Just read some post match comments from Premiership managers, and nearly all of them moaned about tired players, light squads etc. Bollocks, especially those who don't have European commitments. They play less games than 40 years ago, have enormous squads, and armies of fitness coaches, physios, dieticians etc. In 75-76 QPR used 17 players in 42 league matches and of these, 5 played less than 6 games each. Game may have been a bit slower but it was much harder. Dave Thomas played 41 League games, didn't wear shin pads, got kicked every game, scored 9 goals and made loads more. Please take note Junior Hoilett. Wimps.
And the Loftus Road 'pitch' was a quagmire during Nov-Feb. These players are pansies in comparison...
They are exhausted from working out, how the hell they could spend their obscene weekly wage packets.
This really hits the nail on the head for me. Do any of these players work 45+ hours every week like most of us. Do many of us earn in a year what some players get in a week these days. I still love football/QPR but there is a lot wrong with the game since it went commercial back in 1992.
Just heard that Tom Huddlestone hasn't had his celebratory hair cut yet, because his hairdresser hasn't arrived from London. I rest my case. Gerry Francis of course has made a point of only patronising visually impaired barbers since he was a teenager.
It really chaffs my butt-cheeks to hear players of today whining about supposedly playing too much. It really does confirm what we fans think and say about these boys in mens' bodies. Maybe if they spent the first year of their football apprenticeship with the Armed Forces, you wouldn't hear them carrying on. My comments may be bias but I still think they are more than fair.
Did you see Bendtner after he scored? Feigned a trip over his laces and is now 'out for a couple of weeks'.... it looked to me as if he thought 'sod this, ive scored, i'll have some sympathy thrown in for good measure'
When I first saw the OP, I thought sb was having a pop at our own. But when I actually read the post I couldn't agree more. I work with an ex-pro from the 70s & 80's and after hearing some of the stories of the amount of games and the conditions they played in, the modern pampered footballer really doesn't know how good he has got it.
To be fair the Harold, at least this year, I haven't heard him bleat on about 'bare bones' etc, and actually on the telly the other day he was dead against changing the Christmas schedule. But we still played 19 players in December alone (compared to the 17 in the whole of 75-76). ****ing hamstrings, my arse. In the interests of balance (I'm going soft in my old age) I have to tell myself to remember the many honest pros who play their careers in the lower leagues/semi-pro, where this is still very much a job, and pampering is not rife by any means. It was the premiership managers who got my goat this time, cantankerous old git that I am.
Agreed mate, it was only the title I read that made me think you were talking about ours The content was spot on
Furthermore, the pace of today's game is vastly different than in the 'good old days'. Players are fitter, stronger and faster. You only have to watch some of the clips from yesteryear to know that is true. While they may not work a 45 hr week, most of us don't spend up to 6 hours per week running hell for leather and clattering into other people, also running at pace. I agree they are over paid but it is supply and demand. If we could all do what they do, they'd all be on £25k per annum!!
Fair enough RTID, but why are they injured all the time? Rugby, especially League, I can understand - with the increasing professionalisation of the game the body shape of players has changed enormously and at the top level they are all at the tipping point for speed, size and strength and what their bodies can bear, the hits are on average harder and both codes are much quicker than years ago. In these circumstances I can understand why there are so many more injuries. But footballers, who I agree are in much better overall physical nick than they used to be, are also much more protected on the pitch, yet get injured much more easily. But the moan was more against premiership managers and their excuse making than pampered players etc.
Jost a point on the injury thing sb, that i think get over looked every now and again In rugby you have 2 players of comparable mas running into each other at speed. the effect is "generally" that the 2 equal forces cancel each other out. that is unless you get the Jonah Lomu / rob andrew situation. Now if you get a 90kg player sprinting at full speed then putting his whole mass onto a leg or ankle joint, studs up; id suggest you'd get a very diffrent outcome. An ankle is going to break or the bones in the lower legs with less protection are certainly going to be affected more harshly than the rugby players. Simple Physics really im not defending footballer by any means, just offering a simple explanation as to why "there may be' more frequent injuries. i think that they are probablu coached to stay safe and if the miss 20 mins of a game, its better than missing the next 4 games because you played on Does that make sense to anyone?....Probably not
Part of the answer may be that the players of today have no reserve ie they are maxed out in terms of performance whereas the players of yesterday might still have had something left that enable them to carry a minor knock without impacting overly on performance. Speed is a factor. Take the knee for example. The famous cruciate ligaments. http://physioworks.com.au/Injuries-Conditions/Regions/ACL_Injury.jpg The best way to rupture a cruciate is to have the leg nearly fully extended, put all you weight on that leg and twist at the knee. Given that mechanism of injury, it's a wonder there is not one cruciate tear / rupture per game! The fact that there is not is a testimony partly to the strength / fitness of the players but also to the staff that keep them that way. It would be interesting to do a small study comparing injury rates and nature of injury from footballers of 25 years ago to now.
These days players tend to be able to recover from injuries quicker due to improved medical techniques, 40 years ago an ACL injury almost certainly ended a players career, these days they are back in 6-9 months as if nothing had happened. Hamstring injuries used to be a 6-8 week lay off now it's 2-3 weeks, certainly didn't expect Austin to play yesterday..... Those managers making the excuses about tiredness etc were in the main managers who lost yesterday, but with squad rotation why are they playing the same 11 or 12 players in 4 games over 10 days when they have 25 to choose from give or take injuries..... They probably thought that it sounded like a good excuse at the time but instead it made them look rather stupid because most fans could see right through the comments....
