DANWRENBCFC4LIFE Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 3 hours ago, Son Of Nob said: Just some light Monday morning tin-pottery. Are they also selling half drank bottles of water? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toblerone Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 2 hours ago, glynriley said: In fairness to wally, it makes sense for him to promote his club in any way possible. As @RumRed said earlier, he does come across well and if he was the owner of an equally small club like Frome Town or Tiverton, I'd wish him all the luck in the world. But he's not, so **** him. fixed that for you 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toblerone Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 4 hours ago, Son Of Nob said: Just some light Monday morning tin-pottery. which is the gnome please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohbasso Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 1 hour ago, DANWRENBCFC4LIFE said: Are they also selling half drank bottles of water? Most valuable thing in the photo imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southstandoriginal Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 2 hours ago, DANWRENBCFC4LIFE said: Are they also selling half drank bottles of water? No it's Dopey's urine samples. A free gnome with every bottle. Queues down Gloucester Rd apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhistleHappy Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 19 hours ago, glynriley said: Good luck fitting BRISTOL on this pile of shite... Looks a bit like a tool-box to me.... Hmm come to think about it........... IT IS isn't it! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Joker Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 4 minutes ago, WhistleHappy said: Looks a bit like a tool-box to me.... Hmm come to think about it........... IT IS isn't it! I do believe your right WH, cantilever design, anyways no shortage of tools to fill it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 19 hours ago, glynriley said: Good luck fitting BRISTOL on this pile of shite... They will be alright when the other 4 blocks are built, so it curves around the corners to join onto the other stands. What, that's it? The finished article? It always looks half built to me, I thought it was on ongoing project, redeveloping around matches, like what we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOTBLUE Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 17 hours ago, slartibartfast said: Can't be the slags, count the number of fingers ! Yes,but that's only one of their three hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toblerone Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 19 hours ago, glynriley said: Good luck fitting BRISTOL on this pile of shite... I was going to ask if that is the best part of their ground but I can't, so can someone tell me if that the least awful bit. I built a nicer hen house back in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanterne Rouge Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 Imagine that picture, not in bright sunshine but with the rain lashing down and a swamp of a pitch in front of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post glynriley Posted October 31, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 6 minutes ago, Red Right Hand said: Imagine that picture, not in bright sunshine but with the rain lashing down and a swamp of a pitch in front of it. Ta Dah......... 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanterne Rouge Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 20 minutes ago, glynriley said: Ta Dah......... That`ll do it. Great work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiale Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 reminds me of one of the things i love about our new stadium, how close the fans are to the pitch - it would have been so easy to put a huge segregation / gap in front of the stands like we see in many places... but the crowd feel like your on top of the players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Bill Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 27 minutes ago, Red Right Hand said: That`ll do it. Great work! Is that an exit sign in the bottom right hand corner? How appropriate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidercity Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, SalisburyRed said: I was going to ask if that is the best part of their ground but I can't, so can someone tell me if that the least awful bit. I built a nicer hen house back in the summer. To be fair it has been improved since this photo was taken, they have put a canopy over the side door.... Edited October 31, 2016 by cidercity 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoldenBall Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanterne Rouge Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 8 minutes ago, Sergio Georgini said: I didn`t know you could get Steve Lansdown masks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
22A Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 More gas logic / delusion / grasping at straws; http://gaschat.co.uk/thread/8469/scoring-home I see that we have now scored in every home league game for over a year. This is the best record in the EFL. Team. Consecutive games scored B.Rovers. 24 Walsall. 14 Oxford. 13 Portsmouth. 12 N.Forest. 10 Sequence began on 20th October 2015. That was balanced however with; Last visiting team to keep a clean sheet in a competitive game at the mem - Chesham What about the web fingered mob from Somerset? We haven't played City for a while in the league? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Rocker Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 10 hours ago, Son Of Nob said: Just some light Monday morning tin-pottery. 'Tin-pottery', what a lovely definition of our blue friends. Displaying the qualities of hilarious inadequacy and eternal inferiority. Crapness. See also: Bristol Rovers. Tin-pottery. I like that a lot. Almost feel a bit sorry for them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 6 hours ago, SalisburyRed said: which is the gnome please? Obvious, the one with the stupid expression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristol Rob Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 7 hours ago, 22A said: More gas logic / delusion / grasping at straws; http://gaschat.co.uk/thread/8469/scoring-home I see that we have now scored in every home league game for over a year. This is the best record in the EFL. Team. Consecutive games scored B.Rovers. 24 Walsall. 14 Oxford. 13 Portsmouth. 12 N.Forest. 10 Sequence began on 20th October 2015. That was balanced however with; Last visiting team to keep a clean sheet in a competitive game at the mem - Chesham What about the web fingered mob from Somerset? We haven't played City for a while in the league? That'll be the renowned EFL team Chesham then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 17 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said: Well, to be fair, it seems most of us have enjoyed the extensive media coverage we've achieved surrounding Tammy's successful loan so far and the positive reports in the press regarding Mr Lansdown's vision and LJ's managerial style and abilities to date. So it's a bit churlish to condemn Rovers' owner for also trying to raise the profile of his club. I think he comes across as a pretty ok bloke, I don't for a minute believe he has the level of funds to pump into the sags which have been reported and of course I have no interest in his 'project' succeeding, but getting media coverage is fine, it will only serve to highlight how little 'real' progress they are making in the long term... I dont care if he has 1 billion, 400 million or 10p. I just want the club ran right and in that regard he is making positive changes and the more you hear about the old regime and how they did things well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hunt-Hertz Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 9 hours ago, City Rocker said: 'Tin-pottery', what a lovely definition of our blue friends. Displaying the qualities of hilarious inadequacy and eternal inferiority. Crapness. See also: Bristol Rovers. Tin-pottery. I like that a lot. Almost feel a bit sorry for them. I shouldn't, due to their Stonehenge size chips on their shoulders and all round...twattery. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar BS3 Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 1 hour ago, Hello said: I dont care if he has 1 billion, 400 million or 10p. I just want the club ran right and in that regard he is making positive changes and the more you hear about the old regime and how they did things well.... Can you just list these positive changes, just so we are all clear..? The factual ones that have some substance, rather than the made up or exaggerated ones, please. The list must me longer than I make it, which is currently.. *A new tent with some seats in, squeezed randomly into one of the spaces around your pitch. *A new canopy over the door to the bar. *changing your ownership to an offshore company. *getting some new feasibility studies done about the move out of Bristol, which there are still no results for. *confirming that he's not even a fraction as wealthy as you were all led to believe at the time of the take over. I'm struggling here now, so please, list what he's done (not talked about doing) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar BS3 Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 21 hours ago, Son Of Nob said: Just some light Monday morning tin-pottery. Their marketing department really are on fire this season. "'Ere we wants to sell some of these gurt Gnome things. Take a picture for I. Don't worry about gettin the whole product what we is trying to sell in the photo, but make sure you a good clear shot of my half drunked bottle of water. Now give I a second while I gets dressed up all smart like. I wouldn't wants to look like one of they retard sheeds. I really hates they I do's. bloody hates 'em." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 If you go back over the thread, you will find I have never believed all the press hype about him being a Billionaire which some fans bought into and got carried away with. As for positive changes (and bear in mind it may not seem a great deal to you or other Bristol City fans, but given what we had before they are tangible, positive steps for us and groundwork for the future) The whole back room staff has been overhauled including a football analyst, expanding the medical department, new U21 manager/coach, meals after training etc. Even just spending a few quid on tarting up the bars and making them more welcoming is a positive step. In this first of a series of articles looking at the new recruits to the medical and management teams, we begin with Head of Medical Services, Keith Graham. After a long and chequered career, he has finally been persuaded to work for a football club in a full time capacity, something he vowed never to do! “I’m not sure about a chequered career,” he said when I caught up with him at the training ground this week, “but it’s certainly been a varied one! “I’ve spent a great deal of time working in the NHS and I’ve also worked in private hospitals and in universities. I have undertaken a great deal of work in sport along the way, much of it on a part time basis and one of my earliest positions in sport was with the Crewe Alexandra U-17 team. “I’ve also worked in a number of different sports, including a full time position in rugby. More recently I was the lead medical practitioner for the wheelchair basketball for Team GB Men’s team, and was supposed to be in Rio in September, not Rovers at The Mem!” He’s actually been associated with the club since the end of last season; “The club needed someone at the time to help our push towards promotion and, because I have a private practice in Bristol, I had the flexibility to be available for what they needed so I came in to help out and the gaffer asked me to stay on. “I had to think about it…briefly! However it was too good an opportunity to turn down, though there were a few conditions I need meeting before deciding to come on board.” It should be said that those conditions didn’t include money, they were all about building a medical team to help the club cope with the demands of League One football. As a result of that, we now have a medical team of four people, with a fifth on the way! “I think it’s fair to say that, historically, the physio/medical department here has been a little bit of a one man band with people helping out as and when. “I’ve worked in a lot of different sports, some of which are medically intensive and I know that many sports have a great many staff lot of staff and when you are working in elite sport and professional sport these days, you come to realise that it’s such a specialist area. “Sports specialists, for example, didn’t exist until about 20 years ago and the physio from the local hospital would invariably look after the team. “It’s recognised now, of course, that one person cannot really do everything that’s required, in the medical sense, for a League One club. “Thankfully the manager and the chairman recognise that and when I explained that I didn’t want to accept the position if I had to do everything, they were fully supportive and have allowed me to appoint a strength and conditioning coach and two sports therapists as well as brining in an intern in a voluntary capacity. “That means that, as a group, we can now cover all aspects of the work we need to, from nutrition, to strength and conditioning and sports therapy, and new equipment has also been purchased. “As long as I have been able to show that everything we do is in the best interests of the players, then the club has been extremely supportive and bought into everything we are doing, and attempting to do.” One of the first things a physio, or medical team, is to win the players over and prove to them you know what you’re doing! “If I’m honest, I feel that fell that’s the easy part of the job because I have been physio a long time and I really hope it comes across that I know my stuff and that it sits right with them. It’s all about knowing how to handle certain situations and, having worked in a hospital A & E in my time and dealing with hostile parents, then this job is relatively straightforward!” Whilst it’s difficult to describe a typical working day, the morning always kicks off with a meeting with the manager and his coaching staff. “The manager made a decision, early on, that my desk should be in with him and his staff so my first task of the day is to meet with him and the other staff to update everyone on injuries and rehabilitation programmes. In effect, it’s a daily update on the current welfare of the players and who is available to train, who is still undertaking rehab and who needs to be at the gym. “In other words there is a new assessment of all players every day. The management team will let me know of their plans for the day so we try to manage the players as best we can and, for example, if we know that certain players aren’t going to be involved in a match two days down the line, we can increase their workload while those who are going to be involved will ease off a little bit. “I will give the manager and his staff as much information as I possibly can, but he makes all decisions. “The injured players arrive before those who will be training and they need a review of where they are at in terms of recovery. Work is done by sports therapists, mainly, while the strength and conditioning coach will start to prep them for activating muscle groups and begin a pre warm up. “Then, when training begins the injured players, or those on rehab programmes, will spend more time with the sports therapists, the strength and conditioning coach, or myself.” These days, of course, players are monitored almost all of the time and the recent introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS), has given the medical team access to even more data on which they can assess if a player is ready to resume training following injury. “GPS measures everything, from what the players are doing, how fast or slow they are moving, acceleration/deceleration. You name it, we can monitor it! “At the end of a training session, for example, we can tell how many metres a player has moved, what speed they have moved at, how fast they have gone and the system also monitors their heart rate and whether some players are struggling, or haven’t worked hard enough. Not every player will get the same benefit from the same session; some will find it easy, others will find it hard, so we can change/adapt individual programmes in order make a difference “We are still in early stages of using the system, but it will eventually really help what we do in terms of coaching and rehab work. For example, if a player has been out for six weeks and is covering the same amount of distance that is required in a match, then that will assist the manager in making an informed decision as to whether he should return to play. “Injured players are also monitored. When they are following a rehab programme we watch their statistics and if that player is a full back, for example, we can compare him to other full backs in the same training session and what they would be expected to do in a game to make sure that they have undertaken a rehab load that matches a match load. “If the statistics show that a player on a rehab programme has covered more distance than in a game and is quicker and has made more contacts and is, technically, ready for a game then I will sign him off on his fitness and say that he is medically ready to train. “The strength and conditioning coach will sign him off to say that he has undertaken the rehab protocols with them and the coaches take them for the final phase. It’s one thing to say that you are fit, but another to say that you can play and so it is a group decision as to whether or not a player can resume training. “Essentially, an injured player starts with me and as I do less with them they do more strength and conditioning work, though we make sure that the are having an input. There are players who are fit to play, but the coaches might not feel that they are ready to play and, ultimately, it’s the manager who determines if a player will play. “Obviously, the fixture list has an impact on the speed of process and we also have to beware that rest is as important as hard work. The first priority for any player is that he has to be able to play and perform and be fit and ready to play. The second priority is that players have to be able to recover from playing. The old school of thinking, whereby a player was expected to be in every day and work hard every day is not the model anyone adheres to nowadays. “If I’m honest, football is a bit behind the times when compared to many other sports and I have been on courses where some physios believe GPS to be a waste of time and say they can tell if someone is fit just by looking at him. That’s fine, but we will continue to work in the best way we see fit for Bristol Rovers and that will involve using GPS.” The team off the pitch, therefore, is just as important as the team on the pitch; “We have to work together and I believe that communication is the key. I tend to lead the flow of information into the management team, but the medical team often works in different places at different times and coordinating what one player is doing on three sites is not always straightforward. “Players sometimes have to be cajoled through system a little bit but communication is everything and we have a method of communicating that we will use three or four times a day which means that everyone always has the same information. Nothing is hidden from the staff. It’s really important that there is no division within the medical team and a lot that is down to having the right staff around you. “I was fortunate in that I inherited some of staff who were here last season, so they knew the players and I were well liked and we brought them on board in a more formal capacity, which was an easy decision.” In spite of some initial hesitancy about accepting the job, you get the impression that he’s happy in his role; “For 20 years said I would never work in football, yet here I am working for a football club! “My plan was to finish my involvement in sport in Rio, something I told my wife before accepting this job. However the offer to come here was a good one, with the brief of building a team to be part a of a new set up in terms of a new stadium and training ground. “Manager Darrell Clarke impressed me with his outlook and whilst I’m sure that there are many managers in football I might not be able to work with, Darrell isn’t one of them and part of my decision to accept this position was based on the manager’s personality and the way he conducted himself. “There is so much to look forward to here; I’m thoroughly enjoying my job and believe there are exciting times ahead.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC11 Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 13 minutes ago, Hello said: If you go back over the thread, you will find I have never believed all the press hype about him being a Billionaire which some fans bought into and got carried away with. As for positive changes (and bear in mind it may not seem a great deal to you or other Bristol City fans, but given what we had before they are tangible, positive steps for us and groundwork for the future) The whole back room staff has been overhauled including a football analyst, expanding the medical department, new U21 manager/coach, meals after training etc. Even just spending a few quid on tarting up the bars and making them more welcoming is a positive step. In this first of a series of articles looking at the new recruits to the medical and management teams, we begin with Head of Medical Services, Keith Graham. After a long and chequered career, he has finally been persuaded to work for a football club in a full time capacity, something he vowed never to do! “I’m not sure about a chequered career,” he said when I caught up with him at the training ground this week, “but it’s certainly been a varied one! “I’ve spent a great deal of time working in the NHS and I’ve also worked in private hospitals and in universities. I have undertaken a great deal of work in sport along the way, much of it on a part time basis and one of my earliest positions in sport was with the Crewe Alexandra U-17 team. “I’ve also worked in a number of different sports, including a full time position in rugby. More recently I was the lead medical practitioner for the wheelchair basketball for Team GB Men’s team, and was supposed to be in Rio in September, not Rovers at The Mem!” He’s actually been associated with the club since the end of last season; “The club needed someone at the time to help our push towards promotion and, because I have a private practice in Bristol, I had the flexibility to be available for what they needed so I came in to help out and the gaffer asked me to stay on. “I had to think about it…briefly! However it was too good an opportunity to turn down, though there were a few conditions I need meeting before deciding to come on board.” It should be said that those conditions didn’t include money, they were all about building a medical team to help the club cope with the demands of League One football. As a result of that, we now have a medical team of four people, with a fifth on the way! “I think it’s fair to say that, historically, the physio/medical department here has been a little bit of a one man band with people helping out as and when. “I’ve worked in a lot of different sports, some of which are medically intensive and I know that many sports have a great many staff lot of staff and when you are working in elite sport and professional sport these days, you come to realise that it’s such a specialist area. “Sports specialists, for example, didn’t exist until about 20 years ago and the physio from the local hospital would invariably look after the team. “It’s recognised now, of course, that one person cannot really do everything that’s required, in the medical sense, for a League One club. “Thankfully the manager and the chairman recognise that and when I explained that I didn’t want to accept the position if I had to do everything, they were fully supportive and have allowed me to appoint a strength and conditioning coach and two sports therapists as well as brining in an intern in a voluntary capacity. “That means that, as a group, we can now cover all aspects of the work we need to, from nutrition, to strength and conditioning and sports therapy, and new equipment has also been purchased. “As long as I have been able to show that everything we do is in the best interests of the players, then the club has been extremely supportive and bought into everything we are doing, and attempting to do.” One of the first things a physio, or medical team, is to win the players over and prove to them you know what you’re doing! “If I’m honest, I feel that fell that’s the easy part of the job because I have been physio a long time and I really hope it comes across that I know my stuff and that it sits right with them. It’s all about knowing how to handle certain situations and, having worked in a hospital A & E in my time and dealing with hostile parents, then this job is relatively straightforward!” Whilst it’s difficult to describe a typical working day, the morning always kicks off with a meeting with the manager and his coaching staff. “The manager made a decision, early on, that my desk should be in with him and his staff so my first task of the day is to meet with him and the other staff to update everyone on injuries and rehabilitation programmes. In effect, it’s a daily update on the current welfare of the players and who is available to train, who is still undertaking rehab and who needs to be at the gym. “In other words there is a new assessment of all players every day. The management team will let me know of their plans for the day so we try to manage the players as best we can and, for example, if we know that certain players aren’t going to be involved in a match two days down the line, we can increase their workload while those who are going to be involved will ease off a little bit. “I will give the manager and his staff as much information as I possibly can, but he makes all decisions. “The injured players arrive before those who will be training and they need a review of where they are at in terms of recovery. Work is done by sports therapists, mainly, while the strength and conditioning coach will start to prep them for activating muscle groups and begin a pre warm up. “Then, when training begins the injured players, or those on rehab programmes, will spend more time with the sports therapists, the strength and conditioning coach, or myself.” These days, of course, players are monitored almost all of the time and the recent introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS), has given the medical team access to even more data on which they can assess if a player is ready to resume training following injury. “GPS measures everything, from what the players are doing, how fast or slow they are moving, acceleration/deceleration. You name it, we can monitor it! “At the end of a training session, for example, we can tell how many metres a player has moved, what speed they have moved at, how fast they have gone and the system also monitors their heart rate and whether some players are struggling, or haven’t worked hard enough. Not every player will get the same benefit from the same session; some will find it easy, others will find it hard, so we can change/adapt individual programmes in order make a difference “We are still in early stages of using the system, but it will eventually really help what we do in terms of coaching and rehab work. For example, if a player has been out for six weeks and is covering the same amount of distance that is required in a match, then that will assist the manager in making an informed decision as to whether he should return to play. “Injured players are also monitored. When they are following a rehab programme we watch their statistics and if that player is a full back, for example, we can compare him to other full backs in the same training session and what they would be expected to do in a game to make sure that they have undertaken a rehab load that matches a match load. “If the statistics show that a player on a rehab programme has covered more distance than in a game and is quicker and has made more contacts and is, technically, ready for a game then I will sign him off on his fitness and say that he is medically ready to train. “The strength and conditioning coach will sign him off to say that he has undertaken the rehab protocols with them and the coaches take them for the final phase. It’s one thing to say that you are fit, but another to say that you can play and so it is a group decision as to whether or not a player can resume training. “Essentially, an injured player starts with me and as I do less with them they do more strength and conditioning work, though we make sure that the are having an input. There are players who are fit to play, but the coaches might not feel that they are ready to play and, ultimately, it’s the manager who determines if a player will play. “Obviously, the fixture list has an impact on the speed of process and we also have to beware that rest is as important as hard work. The first priority for any player is that he has to be able to play and perform and be fit and ready to play. The second priority is that players have to be able to recover from playing. The old school of thinking, whereby a player was expected to be in every day and work hard every day is not the model anyone adheres to nowadays. “If I’m honest, football is a bit behind the times when compared to many other sports and I have been on courses where some physios believe GPS to be a waste of time and say they can tell if someone is fit just by looking at him. That’s fine, but we will continue to work in the best way we see fit for Bristol Rovers and that will involve using GPS.” The team off the pitch, therefore, is just as important as the team on the pitch; “We have to work together and I believe that communication is the key. I tend to lead the flow of information into the management team, but the medical team often works in different places at different times and coordinating what one player is doing on three sites is not always straightforward. “Players sometimes have to be cajoled through system a little bit but communication is everything and we have a method of communicating that we will use three or four times a day which means that everyone always has the same information. Nothing is hidden from the staff. It’s really important that there is no division within the medical team and a lot that is down to having the right staff around you. “I was fortunate in that I inherited some of staff who were here last season, so they knew the players and I were well liked and we brought them on board in a more formal capacity, which was an easy decision.” In spite of some initial hesitancy about accepting the job, you get the impression that he’s happy in his role; “For 20 years said I would never work in football, yet here I am working for a football club! “My plan was to finish my involvement in sport in Rio, something I told my wife before accepting this job. However the offer to come here was a good one, with the brief of building a team to be part a of a new set up in terms of a new stadium and training ground. “Manager Darrell Clarke impressed me with his outlook and whilst I’m sure that there are many managers in football I might not be able to work with, Darrell isn’t one of them and part of my decision to accept this position was based on the manager’s personality and the way he conducted himself. “There is so much to look forward to here; I’m thoroughly enjoying my job and believe there are exciting times ahead.” You seem to have a new Physio, well done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar BS3 Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 @HelloThat's a very long way of saying that you've appointed a new medical team (the head of which doesn't really want to work in football and will probably be off when DC leaves) and slapped some paint on the walls of the supporters bar. Honestly, this shows just how many light years you are behind us. Even if you got promoted and we got relegated, you'd be so far behind us in every other way possible, it's just not sustainable. Not until you move into a new, fit for purpose stadium and become the pride of South Glos franchise. What is it about gashead's that makes them so gullible to the crap fed to them by whatever board are in charge..? You don't just accept it, but lap it up and boast about it and every time you are left with egg on your face's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxi for hunt Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 29 minutes ago, Hello said: If you go back over the thread, you will find I have never believed all the press hype about him being a Billionaire which some fans bought into and got carried away with. As for positive changes (and bear in mind it may not seem a great deal to you or other Bristol City fans, but given what we had before they are tangible, positive steps for us and groundwork for the future) The whole back room staff has been overhauled including a football analyst, expanding the medical department, new U21 manager/coach, meals after training etc. Even just spending a few quid on tarting up the bars and making them more welcoming is a positive step. In this first of a series of articles looking at the new recruits to the medical and management teams, we begin with Head of Medical Services, Keith Graham. After a long and chequered career, he has finally been persuaded to work for a football club in a full time capacity, something he vowed never to do! “I’m not sure about a chequered career,” he said when I caught up with him at the training ground this week, “but it’s certainly been a varied one! “I’ve spent a great deal of time working in the NHS and I’ve also worked in private hospitals and in universities. I have undertaken a great deal of work in sport along the way, much of it on a part time basis and one of my earliest positions in sport was with the Crewe Alexandra U-17 team. “I’ve also worked in a number of different sports, including a full time position in rugby. More recently I was the lead medical practitioner for the wheelchair basketball for Team GB Men’s team, and was supposed to be in Rio in September, not Rovers at The Mem!” He’s actually been associated with the club since the end of last season; “The club needed someone at the time to help our push towards promotion and, because I have a private practice in Bristol, I had the flexibility to be available for what they needed so I came in to help out and the gaffer asked me to stay on. “I had to think about it…briefly! However it was too good an opportunity to turn down, though there were a few conditions I need meeting before deciding to come on board.” It should be said that those conditions didn’t include money, they were all about building a medical team to help the club cope with the demands of League One football. As a result of that, we now have a medical team of four people, with a fifth on the way! “I think it’s fair to say that, historically, the physio/medical department here has been a little bit of a one man band with people helping out as and when. “I’ve worked in a lot of different sports, some of which are medically intensive and I know that many sports have a great many staff lot of staff and when you are working in elite sport and professional sport these days, you come to realise that it’s such a specialist area. “Sports specialists, for example, didn’t exist until about 20 years ago and the physio from the local hospital would invariably look after the team. “It’s recognised now, of course, that one person cannot really do everything that’s required, in the medical sense, for a League One club. “Thankfully the manager and the chairman recognise that and when I explained that I didn’t want to accept the position if I had to do everything, they were fully supportive and have allowed me to appoint a strength and conditioning coach and two sports therapists as well as brining in an intern in a voluntary capacity. “That means that, as a group, we can now cover all aspects of the work we need to, from nutrition, to strength and conditioning and sports therapy, and new equipment has also been purchased. “As long as I have been able to show that everything we do is in the best interests of the players, then the club has been extremely supportive and bought into everything we are doing, and attempting to do.” One of the first things a physio, or medical team, is to win the players over and prove to them you know what you’re doing! “If I’m honest, I feel that fell that’s the easy part of the job because I have been physio a long time and I really hope it comes across that I know my stuff and that it sits right with them. It’s all about knowing how to handle certain situations and, having worked in a hospital A & E in my time and dealing with hostile parents, then this job is relatively straightforward!” Whilst it’s difficult to describe a typical working day, the morning always kicks off with a meeting with the manager and his coaching staff. “The manager made a decision, early on, that my desk should be in with him and his staff so my first task of the day is to meet with him and the other staff to update everyone on injuries and rehabilitation programmes. In effect, it’s a daily update on the current welfare of the players and who is available to train, who is still undertaking rehab and who needs to be at the gym. “In other words there is a new assessment of all players every day. The management team will let me know of their plans for the day so we try to manage the players as best we can and, for example, if we know that certain players aren’t going to be involved in a match two days down the line, we can increase their workload while those who are going to be involved will ease off a little bit. “I will give the manager and his staff as much information as I possibly can, but he makes all decisions. “The injured players arrive before those who will be training and they need a review of where they are at in terms of recovery. Work is done by sports therapists, mainly, while the strength and conditioning coach will start to prep them for activating muscle groups and begin a pre warm up. “Then, when training begins the injured players, or those on rehab programmes, will spend more time with the sports therapists, the strength and conditioning coach, or myself.” These days, of course, players are monitored almost all of the time and the recent introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS), has given the medical team access to even more data on which they can assess if a player is ready to resume training following injury. “GPS measures everything, from what the players are doing, how fast or slow they are moving, acceleration/deceleration. You name it, we can monitor it! “At the end of a training session, for example, we can tell how many metres a player has moved, what speed they have moved at, how fast they have gone and the system also monitors their heart rate and whether some players are struggling, or haven’t worked hard enough. Not every player will get the same benefit from the same session; some will find it easy, others will find it hard, so we can change/adapt individual programmes in order make a difference “We are still in early stages of using the system, but it will eventually really help what we do in terms of coaching and rehab work. For example, if a player has been out for six weeks and is covering the same amount of distance that is required in a match, then that will assist the manager in making an informed decision as to whether he should return to play. “Injured players are also monitored. When they are following a rehab programme we watch their statistics and if that player is a full back, for example, we can compare him to other full backs in the same training session and what they would be expected to do in a game to make sure that they have undertaken a rehab load that matches a match load. “If the statistics show that a player on a rehab programme has covered more distance than in a game and is quicker and has made more contacts and is, technically, ready for a game then I will sign him off on his fitness and say that he is medically ready to train. “The strength and conditioning coach will sign him off to say that he has undertaken the rehab protocols with them and the coaches take them for the final phase. It’s one thing to say that you are fit, but another to say that you can play and so it is a group decision as to whether or not a player can resume training. “Essentially, an injured player starts with me and as I do less with them they do more strength and conditioning work, though we make sure that the are having an input. There are players who are fit to play, but the coaches might not feel that they are ready to play and, ultimately, it’s the manager who determines if a player will play. “Obviously, the fixture list has an impact on the speed of process and we also have to beware that rest is as important as hard work. The first priority for any player is that he has to be able to play and perform and be fit and ready to play. The second priority is that players have to be able to recover from playing. The old school of thinking, whereby a player was expected to be in every day and work hard every day is not the model anyone adheres to nowadays. “If I’m honest, football is a bit behind the times when compared to many other sports and I have been on courses where some physios believe GPS to be a waste of time and say they can tell if someone is fit just by looking at him. That’s fine, but we will continue to work in the best way we see fit for Bristol Rovers and that will involve using GPS.” The team off the pitch, therefore, is just as important as the team on the pitch; “We have to work together and I believe that communication is the key. I tend to lead the flow of information into the management team, but the medical team often works in different places at different times and coordinating what one player is doing on three sites is not always straightforward. “Players sometimes have to be cajoled through system a little bit but communication is everything and we have a method of communicating that we will use three or four times a day which means that everyone always has the same information. Nothing is hidden from the staff. It’s really important that there is no division within the medical team and a lot that is down to having the right staff around you. “I was fortunate in that I inherited some of staff who were here last season, so they knew the players and I were well liked and we brought them on board in a more formal capacity, which was an easy decision.” In spite of some initial hesitancy about accepting the job, you get the impression that he’s happy in his role; “For 20 years said I would never work in football, yet here I am working for a football club! “My plan was to finish my involvement in sport in Rio, something I told my wife before accepting this job. However the offer to come here was a good one, with the brief of building a team to be part a of a new set up in terms of a new stadium and training ground. “Manager Darrell Clarke impressed me with his outlook and whilst I’m sure that there are many managers in football I might not be able to work with, Darrell isn’t one of them and part of my decision to accept this position was based on the manager’s personality and the way he conducted himself. “There is so much to look forward to here; I’m thoroughly enjoying my job and believe there are exciting times ahead.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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