kazza » Fri Jan 03, 2020 2:37 pm wrote:After Sunday we will have a match a week for a while so we can rest up nicely. We have come out unscathed so far and may it long continue. I don’t think we will go a whole season undefeated so I am not going to pin my hopes on that, too many things could happen and looking at the schedule there are tough matches to come. I love the fact that teams will start rolling over for us like they did against ManUre, City and Chelsea in their era. Apparently we made more passes than any other team in the history of the premier league so those saying we looked leggy May want to rethink that.
A hefty percentage of those passes were the back 4 and midfield just knocking it about between themselves, the game had the feel of a pre season friendly at times to me, the crowd seemed flat as well which was surprising given our position in the table.I've always been a big lover and a big advocate of the packed Christmas/New Year schedule but there probably is at least 1 game too many over the festive period. It's just a fact that players run further these days and asking them to run 13km 4 times in 9 days probably is a bit much. Don't get me wrong these modern players could probably run 13km every day but you're inevitably going to get a drop off in intensity.
I thought yesterday's game looked like two teams trying to preserve energy and manage a situation, it wasn't a game between 2 teams just going for it.
If the powers that be knocked 1 game off next year's schedule you'd still have a busy period but it would give the players half a chance to recover.