Slowly, but surely, professional sport is starting to make its way back to TV screens – and likely only those screens for the foreseeable future – with Germany’s Bundesliga and South Korea’s K-League having kicked off with operations once again to bring football back to those that love the beautiful game.
Of course, certain challenges would have been faced by those all involved at clubs, with players having had to undertake training routines at home for the best part of two months and, perhaps, having had to keep their skills and abilities in peak-condition via a number of inventive ways; remember the ‘toilet roll keepy-up challenge’?
With the Premier League’s “Project Restart” continuing to take shape through discussions and the return to training in small groups, a return to English top-flight football looks to be taking a step closer.
However, it might be realistic to bring down any potentially high expectations one may have regarding the level of competition that could be on offer for spectators eagerly awaiting the return of England’s top-flight.
When speaking about fitness, West Ham United’s Ryan Fredericks admitted that there is a huge difference in being match ready and being just generally fit, whilst also stating that it could be easy to be caught out if not ready.
“The difference is huge,” he says. “You can spend as long as you want – years, even – running up and down the pitch or running around cones, but 10 minutes in a Premier League match is 100 times harder than any of that.
“You can’t fake anything on a Premier League pitch. You have to react to so many things – mentally, as well. If you get caught out, you’re stuck.”
Whilst players might be expected to remain fit at all times because of the profession that they are in, playing at an elite and competitive level, perhaps, requires another level; a point shared by a senior official at West Ham.
“There are different aspects to it,” says Richard Collinge, Head of Medical Services.
“The science behind it all is now a major guide as to objectively clearing a player to return to training and then to return to a match, but the player has to also be psychologically ready.
“Those two things have to match, otherwise that player is not going to be ready to play.”
Collinge also goes on to mention how they analyse various different data that they have collected over the years regarding each individual and know the levels that their players need to be able to achieve, whilst also alluding to different tests they use.
“We have benchmarks and training data over several seasons so that we know what each player has got to achieve,” says Collinge.
“How fast he needs to sprint, the number of accelerations and decelerations he makes, the distance he covers.
“You also have to break that down into positional analysis. Match fitness is very different if you’re a goalkeeper from a modern-day wing-back. Using GPS data and distances covered, if a player has had a six-week hamstring injury we can tell what we need to prepare them for based on their position.
“We do some change of direction testing, too, because they have to be able to pivot acutely. They have to be able to withstand the force of an opponent and strike a ball.
“The rehabilitation period is not cleared until we can match as best as possible the loading of the tissue that will be required for full training and then a 90-minute match.”
Fredericks appears to be an advocate of all the different tests they do in training as the full-back admits that sprinting up and down for a period of time is not the hard part, whilst the situational aspects of the match are where footballers learn a lot more.
“The hard miles in games don’t really tire you out,” he says. “Sprinting up and down isn’t really what we find hard.
“The hard stuff is the short bursts of pace, when you’ve got to quickly get tight to someone. Nobody can tell you that you’re match fit unless you’ve been in the scenario where you’re having to struggle in the last 10 minutes and you’ve got to grind out a game.
“That’s when you find out about yourself, not doing runs in training.”
Developmental games can usually be a great way for a player to pick up their fitness levels again after a break from action – whether that be due to injury or suspension etc. – however, these matches do not always give the individual the vital mental preparation ahead of a potential return to competitive action with confidence being seen a crucial component.
“When placed in front of spectators and a worldwide audience then the anxieties of the player come into play as well,” explains Collinge. “That can affect the tissue tone. It’s all interwoven. The player needs to feel comfortable that he can play a game.”
Fredericks agrees, as he says: “Match fitness comes from confidence.
“Going into the game knowing that you’re at a higher risk of injury or that you might blow up after 60 minutes isn’t ideal. You need to play two or three Under-23 games or training-ground games to get that. It’s unheard of to have a long time out and then go straight into the Premier League.”
Nonetheless, it appears West Ham have a solid basis from which they work from to ensure that their playing staff are ready to perform and it would appear a clear communication channel between Collinge, David Moyes and the rest of the backroom team is key to making sure an individual is fit and ready to go.
“It’s all about clear dialogue,” says Collinge. “The process is one of joint decision-making.
“We might look at the frequency of games coming up and pencil in particular players for particular games. Then we discuss what that player needs to do to prove himself fit and available for that game.
“We as medical staff and coaching staff want the player to be confident, ultimately. We want to make sure that the psychology and feedback from the player is positive, so that they can feel primed for competitive action.”
Indeed, with the current situation being faced by clubs across the world, that communication could become even more crucial and for West Ham, should the Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ program take shape, players’ fitness levels may never be more important.
