48 Hours Between Games

by The Special Juan Sun Aug 26, 2012 4:56 am

Someone's just pointed this out to me.

If Newcastle were playing in Europe on Thursday, why are they playing on a Saturday?

by **hampo17** Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:01 am

TV companies get the final say in these matters.

Surely Newcastle fans can't use this as an excuse though? Just had a look and only Cisse started both games.

by Duty281 Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:08 am

I always thought that if you play on a Thursday in the Europa League you play in the Premiership on Sunday. But like Hampo says, the TV companies get the final say - this is an ESPN game and they're playing in the only time-slot possible.

by The Special Juan Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:12 am

Pretty dreadful though. I'm sure ESPN knew they were playing on a Thursday well in advance. Still, can't fight the money.

by Guest Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:24 am

I thought the reason was to do with the Carnival on Sunday and under Police guidance they were advised to play on Saturday instead of the planned Sunday.

by TopHat24/7 Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:31 pm

I think it was poor treatment and Newcastle suffered because of it. If it had been Arsenal or Man U you can bet Wenger or Sir Alex would be going mental kicking off about it. Similarly Mourinho when he was at Chelsea.

by super_realist Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:54 pm

It's a pathetic excuse from footballers that they can't play two games in 48 hours especially they've got a large squad to pick from too.
Are they not supposed to be athletes? They hardly cover any distance in a game, 7-8km tops and perhaps only have to do 20-30 sprints a game. Man up.

by The Special Juan Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:55 pm

That's a different argument. This one is about everyone else who plays on a Thursday getting a match on Sunday instead of Saturday.

by TopHat24/7 Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:05 pm

super_realist wrote:It's a pathetic excuse from footballers that they can't play two games in 48 hours especially they've got a large squad to pick from too.
Are they not supposed to be athletes? They hardly cover any distance in a game, 7-8km tops and perhaps only have to do 20-30 sprints a game. Man up.

Most players cover more than that. When Beckham was at United he used to cover something like 13km in 90 mins.

by TopHat24/7 Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:08 pm

Averages
According to The Sunday Times website, midfielders in England's Premiership worked the hardest in the 2005-06 season, running on average 7 miles, 246 yards per game. Right midfielders win the distinction of performing the most "high-intensity" runs -- running at a three-quarter sprint speed or faster -- averaging nearly 150 bursts per game that cover 339 yards. Discounting goalkeepers, centerbacks ran the least amount per game, yet still impressively averaged six miles, 332 yards. Gennaro Gattuso of Italy's AC Milan racked up more than 6-1/2 miles in the 2007 semifinal of the Champion's League, suggesting that the particular league a player is a part of has no bearing on the average distance covered during a professional soccer match.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/400871-the-average-distance-run-in-a-soccer-game/#ixzz24pm9chuV

by super_realist Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:17 pm

Still something that every professional athlete should be able to do every 48 hours without crying about it.
Footballers are the softest, most cossetted and over-rated athletes in sport.
They've got it so easy, but make out it's so hard.

by TopHat24/7 Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:19 pm

Agree in general, however the reality is performance levels DO dip with 48hrs or less rest between games therefore it is unfair to not treat Newcastle equally to other clubs in consideration of such an important factor.

by super_realist Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:20 pm

Perhaps, I still think that Football lags way behind sports such as Tennis and Cycling for conditioning and preparedness for matches, both physically and mentally.

Imagine what Dave Brailsford could do for these chumps.

by **Crimey** Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:23 pm

The issue is that while players are capable of playing two games over 48 hours. Having one team have to do that, and the other not will create a noticeable difference.

It's about consistency.

by The Special Juan Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:25 pm

They were also on a long flight from Greece too which is tiring.

by super_realist Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:28 pm

Yes, turning left and sipping pina coladas in first class must be so tiring for three hours.

by TopHat24/7 Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:29 pm

It's horses for courses though. They're all very different sports using different muscle groups for different intensities and durations. Tennis players are high intensity with lots of changing direction and all the strain that places on the body but it also includes regular rest periods where they can sit down, rehydrate/eat etc as well as a lot of time with minimal movement like bouncing balls pre-serve (some seem to take ages!). Average sprint is probably less than 11m (being the width of a tennis court) whereas footballers average sprint is probably double that but of much lower frequency.

Plus: how long do tennis players have between tournaments? Do they play as regularly as footballers over a season?

by The Special Juan Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:36 pm

TopHat24/7 wrote:It's horses for courses though. They're all very different sports using different muscle groups for different intensities and durations. Tennis players are high intensity with lots of changing direction and all the strain that places on the body but it also includes regular rest periods where they can sit down, rehydrate/eat etc as well as a lot of time with minimal movement like bouncing balls pre-serve (some seem to take ages!). Average sprint is probably less than 11m (being the width of a tennis court) whereas footballers average sprint is probably double that but of much lower frequency.

Plus: how long do tennis players have between tournaments? Do they play as regularly as footballers over a season?

Tennis players pretty much play all year. The Australian Open is in January and the Tour Finals in November. These are the first and last big events for the top players.

by TopHat24/7 Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:45 pm

But how often inbetween? They obviously play more than just the 4 Grand Slams (Williams brothers apart) but are they playing week in week out?

by The Special Juan Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:52 pm

TopHat24/7 wrote:But how often inbetween? They obviously play more than just the 4 Grand Slams (Williams brothers apart) but are they playing week in week out?

Yeah, there are 8 Masters tournaments for the men. 7 of them you have to play in unless you're injured and they are dotted throughout the year. Plus there's a few smaller tournaments for warming up before the majors. I think the top guys play about 25 tournaments a year.

by super_realist Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:02 pm

25 tournaments and if you reach on average the last 8 you are playing at least 3 matches a tournament.
75 matches a year, possibily a lot more for the top guys. That's more matches than any footballer and a tennis match usually lasts longer than 90 mins too and you can't get subbed either.

Footballers do a hell of a lot of strolling around too. It's about quick sprints and recovery. They could certainly be better athletes than they are.

by JamesLincs Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:48 am

maybe harsh but think about the the blue sq premier, north and south leagues who played yesterday having already played saturday.

by Duty281 Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:09 am

JamesLincs wrote:maybe harsh but think about the the blue sq premier, north and south leagues who played yesterday having already played saturday.

That's a very good point. Also think about Truro City in the Blue Square South, financial difficulties have led them to only having a squad size of 13/14 for most of last season and they did very well and finished 14th in the league - not bad for their debut season.. This season, the financial problems have continued and they are again surviving on a squad of 13/14 players and doing alright - 1 win, 2 draws and a loss so far this season.

by The Special Juan Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:56 am

As I said I'm not moaning about whether players are fit enough to playmatches 48 hours apart, I'm saying it's not fair that Newcastle had to play on a Saturday when every other team in the EL plays on a Sunday, at least in the PL,

by super_realist Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:22 pm

That's the point though, surely they should be fit enough so it doesn't matter if it's 48 or 72 hours.
Who exactly is it put out by it being a 48 hour window?

by TopHat24/7 Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:03 pm

super_realist wrote:That's the point though, surely they should be fit enough so it doesn't matter if it's 48 or 72 hours.
Who exactly is it put out by it being a 48 hour window?

It's not the point. It's another point entirely. A perfectly valid one, but not what Special Juan is saying which is that all clubs deserve to be treated equally. Why are top4 always guarateed an extra rest day but Newcastle not?

Whether you agree or disagree that the rest day should matter is irrelevant, the fact is it does help (every athlete in every sport benefits from additional rest) means it should be a privelege afforded to all clubs equally.

by drsambo1928 Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:56 pm

Thy'll be alright, the club must have ways of dealing with this, like massages or pool sessions or ice baths, yahoo.

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