forbidden, just that it's not wise as an athlete.

Alcohol has a huge effect on the body - if you wear a Garmin or apple watch, check out how much less proper sleep you have and your blood pressure figures after a night of drinking compared to normal. Most likely won't affect a normal 25 year old too much. Apply that to any professional sport where the metrics of health are so specific and it's stupid of a professional athlete to hinder themselves, whatever the sport. They're enjoying themselves, yes, but they're also delaying recovery from wear and tear.

Yes, they will have time to recover, but an athlete who doesn't drink will have that time to improve, rather than recover. It's just sports science.

But totally appreciate if you disagree, that's what makes a conversation.
 
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Heimdallr said:
I used to train womens håndball (my daughters) and amateur athletics up until 2025. I advised all the athletes not to drink alcohol, whether they won or not. It's a personal choice whether to drink or not and I'm not saying it's forbidden, just that it's not wise as an athlete.

Alcohol has a huge effect on the body - if you wear a Garmin or apple watch, check out how much less proper sleep you have and your blood pressure figures after a night of drinking compared to normal. Most likely won't affect a normal 25 year old too much. Apply that to any professional sport where the metrics of health are so specific and it's stupid of a professional athlete to hinder themselves, whatever the sport. They're enjoying themselves, yes, but they're also delaying recovery from wear and tear.

Yes, they will have time to recover, but an athlete who doesn't drink will have that time to improve, rather than recover. It's just sports science.

But totally appreciate if you disagree, that's what makes a conversation.
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Yeah we're going round in circles at this point so I'll leave it there after this - just to say, I've said consistently from the start that I'm not disagreeing that alcohol has a negative effect on the body, just that this far outside of pre-season it's not going to impact their preparation for the season. What I began by saying was my only concern is for players like Hughes and Crooks who need to undergo operations and that they not exacerbate anything. If they don't then there's no issues with them having a week of fun.
 
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How long they actually going to be out there?

Heres a good run down

Professional footballers should begin their post-season recovery with a complete physical and mental break, followed by a structured period of active rest, targeted physical therapy, and a personalized nutrition plan. [1, 2]
Here is the best practice breakdown for off-season recovery:

1. Physical Rest & Disengagement
  • Total Time Off: Take \(2\) to \(3\) weeks of complete rest from competitive football to allow chronic injuries (like tendinopathy or minor tears) to heal.
  • Mental Reset: Step away from the tactical pressure and high-stress environment of the sport to prevent burnout.

2. Targeted Rehabilitation & Screening
  • Exit Medicals: Undergo comprehensive musculoskeletal screening and blood work with the club’s medical staff to identify underlying deficiencies or biomechanical issues.
  • Physiotherapy: Address any niggles, muscle imbalances, or joint stiffness using targeted soft tissue work, massage, and mobility routines.

3. Active Recovery & Cross-Training
  • Low-Impact Movement: Engage in non-impact activities like swimming, cycling, or yoga to maintain blood flow, which accelerates tissue repair without placing stress on weight-bearing joints. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • Neuromuscular Activation: Gradually introduce light core, stability, and proprioception exercises during the latter half of the break to keep the nervous system engaged.

4. Nutrition & Hydration
  • Caloric Adjustment: Reduce overall caloric intake slightly to match the drop in energy expenditure, while maintaining high-quality protein intake to support tissue repair.
  • Hydration: Continue to focus on hydration and electrolyte balance to flush metabolic waste and rehydrate cellular tissues.

5. Gradual Load Progression
  • Off-Season Program: Follow a bespoke strength and conditioning program provided by the club's fitness coaches during the final weeks of the break. [1, 2]
  • Pre-Season Prep: Slowly reintroduce sport-specific movements (e.g., change of direction drills, linear running) to prepare the body for the demands of pre-season testing and avoid overloading the tendons and ligaments. [1, 2, 3, 4]
 
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Theyre clearly mates
And done something no one really thought wouls happen

It all changes next season
They wont all be playing/here come september

The difference on their bodies between drinking and not drinking this week come july pre season is tiny

Crooks isint turning into prime thomas muller if he laid off the pints
 
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SydneyTiger14 said:
Bloody hell.

And we're also not meant to eat red meat but we do.

You've taken this down such a weird path for someone who was annoyed at someone else's strawman.

No one is denying alcohol is bad for you. As I said, there are plenty of things that are bad for you.
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Why is it a ‘weird path’? And I’m not annoyed. I’m simply explaining that our livers have not adjusted to drinking concentrated alcohol despite doing it for tens of thousands of years, whereas we’ve adjusted relatively quickly to drinking cows’ milk despite doing it for a shorter amount of time. That suggests that some things are more poisonous than others, even if we’re not supposed to consume them.
 
SydneyTiger14 said:
This is a very strange hill you're choosing, and if you think that most athletes don't enjoy their time off in precisely the same way then you're as naive as he is.

Villa's players were on the piss constantly after the Europa league and came out and beat Man City in a game I suspect City were quite motivated to win to send off Pep. Didn't seem to harm their preparation or performance too much and I suspect they've drunk since that game too, even with some of them off to the World Cup, where they will be quite ok. Yes every athlete in the world could exist on a diet of water and some sort of basic grain diet to maximise their potential, but most athletes aren't boring ****s who have nothing going on in their lives.
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Again, another straw man. I’ve not once said athletes don’t enjoy their time off by drinking. All I’ve said is that there is no healthy amount of alcohol to drink. It’s literal poison in any quantity.
 
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bradymk2 said:
Theyre clearly mates
And done something no one really thought wouls happen

It all changes next season
They wont all be playing/here come september

The difference on their bodies between drinking and not drinking this week come july pre season is tiny

Crooks isint turning into prime thomas muller if he laid off the pints
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Maybe I wrote it somewhat hard.

Crooks will never be Thomas Muller, no. However, he will have a greater competitive edge against a player on his ability level if he doesn't drink.

Good to see them enjoying themselves, but not wise to go on the piss. Just my opinion.
 
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Heimdallr said:
Maybe I wrote it somewhat hard.

Crooks will never be Thomas Muller, no. However, he will have a greater competitive edge against a player on his ability level if he doesn't drink.

Good to see them enjoying themselves, but not wise to go on the piss. Just my opinion.
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There’s a reason why Cristiano Ronaldo is still playing at the age of 41 with no hint of retiring anytime soon and Rooney retired at 35, despite being younger than Ronaldo.
 
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