Part 7 - Les Ferdinand has to go

Spurs Need To Go Mental - Part 7


In Part 6 of the Spurs Need To Go Mental series last night I looked at Gareth Bale and asked why our players don't have his mental attitude and suggested a mere £20,000 could have prevented the Erik Lamela fiasco. Spurs could do more for their foreign imports and the players could take responsibility themselves.

In Part 7 of the Spurs Need To Go Mental series tonight I talk a little about nutrition, suggest Spurs should employ the best staff rather than mates and that I believe Les Ferdinand therefore has to go.

The body is a temple, well to a footballer or any athlete it should be, it is their livelihood. It should be looked after all the time to enable optimum performance in every event and every training session.


Les Ferdinand has to go


Nutrition and medicine has advanced and Premier League clubs are paying far more attention to these details that they once used to. Massage is mandatory the day after every game and after a day off for instance.

For two hours after exercise the body will soak up as many nutrients as it can so it is essential to feed footballers as soon after exercise as possible to provide optimum recovery ready for the following days training.

The 4 hour period leading up to physical exercise is critical and strict nutrition and hydration principles should be observed in the player is to be in optimum physical condition. Failure to adhere to these principles and his performance will be affected, the longer the game goes on the more the effect will become apparent.

Tiredness leads to a loss of concentration and mistakes, it will lead to wrong decisions being made and the more wrong decisions the greater detrimental affect it has on the team as a whole of course.

The body sleeps for 8 hours where it takes in no nutrition but uses up the carbohydrate reserves it has. For a nutrition and hydration programme to work to its optimum then a strict diet has to be observed thus players who go on a drinking binge or tuck into a takeaway are destroying it's effect.

Caffine is a big no no before or after exercise as this affects hydration. Players shouldn't eat for 2 hours prior to exercise other than a light snack to avoid hunger. Doing so dramatically effects the benefits of training and over exerts the body as the heart is then trying to pump blood to the muscles while also trying to pump it to the digestive system, putting the individual at risk of a heart attack.

Highly trained athletes can divert blood to the muscles better than you or I as their body has been trained to do this. This does mean that the 2 hour period is far more critical for them as they will have minimal blood (5%) to maintain the digestive system.


In simple terms the less you eat before exercise the more blood you have available for the muscles and the better your performance. Do not take that as medical advice and not eat anything after waking and then making yourself unwell. If you are going to exercise consult your doctor.


Recent Posts - The Spurs Need To Go Mental Series
Part 6 - £20,000 would have avoided the Lamela fiasco
Part 5 - Spurs need Gareth Bale's attitude 
Part 4 - Spurs need to assess players better
Part 3 - Spurs players should learn from Harry Kane
Part 2 - The mental shift Spurs must make to be successful
Part 1 - Spurs need to go mental


There are many many aspects that can be studied to make just minor adjustments and I haven't even scratched the surface with nutrition but the room for improvement and the room for a player negating that improvement is great.

Are Tottenham employing the best nutritionist, the best medical staff, the best coaches or are we employing mates? If you think about it football clubs tend to let their managers employ their friends, people they have worked with before, not necessarily the best people for the job.

Now that is another aspect which could be vastly improved upon. If we want to be the best we should be employing the best principles within our financial constraints.

To be frank Les Ferdinand to me signifies all that is wrong. He is Tim Sherwood's mate but as a coach you have to have grave doubts about him. As a player excellent but players do not always make the best managers or coaches. Once they stop playing all they have to draw upon is how they were coached and if that was wrong they will just repeat it.


Les Ferdinand has to go


Les Ferdinand is a striker who couldn't teach Jermain Defoe to attack the 6 yard box for tap-ins or any of our centre-forwards to get on the end of a cross. Why not?

Now as a first team coach he doesn't see the point of a holding midfielder when every successful team uses one. That sort of mentality is the mentality we could do without.

If you think about it a player at the end of his career has to then learn a new trade and while he is learning that trade he is given expensive assets he is supposed to be improving with out dated and antiquated knowledge.

I mentioned it before, fire and passion will get you so far and they are vital but without knowledge you are lost.

Tottenham should be sourcing the best coaches in all areas for the club to be the best it can be and I don't think we do.

In Part 8 of the Spurs Need To Go Mental series tomorrow night look a tSuccession Planning, Fan Bonding, Performance Responsibility, Reading The Game and the attention to detail needed to be a success.


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