Match Days Away
- Thread starter Gaz G
- Start date
I've noticed the Squeelers always have earlier face-offs than many others on Sunday. Maybe it's imposed by the House of Tin; maybe it's a strategy to give visitors a minimum recovery time after Saturday.
Most of us prefered later face-offs at the BBT when the question was raised by the Club. From a recovery viewpoint, the earlier we faced-off on Saturday, the longer the team would have to recover. Maybe every hour counts?
There isn't much can be done about travel, especially if there's no nearby airport with either a CWL or BRS service, except by making sure that the most comfortable and spacious coach NAT can supply is used (and I think that's the case already).
It's a bit disappointing to read posts criticising the team for Sunday, when Saturday's Panties game was one of the most intense, energy sapping performances seen at the BBT for a long time. If I'd been involved in such a performance (even years ago when I was fitter :lol: ) I'd've struggled to get out of bed, let alone play an away game.
I think this is a great thread, because it reminds us of how hard the boys have to work for our enjoyment and that we're all involved in trying to think of ways to make their job easier.
Most of us prefered later face-offs at the BBT when the question was raised by the Club. From a recovery viewpoint, the earlier we faced-off on Saturday, the longer the team would have to recover. Maybe every hour counts?
There isn't much can be done about travel, especially if there's no nearby airport with either a CWL or BRS service, except by making sure that the most comfortable and spacious coach NAT can supply is used (and I think that's the case already).
It's a bit disappointing to read posts criticising the team for Sunday, when Saturday's Panties game was one of the most intense, energy sapping performances seen at the BBT for a long time. If I'd been involved in such a performance (even years ago when I was fitter :lol: ) I'd've struggled to get out of bed, let alone play an away game.
I think this is a great thread, because it reminds us of how hard the boys have to work for our enjoyment and that we're all involved in trying to think of ways to make their job easier.
They are professional sportsmen - I don't buy into any arguments that tough games on a Saturday are an excuse for a poor result the next day. Equally, I don't agree that travel to Sheffield/Coventry/wherever should make a difference at all - I bet some of these guys travelled further every week just to train/play in Junior hockey in Canada.
In my opinion, they should be physically conditioned to a level that enables them to play back to back games every week without skipping a beat. Players will of course pick up knocks and injuries that will affect their performance, but fatigue/travel should not be an issue for these guys. I bet Lord will not be giving them any slack for Sunday's result 'because they had an intense game on Saturday'.
Before anyone questions how I would know anything about what should and not be expected of pro hockey players' performances, I would suggest that it's the same principle for anyone who has a job...you have tasks to complete, and hours to work...you're expected to turn up and perform at work all of the time, so the same should apply to professional sportsmen. If I tried to argue that I gave worse advice on Fridays after a tough week in the office, I'd be out the door in no time.
If Sheffield were the better team on the day, so be it. It's a good squad that plays well at home. You win some and you lose some. But a half-hearted effort, without any determination or physicality is, in my opinion, not acceptable from people being paid to play the game.
In my opinion, they should be physically conditioned to a level that enables them to play back to back games every week without skipping a beat. Players will of course pick up knocks and injuries that will affect their performance, but fatigue/travel should not be an issue for these guys. I bet Lord will not be giving them any slack for Sunday's result 'because they had an intense game on Saturday'.
Before anyone questions how I would know anything about what should and not be expected of pro hockey players' performances, I would suggest that it's the same principle for anyone who has a job...you have tasks to complete, and hours to work...you're expected to turn up and perform at work all of the time, so the same should apply to professional sportsmen. If I tried to argue that I gave worse advice on Fridays after a tough week in the office, I'd be out the door in no time.
If Sheffield were the better team on the day, so be it. It's a good squad that plays well at home. You win some and you lose some. But a half-hearted effort, without any determination or physicality is, in my opinion, not acceptable from people being paid to play the game.
How can a tough game Saturday not effect them the following night? As you said, they play at a professional level, not rec or ENL, so the game is intense and fast paced. Saturday particularly so. Clearly it's something that needs addressing but it's something the players get used to over the course of the season. It was probably a huge factor in why we beat Sheffield the week before, they were shattered after a hard CHL game, whereas we had an easier night against Manchester. I think you're under estimating what a difference it makes having an easy night like a 4-0 against Cov and little travel to a hard win in OT against a tough team. They are human, not robots. It's very early days for conditioning with less than a month of on ice time so far.
Any management that doesn't recognise the impact of a tough day on the future performance of it's employees has little understanding that it employs people, not robots. Physiology and psychology are key to 21st Century management.
If this was the NHL where they're paid magabucks maybe your "pro-hockey" argument might have some logic. This is the EIHL. Some reality needs to creep in here.
How many trainers, dietitians, physios does the club employ? Where are the high-tech gym, isobaric chambers and swimming pools located? The private jet to away venues comes in useful
Dream on!
If this was the NHL where they're paid magabucks maybe your "pro-hockey" argument might have some logic. This is the EIHL. Some reality needs to creep in here.
How many trainers, dietitians, physios does the club employ? Where are the high-tech gym, isobaric chambers and swimming pools located? The private jet to away venues comes in useful
Dream on!
I fully accept that there is going to be a knock-on effect, but these players are professionals and should be conditioned to the point where 'a tough game' doesn't make them collapse in the following match. They have from April/May to August to train (albeit around Summer work, perhaps), but for someone who intends to make hockey their living, that should be plenty of time to get in excellent shape. If anything, they should be fitter now than at the end of the season, when they're battered and bruised from 50 odd games.
If you or I have a tough, long day in the office then we might feel a little jaded in work the next day. Perhaps our productivity drops a little, or we're grumpy with colleagues, but we wouldn't get away with failing to do our job to an adequate standard. If there were exceptional circumstances (such as having to pull an all-nighter in work), the employer should cut the employee a little more slack, but my point is that a tough game against Nottingham is far from exceptional...it's what they should expect, and prepare for, every week.
I also accept that they aren't paid NHL mega-bucks, but this is their livelihood - it's not as if they have to work a 40 hour week and then train on top of that and play 2 matches every weekend. Some of these players earn a decent living, with accommodation, education, car, gym etc all fully covered. The net result of that is a very respectable living - possibly more than a lot of the fans, I'd imagine.
As to the number of trainers/physios etc, I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I'd be very surprised if they don't have access to those people as and when needed. I think at least a couple of the players are trained as fitness instructors/personal trainers, so I don't really buy that as an excuse either. Besides, we're not asking these people to complete the Marathon de Sables, or the Tour de France - it's 2 games in 2 days.
Every team will lose games, and will be outplayed by other teams at times, but I don't think there's an excuse for not being physically able to play a second game in a row to the requisite standard.
If you or I have a tough, long day in the office then we might feel a little jaded in work the next day. Perhaps our productivity drops a little, or we're grumpy with colleagues, but we wouldn't get away with failing to do our job to an adequate standard. If there were exceptional circumstances (such as having to pull an all-nighter in work), the employer should cut the employee a little more slack, but my point is that a tough game against Nottingham is far from exceptional...it's what they should expect, and prepare for, every week.
I also accept that they aren't paid NHL mega-bucks, but this is their livelihood - it's not as if they have to work a 40 hour week and then train on top of that and play 2 matches every weekend. Some of these players earn a decent living, with accommodation, education, car, gym etc all fully covered. The net result of that is a very respectable living - possibly more than a lot of the fans, I'd imagine.
As to the number of trainers/physios etc, I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I'd be very surprised if they don't have access to those people as and when needed. I think at least a couple of the players are trained as fitness instructors/personal trainers, so I don't really buy that as an excuse either. Besides, we're not asking these people to complete the Marathon de Sables, or the Tour de France - it's 2 games in 2 days.
Every team will lose games, and will be outplayed by other teams at times, but I don't think there's an excuse for not being physically able to play a second game in a row to the requisite standard.
I don't see anything wrong with this thread. Clearly the early parts were farcical but TommyDevils is making this into a decent debate.
I don't buy bigger ice pads, bigger budget, whether they had a McDonalds before a game etc... I'm not saying that they won't have an impact but for me this is about effort, drive and motivation. I've see two games in Sheffield now in quick succession where whilst the score line was horrific it was the attitude and approach to the game that bothered me. There was a lack of desire and effort. Rolling over is not something I'm happy to take. That's where the professionalism comes into it for me. Whilst I don't expect them to be finely tuned NHL standards athletes that produce the same level day in and day and I do expect the effort and commitment to always be there. In my view. This has been missing at times which is disappointing.
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I don't buy bigger ice pads, bigger budget, whether they had a McDonalds before a game etc... I'm not saying that they won't have an impact but for me this is about effort, drive and motivation. I've see two games in Sheffield now in quick succession where whilst the score line was horrific it was the attitude and approach to the game that bothered me. There was a lack of desire and effort. Rolling over is not something I'm happy to take. That's where the professionalism comes into it for me. Whilst I don't expect them to be finely tuned NHL standards athletes that produce the same level day in and day and I do expect the effort and commitment to always be there. In my view. This has been missing at times which is disappointing.
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The thread has gone off topic, which is a good thing.
The original question was, "what can we do to help the team when playing away".
Go to the game and chant and cheer. That's all. It sounded like it was n
Being suggested that we could send them on their way with healthier snacks or a comfy pillow. A touch cringey?
No, I agree. Losing Sunday had little to do with Saturday's game. And for those who have
Said some are getting carried away because we lost, it's more to do with the fact we lost 8.1. If we had of lost 6.3 there would be little complaints. The scoreline was unacceptable. Simple as that.
The original question was, "what can we do to help the team when playing away".
Go to the game and chant and cheer. That's all. It sounded like it was n
Being suggested that we could send them on their way with healthier snacks or a comfy pillow. A touch cringey?
No, I agree. Losing Sunday had little to do with Saturday's game. And for those who have
Said some are getting carried away because we lost, it's more to do with the fact we lost 8.1. If we had of lost 6.3 there would be little complaints. The scoreline was unacceptable. Simple as that.