Gerrard & Parker "Too Tired" To Play Against Sweden

How am I getting wound up?? I'm just stating the bleedin' obvious that two footballers at supposed peak fitness and earning thousands upon thousands of pounds a week should be able to be play twice in five days. Maybe I'm too demanding.

 

So you're suggesting that playing football for 20 minutes is harder than covering 290 miles over 5 days? Your constant deification of Premiership footballers is pretty bizarre.

 

He's not, John Bishop is.

 

John Bishop never raced up this though:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Ventoux

 

I think you're misinterpreting Hodgson's comments. He isn't saying they can't play, its the level of perfomance they may be able to produce, particularly given they've both had disrupted season's through injury.

I love the Tour de France personally but, for example, does Cavendish go out and kill himself on every stage or attack the ones that suit the sprinters? He just does enough in the mountains to remain in the race. Why do the teams take in turns to ride at the front? They carefully use their energy, rest when they need to and conserve themselves.

Muscle fatigue has nothing to do with being tired. It is about looking after the players so they don't pick up muscle tears and that they can perform at the highest level of intensity.

 

All downhill other side though.

 

Its what hes said.

Now bike ridings the same pace which doesnt take that much out of you as bursted do.

It happens to Horses too, they canter for miles. When they do the 5f sprint they will use up all their energy.

 

Be fair though, whether you're racing every day in the mountains like Schleck or Contador or you're just hanging in there like Cavendish, after three or four days in the Pyrenees you're going to be ****ed. Practically everyone on this board could get through a 90 minute game of football but how many could ride up Alp d'Huez if they had all day to do it?

 

I'd like to add 'deliberately' to ark's first sentence there.

I couldn't play a game of football in 30 degrees against France. I bet I could get up that mountain in first gear.

 

You do know that the average speed in the Tour de France is 40km per hour don't you?? Of course you do. So if they're cantering at say 30-35km per hour do you think that doesn't take much out of you? I'd be surprised if John Bishop averaged much over 18km per hour.

 

And it seems they take illegal drugs daily.

 

They couldn't, but no-one on this board could play football at the standard and intensity required at international level. Even at local saturday league level the difference between how I felt the day after playing for the reserves instead of the first team was massive.

And cycling up a mountain and playing football are incomparable skills, one requiring endurance training, slow twitch muscles and aerobic acitivity and the other requiring explosive actions, fast twitch muscles and anaerobic acitivity. That's why Cavendish will never win a mountain stage and that's why Sanchez wouldn't beat him in a sprint. They have trained differently and have different physical attributes.

I have nothing but admiration for cyclists and I do take your point that we could all have a kick a bout but couldn't cycle up a mountain, but I think in this case its ignoring the context that it isn't a kick-a-bout and Hodgson isn't saying they couldn't play, just whether they could produce the top level of performance without risking injury to fatigued muscles

 

It seems a bit of a non story to me

They don't appear to be doing anything that isn't being done at all the other team's schedules. Simply ensuring the players are relaxed between games, with various exercises which aren't too strenuous. Must be a slow news day, creating an issue where one didn't exist.

 

Re: It seems a bit of a non story to me

It is.

That's why Conan's made up quote has led me to argue the toss with him all morning.

 

John Bishop did months and months of training before doing the Bike ride thing. When he got to the channel, they had to constantly wake him up because he was physically exhausted, I wouldn't quite call that fine.

He'd played 20 minutes in as charity match on the back of very little fitness training.

 

I could quite happily get through 90 minutes against other 40 - somethings with dodgy knees, and a lifetime's addiction to kebabs and internet porn but Steven Gerrard would run me into the ground after 10 seconds.

 

Same here. As long as we agreed to not really give a f.ck and just sat in the centre circle talking about birds instead.

 

I got through 10 years in The Mexborough and Barnsley leagues doing that.

 

Fair points but I would say that cyclists need both endurance and explosive bursts such as Cavendish in a sprint finish or Sanchez attacking halfway up a mountain. You obviously know your cycling though.

 

Do you think Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas or Chris Boardman are/were taking drugs?? Not one of them has ever failed a drugs test.