[Albion] The barest of bones

[Swimboy64]

Many clubs have had or are having an injury crisis this season. Winter World Cup, overpacked schedule and too many players are playing too much football. Many at very high intensity too. Whether it’s our 11 v 11 testing sessions or other teams pressing constantly there’s an awful lot of running being done by young, fast players with developing muscles.

It’s a football problem rather than a Brighton problem IMO. Simply too much is played at too high a pace in this country.

A very good point
I don’t know for sure but I would guess that most players don’t really have a good aerobic base and don’t do much aerobic threshold training which can mean a lot more soft tissue injuries,tears twists pulls etc. Not talking about contact injuries which are different but the muscle ligament joint stuff could be helped with low intensity stuff

 

[Lenny Rider]

Who’s fit then?

Steele Verbruggen
Igor Dunk JPVH Estupinan
Milner Dahood Gilmour Gross Lallana Moder Baleba Hinshelwood Buonanotte
Pedro Welbeck Ferguson

This is still a very strong 18, capable of beating Spurs, who themselves aren’t 100%


I think a factor is also the power of the respective medical teams in the modern game, there’s no doubt even with a starting 11 and one sub, there were many times in the old days that at least one, two maybe even three players weren’t 100% fit but the Manager who back then held all the power, picked them anyway.

 

[Dibdab]

Can’t be a coincidence that the winter World Cup and the subsequent shorter off season have preceded so many teams having big problems.

 

[Eeyore]

Nothing much more to be said IMO

'crippling injuries'

Bit of an amusing and accidental synonym that.

 

[ConfusedGloryHunter]

Full back and wingers are where we’re really short.

Not at all. Other than Lamptey, about average height I reckon.

 

[AmexRuislip]

'crippling injuries'

Bit of an amusing and accidental synonym that.

Well I suppose as he's been away recently, coming back with a headline statement makes his lights shine brighter

 

[nickjhs]

Many clubs have had or are having an injury crisis this season. Winter World Cup, overpacked schedule and too many players are playing too much football. Many at very high intensity too. Whether it’s our 11 v 11 testing sessions or other teams pressing constantly there’s an awful lot of running being done by young, fast players with developing muscles.

It’s a football problem rather than a Brighton problem IMO. Simply too much is played at too high a pace in this country.

Yep the game is played at a much higher pace these days. it's interesting the difference between football and Aussie Rules which can be just as fast and has full on tackles, the guys just keep playing with injuries and see the season out, although they do suffer long term problems in retirement.

 

[timbha]

apologies if it’s already been posted but when Bobby Z got injured around Easter as we were pushing for promotion it seemed like the end of the world!

 

[Wardy's twin]

A lot of injuries but a bigger squad and very good set of u21s has helped but we also need to add we lost our 2 best players (backbone of team) to transfers...

 

[dazzer6666]

Can’t be a coincidence that the winter World Cup and the subsequent shorter off season have preceded so many teams having big problems.

Plus all the added time

 

[ozzygull]

To state the bleeding obvious, the game tomorrow was going to be tough at the best of time but with the injury list as it is it will even more difficult. we really need to get behind the team tomorrow, I hope we can make a great atmosphere

 

[Bry Nylon]

This is a good point actually. I wonder how many of our current injuries wouldn’t have been bad enough to stop players playing 20 years ago.

The days of having a couple of painkilling injections and soldiering through have gone. Which is a good thing.

Reminds me of the time Gazza turned up for his medical at Spurs, carrying a painful knock from a previous game. Terry Venables told him not to worry and he’d arrange for him to be given a cortisone injection. Whereupon Gazza asked if he could have a BMW 5 series instead, like the rest of the lads.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

I suppose the upside is that Lamptey, Adingra and Mitoma can spend six or seven weeks getting fit from injury rather than six or seven weeks risking injury in International Cup competitions. Two or three players returning to fitness just in time for the Europa R16 and the Premier League run in for top 10.

 

[Hugo Rune]

This is still a very strong 18, capable of beating Spurs, who themselves aren’t 100%


I think a factor is also the power of the respective medical teams in the modern game, there’s no doubt even with a starting 11 and one sub, there were many times in the old days that at least one, two maybe even three players weren’t 100% fit but the Manager who back then held all the power, picked them anyway.

I get that we have strength in that 18 you cite. Unfortunately, very little of it is on the flanks. We are incredibly weak and vulnerable there.

Spurs are weak at centre back but seem well set to stop anything we throw down the wings. And as for thwarting Son, Johnson and Kulusevski marauding down our wings…I fear the worst.

That said, it’s been a long December with some surprising results. It’s well within RDZ’s capabilities to win this match but he has to overcome a number of challenges and hope that luck (VAR, the ref, more injuries and deflections) is on our side.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I think if we were going to have this many injuries this isn't the worst season to have them. We've got ourselves to the knockout stage of the Europa League and to ninth in the PL. Even at my most pessimistic I don't think we'll be relegated so absolute worst case we finish towards the bottom and go out of the Europa - not the end of the world. Better than being in say Palace's position and having our injury list. Very easy to get sucked down in to the danger zone in their position.
Hopefully though we'll make it through the next few weeks with a rested Adingra and Mitoma, a fully fit Pervis and Welbeck and a returning Enciso plus a couple of new faces and we can still have a strong end to the season.

Yes, agreed. I think Brentford have found themselves in that position, didn't have the best start, had lots of injuries and now find themselves very much in the relegation mix.

 

[Nobby]

It feels a bit like (but not quite as bad) that first half vs Sheff Wed in the playoffs away at Hillsborough.

This season we’ve had that sickening feeling when Solly got the injury, then Enciso, and then it’s just continued and continued and it’s now almost unbelievable.

That evening we watched us line up without Dunk and Stephens, and then Conor Goldson and Tomer Hemed were injured in quick succession. Just after half time it was Steve Sidwell and then Knockaert, and Bruno took a knock while filling in at centre half.
Knocky limped around for 40 mins so we ended up with 9 fully fit and two passengers.
All this a few short days after going to Middlesbrough to watch Stephens unfairly sent off and us drop into the playoffs.

I remember feeling sick on those journeys home at the unfairness of it all.

Feels a little bit like that now.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

This season we’ve had that sickening feeling when Solly got the injury.

I have heard that he will never play premier league football with us again, that would be truly sickening.
I hope that it was just shitty pub talk from someone who thinks they have inside information.

 

[Justice]

A lot of them are training injuries.

Milner flying into everyone?

 

[Guinness Boy]

If there is a silver lining it’s this. Both Adingra and Mitoma were due to be out on international duty for tournaments in Asia and Africa. They now won’t, meaning we can focus on their rehab, rather than take back tired players who then break down.

We’ll have planned for their duel absence for some time and our rivals will also be losing players to the same tournaments. We could also have our strongest squad of the season available for the next round of Europa League and the run in as players return in Feb / March.

Still, the club will have to do some business quickly in this window.

 

[jimhigham]

Estupinan. Enciso. Mitoma. March. Fati.

That’s an astonishing array of talent to be without. Half a very talented outfield. It’s really little wonder we’ve struggled to put teams away.