The Arsenal Thread

[Tyton]

It's very very different from your regular 9-5 job. I'm not even talking about the money they earn. Once they sign contract they are asset to the club. Your company won't sell you for millions when other big company are interested in you, no paper write **** about you and you are not under public scrutiny 24*7.

They also don't get fired on the spot and don't land of the street with no money to pay bills. They don't have to stress over making their daily limit at the assembly line. They don't have to act polite and calm infront of customers who deserve nothing but a punch in a face.

Plenty of jobs are physically and mentally exhuasting. I know people who were drove to depression after working at telemarketing.

Different jobs have diferent challenges, so does professional sport. Otherwise its nothing unusual. You just get paid better.

 

[ZamboUK]

Comparing your regular job with Football always ends up in 1 conclusion. It's wrong. The intensity of the work is nowhere near comparable and playing infront of huge crowd is very demanding than say playing in the park with your mates.

Mental exhaustion is always untouched topic in football till the business end of the season or touched only in the Euros and World cups.

It's very very different from your regular 9-5 job. I'm not even talking about the money they earn. Once they sign contract they are asset to the club. Your company won't sell you for millions when other big company are interested in you, no paper write **** about you and you are not under public scrutiny 24*7.

They have incredibly short career and at max good 10-12 years at top but for us till we hit 50s it's the same old boring job. So they aren't bored, if anything they are very much interested so they try to get back in to the game either by coaching or through media (maybe they don't have choice as they know **** all apart from football).

Most players live their dream by playing football, something they loved since they were kids. Us mortals are doing job as we aren't good enough to play any sport.

It's completely different and tbf I can't explain as well as I want to.

Why is it wrong? I'm not comparing my job to football. I'm not saying that my job is harder / easier than a footballers, but I am saying that they should take some ownership in their own physical conditions and in their own preparation to get in to the best shape possible before a game...in the same way I make sure I get enough rest and get everything ready for my work before my shift starts.

Isn't that theleast we can expect as fans? That these highly paid, highly skilled professionals will conduct themselves in a professional manner and make sure that they are in the best condition they can be in before the match?
I would have more respect for these players if they would just come out and say "We weren't good enough. We should have been able to get a more positive result here and we didn't. We're sorry."
Instead they give these lame excuses and expect us to tolerate it?

At no point did I compare the ridiculously bad football I see and play at my local 5-a-side to the Premier League. Even I'm not that stupid.

Your last point about mental exhaustion is ridiculous. I work as a Police Officer. I drive for 9 hours a shift, not including the driving I have to do commuting to and from my workplace. Sometimes we drive to an emergency call at high speeds with very high concentration for long periods of time. It's fairly "mentally exhausting".
A few months ago I went to a job where a fella set him self alight right in front of me, while his poor young children and wife looked on horrified. After getting everyone to safety, I battled the flames and put him out, then tended to his wounds until the ambulance arrived and took over. It was horrific.
Fair to say that it was a fairly "mentally exhausting" incident.

The next night, I was back out on shift. Driving and taking calls as normal. If I failed a member of the public and didn't perform my duties to the best of my abilities, I don't think that I would be able to turn around and say I was "tired" and get away with it.

Your next point about them having short careers and being treated as assets, or property of the club only serves to further enforce my point, in my opinion at least. If these guys want to prove something, or prove their worth, or leave a legacy behind after their short careers are over...why do they not prepare properly to be able to give 100% in every match? Where's the desire and the hunger to make a mark on the game?
If you could get an honest answer from the players, I'm sure that 6 or 7 of the Arsenal starting 11 would admit that they didn't give 100% for the first 75 minutes at least. And that's not acceptable to me as a lifelong Arsenal fan.

I really like the team we have at the moment. I feel like they genuinely can challenge on all fronts and that they are good enough...but I'm tired of all the excuses. We're not in "transition" any more, we should be delivering on all that potential we have in our ranks.
If we didn't give our all, and we know it as a team, then come out and admit it. Admit where you went wrong and that you'll learn and not do it again. Don't come out and give us rubbish excuses. That's my point.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

Might also want to add Zambo that we are now in a two week International break so you give everything you have the weekend then get the rest.

 

[damola3]

The first is, people are paid whatever the market decides they are worth. Most people here aren't capable of playing at that particular level. None of you are subject to stay at insane fitness levels, complete 10 plus kilometres per match and intense training all year round. Players aren't physically capable of playing every game per season. Because they are paid lots of money doesn't mean that they should use superhuman powers to play every game 100%.

This is why Zambo's analogy is flawed. Arsenal were also joint top of the league and in good form, so its different from not performing, a lack of effort and general laziness. The clubs have the final say over general fitness and energy levels, apart from summer holidays realistically. Did you expect Santi Cazorla, who's played in every game but two this season to take magic beans? The clubs have a tight control over fitness and energy levels.

Unfortunately 10 injuries isn't a normality. Spurs have had a day less to recover from the Europa league, however they have had a chance to refresh their squad due to a lack of injuries. People may criticise us for having a 'lack of squad depth', however I can assure you if you look at squads that we have the biggest in the league and that's a fact. We had to bring on Kieran Gibbs as a winger. Normally the injured Chamberlain, Walcott, Ramsey, Welbeck or Rosicky would have played there if not for injuries.

No disrespect to Bayern and I understand that their the best team in the world at the moment, but they were unlikely to win 5-1 if we hadn't had that many injuries and the team weren't tired. Two passes and Bayern had bypassed our entire midfield who were two tired to cope. Even Alexis Sanchez was beyond useless and couldn't keep up with play, meaning that he offered his full back no protection. Alexis Sanchez epitomises energy and intensity.

This situation is more down to misfortune that anything else. Any team will struggle with 10 injuries and for the past 2 games, our players haven't been able to keep up with play. In that first half vs Spurs, they covered a whole 5km more than us. Cazorla has completed the most ground for us this season, so I think he has every reason to claim tiredness.
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[Average Joe]

Got to agree with some of your points Zambo. Just say you didn't play well enough or didn't work hard enough, don't use the 'we were tired' card. All footballers will be tired after playing. It's what they're there to do.

Alexis Sanchez is supposed to be a ridiculously hard trainer.

My favorite kinds of players who are the really hard workers. They may not have some of the skills or touches like Berbatov but they will run themselves to death

 

[damola3]

Got to agree with some of your points Zambo. Just say you didn't play well enough or didn't work hard enough, don't use the 'we were tired' card. All footballers will be tired after playing. It's what they're there to do.

Alexis Sanchez is supposed to be a ridiculously hard trainer.

My favorite kinds of players who are the really hard workers. They may not have some of the skills or touches like Berbatov but they will run themselves to death

The fact is, you can't expect a team that's tired to outwork a team that's had a week or two to plan for the game and rest players accordingly. For example, Tottenham were able to rest fullbacks in midweek and introduce Dembele to freshen up the central midfield.

“It was fun to play but we all looked a bit knackered, especially in the first half and we gave absolutely everything to get a draw here and we will enjoy next weekend off, a few of us, then back to duty the next week,” said Mertesacker.

 

[sunilvk7]

Why is it wrong? I'm not comparing my job to football. I'm not saying that my job is harder / easier than a footballers, but I am saying that they should take some ownership in their own physical conditions and in their own preparation to get in to the best shape possible before a game...in the same way I make sure I get enough rest and get everything ready for my work before my shift starts.

Isn't that theleast we can expect as fans? That these highly paid, highly skilled professionals will conduct themselves in a professional manner and make sure that they are in the best condition they can be in before the match?
I would have more respect for these players if they would just come out and say "We weren't good enough. We should have been able to get a more positive result here and we didn't. We're sorry."
Instead they give these lame excuses and expect us to tolerate it?

At no point did I compare the ridiculously bad football I see and play at my local 5-a-side to the Premier League. Even I'm not that stupid.

Your last point about mental exhaustion is ridiculous. I work as a Police Officer. I drive for 9 hours a shift, not including the driving I have to do commuting to and from my workplace. Sometimes we drive to an emergency call at high speeds with very high concentration for long periods of time. It's fairly "mentally exhausting".
A few months ago I went to a job where a fella set him self alight right in front of me, while his poor young children and wife looked on horrified. After getting everyone to safety, I battled the flames and put him out, then tended to his wounds until the ambulance arrived and took over. It was horrific.
Fair to say that it was a fairly "mentally exhausting" incident.

The next night, I was back out on shift. Driving and taking calls as normal. If I failed a member of the public and didn't perform my duties to the best of my abilities, I don't think that I would be able to turn around and say I was "tired" and get away with it.

Your next point about them having short careers and being treated as assets, or property of the club only serves to further enforce my point, in my opinion at least. If these guys want to prove something, or prove their worth, or leave a legacy behind after their short careers are over...why do they not prepare properly to be able to give 100% in every match? Where's the desire and the hunger to make a mark on the game?
If you could get an honest answer from the players, I'm sure that 6 or 7 of the Arsenal starting 11 would admit that they didn't give 100% for the first 75 minutes at least. And that's not acceptable to me as a lifelong Arsenal fan.

I really like the team we have at the moment. I feel like they genuinely can challenge on all fronts and that they are good enough...but I'm tired of all the excuses. We're not in "transition" any more, we should be delivering on all that potential we have in our ranks.
If we didn't give our all, and we know it as a team, then come out and admit it. Admit where you went wrong and that you'll learn and not do it again. Don't come out and give us rubbish excuses. That's my point.

Yeah I work in EY and work lot of extra shift and mentally exhausted but I can recover with just few hours of rest. Comparing that to Footballers who cover more than 10 KMs in 90 mins and that too with many high intensity sprints is just ridiculous. You can say all our super hero stories and that doesn't mean ****. Have you seen some of the footballers shins and legs after the game is played?

The pressure on footballers is far more higher than the regular jobs and they keep themselves fit and that's the reason they can cover more than 10 kms per game. But if they have to do it 3 games in a week then it's too much especially after games like against Bayern.

You think players are robots and just because they are football players they shouldn't be tired which is just nonsense. Players need recovery time and it's needed more than ever in PL with so many tough games.

 

[ZamboUK]

The first is, people are paid whatever the market decides they are worth. Most people here aren't capable of playing at that particular level. None of you are subject to stay at insane fitness levels, complete 10 plus kilometres per match and intense training all year round. Players aren't physically capable of playing every game per season. Because they are paid lots of money doesn't mean that they should use superhuman powers to play every game 100%.

This is why Zambo's analogy is flawed. Arsenal were also joint top of the league and in good form, so its different from not performing, a lack of effort and general laziness. The clubs have the final say over general fitness and energy levels, apart from summer holidays realistically. Did you expect Santi Cazorla, who's played in every game but two this season to take magic beans? The clubs have a tight control over fitness and energy levels.

Unfortunately 10 injuries isn't a normality. Spurs have had a day less to recover from the Europa league, however they have had a chance to refresh their squad due to a lack of injuries. People may criticise us for having a 'lack of squad depth', however I can assure you if you look at squads that we have the biggest in the league and that's a fact. We had to bring on Kieran Gibbs as a winger. Normally the injured Chamberlain, Walcott, Ramsey, Welbeck or Rosicky would have played there if not for injuries.

No disrespect to Bayern and I understand that their the best team in the world at the moment, but they were unlikely to win 5-1 if we hadn't had that many injuries and the team weren't tired. Two passes and Bayern had bypassed our entire midfield who were two tired to cope. Even Alexis Sanchez was beyond useless and couldn't keep up with play, meaning that he offered his full back no protection. Alexis Sanchez epitomises energy and intensity.

This situation is more down to misfortune that anything else. Any team will struggle with 10 injuries and for the past 2 games, our players haven't been able to keep up with play. In that first half vs Spurs, they covered a whole 5km more than us. Cazorla has completed the most ground for us this season, so I think he has every reason to claim tiredness.
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My point isn't really about the money. Whether they're paid well enough or not, in comparison to what they do is an entirely different discussion that we'll never be able to resolve!

The fact is, a lot of our players did not appear to give as much as they could have during the match. I'll use Coquelin as an example, first half he basically was invisible. Second half he was much more involved. Why couldn't he have done that for the first half? He looked like he was coasting, as did a lot of the team, during the first half.

If they had come out, said they didn't work hard enough, or didn't play well enough...I'd be disappointed but that's it. It's not an excuse, it's the truth, they deal with it and next week they overcome it. Simple.

They are paid professionals who are expected to perform competitively for the duration of any matches they are involved in. If they feel they are not able to compete, then they should do as I do, and take sick leave, or time off when they can get it and come back when they feel able to compete. Simply put (and to take nothing away from Spurs, who played very, very well), for the first half and probably some of the second half, this was not a competitive match. It was men against boys and I expected to see Arsenal much more heavily involved in the fixture. We were lucky to draw, we didn't deserve it and for a team that I think could win the League this year, that is not good enough.

 

[Average Joe]

I'd run 10km A DAY for 150k a week haha.

I'd probably say I was tired too to be fair

 

[damola3]

I'd run 10km A DAY for 150k a week haha.

I'd probably say I was tired too to be fair

The fact is that you couldn't and you don't have the specialist ability that players at this level do.

My point isn't really about the money. Whether they're paid well enough or not, in comparison to what they do is an entirely different discussion that we'll never be able to resolve!

The fact is, a lot of our players did not appear to give as much as they could have during the match. I'll use Coquelin as an example, first half he basically was invisible. Second half he was much more involved. Why couldn't he have done that for the first half? He looked like he was coasting, as did a lot of the team, during the first half.

If they had come out, said they didn't work hard enough, or didn't play well enough...I'd be disappointed but that's it. It's not an excuse, it's the truth, they deal with it and next week they overcome it. Simple.

They are paid professionals who are expected to perform competitively for the duration of any matches they are involved in. If they feel they are not able to compete, then they should do as I do, and take sick leave, or time off when they can get it and come back when they feel able to compete. Simply put (and to take nothing away from Spurs, who played very, very well), for the first half and probably some of the second half, this was not a competitive match. It was men against boys and I expected to see Arsenal much more heavily involved in the fixture. We were lucky to draw, we didn't deserve it and for a team that I think could win the League this year, that is not good enough.

In the first half, Coquelin was basically sweeping the entire midfield by himself. Santi Cazorla completed the least sprints in the game that half, explaining why he was substituted. He was playing with a fresher, specialist defensive midfielder, therefore we were much better second half.

If the players take a sick leave or take time off, who's going to play. That's a ludacris suggestion, that Arsenal players with 10 players injured, decide to take sick leave. The fact is, if two teams give 100%, the fresh team will always outwork the tired team. That's a physical limitation. In the second half, the tactical sub of Flamini changed the game with more energy in midfield.

 

[Average Joe]

The fact is that you couldn't and you don't have the specialist ability that players at this level do.

Haha I was messing around, but seriously? I know people who run 6 miles many times a week for pleasure.

Specialist ability to what? Stay upright and move my legs to propel me forward. Who are these WIZARDS!?

 

[ZamboUK]

Ultimately, we'll agree to disagree I suppose. That's kind of the point of these forums, to share our differing opinions and spark a discussion!


I just feel that the last few years, Arsenal have adopted a sort of "excuse culture". Where bad performances and losses are accredited to other factors and nobody takes responsibility for them. If you compare that to Klopp and Liverpool (for example), following their disappointing loss to Palace (Jurgen Klopp demands response from Liverpool players after Palace loss | Football | Sport | Daily Express), he says; "This was not enough for us - we can do more. We have to learn from this.".

As an Arsenal fan, that's what I want to read and hear from our players. I know we won't win every game. I know we will have players not playing as well as they can, but I want to feel like the players care about winning and performing well as much as I do. These last few years, it doesn't feel like that. It's always someone else's fault, or there's something else to blame.

 

[sunilvk7]

Haha I was messing around, but seriously? I know people who run 6 miles many times a week for pleasure.

Specialist ability to what? Stay upright and move my legs to propel me forward. Who are these WIZARDS!?

Jogging 6 miles and covering distance in football at top level is entirely different

It's not just moving your legs to propel forward, it's high intensity sprints, physical battle, think and concentrate for 90 mins on you next move, slide, tackle, win the ball, look for pass and make appropriate off the ball movement.

 

[damola3]

Jogging 6 miles and covering distance in football at top level is entirely different

It's not just moving your legs to propel forward, it's high intensity sprints, physical battle, think and concentrate for 90 mins on you next move, slide, tackle, win the ball, look for pass and make appropriate off the ball movement.

6 miles isn't even 10 km. Players don't do it at their own pace. this is done in the period of 90 minutes with periods of high intensity sprints, agile movements and high intensity. This is exactly right. They have to make decisions as well.

Sports are a specialised industry because very few people have the natural ability or the physical capability to perform at this level, therefore being a footballer is a specialised job.

 

[damola3]

Ultimately, we'll agree to disagree I suppose. That's kind of the point of these forums, to share our differing opinions and spark a discussion!


I just feel that the last few years, Arsenal have adopted a sort of "excuse culture". Where bad performances and losses are accredited to other factors and nobody takes responsibility for them. If you compare that to Klopp and Liverpool (for example), following their disappointing loss to Palace (Jurgen Klopp demands response from Liverpool players after Palace loss | Football | Sport | Daily Express), he says; "This was not enough for us - we can do more. We have to learn from this.".

As an Arsenal fan, that's what I want to read and hear from our players. I know we won't win every game. I know we will have players not playing as well as they can, but I want to feel like the players care about winning and performing well as much as I do. These last few years, it doesn't feel like that. It's always someone else's fault, or there's something else to blame.

That was in a totally different context. The Arsenal team is very professional and most of the players do publicly take responsibility (particularly Mertesacker). Arsene Wenger usually takes responsibility after a poor result. Wenger's apprehensiveness to criticise the performance says a lot about the physical state of the side.

 

[ZamboUK]

As one last parting note, I'd like to add this.

BBC Sport - Football - Arsenal Results
BBC Sport - Football - Tottenham Hotspur Results

Arsenal have played 2 games in November (Bayern on 4th November and Spurs on 8th). Tottenham have played 3 games in November (Aston Villa on 2nd, Anderlecht on 5th and Arsenal on 8th).

I concede that we have injuries and that we haven't been able to rotate as much as we would like, but I just don't think that being "tired" is a good enough excuse.
Spurs played more matches than us in November (3 in 6 days)
Spurs had less time to rest / prepare than we did (2 days, not including match day - compared to 3 days for us, not including match day).
Spurs made three changes to their starting 11, we made one. We both had almost the same starting line ups as we had played in mid-week.

So, any excuse we have of being "tired" should also apply to Spurs, should it not? They are equally as elite and fit as our players. They play at the same level, have the same mental and physical challenges to overcome and deal with everything out players deal with.

So how do you explain the massive gulf in effort in the first half? If anything, we should have been more rested and had more energy than Spurs. But it certainly didn't seem that way for at least the first 70-75 minutes.

 

[damola3]

As one last parting note, I'd like to add this.

BBC Sport - Football - Arsenal Results
BBC Sport - Football - Tottenham Hotspur Results

Arsenal have played 2 games in November (Bayern on 4th November and Spurs on 8th). Tottenham have played 3 games in November (Aston Villa on 2nd, Anderlecht on 5th and Arsenal on 8th).

I concede that we have injuries and that we haven't been able to rotate as much as we would like, but I just don't think that being "tired" is a good enough excuse.
Spurs played more matches than us in November (3 in 6 days)
Spurs had less time to rest / prepare than we did (2 days, not including match day - compared to 3 days for us, not including match day).
Spurs made three changes to their starting 11, we made one. We both had almost the same starting line ups as we had played in mid-week.

So, any excuse we have of being "tired" should also apply to Spurs, should it not? They are equally as elite and fit as our players. They play at the same level, have the same mental and physical challenges to overcome and deal with everything out players deal with.

So how do you explain the massive gulf in effort in the first half? If anything, we should have been more rested and had more energy than Spurs. But it certainly didn't seem that way for at least the first 70-75 minutes.

This is a bit misleading. Arsenal played a premier league game on the same game week. Just 2 days earlier. Over the past month or two, Spurs have had pretty much a clean bill and health and was capable of rotating. Not all squads are the same. Tottenham are the most athletic team in the league, topping the charts in terms of distance completed.

In this period, Arsenal haven't had the opportunity to rotate and I find it ridiculous to suggest that Arsenal didn't put enough effort into arguable one of the biggest games of the season in the competition we have the most chance of winning. Many players just couldn't cope. Even Alexis Sanchez couldn't cope. Watch how much fresher we are after the international break. Even Arsene Wenger praised the team for the effort after the game to sum it up.

 

[ZamboUK]

Your argument there leads me to another discussion; but we'll just agree to disagree as I said earlier.

Let's just hope that come the end of the season, we've been challenging for the title, as we should do and not reading line after line of poor excuses to explain why we've had a good cup run and finished in the Champions League places. Again.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

.....

Been interesting reading back over today's events in here. And I completely concur with most all you've said.

To a general point, it always amuses me when players complain about being tired/ managers feel the need to rotate as it's too much to play Sat'day/ Wednesday/ Sat'day (or whatever stupid day we now have to play on to satisfy the TV paymasters)/ people try justifying and defending them. The game may of gotten faster, but they have EVERY bonus players of the past never had. They have the best dieticians/ masseurs/ medical back-up et all. They play on bowling green pitches. The rules have changed to the game becoming an almost non-contact sport to what it was. All the complete opposite of players pre-Premiership. But did they ever complain? No, they just got on with it because it was their job and they loved doing it.

It's SO refreshing to now have a manager at my club who refuses to use excuses like tiredness/ too many games/ long haul travel and is slowly reconditioning the players to stop believing the modern day British whines and to just get on with it. I'm a great believer in what Shankly always used to say. If fit, you get your best XI on the park EVERY game. And you play your own game and let the opposition worry about you. Players would rather play than train. And if your involved in every competition, playing Sat'day/ Wednesday/ Sat'day, you're invariably not training nearly half as much. Success breads success and more games should be relished not shunned. The celebration of teams going out of the likes of the League Cup down to that misguided 'too many games/ prioritising of trophys' thing is one of the saddest symptoms of the modern game to me.

Or maybe we and the likes of Klopp are just too old school and not down with the Premier League rhetotic? Who knows. But I know what we all should expect of players who sacrifice a relatively short period of their lives for riches many scarcely deserve. And I'm glad my club finally now has a manager again that thinks the same.

 

[sunilvk7]

Yeah, them old timers Kloppites and Koppites..

Paolo Maldini writes in his book, Il Calcio (Sperling and Kupfer edition, 1996), “that the Sacchi tactic was very tiring and exhausting. After a few years, we could not continue at these rhythms”. Sacchi wanted to take the pressure all the way to the penalty box of the opposition.

We would feel an enormous fatigue as a result of this tactic.

Also few insights on to why football players are tired.

Greg Gordon, I work as a football scout for a professional club in Scotland and also provi...778 Views • Greg is a Most Viewed Writer in Football Players (soccer).





No two games are the same, almost all players are functionally injured every time they play for the whole length and breadth of their career, mental tiredness is a massive issue effecting performance (as it does in every occupation).

Travel to away games (especially big away games), the burning of nervous energy, the waiting around, all chip away at player's concentration, focus and stamina pre and post match.

Off field lifestyle factors impinge on a game that is after all played by all to frail human beings (sleep, diet, motivation all come into play). Pitch, crowd and weather conditions take their toll too as does the challenge posed by a unique opponent every time a team enters the field of play. To reiterate: no two games are ever the same. And that fact alone makes football an exhausting occupation for even the fittest players.

[h=2]Understanding fatigue and its implications for football[/h]There are many components to fatigue in soccer – studies have found, for example, that a footballer leaves the field with near maximal glycogen depletion. In other words, just as a marathon runner is liable to “hit-the-wall” if they fail to replace energy, a footballer is ‘running on empty’ by the end of a match. Similarly, the intensity of football raises body temperature to close to 40 degrees, which we know to be a limit for performance. By any measure, the 90 minutes is a challenge to the physiology of a player. And as we’ll see later in this post, the higher the level of play, the more demanding the game. So elite performance, at the elite level of the World Cup, puts physical conditioning at a premium.
[h=2]Repeat sprint fatigue – the game “opens up” at the end[/h]So, given the above, it will come as no surprise to you to learn that even the very best footballers do display some fatigue during a match. The graph below is reproduced from a study (Krustrup 2006) where players were asked to perform five 30m sprints with a 30 second recovery, either during the first half, the second half, or at the end of the game. So you’re looking at a 4 second sprint, 30 second recovery (1:7 work-rest) at different phases of the match.

Quite clearly, there is an accumulated effect of repeat sprints on performance ability, as shown by the blue line (for the first half) and the red line (second half). Let’s apply this practically – a player is making a 30 m sprint, and by the very end of the match, he is covering the 30m about 8% slower than at the start of the match. This means that a 30m sprint that might take 3.8 seconds at the start of the match will now take 4.1 seconds. At the speeds we’re talking, that’s about 2 m that a player ‘concedes’ as a result of fatigue, compared to in the first half.
So now let’s imagine that two players are sprinting for a through ball in the 81st minute of a match. If the defender is fatigued, but the striker is not, then then striker has a 2m advantage and that is easily enough to allow him away from the tackle, onto goal and perhaps, a match-winning moment.
So there are two implications of this. First, when you hear commentators saying that the “game has opened up” in the second half, PART of the reason is fatigue. There are others – teams figure one another out, they start to work out how to create space through movement, their mindset changes and the weighting of risk to reward changes (especially if a goal is scored). But a big reason the game opens up is that players start to fatigue, often at different rates. Suddenly, a run into space that would have been closed down is not, and the game seems much more open.
The second implication is that of substitutions to manage the game. The implication of the above graph is that a player who is 5% slower than the opponent will still outperform them at the end of the match, provided he is fresh. The point is that fatigue may have a greater impact on performance than the natural differences between players, and so this is why clever substitutions can either control matches, or open them up.

But Klopp said players shouldn't be tired.