The Alfred Johansson Thread

[robsterwood]

"He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!"

[joewarkfanclub]

1 hour ago, David said:

As I've mentioned elsewhere, we're in danger of oversimplifying what goes into these types of decisions.

It's not simply a case of looking at the fixture list and deciding to rest half the team because there's a European game coming up.

From what I gather, the players are monitored pretty closely. The staff will have data on how far they've run, how much high-intensity running they've done, sprints, accelerations, training loads and how all of that compares to their normal levels.

Then you've got the medical side. A player can be perfectly fit to play but still have a bit of tightness or be carrying a heavier workload than normal. The advice might be that he's fine for 30 minutes, fine for 60, or that another 90 minutes probably isn't a great idea.

They'll also look at recovery, how the player has been training, how many minutes he's played recently and his own injury history. A 21-year-old who has hardly missed a game through injury might be treated differently from a 30-year-old with a history of hamstring problems.

The opposition (and the playing surface, no matter how much some people like to dismiss it) comes into it as well. The coaching staff will have analysed them and worked out where they think they can afford to make changes without weakening the team too much.

So the manager might effectively be getting told that Player A is absolutely fine, Player B has played a lot but isn't a concern, Player C is showing signs of fatigue and Player D is carrying a minor issue that could become a bigger problem.

He then has to make the decision.

That's particularly relevant for a club like ours when we're playing Thursday-Sunday-Thursday and have been doing that for several weeks. Some players could end up playing four or five games in a fortnight if you just keep putting out the strongest XI.

That doesn't mean rotation is always the right decision. Managers can still get it wrong. You can change too many players, lose the rhythm of the team and end up going out of a competition you had a decent chance of progressing in. Teams far bigger with managers far more experienced than us have slipped on that banana peel before.

But I do think it's worth remembering when we see a team selection we don't like that the manager isn't working with the same information we are.

We're looking at the names on the teamsheet.

He's looking at the teamsheet plus all the physical, medical, training and opposition information behind it.

We can argue with the decision he eventually makes. But there's usually a lot more behind that decision than simply "Europe is more important, so we'll rest a few players."

This 100 times over.

But you know, he is Scandinavian, so clearly just disrespected Stenny & The League Cup.....

🤔🤔🤔