Games weekend 12th to 15th August

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Originally Posted by sbgawa

The point about the Derry game is it could have been pushed back but Derry decided to stick to their guns and try to catch Rovers out. They were entitled to do so but if the boot is on the other foot next year i wouldn't expect much co operation form the league.

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Pushing back the game wasn't an option though. It was either going to be Friday, or some later stage in the season.
FWIW, I think it would be fair enough to postpone the game. Could create some difficulty for Rovers though, as they will have plenty of Thursday/Sunday weeks until the end of the season, so squeezing in an extra game wouldn't be easy.

As Higgins and Bradley have been saying, the FAI need to sit down with the clubs and agree some sort of rule for these events. The current system isn't fair on clubs and supporters.

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Originally Posted by brendy_éire

Pushing back the game wasn't an option though. It was either going to be Friday, or some later stage in the season.
FWIW, I think it would be fair enough to postpone the game. Could create some difficulty for Rovers though, as they will have plenty of Thursday/Sunday weeks until the end of the season, so squeezing in an extra game wouldn't be easy.

As Higgins and Bradley have been saying, the FAI need to sit down with the clubs and agree some sort of rule for these events. The current system isn't fair on clubs and supporters.

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I'm genuinely not that bothered , the draw was a decent result and if we had played Sunday i would have been just as happy with it tbh, just like id take a draw against Dundalk this Sunday..
Why couldn't it be pushed back to Saturday or Sunday though?

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Originally Posted by sbgawa

Players didn't get home until Wednesday morning and the heat at pitch level was intense so you can assume they were pretty drained, .
That would leave them with a session on Thursday and then heading to Derry Friday. Another 24 hrs recovery would have been welcome as was shown by the below par performance.
Preparation time for the away leg in Hungary isn't the same as the players wouldn't be as tired nor travel as complicated getting back from Derry on Sunday, the players would be asleep in their beds Sunday night.
In terms of this weekend against Dundalk the players will have the same situation in terms of days recovery but its unavoidable as the game is already put back to Sunday. The point about the Derry game is it could have been pushed back but Derry decided to stick to their guns and try to catch Rovers out. They were entitled to do so but if the boot is on the other foot next year i wouldn't expect much co operation form the league.
I expect another below par performance from Rovers against Dundalk or a lot of rotation and a weaker but more energetic team.

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Being at home and the lift from home supporters anything less than an energetic quality performance won’t be acceptable- and I expect both management and the team will be off that mind

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Originally Posted by sbgawa

I'm genuinely not that bothered , the draw was a decent result and if we had played Sunday i would have been just as happy with it tbh, just like id take a draw against Dundalk this Sunday..
Why couldn't it be pushed back to Saturday or Sunday though?

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The Brandywell was unavailable. It's used every weekend by local teams around the city, in fairness. Though I'd wonder if the club pushed the council on it, would they been gotten preference?

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

Being at home and the lift from home supporters anything less than an energetic quality performance won’t be acceptable- and I expect both management and the team will be off that mind

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Its not a lack of effort to be fair its a lack of energy.
I wouldn't expect anything other than 100% effort from Rovers on Sunday against Dundalk but its forecast to be 37 degrees in Budapest on Thursday and kick off is a relatively early 6:30 pm local time. Id like to see Gaffney and Burke start on the bench, Finn is suspended so he wont be using any energy :)

I'm sure such examples have been used before but fatigue and footballers has been linked to a general psychology (RPE as one), an attitude that has been embedded predominantly by EPL managers complaining about their Christmas and New Year schedules and mind games on being at a faux disadvantage. Exacerbation of injuries from rushing players return aside, there is a wealth of evidence and methods for player recovery within 48hrs down from 72hrs considered minimum necessary years back.

The level at which players now develop S&C, use of periodisation and load management, strict post match diet refueling and rehydrating (not a feed of pints) means that physiological recovery times are shortening. Ice baths and compression clothing post match are also key. Studies are showing that sleep does play a major role but that daytime napping on training and match days compensate for disruption to patterns and there's an argument for not traveling back significant distance the night of a game. A rest day after a match is now seen as contributing to slower recovery. Throw in how elite players from a young age (U15s in LoI eg) should be assessed for problematic biomechanics so muscle injury, inflammation, fatigue and recovery are lessened.

Changed nature of the game, less blunt trauma incidents, improved pitches, slower/less frantic kick and rush tactics, regular breaks in play for feigned injury eg and generally shorter phases of unbroken play than in the past where the ball is now in play as little as 60mins per match. Fewer heavy pitches, summer season which saves energy in the milder weather with proper hydration. Well its all very different from semi-pro/evening training not that long ago.

When you also consider the anecdotal but crossover stresses of tennis players (record of 10 hours for 1 match and regular 3-5 hours in mens slams on consecutive days. North American sports particularly when going beyond the regular season, best of 7 on consecutive dates and travel of massive distances by comparison of most ties in Europe. The lung-busting phases and collisions of some big guys in rugby on consecutive weekends, it does raise the question of why there is more made of player fatigue in whats is a less demanding sport than others - i'll not bother with the club and county or dual player stuff of GAA.

Lackluster performances can be attributed to less tactical prep than physical fatigue, over rotation of players disrupting a familiar setup and players who may lack motivation if they feel rotated in as a 2nd string player. Im sure a good few of us played football for hours every day well in to teens and may have trained and had matches in multiple sports beyond without over thinking it much and just for the craic...may have cycled to and from to boot.

Ok its a bit overkill in making a point about Rovers grumbling especially considering they got a result, but its a bit of a bug bear with the general overreach and moaning in the game mainly by coaches in England based on 'research' from the early noughties, and possibly during say a WC finals when 24 hours over 5-7 days is the be all and end all. LoI has a bit to go before recovery is optimised but its not far off. There are unforeseen variables and individuals that can have genuine issues but thats what individualised programmes are for and where sports physiologists earn their salt, and scheduling hasnt been the best in LoI but it doesnt stop the application of up to date best practice. The connection between SETU and Waterford jumped out for this sort of stuff with the new owner paying a visit to the facilities at Waterford/Carlow, DCU and UL would obviously be top notch partners for LoI clubs also and not cost prohibitive. Setanta College in Thurles would be well up on research but not sure if they have testing labs/

Does anybody know if UCD take cash at the gate for tickets? I know other clubs have used online only ticket policies

Yep, there'll be a turnstile open for cash.

We're not rich enough to turn cash away :)