Peaking towards the end of the season...

[alias75]

Im sure i read somewhere that Rafa plans his training around the players peaking at the business end of the season and one of the main reasons behind rotating the team so much is to make sure the players are as fit (if not fitter) at the end of the season as they are at the start.

 

We're certainly seeing that at the moment, the team looks fresh and we're playing our best stuff this season over the last month or so. So how do we continue that and also start the season well which is key if we want to challenge for the PL? Is it simply a matter of having a better quality of squad player so that at the start of the season when players are rotated we dont lose the quality in the team or are we not as fit and ready as other PL teams at the start of the season with the plan to peak at different times?

 

I realise this season pre-season was disrupted with the World Cup but in the 2 seasons Rafa's been here the team has certainly looked better at the end of the season compared to the beginning.

[Sheida V]

I think we need 1 or 2 top class signings for the first team. The players we bought last season have had time to settle and we should see better things from them. I think we are very close.

 

Maybe it's also a case of Rafa learning how to win away from home and having the players he needs to do that. At home we are unstoppable, in Europe we are great, it's just away from home we need vast improvement.

[G Richards]

We need a deeper talent pool and a good pre season.

 

The first will be helped if Rafa concetrates on signing first teamers i.e. players who are clearly better than what we now have in the 'first eleven' (as much as such a thing exists). Quality not quantity. Those displaced from the side strengthen the squad, and those displaced from the squad are shipped out.

 

The second is helped by no summer international tournament. It would be good if Rafa gets his main business done early too.

[Guest Linton]

It would be nice if Chelsea and Man Utd ran out of steam as they haven't really had a bad patch the whole season. It's due to happen at some point...

[Christine]

League wise there is no point peaking towards the end of the season if you're out of the competition by November, I still think he over rotates at times early on.

[Armin_Tamzarian]

John Toshack said at the start of this season that he feared we'd struggle to get fourth. He said the physical and mental stress of 2 back to back extended seasons together with the World Cup would inevitably have an effect and I think he was right. It was the players who've been involved the most in the past 2 years who started poorly and since their form has recovered so have we.

[americanscouser]

its a combination of no international tournament, players all going through preseason together as opposed to half at the beginning and the rest for the last couple of weeks, and finally not making many signings at all.

 

our problems at the beginning had more to do i think with trying to integrate the new players with the current squad. you can tell everyone knows there job now which is why its easy to rotate.

 

keep that going at the start of next season and maybe those initial season results turn into more positive ones.

[Mr Makaveli]

Good question and one that I have no real answer to, however if you compare our strikers with the other top teams I think yopu'll see that we are a fair bit weaker than thme in this area and need to bring in a truelly world class player over the summer to spice things up infront of goal.. finish off those easier teams and put more pressure ont he top teams when we play them.

 

League wise there is no point peaking towards the end of the season if you're out of the competition by November, I still think he over rotates at times early on.

 

you're bang on there but at least it offers a slight advantage over our foes when it comes to the likes of the champions league. God I'd love to win it again.

[Behind Enemy Lines]

It would be nice if Chelsea and Man Utd ran out of steam as they haven't really had a bad patch the whole season. It's due to happen at some point...

Chelsea had a dip when Terry was injured, but they weathered it quite well.

[RafaShanks]

League wise there is no point peaking towards the end of the season if you're out of the competition by November, I still think he over rotates at times early on.

 

Spot on with that comment. The trick is to have a settled side for the first few months to get points on the board.

 

The number of new signings all trying to blend in our team shape didn't help either.

[surf]

I think we need 1 or 2 top class signings for the first team. The players we bought last season have had time to settle and we should see better things from them. I think we are very close.

 

Maybe it's also a case of Rafa learning how to win away from home and having the players he needs to do that. At home we are unstoppable, in Europe we are great, it's just away from home we need vast improvement.

 

I'd spend our entire (reported) 40m if we could get someone for LM or RM anywhere near as good as Placcy for it.

[Will]

Spot on with that comment. The trick is to have a settled side for the first few months to get points on the board.

 

The number of new signings all trying to blend in our team shape didn't help either.

No. The trick is to win games throughout the season - whether the side is "settled" or not is irrelevant really

[surf]

The point obviously being a settled side will win you more points than an unsettled side. Pedantry won't get you out of this one!

[Will]

The point obviously being a settled side will win you more points than an unsettled side. Pedantry won't get you out of this one!

Well I dispute that entirely, actually

[Owen1978]

League wise there is no point peaking towards the end of the season if you're out of the competition by November, I still think he over rotates at times early on.

 

I agree, whats currently driving manyoo and chelsea along is mainly momentum that they have built up, so yes we might have the fresher players but like its been said were only challenging for one competition.

 

Once you get to this stage, and if your in a title challenge you get that extra adrenalin, and the motivation to fight and win, near the end of the season pretty football goes out the window its about grinding out results from an exhausted team - thats when rotation should come into it.

 

Its like when a long distance runner hears the bell for the last 800m or something they are already drained, tired, legs are jelly - but they grit their teeth and just push for the win.

Edited April 14, 2007 by Owen1978