popillius
Well-Known Member
This is a narrative I don't buy. Everytime I have seen Tielemans and I mean, every single time, he has looked perfectly capable of 90 minutes. He often looks like he's knackered but he did from day one. He doesn't look any more 'tired' now than he has ever done.
His form is poor at the moment but I think that's for a variety of reasons, not least of all the form of Ndidi, Maddison, Barnes and most of the defence behind him. They have been as poor as him for the most part so the problem is one that extends way beyond him. I totally understand the argument about rhythm. It is widely accepted that some sportsmen and women, need a consistency which keeps them in a pattern of form. There are many, many examples for example, of runners who complete a marathon a day for months at a time before a major meeting so that their bodies are rhythmically atuned to the event. My wife often treats patients who are professional sports competitors with a variety of injuries and reccommends more rather than less training so as to put the body into a more rhythmic pattern. I have spoken to her about this and she is very much accepting of the concept of him having to play more to keep or get him up to speed.
It isn't ilogical that Tielemans needs to play much more often than others. Maybe the time away from playing during the summer is what has altered his rhythm? From what I was listening to yesterday, he seemed better and much more like the old Tielemans; perhaps he is beginning to get back into that rhythm that we know and love.
