Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

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morpheus2
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Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by morpheus2 » Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:37 pm

Georgie Boyd gets some miles in, Patto and Ian Moore used to 'work their socks off'. I guess the latest generations should be the fittest with their dieticians and regimes?

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Claretmatt4 » Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:39 pm

I'd this the new adeola Friday?

Answer is Pato.

Reckon Grezza must have been fit to play in centre mid at his ripe old age.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by JohnDearyMe » Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:41 pm

Was going to suggest Alexander too. How many games did he play during that promotion season?

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by morpheus2 » Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:43 pm

JohnDearyMe wrote:Was going to suggest Alexander too. How many games did he play during that promotion season?
Think he started every game, cups and league and only got subbed once right at the end of the season?
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nil_desperandum
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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by nil_desperandum » Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:43 pm

JohnDearyMe wrote:Was going to suggest Alexander too. How many games did he play during that promotion season?
I was also going to put forward the incredible Graham Alexander. His career record was a testimony to the very high standards of fitness and discipline he set himself.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Royboyclaret » Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:49 pm

Uwe.
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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Wile E Coyote » Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:07 am

we are probably way off, I know Boydy is the obvious choice, but over the decades who knows? Boyd has a job to do, but its a bit of the emporers new clothes syndrome. Leighton James went right up and down those wings from corner flag to corner flag in a very competitive and tough league.
That's just one example.
Heatons fitness is remarkable, al decent keepers are expected to be like cats, he in particular has incredible speed. That is hard to measure against outfield players. ,,,,just getting distracted by how banal elton john and his fans are on a horrendous documentary. making me shudder .Yeurghhhh!!!

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Goobs » Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:25 am

Chris Eagles. That pretty boy face and beautiful hair, lovely.......wait I think I may have misunderstood this thread.

Think you would be hard pressed to find any other claret that consistently covers/covered the amount of ground that Boyd does.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Rowls » Thu Mar 30, 2017 2:42 am

Grezza is a good shout but only towards the end of his career.

The current squad are exceptionally fit. Before his injury Dean Marney was the exemplar of this professionalism.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by KRBFC » Thu Mar 30, 2017 3:01 am

Michael Ricketts, no homo

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by RammyClaret61 » Thu Mar 30, 2017 5:40 am

Joe Gallagher.... oh just a minute ;)
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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Claretforever » Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:05 am

Paul Merson commenting on a Burnley game in 2009-10 spoke of Paterson:

"In a former life he must have been a dog" :D
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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by nil_desperandum » Thu Mar 30, 2017 10:05 am

Rowls wrote:Grezza is a good shout but only towards the end of his career.
I don't really understand that. If you don't look after yourself in your early career then I think it highly unlikely that you will retain such high levels of fitness and play over 1,000 games. Was it just down to good luck that he played for so long and hardly missed a game??

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by kaptin1 » Thu Mar 30, 2017 3:13 pm

Dele Adebola or Gazza
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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Quickenthetempo » Thu Mar 30, 2017 3:20 pm

Mo Camara just seemed to sprint and sprint forever, never seen out like it. Boyd runs and runs but never at any speed.

They say you judge how fit someone is on their recovery period and how quick they're able to go again.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Rowls » Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:50 pm

nil_desperandum wrote:I don't really understand that. If you don't look after yourself in your early career then I think it highly unlikely that you will retain such high levels of fitness and play over 1,000 games. Was it just down to good luck that he played for so long and hardly missed a game??
It's off the top of my head but it's down to interviews I vaguely recall reading. He said that when he was a young pro he could get away with having a few pints after games and occasionally midweek. Basically he career started at the tail-end the "old-school" culture of British footballers with their legendary binge drinking clubs.

As his career progressed he became more sensible and took on a more professional outlook.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Jeffbfc » Thu Mar 30, 2017 10:39 pm

RammyClaret61 wrote:Joe Gallagher.... oh just a minute ;)
His good leg was brilliant. It carried the bad one.
;)

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by ontario claret » Thu Mar 30, 2017 11:00 pm

Peter Noble.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by cricketfieldclarets » Thu Mar 30, 2017 11:05 pm

Has to be alexander. He could probably still play for us now.

Barton has to be as well considering both times we signed him was after a lengthy spell out and just got straight into it.

Alexander is a great example of what dedication can achieve though.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Holtyclaret » Fri Mar 31, 2017 11:38 am

KRBFC wrote:Michael Ricketts, no homo
Really?

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by cutsy123 » Fri Mar 31, 2017 11:39 am

Boyd

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by IanMcL » Fri Mar 31, 2017 12:02 pm

Boyd and arfield.

Graham Alexander was fit (I remember his cramp at Colchester, first time out!), however, he read the game so well, he conserved energy, rather than burnt it off.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by bfccrazy » Fri Mar 31, 2017 12:13 pm

Alexander played over 1000 games. Which at 90 minutes each equates to over 2 months of his time on this planet on a pitch playing competitive football.

Throw in all the training he also did then it shows what a feat it was that he played for so long at such a good level consistently performing.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Quicknick » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:00 pm

Arfield.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Geoff » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:08 pm

Wile E Coyote wrote:we are probably way off, I know Boydy is the obvious choice, but over the decades who knows? Boyd has a job to do, but its a bit of the emporers new clothes syndrome. Leighton James went right up and down those wings from corner flag to corner flag in a very competitive and tough league.
That's just one example.
Heatons fitness is remarkable, al decent keepers are expected to be like cats, he in particular has incredible speed. That is hard to measure against outfield players. ,,,,just getting distracted by how banal elton john and his fans are on a horrendous documentary. making me shudder .Yeurghhhh!!!
We are probably not way off. The fitness of players in today's game are streets ahead of those of the past, even just going back to the 1990's never mind the 70's.

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Spike » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:16 pm

Jeffbfc wrote:His good leg was brilliant. It carried the bad one.
;)
I think you will find that Gallagher had two bad/dodgy legs

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Spike » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:18 pm

Claretforever wrote:Paul Merson commenting on a Burnley game in 2009-10 spoke of Paterson:

"In a former life he must have been a dog" :D
can Pato be classed as the "fittest" when he was "dogged" by so may injuries ?

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Re: Fittest player to have played for the Clarets ?

Post by Flat Stanley » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:43 pm

Depends what you mean by fittest.

Are you talking speed, endurance, strength, power, flexibility, ability to stay injury free? I could cover as much ground on a football field as George Boyd (I used to run competitively at a high level) but in terms of all round fitness required to play professional football I would be nowhere near the required level.

In terms of someone who was a pretty good all rounder Marvin Bartley fits the bill but that didn't mean he was a great footballer.

He was quick, had a great engine and was strong and powerful. I remember in one game he ran back from in the opposition half all the way back to our box to block a shot when everyone else had given up any chance of stopping a goal. He must have run past half our team to get back. Id never seen anything like that before.

Michael Keane is quick, strong and pretty good all rounder in terms fitness of the current players. There are a few in the current team who have good endurance like Boyd but in terms of all round fitness are pretty poor.

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