SPL pre-season v Europa League Prep

[down-the-slope]

It was always going to be a hard ask to come back so early and try and get a decent pre-season training for the SPL while trying to fit in the Europa league matches and contrasting styles required.

After this week that is not going to get any easier for the Manager / Team / Fans with the visit to Carlise on Sunday sandwiched between the Maribor games.

Whay exactly does Yogi do? ....play the team / style he wants for Thursday...or continue SPL prep by giving majority of squad a work out :rolleyes:...glad its not me trying to decide. There will be big numbers down on Sunday and given some of the reactions on here (if they are mirrored by those who attend matches regularly?) there may be less of a tendancy for the fans to see it as just pre-season work out and more Manager / Team on trial?

If we want to be getting into Europe regularly (and I think we do and will) it is going to involve the early stages and this conflict every year...so we have to find a way round it (praise due to Motherwell and Pa Broon here :agree:)

In the past we often seemed statisfyed with beating an EPL team at ER pre-season....(even although if you looked closely we would be 2/3 weks ahead in training and they less bothered about result / rotating squad etc)....only to go on and have a mediocre season....so thats not the answer

Do we have to bring the players back even earlier? Play in some of those invatation tournaments to get more compeditively sharp? Forget Europe and only prepare with SPL in mind? Play first choice 11 for all / most of all pre-season...even if that means some of squad is behind in fitness / match sharpness, but gives main 11 greater pitch time?

Lots of questions....not many answers....and the clock is ticking

[down-the-slope]

Not a single reply ... is that because the reality of how to deal with the complex issues is too hard for PC pundits? :rolleyes:

Or just that I talk mince :greengrin

[oconnors_strip]

It was always going to be a hard ask to come back so early and try and get a decent pre-season training for the SPL while trying to fit in the Europa league matches and contrasting styles required.

After this week that is not going to get any easier for the Manager / Team / Fans with the visit to Carlise on Sunday sandwiched between the Maribor games.

Whay exactly does Yogi do? ....play the team / style he wants for Thursday...or continue SPL prep by giving majority of squad a work out :rolleyes:...glad its not me trying to decide. There will be big numbers down on Sunday and given some of the reactions on here (if they are mirrored by those who attend matches regularly?) there may be less of a tendancy for the fans to see it as just pre-season work out and more Manager / Team on trial?

If we want to be getting into Europe regularly (and I think we do and will) it is going to involve the early stages and this conflict every year...so we have to find a way round it (praise due to Motherwell and Pa Broon here :agree:)

In the past we often seemed statisfyed with beating an EPL team at ER pre-season....(even although if you looked closely we would be 2/3 weks ahead in training and they less bothered about result / rotating squad etc)....only to go on and have a mediocre season....so thats not the answer

Do we have to bring the players back even earlier? Play in some of those invatation tournaments to get more compeditively sharp? Forget Europe and only prepare with SPL in mind? Play first choice 11 for all / most of all pre-season...even if that means some of squad is behind in fitness / match sharpness, but gives main 11 greater pitch time?

Lots of questions....not many answers....and the clock is ticking

i think they should be back earlier if we have a competitive game that is quite a few weeks before the season starts. first 2 weeks should be fitness then working on tactics and improving skills and get them working as a team! the players who are not getting much or ANY match time should be involved in other friendlies but teams that are of a higher standard than the likes of elgin and selkirk (no offence to these teams).

for tomorrow i would start with the 11 that is to start the match on thursday then at half time make a few subs, dont know how many subs we will be allowed to make though. giving players 10/15 minutes in a pre season game is nonsense to me:bitchy:

[down-the-slope]

:applause:

[oconnors_strip]

Take it that's just us that know about complex issues and football :greengrin

[alanhall69]

the last few time in Europe we have been beat due to season not started or lack of our fitness
Odense, IF Elfsborg , FC Dnipro FK Vėtra, all lost . but we all said if we had played them later in the season we would have beat them !!!!
AEK game in europe season 2001 we had PLAYED 3 friendly and 7 league games.
this was our best game in europe .

i would like to see the season start sooner
/finish early and winter break .
not just the players that need a rest .after new year ??

[allezsauzee]

The SPL should start giving our teams a better chance in Europe by starting the league season a few weeks earlier so that our teams are match fit when they are competing in the European qualifiers. It will also enable us to have a winter break and give teams a bit of a breather during the season to get players over injuries/recharge batteries.