Bring 'em on! Be good to get 3 wins.
(27-09-2021, 01:53 PM)stayinupforever Wrote: [ -> ]Bring 'em on! Be good to get 3 wins.
Be good to get 1.
(27-09-2021, 01:58 PM)TBP Wrote: [ -> ] (27-09-2021, 01:53 PM)stayinupforever Wrote: [ -> ]Bring 'em on! Be good to get 3 wins.
Be good to get 1.
Agreed, as I can't see us puting a winning run together as the manager won't play an attacking formation even at home.
DC likes to play the presing game like the Premier League Big Teams but he doesn't have the same quality players or strength in depth on the bench.
(27-09-2021, 02:09 PM)mikey393 Wrote: [ -> ] (27-09-2021, 01:58 PM)TBP Wrote: [ -> ] (27-09-2021, 01:53 PM)stayinupforever Wrote: [ -> ]Bring 'em on! Be good to get 3 wins.
Be good to get 1.
Agreed, as I can't see us puting a winning run together as the manager won't play an attacking formation even at home.
DC likes to play the presing game like the Premier League Big Teams but he doesn't have the same quality players or strength in depth on the bench.
Attacking formation?? Have you seen anything of the last two games? Defending has very much gone out of the window. Our only hope is outscoring the opposition!
After Burton away tomorrow, Our October games are:
H Sunderland
H Cheltenham
A Rotherham
H Ipswich
A Accrington
H Bolton
With a Papa John’s game, also at home, with Sutton United early in the month.
A lot of promising games there but, then, so was Cambridge.
All fine and dandy for Cowley to play a high pressing game but the team aren’t fit enough to carry it out. At least half the team were running as if through treacle by the 70th minute and two or three were completely knackered in the 75th.
Without adequate preparation, Cowley's plans will grind to a halt late in the second half of games. This Pompey squad lack endurance, speed and all-around fitness and it shows.
I’ve never properly understood why lower league players don’t have the same levels of body strength and fitness as Premiership players, less skill, yes of course but physical ability no.
They probably waste more energy by trying to rectify mistakes that have been made and also by not reading the game as well as top quality players, thereby not being in the right positions to receive the ball or score on many occasions.
Keep it simple, ball to the wings and get plenty of balls into the box with bodies in there. And repeat. We don't have the players to play tippy tappy high pressing football for 90 minutes.
(27-09-2021, 02:45 PM)Wightblue Wrote: [ -> ]After Burton away tomorrow, Our October games are:
H Sunderland
H Cheltenham
A Rotherham
H Ipswich
A Accrington
H Bolton
With a Papa John’s game, also at home, with Sutton United early in the month.
A lot of promising games there but, then, so was Cambridge.
All fine and dandy for Cowley to play a high pressing game but the team aren’t fit enough to carry it out. At least half the team were running as if through treacle by the 70th minute and two or three were completely knackered in the 75th.
Without adequate preparation, Cowley's plans will grind to a halt late in the second half of games. This Pompey squad lack endurance, speed and all-around fitness and it shows.
I’ve never properly understood why lower league players don’t have the same levels of body strength and fitness as Premiership players, less skill, yes of course but physical ability no.
At least the Ipswich game guarantees us 3 points
I’ve never properly understood why lower league players don’t have the same levels of body strength and fitness as Premiership players, less skill, yes of course but physical ability no.
Very good point. Maybe down to commitment? Hard to say other wise unless of course they are just less naturally athletic?
I'll miss the Notlob game
(27-09-2021, 04:36 PM)Hammie Wrote: [ -> ]I’ve never properly understood why lower league players don’t have the same levels of body strength and fitness as Premiership players, less skill, yes of course but physical ability no.
Very good point. Maybe down to commitment? Hard to say other wise unless of course they are just less naturally athletic?
Could also be that the facilities and staff the likes of us have are nothing compared with the state-of-the-art training and fitness centres of the big boys. Our players might have the potential to be fitter, but not have the means? I dunno, just speculating. It's a great question.
I am more than old enough to remember the emergence of a very young Bobby Charlton as one of The Busby Babes.
He featured in Sportsnight (then hosted by Harry Carpenter) piece about him, they showed a clip of him working all afternoon practicing his shooting with numbered boards hanging up in the goals and someone calling a number which he had to hit from the penalty area on the run with one of the youth team tackling him. They also showed how he had developed his exceptional 5-10yd burst by working for hours and hours with a PTI at his National Service base, he was a fitness fanatic.
Result ? A great international striker with exceptional pace and blistering shot and stamina way beyond his team mates (who spent their afternoons golfing or drinking or down the betting shop according to Eammon Dunphy’s excellent ‘United- a strange kind of glory’).
The entire Pompey squad would probably benefit enormously from such personal dedication - our three lacklustre strikers especially so, but, they unfortunately seem happy to be what they are. No amount of machinery, no amount of personal trainers can achieve unless you are prepared to put a lot more than just a shift in.
Finally, it’s a tragedy that Bobby seems to be going the same way as his brother, a victim of mental disease probably as a result of his profession.
(28-09-2021, 08:43 AM)Wightblue Wrote: [ -> ]I am more than old enough to remember the emergence of a very young Bobby Charlton as one of The Busby Babes.
He featured in Sportsnight (then hosted by Harry Carpenter) piece about him, they showed a clip of him working all afternoon practicing his shooting with numbered boards hanging up in the goals and someone calling a number which he had to hit from the penalty area on the run with one of the youth team tackling him. They also showed how he had developed his exceptional 5-10yd burst by working for hours and hours with a PTI at his National Service base, he was a fitness fanatic.
Result ? A great international striker with exceptional pace and blistering shot and stamina way beyond his team mates (who spent their afternoons golfing or drinking or down the betting shop according to Eammon Dunphy’s excellent ‘United- a strange kind of glory’).
The entire Pompey squad would probably benefit enormously from such personal dedication - our three lacklustre strikers especially so, but, they unfortunately seem happy to be what they are. No amount of machinery, no amount of personal trainers can achieve unless you are prepared to put a lot more than just a shift in.
Finally, it’s a tragedy that Bobby seems to be going the same way as his brother, a victim of mental disease probably as a result of his profession.
I agree with all of that except the ‘mental disease’ bit Wight. Sadly age brings with it lots of challenges, not least cognitive decline. It is not necessarily ‘disease’, more like gradual decline, and is not necessarily a result of ones profession. Most old people slow up mentally, whether or not they have been footballers or boxers or whatever. Some are lucky, some are not. It is a sad fact that as we grow older we lose brain cells and everything just wears out. It’s just the human condition and none of us can escape it.
ExG
Yes, wrong terminology on my part, I stand corrected.
There does seem to be a link between players of the ‘heavy’ ball generation and accelerated deterioration mentally.
I heard Dawn Astle speaking on 5Live a few weeks ago in front of the no-heading demonstration game, still utterly convinced that her dad, Jeff, was a victim and, interestingly enough, nobody seems to seriously disagree with her regarding the ‘ old days’.
I have lots of friends (some now deceased) who never kicked a football let alone played the game who fell victim to Alzheimers or something very much like it so it’s an ever present danger (especially to someone of my age). I thought the recent documentary on Jack Charlton was interesting and moving, the decline of such a strong character was poignant and seemingly unstoppable.
We must hope that medical science can first find a way to arrest the deterioration and then go on to find a cure.
(28-09-2021, 10:13 AM)Wightblue Wrote: [ -> ]ExG
Yes, wrong terminology on my part, I stand corrected.
There does seem to be a link between players of the ‘heavy’ ball generation and accelerated deterioration mentally.
I heard Dawn Astle speaking on 5Live a few weeks ago in front of the no-heading demonstration game, still utterly convinced that her dad, Jeff, was a victim and, interestingly enough, nobody seems to seriously disagree with her regarding the ‘ old days’.
I have lots of friends (some now deceased) who never kicked a football let alone played the game who fell victim to Alzheimers or something very much like it so it’s an ever present danger (especially to someone of my age). I thought the recent documentary on Jack Charlton was interesting and moving, the decline of such a strong character was poignant and seemingly unstoppable.
We must hope that medical science can first find a way to arrest the deterioration and then go on to find a cure.
Wight, I agree that there appears to be a link between head trauma caused by repeated blows to the head (through heading the ball, being punched or whatever) and cognitive decline. As you say, the old heavy balls may have been a factor, and players who headed the ball more often (like Jeff Astle) are a good example of that.
The trouble is, this is an area where more research is needed. I’ve known a few people who developed dementia and the medical profession often can’t diagnose which dementia is involved until after death. My old mum was a good example and a post mortem was needed to identify the cause. I can confirm that she was not a frequent header of the ball
.
As you say, we can but hope that medical science can come up with some solutions. I used to head the ball a lot, have had the odd punch to the bonce and landed on it once or twice, so I approach my latter years with some trepidation.
In the meantime beer is the only answer (what do the medical professionals know?
).
In need of a bath full of beer after tonight’s garbage.
Plenty of “head the ball”’s around these days who seem to have lost the plot quite young.
I shall go to these. Are the bars open?
Yes the bars were open.
Well I didn't expect that result!
Nor me, I honestly thought we'd get a drubbing
as regards doing extra work and practise.
These days they seem to get ordered off the pitch by physios for being tired. Wasn't Reeko told to go home for coming in too early to practise a week or so ago?
Reading the old biographies is always interesting too. Harry Redknapp talked a lot about the players turning up Sunday just wanting to play/ Sneaking in to Upton Park to play a game, or quite literally jumpers for goalposts at the local rec.
The somewhere in the middle. Colin Sullivan doing a lot of extra work to improve his sprinting. Peter Mellor bringing himself in on Sunday to practise his kicking after a game of finding touch.