Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagor
Instead of a simple statement as if it's fact why don't you expand why the game had become more demanding?
Is it that they have to travel on winter break sun break training campus to places like Dubai?
Is it that they play less games than before?
On carpet like pitches to the point that God forbid they have to play on a lower league pitch in mid winter they're doing for the games to be relocated ?
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it's the simple fact that players usually run 10 or 11 km per game these days. Would you say that was the same during the 70s or 80s? Go back and watch one of those games and tell me those players logged more than half of that. You obviously love to reminisce about the good old times and you're obviously frustrated with a perceived softness of the modern game, and that's fine. I'd agree with a lot of that. But let's not act like today's game isn't a lot faster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagor
You've listed games as if they're something new? What's your point there? As mentioned they've less games than before.
And in the middle of a pandemic? So frickin what? How's that affected them? Apart from not having to do extra curricular activities that they would normally have to do.
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the games are nothing new, but it's the same amount of games in a much shorter season. The league started a full month later than normal. Now you're entitled to your opinion that today's footballers are wimps, but with the amount of games, it's no wonder that injuries pile up and the quality of the games suffers. So yeah, I'd have been in favour of decluttering the schedule just for this one season because of, you know, the ####### virus that affects us all. Now I know there's money involved and I know that's always more important than player health, but scrapping the Caribou Cup and keeping the CL/EL format of last season would have helped.
And maybe they could have refrained from playing national games this autumn where Covid is ravaging the whole continent. Not only has it led to numerous positive tests among players, it has also been completely farcical at times. Austria was pretty much gifted the group win because Norway had to forfeit one game and then had to send a group of U21s to play in another.
And again, I know money trumps logic and therefore it was clear that nothing was going to change, even for just one year (which is all I'd ask for). But I understand the frustration of players and managers because I also think the schedule is ridiculous this season. It's easier to demand those wimps to just man up though, of course, because things used to be so much harder, right?