Fitness

Couldn’t help thinking in the second half on Saturday that if this team has the energy to press like we did in 31 degrees we’re going to overpower some teams when it gets a bit cooler.
It seems we also have the mobility and flexibility in midfield and defence to cover the gaps the high press inevitably creates.

Quoted from 123614

Your tackle is not something that is on display every Saturday...................or is it!!  

I'll dm you a free link to my onlyfans page 🙃
Be warned tho....im not as fit as the team lol

Quoted from MidnightMariner

The boys are certainly fit for sure  but how can you ask that question seriously without seeing all other L2 teams play.?
And I would argue fitness is only part of a successful team  desire plays just as big a part I'd have thought.
Utm

Thankfully we have that in spades!

They're fit, but I assume your question also relates to our habit of scoring goals late on. This is mental strength and character as well as conditioning. A reflection on the sort of lads Paul Hurst has brought in. In both of his spells to be fair, wrong uns, those slow to take onboard his demands or those that haven't bought into what he's trying to achieve don't last long.

It’s a well known fact that Hurst wanted a strength and conditioning coach and the previous regime weren’t arsed because it cost money.

All clubs have these types of coaches these days and whilst I do think we’re extremely fit, I’d imagine other teams are equally as fit.

Our late goals come from a combination of things including fitness and desire. Self belief and endeavour.

Attitude and desire go a long way in getting late goals but you need to be physically fit to still be in with a chance. Most teams have fitness staff and that stops you falling behind in that area but I think we have some physical freaks of nature in the ranks such as Green and Clifton. Waterfall is a machine too, he just doesn't seem to get injuries.

Whilst attitude and desire goes a long way, you don't win 3 games in extra time in 2 weeks without being fitter than your opponents. Why we are fitter is in part down to the great work of our coaching staff but also recruitment.

Some Rochdale fans on their forum commented on the fitness levels of both teams. They noted that we conserved energy were as they went full on and were knackered by half time.
One interesting comment was that they watched both teams warm up before kick off. They went full on were as we conserved energy in the heat and only did a gentle warm up.
Small margins

Quoted from 123614

Would it be fair to say that we may have one of the fittest squads in League 2?

Definitely. A number of them are quite good looking but for me, personally, it's the rugged manliness of Waterfall that stands out.

I genuinely wonder how much of our fitness and desire is helped by the atmosphere created by our fans.  It must be a buzz late on when your flagging to have our lot roaring you on.
Of course the fitness level has to be there to.begin with, but nevertheless I do believe we play a part.
UTM

Quoted from mimma

Some Rochdale fans on their forum commented on the fitness levels of both teams. They noted that we conserved energy were as they went full on and were knackered by half time.
One interesting comment was that they watched both teams warm up before kick off. They went full on were as we conserved energy in the heat and only did a gentle warm up.
Small margins

They didn't look unfit in the slightest. They pressed hard from the very beginning and dominated. We didn't press until the 2nd half, not surprising our players looked like they had a bit more at the end, but Rochdale didn't look tired to me, just we raised our game.