The last quarter
- Thread starter Rosco
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We are probably not fit enough. I don´t know anything about the perforemances from our coaching staff, and if we have somone dedicated to keep us fit even. But it is very worrying. When we go tired the head start loosing focus as well, which have cost us this season.
I'm not sure that it's any one thing.
Weariness is probably less of a problem when you're scoring goals and winning games. When you've worked hard for 70mins (as we did do against West Brom, especially at the beginning of the game) and have fuck all to show for it then yeah, you end up with tired minds and tired legs.
This team has learned to huff and puff and then give up.
Weariness is probably less of a problem when you're scoring goals and winning games. When you've worked hard for 70mins (as we did do against West Brom, especially at the beginning of the game) and have fuck all to show for it then yeah, you end up with tired minds and tired legs.
This team has learned to huff and puff and then give up.
The thing Rafa seemed to be afraid of most.
It was just unfortunate for us during his best season that the Mancs could do it from start to finish.
It was just unfortunate for us during his best season that the Mancs could do it from start to finish.
We miss lots of chances when we're on top and then the crowd and the players get nervy in the last quarter.
Nervy teams and/or atmospheres make mistakes more likely. Every negative thought and feeling is enhanced and we succumb, it's depressing.
Hopefully, somewhere along the line the current crop of players will get the siege mentality that other teams have and it will get them over the line.
I still think that on the whole our players are the equal of and probably better in terms of skill and fitness than Everton/WBA/Swansea/Stoke etc
Nervy teams and/or atmospheres make mistakes more likely. Every negative thought and feeling is enhanced and we succumb, it's depressing.
Hopefully, somewhere along the line the current crop of players will get the siege mentality that other teams have and it will get them over the line.
I still think that on the whole our players are the equal of and probably better in terms of skill and fitness than Everton/WBA/Swansea/Stoke etc
It seems to be a case of running out of steam, we stick to the game plan and play well for an hour, get frustrated and get sloppy. This usually gets punished.
The irony is the system we play (when done correctly) is supposed to tire the opposition out constantly chasing the ball until gaps start to appear and they start making mistakes. Unfortunately we seem to be doing it in reverse, huffing and puffing for 70 minutes til we get tired and ragged then we start gambling and making mistakes
The irony is the system we play (when done correctly) is supposed to tire the opposition out constantly chasing the ball until gaps start to appear and they start making mistakes. Unfortunately we seem to be doing it in reverse, huffing and puffing for 70 minutes til we get tired and ragged then we start gambling and making mistakes
In a way Im not surprised we tired in the final quarter last night. We played an 8pm kickoff on Monday, flew to St Petersburg and played on a pudding of a pitch. I appreciate the pitch was the same for both teams but Zenit's last game ( a friendly) was ten days previous.
Unfortunately I cant see the energy levels being much better by Sunday. Hope Im wrong.
Unfortunately I cant see the energy levels being much better by Sunday. Hope Im wrong.
Whoops misinterpreted as being final quarter of the season.
In individual games it seems more about losing concentration than anything else.
In individual games it seems more about losing concentration than anything else.
Concentration. The majority of players in our squad are not mature or experienced enough at Premier League level, and clearly struggle to maintain levels of concentration for 90 minutes. That also points towards conceding one goal straight free another.
Good point mate ... That's something they'll have to get with experience.
The medical staff must be doing something right, you only need to see how physically strong Gerrard's been this season to appreciate that, so I doubt there's any general fatigue in the team - apart from Sterling, but that's another matter. It surely must be a mixture of concentration problems and a lack of self-confidence - maybe a feeling they can't just close a game down by belting the ball out has left some players unsure of what to do, but there's certainly a strange lack of purpose about the way they finish some games.
It is unfortunately not only the players that lack experience on this level. The whole backroom staff does it as well. We used to have a very good and well respected fitness coach. I am not sure if he is still around, or he dissapeared with the rest. But the lack of experience among the backroom staff doesn't make it easier.
Again, straining to be fair, Ryland Morgans has a pretty good reputation, he's no rookie. But, yes, more
generally, there's a lack of experience among the backroom team. Whenever I see Pascoe I can't help thinking about that lump Joe Corrigan. For all I know he might be brilliant behind the scenes, but he just seems permanently happy and contented no matter how badly we're doing. I'd rather see someone like Thommo standing there raging in frustration.
BRENDAN RODGERS has hailed the appointment of Ryland Morgans as Liverpool’s new head of fitness and conditioning.
The Reds boss worked with the Welshman during his time at Swansea City and he’s been brought in as a replacement for Darren Burgess who stood down last month.
“Darren decided to go back to Australia and I thank him for his contribution in the short time I was here,” said Rodgers.
“I needed to make sure I got not just a sports scientist but a football physiologist - someone who understands how I work.
“When I went to Swansea I took Rylands from Fulham. He came in and did a terrific job for a few years.
“He has good experience and also works with the Welsh national team. He had his first day with us on Wednesday and he will prove a very good signing for the club.”
Morgans is the fourth member of Rodgers’ backroom staff at Swansea to join him at Anfield. Assistant boss Colin Pascoe, head of opposition analysis Chris Davies and head of performance Glen Driscoll all made the move to Liverpool back in June.
Read more: Liverpool Echo http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2012/10/04/liverpool-fc-manager-brendan-rodgers-hails-the-appointment-of-ryland-morgans-as-new-head-of-fitness-and-conditioning-100252-31962195/#ixzz2Kye3zOTf
generally, there's a lack of experience among the backroom team. Whenever I see Pascoe I can't help thinking about that lump Joe Corrigan. For all I know he might be brilliant behind the scenes, but he just seems permanently happy and contented no matter how badly we're doing. I'd rather see someone like Thommo standing there raging in frustration.
BRENDAN RODGERS has hailed the appointment of Ryland Morgans as Liverpool’s new head of fitness and conditioning.
The Reds boss worked with the Welshman during his time at Swansea City and he’s been brought in as a replacement for Darren Burgess who stood down last month.
“Darren decided to go back to Australia and I thank him for his contribution in the short time I was here,” said Rodgers.
“I needed to make sure I got not just a sports scientist but a football physiologist - someone who understands how I work.
“When I went to Swansea I took Rylands from Fulham. He came in and did a terrific job for a few years.
“He has good experience and also works with the Welsh national team. He had his first day with us on Wednesday and he will prove a very good signing for the club.”
Morgans is the fourth member of Rodgers’ backroom staff at Swansea to join him at Anfield. Assistant boss Colin Pascoe, head of opposition analysis Chris Davies and head of performance Glen Driscoll all made the move to Liverpool back in June.
Read more: Liverpool Echo http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2012/10/04/liverpool-fc-manager-brendan-rodgers-hails-the-appointment-of-ryland-morgans-as-new-head-of-fitness-and-conditioning-100252-31962195/#ixzz2Kye3zOTf
Hmmm a friend of mine is a physical and fitness coach in top of the Norwegian league, combined with being the same for Norway. He said during last season that in his "industry" Liverpool had the best man around, and he was a lighthouse people turned too to share some experience. Don't remember who it was, but he is obviously gone now.
That sounds reasonable, but then when you go back and look at the people who're making the mistakes and leaking the goals, you might find that this explanation doesn't seem right.
Reina, Skrtel, Agger - these guys have been responsible for a lot of goals this season, while Johnson/Enrique has been responsible for a few of them. The explanation could account for the younger guys ahead of them or beside/around them allowing balls to be passed around or through the middle, but the final bit of concentration lapse that's usually led directly to goals has often been down to the senior, experienced players.
Probably.. And he probably has his background from Rugby as well as Morgans. We should be in safe hands anyway.🙂
I think it's more of a mental thing than physical.
Brendan's sports shrink's session only last an hour each. Maybe that's why.
Brendan's sports shrink's session only last an hour each. Maybe that's why.
The sports shrink must be puzzled by Gerrard - a player so strong and cool in most circumstances, and yet sometimes seemingly as limp as a wet lettuce leaf. As soon as he stepped up to take that penalty you just knew he was dreading it. Then on another occasion, when there's even more pressure, he's march up and blast it. A real enigma.
He seems to go through phases - there was that time a few seasons ago when he gave up taking them for a while because it was if he'd been spooked.
It's the attitude of the players. Passing the ball around with an intent to score tires the opposition out, makes them chase and fear the worst. You can toy with them at that point, and play passes just for the sake of torturing the other team rather than genuinely looking to score.
But what we do in possession is piss weak, and is for the sake of not losing the ball. With that attitude the opposition are the ones who don't give a fuck. Allen can be sat on the ball, afraid, looking to give it away, and the opposing midfielder needs to make a movement of no more than two steps in a particular direction... and that is enough to generate the shits and make Allen run 10 yards in the other direction before passing the ball. So that's why we get tired with the ball. For every step the other team take, we run twenty more steps like a startled pussy cat.
But what we do in possession is piss weak, and is for the sake of not losing the ball. With that attitude the opposition are the ones who don't give a fuck. Allen can be sat on the ball, afraid, looking to give it away, and the opposing midfielder needs to make a movement of no more than two steps in a particular direction... and that is enough to generate the shits and make Allen run 10 yards in the other direction before passing the ball. So that's why we get tired with the ball. For every step the other team take, we run twenty more steps like a startled pussy cat.
I don't honestly don't know what you are talking about. I wouldn't describe our passing game at present as cherishing possession. Not in the least bit. We lose possession quite easily. We've been hoofing quite a lot recently, and playing far too low percentage aggressive passes. Sometimes we attempt to work the ball with short passes, but we do it in an unintelligent way in tight quarters where we have little to gain, rather than passing back and switching play. If we get ahead the space opens up, giving us the space we need to play the game, but in any heavily contested game, our problem is not aimless possession play, it's aimlessly conceding possession. Our best play is something that happens under the right circumstances, it isn't something we impose on other teams.
I'm talking about our players being mentally afraid of the opposition. So even when we have the ball, we're not in control of the game.
We are being forced into the majority of our passes out of fear or being closed down. And when we have the ball, the other team doesn't really need to do anything. They just wait around catching their breath and when they get bored they step in and take it off us. It's actually quite humiliating.
If we play Suso, he at least thinks about what he is doing and knows that if the silly defender tries to close him down he'll make him pay for it. The rest of our midfield don't think that way. This season they have even been manipulated and bullied by mediocre lower league players.
We are being forced into the majority of our passes out of fear or being closed down. And when we have the ball, the other team doesn't really need to do anything. They just wait around catching their breath and when they get bored they step in and take it off us. It's actually quite humiliating.
If we play Suso, he at least thinks about what he is doing and knows that if the silly defender tries to close him down he'll make him pay for it. The rest of our midfield don't think that way. This season they have even been manipulated and bullied by mediocre lower league players.
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