Completely agree with that.
I’d add that we have seen an upturn in form and results in the last two-three weeks, and that definitely has something to do with the squad getting a bit of rest between matches at times.
Giving the general circumstances and a season run-in which could still be very hectic, I can fully understand the willingness to use a few days to recharge the batteries.
the difference between City and us is the pressure they are under, and the amount of players in the squad who have run the race before and won it…
in shorter terms… where they are in the cycle…
They are also trying to rebuild a good part of the team and prove they can win after a trophyless season. We’re not playing different sports. The schedules are basically the same (they are in 4 competitions left, we are in 3).
They’re not sent to rest a bit more because they have winners. It’s because different coaching staffs and medical teams judge it’s benefitial. Possibly even a need.
This is not Liverpool and Slot doing something outrageous or surprising.
Of course, as fans we can have an opinion even if professionals do the opposite.
Yes, it can be different from club/coach to another in terms of the moment, the exact amount of days, etc. It’s not a rule of course.
Lovren said recently that Klopp was a master of sensing and even surprising the team with the odd “go to Dubai or wherever for a few days, reset yourselves and come back fresh”.
Getting a few more days off in free weeks at this stage of the season is hardly surprising for some clubs having the last opportunity or two to do so, as they head into decision weeks/months, when things are won/secured or lost.
And it’s got little to do with experience in the squad and where they are in terms of cycle. It’s got to do with physical and mental requirements.
all the points you make are sensible and relevant, they do have merit, but lets keep it really simple…
new players en masse and a completely new system, with new coaches second year on the bounce require more time on the training park.
Guardiolas team, although not his best version of it, is a well drilled team full of players who know the system inside and out.
we on the otherhand, look like we need as much time on the training park as possible, we still not pressing properly…other things seem like they are slowly coming together but we need more drilling, we are constantly outrun and constantly out thought, we still think a ‘low block’ is football cryptonite…
so yes, Klopp might have been master of the odd day off, even early in the peice, but just using the common sense eye test, what we look like we could benefit from, in this moment ( not always) is MORE time on the training park, not less…
and jjust to clarify further…the issue we heard a few times (from many coaches) is that when games are two a week theres no time to work on structure, its all reactive training and a lot of conditioning, we had a terrible thing happen in pre season that disrupted time on the park, these few full weeks, they are like gold… its not like im proposing the players put in 12 hour shifts…i just see a world where we benefit more from training than time off…
dunno…i understand why that could be a POV, im not sure i buy into it…all our struggles to me seem more a lack of understanding the system, and the confidence drain of that shows up as a mental lapse from time to time…
We’re playing the same system most of the time (if by system you mean the formation).
In the first months of the season I said we look like a team that needs at least a mini pre-season and that is a bad thing to say that early into a campaign.
At one point in autumn it looked dangerously on the fence of completely losing it. Since then, it was not linearly better without certain stagnations or drops, but lately we are more compact and solid, we do press better.
I don’t have the running stats after every game (occasionally I do see it on places like MNF and stuff), but I’d be surprised if we are constantly outrun. We’d be worse than we are, if that was the case. Constantly out thought is totally subjective.
Slot does play a little bit with words by saying a few months ago that the numbers physically are fine. Now he says the team is in a better place physically than it was. Perhaps he’s talking about different aspects here. Miles covered and sprints may be different to winning duels (recently he has referred to the likes of Wirtz and Ekitike pressing/defending better), etc.
But some things don’t change, such a season doesn’t suddenly mean we’re scrapping giving players more days off in such weeks in this period of the season. Also with players out. It’s always about finding balance and I tend to trust the industry (they also make mistakes) that they know much better than me what a team needs in certain microperiods of the season.
It would be very easy for me as a fan from my sofa to say “we’re shit this season, so just train more”. You can train with quality or better with the time you have and still give them the rest they need in microperiods.
nice dig…as this is is exactly what im saying…infact, i think they should do laps for 4 hours straight as a punishment for not being gOoD aT SoCcEr.
In very simple terms, it’s to avoid mental burnout.
I suspect the players have been under quite a lot of mental pressure given the shit form. We’ve played out of that to come extent, and as cited by Slot, this might be the only chance some of the players are getting a rest for the rest of the season.
Unfortunately it becomes binary - if we go on a winning run the break was a brilliant idea, if we don’t, that was stupid. In reality, the break will be one of many factors that influence results, and probably one of the lesser ones.
I’d say what they mean is that during such a season with a lot of midweek games, there’s no real possibility of putting serious work in the aspects that mostly take part in pre-season.
Structure (again, I guess you mean the shape of the team) and set-pieces you do have the time because it doesn’t suck a lot of intensity from the team. It’s what we have to do, especially under Slot, who is more adaptable to how we want to press or build up from the back than Klopp, depending on the opponent.
Full weeks can give you both, you can train more or with higher intensity than you normally do, but also give them a bit more time off.
Their rhythm is not going to fall at this stage (especially when we have players close to the red zone), it’s not a situation like we had pre-Madrid in 2019.
It can be different if there’s a new head coach, but look at Tottenham’s example with Igor Tudor now in charge, who said in his first interview that training and intensity will be a big focus immediately.
12 days difference since the last game until the Arsenal game this weekend and the players still got 5 days off. Tudor was officially appointed on the 13th and they reported back for training on the 16th.
Now a case like that can be something to discuss about exactly how many days off (even if it’s hard like this on the outside) and even then it might depend on the logistics of things, how fast the transition was done.
have we though?
i get it, im not a victorian mill owner, time off can be beneficial, but to me a week in training without the pressure of a midweek fixture could be like gold for the bonding and structure…i mean, we might be leaning into this a bit too much no? its football season, the lads can do 5 hours a day structure work cant they? cant they mentally switch off from the comfort of thier own home after training?
im stunned i seem to be the only one (or very few) who think its completely sensible thing to work on football when we have the chance, given the changes weve been making and the season we’ve been having…
I’d say it’s both, physical and mental.
Slot said he did go to Holland to see his family and that obviously the coach suffers physically nowhere near as the players do, but players have the chance to totally switch off, while for him it’s constantly thinking about the next opponent.
That can depend from person to person of course, you had players like Carra who I imagine had real difficulty to totally switch off even in his off time (he seeked professional help from time to time to try and deal with it better) and Pep recently said they all need to go home for a few days and (I guess try) not think about football. It can be a quality. Experience.
Pretty simple, I’d say the coaching staff and medical team also possibly together with the players (where Virgil or the leaders can transmit the feeling among the group) judge it’s more benefitial to use this rare opportunity for a few more days off and it still doesn’t steal the time to train.
How many teams who are still in different competitions are not having the season they had in plan and how many teams are still using those weeks to give players more rest? I’d say most of them.
Yes, I think so. We are scoring more goals and conceding less. We aren’t playing great, but we are way better than back in Autumn.
For comfort, I don’t think you’re the only one to be concerned about a break, but some peoples view (including mine) is that there’s no harm to a break - and if anything, can be good for the players.
I certainly know that if I’ve been under the kosh at work for an extended period, that it’s good to take the mental break.
Also confident that the players are not acting like players of yesteryear during breaks - no junk food, boozing etc, and more likely the players have still been doing their own structured fitness programmes whilst away - some gym work etc.
The last part, yeah absolutely. That’s just standard these days.
However, what certain individuals do in their liberty even when you have a day/night off, nobody knows.
They’re not all James Milner type professionals and I think sometimes yes, there can be boozing, eating cheat meals, staying up late or whatever.
And still follow the fitness programmes they have and return in shape, because a little bit of fun doesn’t necessarily harm them that it’s noticeable immediately.
Lovren said Klopp told them to go away and get pissed if they want (or was at least aware that it could happen). Some things you cannot control and you shouldn’t. Whether there’s a drop in performance or the staff sees on data that you’re falling behind, in some cases they’ll find out.
100% agree - but in the context of a break vs no break, those players are James Milner types will not change habits, and those aren’t as strict on themselves will carry on too. What we do know is our players are never caught on socia media footage being idiots (Grealish comes to mind).
Both sides of the argument have merit.
They should have trained more, to improve in all the ways they possibly can to give us the best chance of maximizing the remainder of the season. Seems fair.
Or, they should have a little break, get some rest into the legs before we go back to two games a week, and after a very difficult season, try to refresh mentally in order to give us the best chance of maximizing the remainder of the season. That seems fair too.
Potato-potato.
A choice was made and now it’s Forest up next.
On these breaks in the schedule, made me wonder if Slot takes time off also, or does he stay behind and work with youngsters that are on the outer limits of his chosen few… Seems to me to be the ideal time to get his point and tactics across to those that might be of use at some future stage for a game or two…
Calvin Ramsay here is looking at you kid :0)
For what it is worth, and looking at the main challengers for the league this season, the Arse and the Cheaters… It seems to me, that though Slot has won us a PL title, fair enough and full credit, but more importantly in the world of advancement… *
he has also cost us a PL title this season…!**
A learning curve for him maybe, but as a fan of LFC, with a squad that had won the league at a canter, we have very cheaply thrown away any chance of winning a back-to-back title.
Inexperience from him can be forgiven, but if we find ourselves floundering at the moment because of lack of dedication to the job, that is something that won’t be forgiven by some fans, me included.
I’m absolutely fine with Slot having less time with the players to implement his tactics.
I read days off as lack of games rather than actual days off.
I’m going to break down all of the above with brevity. It’s fucking stupid. Slot doesn’t half like a break, doesn’t he. Fucking hell. I think the break’s more for him than anyone else, in truth, but he can’t go round having breaks willy nilly just by himself.