Players are on fitness programmes all year round these days. They don't return to pre-season training overweight and out of condition. As for getting match fit, flying halfway round the world can't be the best preparation, can it?
That's right Luke it's a complete nonsense from a preparation point of view, it's all about boosting 'the brand'. Flying can never be the best way to prepare for a game, it's more knackering than the football however '1st class' their flights. Flying dehydrates humans and probably exposes us to all the germs carried by the other humans on the same flight. It would be interesting to compare the performance of teams that have not spent their pre-season cavorting around the world with those that have.
Where are Spurs now? If preseason games were confined to the British Isles then it might be a different story; they are not.
All the leading clubs seem to be halfway round the world (U.S.A, China, Australia, Vietnam), constantly getting on/off planes. I'm not convinced these pre-season tours have any benefits for the players. Maybe if they went for altitude training in one place, you could say it was beneficial. But travelling here, there and everywhere, playing low intensity games etc is just a circus.
Spot on. As a frequent long-haul flier i can't fathom how clubs could jeopardise their season starts by doing **** like this so close to the off.
I was discussing preseason games in general. I agree it is a total nonsense to be in America - especially this close to the season. Also think we shouldn't play 2 games in Europe on consecutive days either. Only serious point I was making is that players needs proper games to get match sharp.
Yes I agree they do, but we have an amazing training facility and plenty of chances for friendlies in England.
Annoyingly Utd don't seem to have any more games prior to our meeting. So we play Madrid/Bayern or Milan on Tuesday and Wednesday. I trust none of our first team play more than a half each day. I think that gives Utd a big advantage.
I agree 100% about how bad flying is for human beings. There’s no doubt players’ preparation for the season has been seriously compromised with this crazy globe-trotting. The club I follow however, like all the others, is ultimately motivated by the desire to make money. As unhappy as I am with the ridiculous schedule Spurs are playing, and as little as I like jargon like "strengthening the brand," it is a bit of a publicity coup to play what amounts to the North American all star team, followed by a game against the highest profile team in the world. It is, in other words, an unfortunate part of a reasonable plan to do what I want, which is to make Spurs more successful on the field. This and other things like it don’t drive me as nutty as in other years simply because the gap to the top four looks unbridgeable in the best of all possible worlds. A team averaging out to first year players in most sports isn’t going to catch the moneybags in the top four. We ought to see real improvement over last year, but won’t threaten the top four unless one of them trips up. One thing I like is that this year the team faces some very stiff competition. I thought the preparation for last year, which featured a series of weaker teams, was the worst thing imaginable for psychological preparation. In a season of fine margins, a lot depends on how much resilience teams show after a loss. Leaving the first defeat for the regular season seemed to have a really poor effect on our mostly young and impressionable players.
Weird game. The players were clearly taking it seriously and there was plenty of quality players out there yet it wasn't a particularly good game and it wasn't a cagey one either. Not seen Chelsea defend that badly since PSG last season. They were too narrow, giving Arsenal's pace on the flanks a few extra seconds to get going and Arsenal really should've created and scored a lot more. At the other end Arsenal struggled when Chelsea moved the play inside but were very comfortable dealing with any crosses coming in. Neither side played like title challengers today but hey, it's only a friendly, I guess.
Quality goal by Chamberlain, mind you. That and Courtois' save off Cazorla were the only really decent moments in the game.
Altitude training would be ideal. I work on a goldmine at 2400 m. We have regular blood tests and my red blood cell count goes from about 9 to 16 (dunno what the units are) after being here for about 3 weeks. When I return to the UK I have lots of energy but returning to the mine it works the other way.
