Interesting Comment From Arfield in Recent RTV Interview

insanicdrunk said:
ffs, we have seen about 10minutes of clips. How was our fitness at the end of last season? Its the same backroom staff we have.
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That’s the point I’m making, our fitness was first class last season, and hopefully that’s the standard that we keep.

I think it probably will be, but from the clips and info I’ve seen, limited yes, the early approach seems different from the previous 4 seasons.
 
prenzlauerbear said:
Arno Phillips is a fitness coach of serious pedigree; I doubt we have anything to worry about there. The proper physical stuff will no doubt begin when the rest of the team join up in Portugal.

It's great guys like Gio, Vos and Maakay are getting a bit of time to work with the players on technical play. As Scotty says, there wasn't much of an opportunity to do so last season because of the schedule.
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I’m delighted they have got on pitch time to implement their playing style.
I just hope that the fitness levels remain as world class as they have been in event years.
 
tottie beck said:
I wonder why criteria he’s using, cos I find that a bit hard to believe. Scotty seemed to tire as the game wore on several times this season.
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He'll be basing it on the data they get back, after their sessions mate.

Everything they do now is all analysed exactly the way top track athletes monitor their training.

Aerobic and anareobic thresholds, along with Vo2 Max levels will be calculated and sessions will planned accordingly.

The HR monitors they wear supply all the required info.

Changed days.
 
Callum3657 said:
That’s the point I’m making, our fitness was first class last season, and hopefully that’s the standard that we keep.

I think it probably will be, but from the clips and info I’ve seen, limited yes, the early approach seems different from the previous 4 seasons.
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That wasnt though, you had a *slight concern* when there was no need to be negative in anyway.
 
Great interview. Interesting that they got 2 weeks off, then they all started their fitness regimes to build up to coming back.
 
Highway Star said:
Saying that he's still in the top 5 fittest players at the club, when it comes to the pre season endurance work.

No real suprise to many of us I'm sure, but maybe a wee wake up call for the "his legs have gone" mob.
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Basically people just make things up mate.

Arfield, like most of our current team, has been a fine servant to the club and with a bit more luck, and that's all it needed, theyd have a few more cups including a European one.
 
insanicdrunk said:
That wasnt though, you had a *slight concern* when there was no need to be negative in anyway.
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Yes a slight concern that our “almost unbelievable fitness” won’t be of the same level. Hardly a panic mode post! :))
I don’t think I was being particularly negative, im not really a negative guy.

Our fitness last year was the main reason we got to Seville and won the Scottish cup.
If it was any lower then I doubt we’d of done anything, given the position we found ourself at the beginning of April domestically.
It was world class elite level.
Let’s hope it stays that way with a different Boss who may focus on other areas.
 
Highway Star said:
He'll be basing it on the data they get back, after their sessions mate.

Everything they do now is all analysed exactly the way top track athletes monitor their training.

Aerobic and anareobic thresholds, along with Vo2 Max levels will be calculated and sessions will planned accordingly.

The HR monitors they wear supply all the required info.

Changed days.
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Yip. Nae nipping out the group for a fag on the cross country slots these days.
 
Greg Doc could run like f**k…..ultimately they willl all be super fit, but a wee burst of pace is a game changer !!
 
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Callum3657 said:
Yes a slight concern that our “almost unbelievable fitness” won’t be of the same level. Hardly a panic mode post! :))
I don’t think I was being particularly negative, im not really a negative guy.

Our fitness last year was the main reason we got to Seville and won the Scottish cup.
If it was any lower then I doubt we’d of done anything, given the position we found ourself at the beginning of April domestically.
It was world class elite level.
Let’s hope it stays that way with a different Boss who may focus on other areas.
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Without basing this on anything, other than my own eyes, I thought our fitness levels went up a couple of levels under Gio.

I thought we looked sluggish in the first part of the season.
 
Highway Star said:
Without basing this on anything, other than my own eyes, I thought our fitness levels went up a couple of levels under Gio.

I thought we looked sluggish in the first part of the season.
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I think it’s hard to build fitness mid season, but maybe something did change in the winter break with regards to this.
Hopefully you are right.
 
Highway Star said:
Yep, GvB basically moulded us into a far better all round team.

The Rangers side that performed so well throughout April and May, was unrecognisable to the one that stuttered in the league and Europe, in the first few months under Gerrard.
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True, Gerrard's team was great the season before when we won the league but for some reason at the start of the season at times they looked like they had never played together and were sloppy in possession plus not prepared to do the work off the ball
 
Crouchy said:
Jack use to lead the way.

Love watching the runs round the pitch.

McGregor walks. :)
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I think it was Gerrard’s first sessions in Spain when Morelos was blowing out his arse being lapped by Docherty, Tav and Jack. :))

Think McGregor was on the next pitch kidding on he busy trying not to catch the gaffers eye in case he had to do it.
 
Highway Star said:
Without basing this on anything, other than my own eyes, I thought our fitness levels went up a couple of levels under Gio.

I thought we looked sluggish in the first part of the season.
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Exactly what I was going to say but there were caveats to that as to why imo as generally we've by far the fittest team in Scotland since Gerrard arrived. We were 100% really sluggish and off the pace in both the league and qualifiers last season. Typified by Lundstram and Barisic in particular I thought, both of whom were noticeably fitter 2nd half of the season.

However, due to the Euros, Copa America, injuries, players back at all sorts of different times etc we had a seriously disjointed preseason last year, and whilst its not a cast iron excuse for our slow start it is understandable Gio focused on it during the season and clearly heavily during the break. I personally think we will come out flying this season given the difference he, and his team, made to the fitness levels of the squad as time progressed.
 
Arfield doing well in a bleep test doesn't mean he doesnt struggle in a 90 minute game of high intensity football.

The majority of people that weren't happy he signed a new deal weren't upset because of his fitness.. it was because he didn't earn one through performances.
 
Highway Star said:
Saying that he's still in the top 5 fittest players at the club, when it comes to the pre season endurance work.

No real suprise to many of us I'm sure, but maybe a wee wake up call for the "his legs have gone" mob.
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Legs have gone often can refer to agility and speed rather than just endurance. Fair play to him being in top condition though
 
I thought was interesting to hear him speak about management.

He always comes over very intelligent and well thought out comments/soundbytes - but I just didn't picture him as a gaffer one day.
No idea why.

Similarly, I can't see McGregor or Davis as managers one day either.
 
Highway Star said:
Tbf, even at Falkirk and Burnley in the EPL, he's never had great pace.

He's the first to admit it.
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snoopyboymason said:
He's not the quickest let's be honest been a great signing overall though
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Agree with this.
Heard/seen people moaning his legs have gone as he's slow. He was never fast.

I think he brings something different to our midfield. Not an every week starter, but when called upon for specific games he will still be important.
 
The key is how many high intensity runs you can perform and at what speed.

In football you obviously don’t just continuously run.

So people who lead the pack in the long distance, continuous running mean very little ultimately.
 
snoopyboymason said:
He's not the quickest let's be honest been a great signing overall though
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He has but when we were spilling points all over the place he was one of the senior players you’d look to for getting us going who ultimately didn’t give us much. Came into a little bit of form near the end but our league campaign was goosed by that point.
 
Highway Star said:
Aerobic and anareobic thresholds, along with Vo2 Max levels will be calculated and sessions will planned accordingly.

The HR monitors they wear supply all the required info.

Changed days.
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giphy.webp


;)
 
Gazza 8 said:
Arfield doing well in a bleep test doesn't mean he doesnt struggle in a 90 minute game of high intensity football.

The majority of people that weren't happy he signed a new deal weren't upset because of his fitness.. it was because he didn't earn one through performances.
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Alfie_WATP said:
The key is how many high intensity runs you can perform and at what speed.

In football you obviously don’t just continuously run.

So people who lead the pack in the long distance, continuous running mean very little ultimately.
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He's not referring to bleep tests or long aerobic runs though.

They are part of the training plan, but only to build the fitness base needed, so your body handles the faster, anareobic sessions better.

He's talking about football fitness, which is about performing high intensity sessions, with minimal recovery between the sessions.

That's what he's good at and was referring to in his interview.
 
Highway Star said:
He's not referring to bleep tests or long aerobic runs though.

They are part of the training plan, but only to build the fitness base needed, so your body handles the faster, anareobic sessions better.

He's talking about football fitness, which is about performing high intensity sessions, with minimal recovery between the sessions.

That's what he's good at and was referring to in his interview.
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To be honest I don't really care what he does in training or how good his recovery time is.

What he said in that interview about fitness didn't transfer onto the pitch last season, he was off it for the majority of the season.

Hes lucky to be here still, which is the point i was making.
 
CaptainCourageous said:
Wouldn't say the legs have gone but there were times last season where he looked absolutely shot yet continued to start matches.
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That might be because how he looks to the armchair sports scientists is different from how the professionals interpret the scientifically gathered information.
I could be wrong though.
 
WATP said:
Means little Robbie Crawford used to lap the rest of the squad 3 times over and Greg Docherty twice!!!
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Of course it means something or else why would they bother doing and then monitoring it?

The amount of people on this thread taking it to mean that he can just do laps of the pitch more than other people is mental.
 
Callum3657 said:
I have a slight concern and really hope that it doesn’t come to be this way.
Our fitness was developed under Gerrard, with double running sessions until the players were spewing in some cases. The first few training videos of the summer were always runs and beep tests. Hardly any ball work for the first week.

Arfields comments that Gio was working on shape and receiving the ball, and a more European approach, makes me worried that we won’t drill that fitness to the same level. Which will no doubt result in a decrease in levels. I’m not saying it will fall off a cliff, but our almost unbelievable fitness was a real advantage that I hope we don’t take as a given.

Hopefully I’m reading too much into it.
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Famously, infamously maybe, Jock Wallace’s training techniques had players spewing during sessions at Gullane.
There are pictures of this.
Good or bad?
I don’t know but Wallace won leagues.
Did nothing in Europe but won us leagues.
 
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