a1canary 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Sorry if this offends anyone, but i can''t contain myself any more.People on here seem to be losing their grip on reality by the day.Case in point is the "6 hrs work in 8 days" post, largely populatedby posts from people who''s judegement is sorely clouded by their ownbitterness about the fact that the lot of a professional footballer isso much better than theirs. Of course it is. And mine. What possiblerelevance has the physical strain of 4 ninety minute games ofprofessional football in 8 days got to do with 12 hour nursing shiftsand army training and working in factories? I fully recognise that a 12hour hospital shift is a dibilitating experience and that nursing andmost other jobs are more worthy than that of a professional footballer.But the stresses and strains are entirely different and not remotelycomparable. And what has how much more the footballer earns over thenurse got to do with it? It''s like saying "hey, you earn 15k aweek, go and eat a house. Go on, i''d do it for that money!" No, youwouldn''t be able to do what they''ve done in 8 days. Most of you wouldbe finished within 70 minutes of the first match. And guess what, ifyou were offered a million pounds, you''d still be physically unable toperform to the peak of your performance that you reached at the start.Comparing it to money and other jobs is pointless and all it reallyshows is that you resent them. If so, that''s fair enough but thismessage board is no place for your inadequacies. I work in the public sector, my pay is decidedly average, i don''t own ahouse, it''s probably too late ever to afford one at current prices inCambridge, but just because these are problems i have that footballerswill never face, i don''t somehow then see that as a reason to expectthem to be able to complete all those games of football at the peak oftheir game. Forget nurses, forget soldiers, forgettruckers, forget the money, to this arguement THEY''RE ALL IRRELEVANT!Whoever the players and whoever the manager, with that amount ofphysical exertion people will get tired and will not be able to performto the peak of their ability. Simon Charlton was dead right insaying whoever arranges the fixtures has never played 90 minutes offootball and the same clearly goes for most of you. And despite this, we were the only side in the league to win the last 5games of 2005. And with basically the same 11 players on thepitch. No one has matched that, not Palace, not Leeds, notWatford, not Sheff Utd, not Preston and not Reading. Even they trippedup at Derby, but then went on to win their first game of 2006handsomely. And what helped them to do that? Allow me to quote SteveCoppell:"It was our fourth game in eight days and we reaped the benefit of bringing in fresh legs."It was a great achievement following what has so far been a poorseason, no doubt, but the players deserve some credit. And yet as soonas we lose after such a run of games in such a short time, you all comeon here to lecture them about you 12 hour shifts and your miserlywages. Frankly, if i was a player i''d chuck all my toys out the pramand tell the fans they''re a bunch of t***rs who can go hang! Andi reckon if the moaners on here were players they''d do the same if only they had thefirst clue.Oh and the same applies to the "...worthy has taken us backwards" post.Is that from when he took over? Or from when we got promoted? Whichwould therefore be after he took us forward, suggesting he''s taken usbackwards to where we were when he was appointed. Even if Worthy''s time is now up, either way that is utterutter, s**t stirring rubbish. I can''t even get started on that it windsme up so much. Not a clue, not a clue, and not an ounce of perspective. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oso Butch 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Sorry, A1canary, whilst I agree with your view about all the nurses stuff, I shall keep on repeating this message until I go yellow and green in the face.... [:@] "it wasn''t only Norwich who were called upon to play 4 games in 8 days". It''s just that no other side has had the cheek to wheel out such an unacceptably lame excuse for what was an abysmal and downright depressing display of so-called ''football''... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a1canary 0 Posted January 3, 2006 I don''t dispute that for a second oso, and in case you hadn''t noticed, most managers and players across the leagues have been talking about the crazy fixture list over xmas. What''s more, as the Coppell quote shows, the teams that have done better have done so with larger squads, fresh legs or both. In the end, we did better than nearly everyone else without either. So if in light of this people then criticise the players, i think that''s incredibly unfair and not a bit out of order. That may not include you if you are criticising them entirely for the excuse and not for the performance, but most have been referring to the latter. And the excuse, in the context of football and of physical capability, is not unreasonable. They CAN do all those games, just don''t expect them to be able to do it to the peak of their ability. Your colleagues won''t be able to do their jobs out in iraq at the end of a long long shift as well as they could at the start of it. No they won''t moan after it, but they sure will if you or i or the posters on here go up to them and start telling them they didn''t do their job very well. Well, they may not moan, they might just flatten us instead!Nice boxer by the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rocky marshall 0 Posted January 3, 2006 A1 canary ... i couldnt agree with you more.. Just a pity that the rose tinted glasses worn by some cant be removed and allowed to balance the argument, good and bad. Of course we all want the players to perform at their best, but all of the other teams did not play 4 games in 8 days.PRESTON didnt and they were at a far higher tempo than us for most of the match. Coincidence? They''re on a good run of from. Compare that with Plymouth who are having a poor run of results and are the only other team who didnt play on the 28th. Hardly comparing like with like then - mentally or physically.Our goalkeeper, back 4 and front 3 and Simon Charlton played nearly every minute (colin missed about 5 minutes at Leicester and Drury 35 or so yesterday). Robinson has broken ribs and missed on game and tried to get through yesterday, Etuhu had a virus just after Xmas and then was asked to play 2 games in 3 days! Not much time in their to get fully fit again, Safri played 3 out of 4.Considering how people on this message board hammer those who arent playing anyway did they want them to play to give the others a rest, or leave the others to battle through with energy draining. Just goes to prove that you''re damned if you do and damned if you dont with some supporters! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Russ Feld 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Ive spent time as a professional sports person, ive also spent time stocking shelves at a supermarket on the midnight to 8am shift. Ive also worked 16 hour, 7 day shifts as a security guard. Ive seen both sides. I know which one wore me out more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rudolph Hucker 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Not every player can use this excuse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syteanric 1 Posted January 3, 2006 Well if footballers really want a winge then perhaps taking up Ice Hockey.. (which is medically proven to be the most strenous sport on the body) is more their thing...then they can winge about playing 28 games in 30 days, 1 day off a month, spending upwards of a week away from home.. for considerably less money then they are on now.. continously for 6 months.... the game might only last for an hour but the medical experts say that 1 hours Ice Hockey does as much wear and tear on the joints as a marathon Multiply that by another 27 times.... in the space of a month with 1 day to recoup...then u have to fit ur practice sessions in.. America (and canada) are big places... u jump on a plane at 5 am across america Arriving at ur destination at midday.. Practicing for 2 or 3 hours before getting ready for the game.. after geting beaten up, flattened, hit by the puck, raked by a hockey stick, suffering Ice Burns, Facial injuries, and perhaps getting the odd fist in the face its time to jump on another plane to fly home for ur home game the next night.. arriving back home around 10pm... if u have another away game u will go back to a hotel before waking up at 4 or 5 am the following day and repeating the whole Happy schedule all over again between September and April.. or whenever it is!Still think our dear footballers have got it hard?jas :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Old Boy 0 Posted January 3, 2006 A very well argued dose of reality, a1. My days of running about for 90 minutes are well past, but I reckon Charlton''s right. For those who did the whole stint of 4 x 90 minutes (like Doherty, Ashton, McVeigh and Charlton himself) I have a lot of sympathy. But those like Etuhu, who didn''t, or Huckerby, who didn''t in a different sense, shouldn''t shelter under that umbrella. I can accept a defeat if everyone had played like the four I listed, even though Charlton was running on empty for the last 15 minutes, but they didn''t. To me, it looked like a team of two halves.I, like you, don''t agree that Worthy has taken us backwards, either from when he took over or from when we were promoted. And there''s way, way too much hysteria around again. We won''t be relegated, and I think we''ll make the play-offs. We do have, on average, a higher level of skill now than when we went into the Premiership. But I have to admit, it''s hard to see how he''s going to take us forwards enough to allow us to stay in the Prem with a squad remotely resembling what he''s assembled here. And largely because, though the players are probably adequately skilled, too many can''t be arsed. Worthy gets the blame for that, which is an easy way out, but in reality which manager can keep his players focussed? Saint Alan of Charlton can''t, fire-breathing Fergie can''t, intellectual Wenger can''t. If our players are motivated, they can play proper football, and we can beat anyone in this league. If they''re not, they resort to the lazy hit-and-hope - and I absolutely don''t believe that for the Leicester and Preston games the manager told them to stop playing passing football like we did so well against Southampton. But you''ve got a hell of a task motivating players like Brennan, Etuhu, and (sometimes) Huckerby. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macdougalls perm 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Oso, I don''t know if you are green and yellow in the face yet, but I will also repeat this message once again - in case you want to pay any attention - PRESTON DID NOT PLAY A GAME MIDWEEK AND THIS IS VERY RELEVANT BECAUSE THEY WERE THE TEAM THAT WE WERE PLAYING YESTERDAY!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robbo007 0 Posted January 3, 2006 I totally agree with your point A1, but in saying that, everyone has played 4 games in 8 days so it cannot be used as an excuse. simple. I definitly agree that 5 wins from 6 is a superb achievement. My personal opinion regarding the Preston loss is simply down to they were a better organised team than us.Regarding your comment about the "worthy has taken us backwards thread", unfortunately it was started by someone called Paul Rankin. I don''t know the guy, but most days he posts 2-3 threads having a go at Worthington. I''m fine about the message board being free to air opinions, but I generally don''t bother to read his threads Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LinkNR9 0 Posted January 3, 2006 The point that I was trying to make, A1, is that footballers shouldn''t complain about being paid huge sums of money to do what they love doing. IF YOU READ THE POSTS, most people weren''t criticising the players'' performance on tired legs (we''ve just got some poor players at the moment), they were saying that players shouldn''t moan about having to play the games in the first place, and quite right too. And please don''t assume that people do not know what they''re talking about; I only made it to semi-pro football, but I would have loved to have been paid a lot of money for playing the fixture list over Xmas / Easter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dionysus 0 Posted January 4, 2006 50p! You know you could put in a bid for Etuhu. With any luck you might get Jarrett and Hughes thrown in as part of the deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a1canary 0 Posted January 4, 2006 I did READ THE POSTS thankyou link. Correct me if i''m wrong, but is itnot correct to say that the general gist of the arguement was that theyshouldn''t complain about playing lots of games. Especially when peopleare out stacking shelves on 16 hour shifts and when they''re on 15k aweek etc etc yawn yawn.I maintain thata), for the purposes of this argument comparing jobs with football is pointless, b) comparing wages is equally ridiculous, c) and most of all that, regardless of all the money and all the 16hrshifts in the world, four games of professional football in eight daysis going to mean that for the fourth game, the players will not be ableto perform to the ability that they did in the first two or three. Thatis a simple fact. Yes, other teams did the same, and guess what, all of them failed towin at some point over the holiday period, and most of them had moreplayers to choose from. I refer you to the Coppell quote above. We didbetter than most over the period, with i venture, fewer players thanall. And yet you still moan about the Preston result, only to thenaccuse the players of the same. "Fickle" just doesn''t come close.You can retreat into the, "i only said they shouldn''t moan and thatthey should just get on with it" arguement if you want, but before youdo, consider this:Because of the industry they work in and because of the fans they relyon, they operate in a blame culture. If they lose, people themselvesmoan and point the finger. So it is not surprising that they''re goingto defend themselves when they lose in these circumstances, after 5straight wins, knowing that despite this, the fans will still be thefirst to moan themselves. Shortly before accusing the players formoaning! It''s pathetic and it winds me up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syteanric 1 Posted January 4, 2006 footballers can have a moan... granted.. but christmas happens every year.. so do the christmas games... the players and managers know full well what happens at Christmas... and how many games are played in a short space of time.. its not a new thing! yet people are whinging like it is!it wasnt that long ago players played on BOTH christmas day AND boxing day... be thankful that doesnt happen now! it does in other sports.. particularly in America where they play NFL games on christmas daythe modern day footballer is nothing but a whinger, a wuss, and a wimp... the slightest bit of contact and they roll over like a dying Swan... in the next 2 seconds they are fine. Rugby players take huge hits, landing on Icy pitches, what do they do??? get up and run with out poofing about!Most footballers are worried that Mr Byrite will cancel their modelling contract or that Loreal wont make their hair "pretty" for them to play with as they run up the touch line... where as in other sports they dont care and carry on! the ball is light, made of synthetic material and not Stitching and Pig gut anymore and doesnt weigh a ton when it gets wet or snowy... the players wear light weight boots, not hob nail clod hoppers. the keepers wear gloves.. and not bare hands anymore.the Pitch is underheated so no cold tootsies, in some stadiums (Carrow road) the pitch is part synthetic.. so no more divots to catch ur feet in... and the wage is in thousands a week not 2 bob and ha''penny which it was years ago!!!! As i said they are entitled to complain.. but football has been played over Christmas since the game was professionalised in 1888... EVERYWHERE in europe they play over Christmas... the winter break occurs in January... It might be interesting to some of you that they get a "winter break" in Greece and its 15-20 Degrees over there right now!if its that Strenous to work over christmas then get another job.. Welcome to the real world boys! work gets tougher over christmas for everyone.. i do a job which involves a lot of heavy lifting.. 6 days a week, 8 hours a day.... fancy swapping with me then players for a week???? no i didnt think so.what about nurses, Police, Firemen, Paramedics... its the busiest time of the year for them too.. longer hours, alot more stress (and bodily strain) for a lot less money...the list is endless.jas :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a1canary 0 Posted January 4, 2006 i give up! jas, read my post above.i''ll say it one more time - they are physically incapable of performing to the same level duringthe fourth game in eight days as in the first of those games. Everything you say is valid and everything you say is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT TO THIS POINT. they defend themselves (moan) because it an instinctive reaction whenthey know that you lot are sure to moan yourselves about theirperformance. you''re allowed to do that, but for some reason they''re notallowed to defend themselves. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dionysus 0 Posted January 4, 2006 I agree, to a certain extent, that perofrmance levels will drop if players are faced with too many games in a short period of time. But then why were some of them not replaced? If they were that tired, why was Rossi Jarvis not given a chance? Or, much as I hate to say it, Hendo up front? And what was Brennan or Etuhu''s excuse? If Worthy was prepared to drop our best midfielder because of fatigue a few games ago then perhaps he should have rested a few against Preston and given others a chance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris MacDonald 0 Posted January 6, 2006 What was the excuse again at the start of the Season......up to the last 5 matches eh. Oh and statstics show there are more injuries a year in the Sunday League Football than in Professional Football......One answer could be that the players have a full time job. So the stress must be greater than a Professional then don''t you think? What Jas is saying is that.... If you can''t take the heat get out of the kitchen and don''t blame it on being fa tigued all the time. Tiredness is not a Defence. Use it once and people accept it. Use it twice and they won''t. Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rudolph Hucker 0 Posted January 6, 2006 Anyone who tries to do a sport and activity in addition to a normal job would love to have access to the treatments and facilities footballers get. They are absolutely cossetted, no wonder they never grow up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westoncanary. 0 Posted January 6, 2006 To Chris, that may be true, but don''t forget Sunday League players will generally mis time more tackles & we''ve all seen teams who turn up drunk from the night before haven''t we, which makes for worse challenges. Also, there must be more Sunday League matches than Proffesional matches each weekend, so there are bound to be more injuries. In the hope of ending this discussion, if the people in the game (managers,coaches,players etc) all say that 4 games in 8 days is too much, then we should take their word for it. By the way, go down the leagues & see the facilities at some grounds, it''s not all £15,000 a week & 5 star treatment rooms and purpose built training pitches. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syteanric 1 Posted January 6, 2006 [quote user="westoncanary."]& we''ve all seen teams who turn up drunk from the night before haven''t we, [/quote]Yes.. they play in Yellow and Green at carrow Road [:p]jas :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites