Morning all.
Each and every day there are people suffer heart attacks, strokes or something else life threatening, and as I know from personal experience, age means very little. Many will die because of it, others might be more fortunate. We might think we’re as fit as a fiddle, but we’ve no idea what’s really going on inside our own body on a daily basis.
What goes on around the world doesn’t effect us because we don’t know the person or people who suffer but when a 29 year old professional footballer drops to the ground in a way Christian Eriksen did yesterday during Denmark’s match against Finland, anyone watching would have felt sick to the stomach. I certainly did. Because he’s a professional athlete, I kind of felt I knew him but of course I don’t, I only know of him because of his years at Tottenham. A Tottenham/Arsenal rivalry which meant zero yesterday. Thankfully, the news regarding Christian’s health improved throughout the evening and it looks like he’s going to make a full recovery. I wish him well.
The swift reactions of Denmark captain Simon Kjaer, who I read this morning cleared Eriksen’s airway, the officials and medics, ultimately saved his life. Surprisingly, the game restarted later in the evening, unsurprisingly, Denmark lost. I doubt they care, not really, not when their mate was lying in a hospital bed.
As we all know, life goes on and football goes on.
The first game yesterday saw Wales draw with Switzerland before the final fixture of the day ended with Belgium thrashing Russia 3-0. Thomas Vermaelan is still going strong.
It’s England’s turn today as they face Croatia in the opening fixture of the day. Austria then play North Macedonia before the footballing day ends with Holland taking on Ukraine.
Enjoy the football guys, fingers crossed England get off to a great start.
Well said, Rico.
I didn’t see the game, but remember how I felt when Fabrice Muamba collapsed.
It’s incredible to think seemingly fit and healthy young men can have this happen, but none of us are immune to it.
Get well Soon, Christian.
Enjoy a long, happy life with the family!!!
To those who gave him first aid, LEGENDS!!!!!!!!!!
Im sure they’d say it’s all in a day work, but saving lives should never be taken lightly.
Good Morning Rico and all
Good read Rico.
If he plays today, England will do well to keep VLASIC under control. He is a good player and can play anywhere from box to box to AM or on the wings. Many will point to Modric being the playmaker….but Nicola Vlasic is a good one as well. Similar to our ESR.
The players around Eriksen and the ref realized the gravity of the situation thankfully. And saved his life. i admired Kjaer for doing so, instructing his players to form a circle around Eriksen and consoled Eriksen’s wife. A true captain….any coach would have been proud of his captain and whole team. That is a team. And they dont have primadonnas who think the world revolves around them.
Although I would have preferred the circumstances to have been different it is refreshing to see a team behaving as a team and pulling the same way together.
With regards to my comment in the previous post….I prefer Locatelli to Sambi lokonga all day….especially with Barella….because they play together in the italian national team and dont have to get to know each other. It would be a dream for Mancini to have them in the same team at Arsenal training and playing day in day out together. That is one of the reasons I want many of our players to be English because they play all the time together. And tbh…Locatelli is superior to Sambi lokonga all day long.
Hi Devil, everyone reacted beautifully to the situation, no question at all.
Hi Rico.. Big shout out to Kasper Schmeichel also – consoling Mrs Eriksen and helping the medical staff.. on top of everything he did at the scene of the helicopter crash, he really is a rock on and off the pitch.
Morning from Portland! Just boarded ship yesterday at Southampton, sixth full and all fully vaccinated or triple tested for a short uk cruise. Sun out and footie on giant screen 30 minutes after we boarded, felt good. Then first glance up and everyone concerned or crying, no sound but obvious something bad had happened. Everyone around looked distraught, so wonderful when news filtered through Christian had woken up. Just like CV, puts everything in life into perspective.
Hi Rico and all
I Just read Bournemouth Goal keeper Asmir Begovic has said that the officials of football need to look at the amount of games that are played each season with out letting players get a proper break away from the game.
Which I agree and raises the Issue if some one like eriksen who is a seasoned match fit player can collapse that easy are we pushing our younger players like Saka to hard by picking them for every home and away match. all the different cups like the FA Cup and then on top of that playing for England in a world match or a friendly.
Geoff, there is no way the workload can be blamed for the Eriksen situation at this point.
The workload is a joke though, no question!!
They’re not machines.
As we’ve discussed on here though, when a manager tries to give a young player a break, the manger is abused and criticised lol
Who’d be a manager 🙂
Geoff…..that question about Saka should not have been a question at all. It should have been a statement because yes, a very big YES….Saka has been pushed a lot this season. And his body needs to recover.
At 19 years of age, any player, should play 2/3 of the games. Play game 1, game 2….rest game 3. Or 60 minutes each game.
Jack Wilshere, Michael Owen….all suffered injuries because their body did not have time to recover. They play too much at such a young age.
The male body is not fully developed, whether he is an athlete or not, until the age of 22 when muscles, testicles (production of sperm and testosterone), bones, ligaments etc reach their maximum level. Yes, you read it right….age 22…..and that is why their body kept suffering injury after another.
Had JW10 been threated with kid gloves then yes we would still be enjoying him today. Mind you….I would still sign him with the condition that he will play as a sub who comes on for the last 10-20 minutes each game instead of ESR/JW or any midfielder.
Devil, a lot of Jacks issues came from an ankle injury he suffered at 16, but your point is spot on.
Remember when the “knowing” fans sang “you don’t what you’re doing” when Arsene subbed Ox off after 60 minutes of playing brilliantly v Utd?
Yep, the fans who had no bloody idea that the medical team had told Arsene that Ox would be red lining after around the hour mark.
Scott, that is one of the reasons why I always prefer youngsters plus players in the age range of 22-25 bracket.
Think about the fact that Arsenal had Martinelli and Nelson at his disposal. Its true that Saka played practically all games. However, with Pepe and sometimes ESR occupying the other wing both Martinelli and Nelson, who both of them played less games than they should have actually played, would have given Saka and Pepe a much needed rest. Let’s say Arteta began the game with Saka and Pepe. Martinelli and Nelson could easily have subbed themat around the 65-70 hour mark….offering a different alternative.
But no. Arteta had bought an old car….and wanted to drive the point home by driving an old banger because it got him from point A to point B. The problem was that this car, Willians, was past its sell by date and did not qualify as vintage in the terms a Jaguar or Ford Escort would (my uncle has sold a 1971 Ford Escort for Eur42K). That is the problem we had….Arteta had to justify getting Willian by playing him. Nelson and Martinelli would have offered more. Plus they would have gained more experience and also Nelson’s value would have gone up.
As I said earlier, I prefer having more youngsters….one of the main reasons is that since they are youngsters who need rest and recovery they would understand more if they are benched or subbed. Something that a senior player who is 26-31 age bracket would not accept easily.
Good comment, Devil.
Bring the kids through.
Give them their chance.
Saka on the bench… time to get in the spirit
*Alexa, play Vindaloo* 😜
Hi Sue, absolutely agree…
Andrew, have a fab time. Good weather for you.
England seem to have started strongly.
I simply hope that Saka does not take any part in the game. Not even in the last minute.
A good first ten minutes, the rest is turning into a borefest.
That was almost as bad as watching Joe Root bat yesterday.
Cancelo with covid-19. Out of Portugal squad.
Why is Tripier playing left? The right defender is very weak. He only has speed and strength.
I didn’t realise the five subs rule is in place at the Euros.
A cold bottle of Corona Extra and a packet of Mini Cheddars, I’m already for the second half.
Devil and Scott what if the soccer federation / FIFA raise the minimum age for say home and away season and playing for your country is 21 and all other matches the minimum age is 17 this way we take the pressure of the coaches and still let the talented players slowly get introduced to the pace of senior football.
All I am trying to say is. – are clubs pushing their young players too hard, and if so will we wind up in the future having players walk away from the game at 25-26 years old because there burnt out and there bodies can not take it any more,
If a current professional goal keeper claims they need a longer break between seasons to fully recover then we should listen to what they have to say.
Good start too. Sterling with his opening goal of the competition.
A well taken goal by Sterling, scored from the position Kane should have been in.
Very impressed with Kalvin Phillips
He’d look good in red and white Sue. 😆
Too right, Rico and he could bring Ayling with him 😉
Ha ha Sue.
Geoff, you could be on the right path there.
Not many managers would NOT use a super young talent to win games as he’s judges on performances, but if FIFA came up with some sort of limit to try and help extend a players career, it could work.
I do think a lot of the damage is done even before they start playing at the professional level though.
Since my lad was 11 or so, we had clubs chasing him and we decided to not take that next step.
He was doing enough training each day imo, and another 3 training sessions a week plus weekend games was too much-again, just my opinion.
He took the step up last year aged 14.
Even then, if I feel he’s a little flat midweek, he misses the odd training session and his coach is fine with that.
He’s my son, not my superannuation find and that’s how a lot of parents seem to treat their kids with talent.
It’s also no coincidence that the kids who’ve been copping this extra workload since they were younger are already suffering ongoing knee and ankle injuries.
What chance have they got if they’re like this at 15-16???
Sometimes, we need to protect the kids from themselves.
Good morning everyone
Scott….you made a wise decision. Up till the age of 16 not more than 3 sessions per week and a game at the most. The best thing you can all do is that during the days when he is not training you all go for a long walk (just walking though…no running). Better family values, more togetherness and especially the body is kept supple and its a good way to unwind. And eat only healthy diet.
When he is 16 plus he can do light jogging in his free time.
If he is trained more than 3 times a week you will regret it later on. I had many arguments with parents who were intent on making their son train harder in the failing hope that he will be the best one of the lot…..until they realized that their son was spending more time at home with injuries than at training. And they always blamed the injuries….until I asked them who were they blaming the injuries on. And although I hate hearing it myself I always told them….see, I told you so.
Every time I was Under19 coach I always rotated the players….two games playing, one game rest out of three. And some of them I played only for 2/3 of the game. And never finished below 5th in a 15 team league. That way I made sure that whenever I had injuries to certain players the others knew what was expected. Although tbh…I always adapted the formation and style of play to the players I had on the field.
That was a good decision Scott. And teach your son to look after his body first….the team comes 2nd.
In the case of Saka I was glad he did not play yesterday. His body is still young….he is not over 22 years old. So it was a well needed rest. Its a good thing he is still training however, a game takes it toll on one’s body. I just hope he does not get on pitch even for a second.
The problem with kids’ developmental injuries and burn out stem from two problems…..the mentality of the coach and the mentality of the parents. You are unlike most parents Scott because usually I always used to get parents who practically ran their sons/daughters to the ground. Their attitude was that their son had to do it all and the more he trains the better. Even the kids themselves never wanted to stop. And that was wrong.
Most of the coaches wanted to win at all cost. You could tell by the way they approached the game….to them it was like each game was a cup final which they wanted to win. And win at all cost. And each game was the same with the same 11 players each time. The rest of the players did not matter it seemed.
And we are talking of under19 downwards. You get coaches even at under 10 who think they have Real Madrid or Barcelona or whatever team. Coaches who think that each game was the Champion’s league final. Too much shouting at the players.
My pre match and half time team talks??? I always told the players what is expected of them and at half time I always asked them two questions….1) Do you feel that you have done what you were supposed to do? 2) What are you going to do in the 2nd half and how can you do it better?
That way a kid will begin reasoning it out himself. …..not listen to orders being barked from the side. Parents shouting orders, coach shouting orders……at under 8 or 9 level. No wonder they give up by the time they are 15…..and many fall by the wayside.
Thanks Devil.
I always put my sons long term welfare above anything else.
If he makes it, he makes it.
If not, so be it.
Either way, he will be happy in life.
He will NOT, however, be ruined by coaches who care more about results than they do development.
Scott I hope I say this correct, your son is lucky that he has someone who supports him and most importantly protect him from coaches who don’t care about his health
I’m sure Devil as a coach would have seen, some parents don’t care about their kids health, it’s more about bragging rights, what their kids can buy them and even using their kids for filling their own dreams
Geoff, I have had parents, truly nice people, tell me they see their son as an investment lol
They don’t see anything wrong with that attitude.
I don’t agree with them but that’s not for me to say.
I tell my boy quite often that If working for the council digging holes is what makes him happy, I’ll be happy.
What more could any parent want than to see their kids lead a healthy, happy life?
Geoff, I appreciate your kind words mate.
Bringing up kids is not easy and often neglected in this day and age . I just told my son that this is Arsenal and took him to Highbury and put him on the right road.
Too many have children as an accessory and don’t realise that like a dog they are not just puppies all the time . Children grow up and leave but they are still your children.
I have been through that Scott. When my son was 8 years old I took him to my club to begin with the under 9. And he took to it like a duck to water. He was a natural because for his age he was already stronger than the others. Season total….played 18 scored 16. I was already dreaming.
2nd season he continued were he left off…..played 20 games…scored 23. I was over the moon.
3rd season he came up to me and told me…..dad, I dont want to go to football anymore. Had you smacked me then I would not have felt it. I asked him what he wanted and why…..he told me he felt silly running after a ball and going to training. He wanted to become a blacksmith. A WHAT??? yep I had heard right…a blacksmith.
Now he is 17 and in his 2nd year learning the trade of blacksmith.
Does he take any notice of football??? nope. he just gets bored by it.
But he is happy….and I prefer it that way.
But at least he and the wife understand it when I watch games. and dont bother me.
It’s getting harder and harder to raise kids, imo.
They have so many distractions.
All we can do as parents is give them every opportunity to be happy.
And I am happy with the fact that I never pressured him to be good and work at football. I took him when he asked to come with me and accepted (although deep down I was sad) when he wanted to stop. It’s his own life after all.
He feels alive when working with metal and machinery. And that is all I can ask for.
It’s the old story, Devil.
If you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life 🙂
Devil and Scott it must of felt great to see your kids run out on the field for the first time with there team mates and play football and even more special when they kicked there first goal.
Just watched Scotland v Czech what a great goal by the Czech player Patrik Schlick commentators after the match measured it at 51 meters
Afternoon Rico and the House
Should we feel sorry for the Jocks but should
we say serves you right you should not have played
Teirney in both of the freindlys last week
And what would our reaction be if Leno had let in that Goal.
Afternoon Rick, all.
I don’t feel sorry for them and I hope Tierney doesn’t play on Friday either, nor Saka. Tierney might then go home early and get a break before next season.
Cracking goal Rick, next time though he’ll hit the corner flag. Lol
The bend on that goal 👌
That has got to be the goal of the tournament.
Morning all.
Geoff, I still love watching him play.
Pure football.
Nothing better.
Are you guys giving England a genuine chance in this tournament?
They seem to have a damn good squad.
And what would our reaction be if Leno had let in that Goal.
Same as when Seaman did it.
Morning Potter,
“We sold the wrong keeper” would be echoing through the Internet 🙂
Leno would have saved it, he seldom comes off his line. Lol
Good Morning everyone.
Is the keeper to blame?? some might say yes some might say no. Personally I feel he was right to be up there because imagine he intercepted the ball and lobbed it in and a Scottie scored from a header. He would have been credited with an assist. Matty Ryan came up and he provided an assist for a point saving goal. He was a hero. Marshall did not turn out to be…..but if I was his coach I would still tell him to do the same thing again.
As Rico pointed out….Leno seldom comes off his line.
Another question would be….would Martinez have saved it?? And like Leno he seldom comes off his line. Leno and Martinez are box goalkeepers, rarely venturing upfield or outside the penalty area.
There is nothing wrong with either style. It depends on what the coach wants.
Personally I prefer Martinez in goal….I feel he is better than Leno…..but if I had to play a ball playing goalkeeper who has the courage to venture upfield or even in the opposing penalty area then neither would be my choice.
Anyway……Schick scored a good header and a wonder goal. Part and parcel of the game and its risks.
Scott….England have a very good team. But not so much good management. So while they can go a long way I still feel that Italy, Belgium and France are better especially with regards management, coaching and tactical nous.
I am looking forward to France vs Germany.
Any more news on Leno staying/going?
Depends which media reported we read, but scenarios are likely lol
Devil, without knowing a huge amount about the international sides, the French squad speak for itself.
It’s just packed with quality.
Belgium-could be their last chance with this crop, but they’re pretty good.
Germany and Italy are always thereabouts.
Who’s the Smokey, guys???
New post up now
https://highbury-house.com/2021/06/15/should-arsenal-go-for-boubakary-soumare/
Ditto Devil.
Much prefer Martinez.
Looking forward to France v Germany.