Fitness

[shaggy24]

We're in the middle of the hardest pre-season ever apparently, "hill of hell" etc. But did anyone think last season that our fitness was the issue? I would say reasons we had poor season were:

1) Tactics - too many of them. No one knew what they were doing.
2) Defence - no structure. Decent individually but collectively clueless.
3) Midfield - lightweight and no muscle. Players who good for the stats but make no impact on the actual game.
4) Selection - tombola style

I thought fitness was ok and can't see that doing all this running is going to make any difference. I want them to spend every day from now until the 1st game working on organizing our back 4 so we are difficult to beat.

Fitness needs to be up there but don't go mad as our squad is wafer thin imo couple of key injuries and we are in the mire.
My main concern is that a squad that struggled to keep clean sheets and score goals has seen 1 player added so far. reality says were in for a long slog of a season. it will be interesting to see how we fair against posh saturday league below us signed Doughty from us i can see us getting turned over there, no doubt its only a friendly brigade will chirp in its early days blah blah blah I'm going to see if not renewing season ticket was rash decision or the correct one

[3London]

We did seem to concede a lot of late goals last season - whether that is down to fitness or concentration.

The most important thing that needs to happen next season is a Settled side! the players need to know what the first team starting 11 is. the most successful sides put out unchanged teams week in week out. something we seemed incapable of doing last year

[West Acton]

We did seem to concede a lot of late goals last season - whether that is down to fitness or concentration.

The most important thing that needs to happen next season is a Settled side! the players need to know what the first team starting 11 is. the most successful sides put out unchanged teams week in week out. something we seemed incapable of doing last year

Hope the manager is reading this

[FurtiveFox]

Fitness very important but biggest issue for us is organisation. Too often players last season didn't seem to know what they were meant to be doing.

I don't agree with all the doom and gloom about the squad. Yes we need to improve but if the players we have are played in their natural positions and the team is effectively organised we should be comfortably mid table and with a few tweaks better still.

We even have a couple of potentially exciting players. In terms of squad this is the best we have had for quite some time and the club deserve some credit for sorting out the messes left by Hughes and 'Arry with assistance from above. All you can do when mistakes happen is try and put them right and my impression is the club have been trying to do this.

[3London]

Fitness very important but biggest issue for us is organisation. Too often players last season didn't seem to know what they were meant to be doing.

I don't agree with all the doom and gloom about the squad. Yes we need to improve but if the players we have are played in their natural positions and the team is effectively organised we should be comfortably mid table and with a few tweaks better still.

We even have a couple of potentially exciting players. In terms of squad this is the best we have had for quite some time and the club deserve some credit for sorting out the messes left by Hughes and 'Arry with assistance from above. All you can do when mistakes happen is try and put them right and my impression is the club have been trying to do this.

Completely Agree. IH needs to stop playing the tinker man at the back end of the season play the right players in their right positions

[stanistheman]

Fitness very important but biggest issue for us is organisation. Too often players last season didn't seem to know what they were meant to be doing.

I don't agree with all the doom and gloom about the squad. Yes we need to improve but if the players we have are played in their natural positions and the team is effectively organised we should be comfortably mid table and with a few tweaks better still.

We even have a couple of potentially exciting players. In terms of squad this is the best we have had for quite some time and the club deserve some credit for sorting out the messes left by Hughes and 'Arry with assistance from above. All you can do when mistakes happen is try and put them right and my impression is the club have been trying to do this.

agreed. as I said earlier, IH changed tactics, formations and players far to frequently for the team to be successful. his coaching and organisational skills also left a lot to be desired. The squad is not far off from being a good Championship one, but a settled team is vital.

I don't like him, but Redknapp proved he can coach and organise a team, when he took charge for Birmingham's last 3 matches, by guiding them to 2 clean sheets and wins after they looked like a shambolic outfit under Zola.

Warnock did likewise when he took temporary charge at QPR after Ramsey.

If QPR had appointed someone of that calibre, the current squad, with a couple of additons, could be a top half outfit. However under Holloway it is likely to be a bottom 6 outfit.

[Ginger Ninja]

I'm training hard for Reading.

Exasperated look on face: Ten reps, Five sets
Wincing: Ten reps, Five sets.
Throwing my hands up in the air and saying For f uck sake: Fifteen reps, Ten sets.

Pretty sure muscle memory is making my training easier.

That tickled

[acricketer]

If a professional club doesn't know, how to get its' players fit, what the required levels of fitness are compared to it's competition, and how to keep players fit, it is inept beyond words.

Fitness should never be a factor, it is a basic requirement to compete. Fitness should never be an excuse.