Fitness expert: 'Amateurish' City underestimated Boro
Top conditioning expert Raymond Verheijen has blasted Manchester City for returning from a week-long trip to Abu Dhabi only on Friday, a day before their FA Cup home loss to Middlesbrough.
According to The Sun, the Dutchman labelled the decision as amateurish.
The 2-0 defeat by the second-tier side means City have been eliminated by lower-league teams in the competition for two consecutive seasons.
Injury risk and fatigue
He said: “Only amateurs make decisions like this.
“If you fly for several hours then you will have problems with dehydration. The air on a plane is unhealthy.
“Part of the flight you have to sit with bended knees and that shortens the length of your hamstrings.
“You increase the risk of injuries. It also causes fatigue and flying within 24 hours of a match means you will lower your energy levels.
“What kind of signal does that send out to the players? You are compromising the preparation of the players and that is why you will have an average match. It’s amateurish.
“They clearly underestimated Middlesbrough. Would they have done this if they were playing Chelsea or Manchester United? I don’t think they would.”
Outspoken
Verheijen, who has worked with Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and Holland, is an outspoken figure who seldom minces his words.
Last October, he also waded into the club-versus-country row between England manager Roy Hodgson and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.
After Hodgson had said that he couldn’t see the benefit of Liverpool’s preference of giving some of their players two recovery days, Verheijen wrote on Twitter: “England manager Roy Hodgson once again made himself look extremely stupid. He is the perfect example of a typical uneducated English coach.”
Source: The Sun
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