Workrate

[Successful]

I think it's very interesting. Isn't it normally lesser teams that need to do more running? If you're in charge of the ball you won't need to press.

Then there are some player types in our squad not known for making runs all game - Ibra being the obvious one. I think he's done pretty well anyway.

Over a season I think there's a chance we might even benefit from this.

Once again, interesting facts.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yes a bit. Players do not look entirely fit.

True. Stats aside, it wasn't great how knackered the whole team looked after an hour in the derby. That's an issue which goes beyond tactics.

 

[dwd]

They're running up that hill...

 

[PlayerOne]

True. Stats aside, it wasn't great how knackered the whole team looked after an hour in the derby. That's an issue which goes beyond tactics.

It's something I have noticed so far this season. Wonder if they're being trained too hard to make up for the poor pre-season or it's just fitness issues

 

[izec]

It's something I have noticed so far this season. Wonder if they're being trained too hard to make up for the poor pre-season or it's just fitness issues

We didnt have enough pre season games, that was worrying anyway. I remember Pogue doing a thread on that.

 

[Sunny Jim]

No surprise that us and Chelsea are near the bottom. Conte and Mourinho are very very similar in their play-styles.

Im guessing SAF's team would also be low on that list.

 

[PlayerOne]

We didnt have enough pre season games, that was worrying anyway. I remember Pogue doing a thread on that.

I remember that thread. I thought it might hurt us at start of the season, but we seemed ok up until this week. Didn't City have issues with their pre-season too? They seem to be ok so far

 

[tomaldinho1]

Long old season and you can't press like that till May. I'm happy with sitting deeper and not pressing like all other teams seem to be trying. Leicester won the league last season by counter attacking so pressing doesn't necessarily = success.

 

[Attila]

We were 4th under LVG after Bournemouth, Liverpool and Spurs

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-03-01/...e-distance-covered-by-team-per-match-in-2016/

Edit

Distance per 90 mins - PL 2015/16
Team Distance per 90 mins
Bournemouth 118.1
Tottenham 115.3
West Brom 112.1
Liverpool 112.0
Man Utd 111.7
West Ham 110.8
Leicester 110.7
Arsenal 110.5
Crystal Palace 110.0
Newcastle 110.0
Southampton 110.0
Sunderland 110.0
Watford 109.8
Everton 109.0
Norwich 108.0
Swansea 108.0
Chelsea 107.7
Man City 107.3
Stoke 107.2
Aston Villa 106.1


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-fuelling-their-Premier-League-title-bid.html

 

[redman5]

What a load of bollocks to suggest teams can't sustain a pressing game for a full season. Here's the results from our games last season dating back to April when supposedly we should have been tiring:

Stoke City H - W 4-1

Dortmund H - W 4-3

Bournemouth - A W 2-1

Everton H - W 4-0

Newcastle H - D 2-2

Villarreal A - L 0-1

Swansea A - L 1-3 * Weakened team fielded prior to 2nd leg against Villarreal

Villarreal H - W 3-0

Watford H - W 2-0

Chelsea H - D 1-1

WBA A - D 1-1 * Weakened team fielded prior to EL final against Sevilla

Sevilla N - L 1-3

There's nothing in those results to show any sort of trend that our performances suffered as a consequence of playing a pressing game. This season of course we have no European football to contend with, so the possibility of burn-out is even less remote.

 

[Raees]

True. Stats aside, it wasn't great how knackered the whole team looked after an hour in the derby. That's an issue which goes beyond tactics.

Yet they were the pressing side. Agree it is a huge underlying issue.

 

[Treble]

It's a problem, part of it is Zlatan I suppose. If we had Rashford instead of him, our stats about covered distance and sprints would be at least 10th in the league. (Not saying that we don't need Zlatan but his presence comes at a cost, obviously.)

Is there a similar stat about sprints? With a spin featuring Fellaini, Rooney and Zlatan, we can't be much better in this regard, too.

 

[CS@SG]

I'd actually be more worried about that as a City fan. They have quite an old and thin squad and will want to go very far in Europe too. That's a lot of running early on. Burnout maybe?

Pep just signed his dietician from Barca. The same dietician who designed the diet plan for Messi which helps Messi stays healthy for past few seasons. He also ordered strict diet for his players, no junk food.

 

[RedChip]

Pep just signed his dietician from Barca. The same dietician who designed the diet plan for Messi which helps Messi stays healthy for past few seasons. He also ordered strict diet for his players, no junk food.

Can a diet really combat burnout?

 

[Treble]

Can a diet really combat burnout?

It isn't a magical solution but can do a lot more than it is appreciated in English football, IMO. This is a smart move. Messi had problems 2 years ago and the new diet helped him regain sharpness.

 

[arthurka]

It isn't a magical solution but can do a lot more than it is appreciated in English football, IMO. This is a smart move. Messi had problems 2 years ago and the new diet helped him regain sharpness.

Some say the diet magic includes something Well not fully legal...

 

[Treble]

Some say the diet magic includes something Well not fully legal...

Can't say anything about that without any evidence apart from the unusual fitness levels. Whether they are down to training and diet or also to something else is beyond our knowledge.

 

[Perrick Dubois]

Work smarter not harder? I expect us to be fresh at the end of the season.

 

[Varun]

We don't press and unless Mourinho changes how he's normally setup his sides, we won't be pressing in the future either. Doubt we'll ever be high in these distance covered tables.

 

[SteveW]

Partly down to tactics and partly down to picking several players that aren't particularly mobile to begin with.

 

[RedChip]

It isn't a magical solution but can do a lot more than it is appreciated in English football, IMO. This is a smart move. Messi had problems 2 years ago and the new diet helped him regain sharpness.

Well, that's an amazing diet!

 

[Treble]

Well, that's an amazing diet!

I guess they have looked into it and decided that it is worth. I wouldn't underestimate their intelligence. Only time will tell though.

 

[RedChip]

I guess they have looked into it and decided that it is worth. I wouldn't underestimate their intelligence. Only time will tell though.

Sorry, I don't mean to suggest they don't know what they are doing. I can see how a bad diet can be significantly disadvantageous but I am spectical that a good diet can have that much of a positive (i.e. enhancing) effect. I guess, we will have to wait and see, as you say.

 

[The United]

True. Stats aside, it wasn't great how knackered the whole team looked after an hour in the derby. That's an issue which goes beyond tactics.

It seems like he does not train his players hard so that he does not get too many injuries. Well, I might be pulling some shit out of my ass to make it up but he admitted that he let players go light on preseason trainings or something and his champion chelsea team was underprepared and not ready for the season.

And, we all knew what happened.

 

[Balu]

Not to mention it's not sustainable in a league where there is no winter break, the game is played at a much higher tempo and there are so many competitions to take part in.

I really don't get this. Klopp's and Guardiola's football stands out more in the PL than it did in the Bundesliga and La Liga in terms of workrate, pace and intensity. How can that be if the PL football is at a much higher tempo? And how can teams play at a much higher tempo in general when you constantly have to read that the lack of winterbreak and the additional games mean the teams have to pace themselves more than in other leagues.

It's such a massive contradiction, it's truely mind-boggling to read it time and again. Looking at those stats in the op, it seems PL teams in general run less than teams in Germany and Spain or certainly not more when you compare it to the distance covered stats and the gap in distance covered between Klopp/Guardiola teams to the rest of the leagues.

How can you play at a much higher tempo but run less and pace yourself to survive the higher number of games?

 

[Amadaeus]

Just noticed this thread. That is a depressing statistic. We will not go far if we do not improve on this.

However, I am not surprised because we have some lazy players in our team. Not the right foundation for a good team.

 

[izec]

Shocking today, nonexistent and comical

 

[RedStarUnited]

Citys numbers there should be most impressive ones. They have about 60-70% possession in most matches now, and are still out running their opponents.

 

[Freak]

They can't even press the ball properly. Lazy bastards just go up to the opposition player and stand there with their hands out trying to show they're making an effort.

 

[FreakyJim]

How can you expect workrate from Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Fellaini, Mata, Pogba, Martial, hell, even Rashford's tracking back is shit. This is not a team capable of pressing. I mean - they are actually capable but they sure can't be arsed.
It's Mourinho that will get the sack in the end, not them, so why bother that extra hard?

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

At one point we had prime Rooney , tevez, Hargreaves , Park and a thin Anderson. I dot think we were a pressing side but individually we had so many work horses.


So is it tactics or personnel now? I don't know.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Aaaaaand we're now rock bottom.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/lazy-man-united-jose-mourinhos-8867582

What the feck is going on? How many times in the post-Fergie era are we going to break all the wrong records? It's actually kind of morbidly fascinating the way we keep finding new depths to plumb.

 

[Kag]

This is a huge tactical issue. And I don't want to hear that this is what Mourinho is all about, because it isn't. His sides have always controlled the vast majority of league matches, ceding possession in high-profile matches only.

Something has to change, because we weren't lacking in running under Van Gaal, even at our worst.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

This is a huge tactical issue. And I don't want to hear that this is what Mourinho is all about, because it isn't. His sides have always controlled the vast majority of league matches, ceding possession in high-profile matches only.

Something has to change, because we weren't lacking in running under Van Gaal, even at our worst.

Is that right? I'd be really curious to see the same table from the last two seasons. I was under the impression our players were very static. I remember reading something about Van Gaal preferring players to hold their positions and let the ball do all the work.

 

[Snow]

Aaaaaand we're now rock bottom.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/lazy-man-united-jose-mourinhos-8867582

What the feck is going on? How many times in the post-Fergie era are we going to break all the wrong records? It's actually kind of morbidly fascinating the way we keep finding new depths to plumb.

Do you think that those 11km more per game from Liverpool are worth it in the long run? You think their players can keep that up throughout the season?

 

[JeffBoomTetris]

Aye, that's depressing. It is understandable that the our numbers can be interpreted as some tactical instruction. But, it is not working. We have some quick defenders like Smalling, Bailly, Shaw, Valencia etc. Some of our midfielders such as Herrera & Schneiderlin are very skilled at winning the 2nd balls. This all indicates towards a pressing strategy. But we are utilizing the 'fall back, soak up pressure and then counter fast' way.

I've always been enchanted when a team takes the initiative. Take the ball quickly and hit them fast. Not put 10 men behind the ball. That's also been the way with Manchester United.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Do you think that those 11km more per game from Liverpool are worth it in the long run? You think their players can keep that up throughout the season?

Time will tell. I'd rather we weren't 20 places below them in that table, that's for sure.

 

[FreakyJim]

We have too many slow players. Fellaini, Pogba and Mata aren't known for their workrate, neither is Ibrahimovic. Martial's defensive work is mediocre at best, poor most times. Rooney's legs are gone.

And there it is.

 

[Sam M]

Time will tell. I'd rather we weren't 20 places below them in that table, that's for sure.

The whole trend of obsessing over running stats only came to the fore once Klopp arrived. It's overstated in it's importance.

 

[Kag]

Is that right? I'd be really curious to see the same table from the last two seasons. I was under the impression our players were very static. I remember reading something about Van Gaal preferring players to hold their positions and let the ball do all the work.

I think I read something the other day that said we were fourth in ground covered per game across the season. We did press under Van Gaal and we were very good at holding a high line and pushing right up.