📝 George Abbott...signs for season long loan

[Med Pie]

You may be right but I don’t think we’re going to burn out a 19 year old.
Plenty of players his age play week in week out at higher levels.
I don’t remember Yates, Grealish, McGregor etc having their game time managed.

I agree, in my playing past, some of my mates were playing three games over a weekend including two, in the same day, I could never do it but a few did.

It might seem ridiculous to compare full time, pro football to amateur players but the basics are the same as is the physical effort. I used to come off the pitch, unable to walk some days after playing 90 mins and would joke with my mates that they can't have given their all if they could play another game at the weeekend.

[LeftPeg_Pie]

You may be right but I don’t think we’re going to burn out a 19 year old.
Plenty of players his age play week in week out at higher levels.
I don’t remember Yates, Grealish, McGregor etc having their game time managed.

Abbott will probably have dips during the season. These could be form or fitness related. We probably could have him play 40+ games, but the encouraging thing is that we have good options which will allow us to rotate rather then flog him to death.

To take Grealish and McGregor as examples. We probably couldn’t afford to not play them. You take them out, and we had;

Fotheringham, Tempest, Boucard, Melvin, Vela, Dixon.

[kill_the_drum]

Abbott will probably have dips during the season. These could be form or fitness related. We probably could have him play 40+ games, but the encouraging thing is that we have good options which will allow us to rotate rather then flog him to death.

To take Grealish and McGregor as examples. We probably couldn’t afford to not play them. You take them out, and we had;

Fotheringham, Tempest, Boucard, Melvin, Vela, Dixon.

I understand your point but if he has a dip in form then he loses his place on merit.
My point is if he maintains the levels he’s shown so far, then I don’t see he will be dropped to protect him.
When you’re aspiring for promotion, every game is massive.
My reasoning is the same as yours for Grealish and McGregor. Regardless of the quality on the bench, if Abbott is much better, then the justification is the same.

[LeftPeg_Pie]

I understand your point but if he has a dip in form then he loses his place on merit.
My point is if he maintains the levels he’s shown so far, then I don’t see he will be dropped to protect him.
When you’re aspiring for promotion, every game is massive.
My reasoning is the same as yours for Grealish and McGregor. Regardless of the quality on the bench, if Abbott is much better, then the justification is the same.

Yeah I totally get that. Personally, it wouldn’t stress me too much to see him dip out the odd game given the data the club will have on injuries and potential for injuries etc.

Hopefully he motors on and keeps improving. That’s the scary thing with Abbott, he’s 3 appearances in. Imagine the improvement he could make given extended exposure at this level.

[LeftPeg_Pie]

I agree, in my playing past, some of my mates were playing three games over a weekend including two, in the same day, I could never do it but a few did.

It might seem ridiculous to compare full time, pro football to amateur players but the basics are the same as is the physical effort. I used to come off the pitch, unable to walk some days after playing 90 mins and would joke with my mates that they can't have given their all if they could play another game at the weeekend.

I think to compare amateur football - and I hope your amateur career was more glittering than mine was for 90% of it - to professional football is like comparing apples and dish washers.

The physical, mental and emotional output is wildly different.

[Med Pie]

I think to compare amateur football - and I hope your amateur career was more glittering than mine was for 90% of it - to professional football is like comparing apples and dish washers.

The physical, mental and emotional output is wildly different.

On the psychological side I agree but amateur football is much more physical than the pro game or it was when I was playing.

[Could'vebeenacontender]

I understand your point but if he has a dip in form then he loses his place on merit.
My point is if he maintains the levels he’s shown so far, then I don’t see he will be dropped to protect him.
When you’re aspiring for promotion, every game is massive.
My reasoning is the same as yours for Grealish and McGregor. Regardless of the quality on the bench, if Abbott is much better, then the justification is the same.

He will be first choice for league games for now unless he has a setback of some kind
I doubt he will play in the EFL Trophy though

[LeftPeg_Pie]

On the psychological side I agree but amateur football is much more physical than the pro game or it was when I was playing.

Potentially, for actual contact, but again, physicality in the sense of movement, running and general physical output is absolutely non-comparable.

[51Magpie]

...to compare amateur football ... to professional football is like comparing apples and dish washers.

That analogy made me laugh! It also reminded me that there's a similar gulf in most sports. Years ago, as a keen amateur cyclist, I could turn out 200 watts for a (not very long) while. Top pros were from a different planet, churning out 600 watts for hour after hour. (Maybe not quite so much without pharmaceutical enhancements, but still with a totally different class of engine.)

[LeftPeg_Pie]

That analogy made me laugh! It also reminded me that there's a similar gulf in most sports. Years ago, as a keen amateur cyclist, I could turn out 200 watts for a (not very long) while. Top pros were from a different planet, churning out 600 watts for hour after hour. (Maybe not quite so much without pharmaceutical enhancements, but still with a totally different class of engine.)

I get that us mere mortals only have our own experiences to go off, but the difference between professional sport and amateur sport is really not worth the comparison.