Sports Scientist/Performance Coach

It is obvious to most people that our fitness levels have dropped remarkably since last season, yet I haven't seen much if any criticism of Matt Cook. Both Schopp and Poya have said they need to keep going for more than 70 minutes and it is a fact that they can't. This is often excused by only having 3 subs this season but this is the same for every team and doesn't explain lack of "sharpness" from the first minute! Think Poya needs to look at our performance team. It doesn't matter what system he chooses if the team are not fit!

 

Has the new guy completely ripped up what went on before and told them a Mars a day helps them work, rest and play!? Very confusing how our ultra fit young squad is so lacking this season.

 

train hard, fight easy

 

Thats just silly Helen!
He tells them to go to work on an egg!

 

Do have to wonder what they have been doing for the last 3 1/2 months. Yes, they had no pre-season and that has caused all sorts of problems. But what have they actually addressed since the season has started?

There have been 20 games and 3 international breaks, and fitness hasn't improved. Although, if you're giving them weeks off in the last break, it won't help. Would love to know who actually made that decision.

I'd be taking a few of them out of the first team squad for 2-3 weeks and putting them through a pre-season program to be honest.

 

Another massive consideration to our car crash of a season.

 

Joey Barton said he needed to do this to Luke Thomas because he was so far behind the others at Bristol Rovers - goes to show that there was no monitoring of players during the off season and they must have spent the first 2 weeks of pre-season training on FIFA 21.

 

I’ve questioned his ability in previous posts. The players are nowhere near fitness. I’ve heard Schopp didn’t help himself playing small sided games often.

 

Is it more a case of when the last Sports Scientist left there was a gap before Matt Cook took over.
I think some of the players should be responsible for there own core fitness.We seem to have been playing catchup fitness wise in the summer.
I remember quite a few years ago Carol Van Der Veldon turning up for preseason training 3 stone overweight,he didn't last much longer at Oakwell and it was such a shame as he was a fantastic talent.

 

Thought they were quite standard?

 

Absolutely bang on! Professional athletes taking some responsibility for their fitness levels, it's to be expected surely. I think we are clutching at straws as a fanbase a bit, trying to decipher the exact reasons for the breakdown this season. Yes, a fitness coach - or lack of in the summer - is partly responsible, but so are the players. I'm surprised we don't employ someone to take these players to the toilet when they need to go - that way we have someone to blame when someone sh4ts himself when he breaks through into the 18 yard box and blasts the ball to the back of the north stand (no names mentioned).

 

The summer and pre-season training is where you get the fitness from. Topped up with how players are then trained on a weekly basis.

Our CEO admitted in his interview that the players had come back unfit this summer, and part of that was lack of staff in place at the time to give said plans out.

Whilst the club could have done better, the players must take their blame too, without doubt.

There’s so little time when playing 3 games a week to work on fitness and game plans, you’re fighting a losing battle sometimes.

 

We've had 2, 2 week international breaks - I'd have had them in on the Monday and done a Bleep test, set to whatever target is deemed reasonable for a fit professional football - I'm sure there's an ocean of data - anyone who fails gets to spend 2 weeks on a fitness boot camp.

 

What's all this??? Somebody had a shot! When was this, please remind me

 

We've actually had 3, 2 week international breaks. Reports of players having a week off in between. No improvement in fitness. Go figure.

 

Barnsley FC 2021/22 fitness regime:

 

The approach poya has taken is the approach that Schopp should have taken 2 or 3 months ago. Solid defensive structure, and hope to keep discipline enough for some clean sheets and be difficult to beat.

If that had been done from the beginning we’d have had more points and been able to work on fitness in the meantime, and confidence would be higher. Could even have made a case for sending players away from the first team to do a pre season style fitness program for a few weeks. Plus the international breaks could have been used. But nothing appears to have been done to catch up and now we have a coach in and having to do it from a position of being 6 points adrift already.