General Pre-season

Oxt1

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5 Jul 2018
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Just musing on whether KR's style of pre-season is the cause of our slow starts, we seemingly do a lot of fitness, cram loads of games into a short period. Does this leave us leggy, under cooked on technical and set play training?

Overall as the season goes on we do seem to be one of the fitter teams and probably pull back what we lose early season with barnstorming ends to matches.

No direct or implied criticism here just musings and wondering what others feel contribute to our slow season starts!
 
I agree with your general point but also wonder whether we have been hampered by having to prepare players for the playoffs, then having another break, then having a brief preseason - it all feels quite disjointed, with having to do two lots of fitness, but not so much time for tactical stuff.
 
I agree with your general point but also wonder whether we have been hampered by having to prepare players for the playoffs, then having another break, then having a brief preseason - it all feels quite disjointed, with having to do two lots of fitness, but not so much time for tactical stuff.
We’ve only had about a fortnight off compared to other clubs, and most of them probably stopped training for a few weeks as well so the players could have a break. They won’t have been training flat out for six months without one. Plus we got three competitive league games in our legs during the hiatus when barely any other team in L1 has played a match in half a year. That’s arguably an advantage in some ways.

We had slow starts in both 18/19 and 19/20 in terms of points on the board. Last season we had 9 from 9; the season before it was something like 5 from 9. We then drew two and lost one of the playoffs games after restart, with our three goals in those matches being Marcus Browne running from his own half, an own goal and a miss hit cross. We’ve now started this season with a draw against Wimbledon in the cup and a 2-0 defeat to Lincoln in the league.

It’ll take a few more games in the league to see what the points tally looks like to know for certain, but we do seem to be developing a trend of always starting poorly. Why?
 
Its a good post. Ive been wondering the same thing.

I thought we looked leggy in the playoffs. I understand that we wouldn't have been as sharp as we were before lockdown but I was concerned after about half hour of the 1st leg v Pompey. Then there was the Wycombe game where I thought we looked about half tilt and it left me very very frustrated.

There is nothing wrong with our control of the game in general and our possession is good, but lately we look as if we are in training mode where knocking it around seems to be the main objective rather than feeding quick forward passes with conviction in between the lines, driving bravely at the defence and creating genuine goal scoring opportunities.

I think we look casual, and although Im not criticising our ability, I feel I must call in to question our confidence and mindset. We need to flick the switch and go up through the gears. I have heard the players and management making pleasant noises about the football club, and of course there has been a great deal of philosophising about covid19 and the challenges the last few months have posed to footballers, but now its time to get back to the real stuff. We have a promotion to achieve so chop chop. I will pretend yesterday didn't happen but we must do better!
 
As I mentioned in another thread, I have some real difficulties with the 'five games in six days' sort of preseason KR seems to favour. And *especially* so when the players have had such a short break after the end of the previous season. I can't see the point of it - they are *never* going to have to do that in real life, and shouldn't they be working on the training field so that they understand their (potentially new) team mates and what they are supposed to be doing? And *then* having a game to try and put it into effect - then more training to refine what they are doing, then another game etc?

Now of course I'm not a professional football manager, so I am sure there is reasoning behind it that I don't get. Do many other managers do the same sort of thing? I can't remember others who have been in charge of us doing it?
 
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