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Gerard Deulofeu

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RickyMartin said:
He's a very talented lad but miles off with his application, consistency and fitness.

I'm not sticking the knife in but he wouldn't even get on Barcelona's bench.
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I think Del's main need now is a good coach. In the past (at senior level), he's had Martinez - who to a point over-endulged him and then Emery who tried the 'tough love' technique.

He needs a balance and I think RK will provide that. It's not like he even had a bad season last year, and there's certainly positives to build on. Good thing is he is going to have a proper pre-season, along with key players like Jags, Baines, Kev and Barry and even fringe players like Lennon and Cleverley. I can see us having a strong start to the season as they'll all be fit - granted we'll have to get the signings done early should Lukaku have gone by August.
 

BlueToff said:
I think Del's main need now is a good coach. In the past (at senior level), he's had Martinez - who to a point over-endulged him and then Emery who tried the 'tough love' technique.

He needs a balance and I think RK will provide that. It's not like he even had a bad season last year, and there's certainly positives to build on. Good thing is he is going to have a proper pre-season, along with key players like Jags, Baines, Kev and Barry and even fringe players like Lennon and Cleverley. I can see us having a strong start to the season as they'll all be fit - granted we'll have to get the signings done early should Lukaku have gone by August.
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I agree, I think he's at a pivotal stage at his career now, and hopefully with a good coaching set up he will find his niche rather than the two extremes mentioned.

He's been talked as a promising talent for the past 3 years, he showed how good he can be in flashes for half a season, it's time to see if he's the real deal.

If I was him though, I genuinely wouldn't be having a holiday. His fitness for a Premier League athlete is embarrassing.
 
RickyMartin said:
I agree, I think he's at a pivotal stage at his career now, and hopefully with a good coaching set up he will find his niche rather than the two extremes mentioned.

He's been talked as a promising talent for the past 3 years, he showed how good he can be in flashes for half a season, it's time to see if he's the real deal.

If I was him though, I genuinely wouldn't be having a holiday. His fitness for a Premier League athlete is embarrassing.
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Agree that it's his time to kick on mate, and the same could also be said for Barkley. They're 22/23 this season and they could start to do with stepping up the consistency - as the quality is already there in both cases.

Can't agree with the last bit though. Some players are naturally more fit than others, and though it's something Del needs to build on, he's never going to be a player who can go full-throttle for 80-90 minutes. His quality comes in short, sharp bursts. He also had the hamstring injury in pre-season last year which I do think was always a worry for the player and coaching staff as the season went on.

I also don't think Martinez's training was in anyway garnered towards fitness. If you were naturally fit, like McCarthy, Lennon, Coleman, Barry etc, it's not as much of an issue - but for the likes of Barkley, Del, Lukaku - it really is (or was).

There's nothing wrong with him having a holiday. In fact, it's exactly what he should be doing. A month off to switch off and recuperate in the sun will do his fitness far more good than bad - especially considering he missed the last few games due to an injury.

Also, it's not like they go on holiday and eat and drink like the rest of us do. He'll be in the gym every day, guaranteed - nothing major - but enough to keep any weight from piling on or the fitness levels dropping too dramatically.

After that, as I said, it's about getting him fully fit and injury free during pre-season.
 
BlueToff said:
Agree that it's his time to kick on mate, and the same could also be said for Barkley. They're 22/23 this season and they could start to do with stepping up the consistency - as the quality is already there in both cases.

Can't agree with the last bit though. Some players are naturally more fit than others, and though it's something Del needs to build on, he's never going to be a player who can go full-throttle for 80-90 minutes. His quality comes in short, sharp bursts. He also had the hamstring injury in pre-season last year which I do think was always a worry for the player and coaching staff as the season went on.

I also don't think Martinez's training was in anyway garnered towards fitness. If you were naturally fit, like McCarthy, Lennon, Coleman, Barry etc, it's not as much of an issue - but for the likes of Barkley, Del, Lukaku - it really is (or was).

There's nothing wrong with him having a holiday. In fact, it's exactly what he should be doing. A month off to switch off and recuperate in the sun will do his fitness far more good than bad - especially considering he missed the last few games due to an injury.

Also, it's not like they go on holiday and eat and drink like the rest of us do. He'll be in the gym every day, guaranteed - nothing major - but enough to keep any weight from piling on or the fitness levels dropping too dramatically.

After that, as I said, it's about getting him fully fit and injury free during pre-season.
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I just meant me personally, if I was a professional athlete who had bundles of talent yet was so far behind the average when it comes to fitness then I'd be doing everything to change that.

Obviously he's allowed a holiday, everyone needs a bit of time off to recuperate and I hold no grudges for that.

However, if you want to become the best you've got to make major sacrifices. You look at some sportsmen, taking another sport for example, remember when Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray first came through, they were gasping after an hour on court and it was drastically affecting their performance.

They knew they had to change their diet, conditioning and lifestyle, and look where it has got them, to the very top, albeit in a different sport. You could use Ronaldo as a footballing example.
 

RickyMartin said:
I just meant me personally, if I was a professional athlete who had bundles of talent yet was so far behind the average when it comes to fitness then I'd be doing everything to change that.

Obviously he's allowed a holiday, everyone needs a bit of time off to recuperate and I hold no grudges for that.

However, if you want to become the best you've got to make major sacrifices. You look at some sportsmen, taking another sport for example, remember when Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray first came through, they were gasping after an hour on court and it was drastically affecting their performance.

They knew they had to change their diet, conditioning and lifestyle, and look where it has got them, to the very top, albeit in a different sport. You could use Ronaldo as a footballing example.
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Yep, I do agree with that. But even so, I think at this stage in his career he needs the time off, and then it's down to the coaching to get him on the right track. He's not miles away, like.

Get him rested and fully fit (a few weeks in the sun will do him a world of good) and then have him and the rest of the squad back raring for the season starting. Then his time to kick on will come.

Football is so much less of an individual sport, which is why it can sometimes be different. I know you use Ronaldo as an example, but even he was more about practice with the ball etc than fitness at Del's age. It wasn't until he move to Madrid at the age of 26 that he started to turn into this utter freak that he is today - and that's probably down to the fact that he knew he couldn't forever be the pacey winger so he needed different strings to his bow, so to speak.
 
RickyMartin said:
I really really wouldn't worry about that, Barcelona are not going to sign him back.
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Don't be too sure. They haven't normally bought players back in the past but they are buying Denis Suarez back this summer and weren't able to afford Nolito in the summer. Basically Messi's wages are putting them into the poor house. They might see Gerry as a cheap option for the bench.

Plus Gerry has the talent to just explode and become one of the best players in the league. He almost did it last year until his form and fitness dipped. If he does that while still under a buyback then it could end up costing us.

Although I don't think Gerry would be under any obligation to leave but not sure. I don't think Suarez is going by the protracted negotiation on his contract.
 
RickyMartin said:
I just meant me personally, if I was a professional athlete who had bundles of talent yet was so far behind the average when it comes to fitness then I'd be doing everything to change that.

Obviously he's allowed a holiday, everyone needs a bit of time off to recuperate and I hold no grudges for that.

However, if you want to become the best you've got to make major sacrifices. You look at some sportsmen, taking another sport for example, remember when Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray first came through, they were gasping after an hour on court and it was drastically affecting their performance.

They knew they had to change their diet, conditioning and lifestyle, and look where it has got them, to the very top, albeit in a different sport. You could use Ronaldo as a footballing example.
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To be fair he posted a pic of him doing fitness work up a mountain on his holidays last week IIRC so he's not lying on a sun lounger every day.
 

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