East Mains - Being used to full potential ?

[Brizo]

In one of his recent interviews Yogi said that he didnt see why the players couldnt come into EM from 9 till 3 every working day and he couldnt see why they only spent a couple of hours there each day.

I was under the impression that they would be spending a considerable amount of time there over and above training sessions. I thought that as well as providing our own purpose built pitches the gym , rehabilitation , catering and relaxation facilities were there to keep the players together as a group for something akin to what to us mere mortals is a working day. That the facilities were there to allow them to work as individuals on their fitness and well being before and after team training. And to get them away from the traditional Scottish culture of players bolting for the bookies or snookerhall once the morning training sesh was over.

Per Yogis own admission that isnt happening. Simple question. Why not ?

My understanding is that players arent contracted for say a 20 hour week , they are contracted for a period of years during which the club can ask them to report in when they want them to attend. EM was meant to help improve performance and technique but since it opened weve watched hoofball under Mixu and half a season of hoofball under Yogi ;and there are first team regulars whose lack of technique is plain to see. EM was meant to improve fitness but we have players with little stamina and players so easily brushed off the ball that it appears theyve never seen the state of the art gym equipment JC had installed based on his time in France and at Fulham.

If ever there was a time when our squad needed to fully utilise these fantastic facilities its been over the last three months and yet per Yogis own admission they havent.

Training facilities are only as effective as the management and players commitment to using them. For all his talk of sports science etc Yogi obviously isnt using them to their full potential. Is it all a bit too snobby and a bit too JC for him ? For all his wideo persona is he strong enough to get them to come in every day from 9 till 3. And do what JC failed to do , get professional sportsmen to train professionally

As for the players is there a billy big time mentality where even journeymen think theyve made it and dont need to strive to improve. Or a club culture where the players have been allowed to call the shots in the past which prevents a coach imposing a stricter regime.

Just my thoughts. Im not in the know and dont pretend to be. But per Yogis own words those fantastic facilities which cost millions of pounds are being used by the first team squad for just a couple of hours a day. I would have thought that in good times and bad our first team squad would have been utilising this massive investment to a far greater degree than that ?

[Cropley10]

Good points. Having listened to Yogi in person I'd suggest he wants the sort of player at the Club who has precisely the sort of motivation required to get the most out of EM.

This might make him an idealist. Our current squad is made up of misfits, youngsters, and players no-one else wants. The type of player Yogi is after is probably elsewhere and for a reason.

Changing the culture of the team and playing staff is a huge task. Will he be given the time to do this and the money to do this?

[Golden Bear]

In one of his recent interviews Yogi said that he didnt see why the players couldnt come into EM from 9 till 3 every working day and he couldnt see why they only spent a couple of hours there each day.

I was under the impression that they would be spending a considerable amount of time there over and above training sessions. I thought that as well as providing our own purpose built pitches the gym , rehabilitation , catering and relaxation facilities were there to keep the players together as a group for something akin to what to us mere mortals is a working day. That the facilities were there to allow them to work as individuals on their fitness and well being before and after team training. And to get them away from the traditional Scottish culture of players bolting for the bookies or snookerhall once the morning training sesh was over.

Per Yogis own admission that isnt happening. Simple question. Why not ?

My understanding is that players arent contracted for say a 20 hour week , they are contracted for a period of years during which the club can ask them to report in when they want them to attend. EM was meant to help improve performance and technique but since it opened weve watched hoofball under Mixu and half a season of hoofball under Yogi ;and there are first team regulars whose lack of technique is plain to see. EM was meant to improve fitness but we have players with little stamina and players so easily brushed off the ball that it appears theyve never seen the state of the art gym equipment JC had installed based on his time in France and at Fulham.

If ever there was a time when our squad needed to fully utilise these fantastic facilities its been over the last three months and yet per Yogis own admission they havent.

Training facilities are only as effective as the management and players commitment to using them. For all his talk of sports science etc Yogi obviously isnt using them to their full potential. Is it all a bit too snobby and a bit too JC for him ? For all his wideo persona is he strong enough to get them to come in every day from 9 till 3. And do what JC failed to do , get professional sportsmen to train professionally

As for the players is there a billy big time mentality where even journeymen think theyve made it and dont need to strive to improve. Or a club culture where the players have been allowed to call the shots in the past which prevents a coach imposing a stricter regime.

Just my thoughts. Im not in the know and dont pretend to be. But per Yogis own words those fantastic facilities which cost millions of pounds are being used by the first team squad for just a couple of hours a day. I would have thought that in good times and bad our first team squad would have been utilising this massive investment to a far greater degree than that ?

Good post.

It just adds weight to the arguement that today's professional players are pampered and overpaid.

It's almost as if the players are being rewarded for the recent bad results by only having to train for the odd hour at a time.

[bighairyfaeleith]

The vast majority of players won't do anymore than they have to. Yogi is the manager, if he wants them to work harder and longer then thats up to him to impose the new regime. If he is confused about why it doesn't happen already then he is perhaps not understanding his job :confused:

[bathhibby]

Let's have some tranparency detailing when players arrived and departed and what they achieved.
Most businesses/work get their Employees to do precisly this for various reasons

[sahib]

All he would have to do is specify that a minimum hours of training are required per week and make it clear they won't be picked if they don't comply.
If that is not enough to get their attention then it should be linked to pay.
I would urge caution here, though, I doubt that having a squad who are sick to death of the sight of a football pitch will be any help.

[vahibbie]

I don't understand:confused:
The OP says that Yogi "didnt see why the players couldnt come into EM from 9 till 3 every working day and he couldnt see why they only spent a couple of hours there each day".


Surely Mr. Hughes you are the gaffer and you should be setting the hours.
I can't see my boss having the same attitude towards me:wink:

[GreenPJ]

Let's have some tranparency detailing when players arrived and departed and what they achieved.
Most businesses/work get their Employees to do precisly this for various reasons

But sadly we know that football is not like other businesses. The culture, not just in Scottish football but in British football, is poor to say the least. Foreigners who come to the UK to play must get a culture shock but sadly they all too readily fall into the British player psyche. JC, Le Guen, Sturrock (down at Southampton) all tried to change things and it didn't work out.

The only hope of ever getting players to appreciate the value of hard work is to get them when they are young. This is where it needs to start way before club level but will take a new generation or two and the right people at the top of the game to ever change it.

[Alfred E Newman]

If Yogi wants the players to come in from 9am till 3pm every day surely he tells them to come in . He is the boss, or is he scared he has a Collins type rebellion on his hands.

[ScottB]

I do wonder if we have yet to have a manager who knows what to do with EM effectively.

I'd be intrigued to see how much time the average EPL player spends training a day and compare it to ours. I think there is a culture ingrained at the club that is going to require significant effort to shift, Collins tried and the club let the players win. To be honest I think the majority of our problems can be traced to that event, our players almost to a man seem to care little, do the minimum, object to training etc etc clearly something / someone at the club is allowing this to continue.

It's time for Hughes, or someone else for that matter to take a stand. If Yogi wants them in 9am till 3pm every day then make it the rule. Kick any player who objects out the door. We have the best training facilities outside the Old Firm by far (maybe even as good as) so it's not unusual to expect that we be one of, if not the fittest and best prepared team in the division when going up against folk training in muddy parks.