Tottenham Talk on Saturday 4th Sept
Tottenham Talk on Saturday 4th Sept
There are several traits of this blog, generally a positive outlook towards Spurs and the positive fans who support it, plus a variety of content you don't get elsewhere.
Today in our Spurs Chat section of Tottenham Talk on Saturday 4th Sept, I'll teach you about mattresses and how the wrong one affects your sleep.
It was the approach Sir Clive Woodward took with the England Rugby Union World Cup winning team, which then saw England go into decline when he left and the approach wasn't continued.
Foolishness from which England have struggled to recover since 2003, when we became the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win it and that remains to this day (runners-up twice also).
A mattress you say, what difference is that going to make?
Dr Jonny Bloomfield has worked with golfer Darren Clarke and the England Rugby team and he explains the difference a mattress makes.
She is on Twitter and her Twitter handle (or whatever it's called) is @HSperfnutrition.
One such small improvement Spurs made was buying mattresses for every player, one for home and one for the lodge.
This came about because of a senior player who had trouble sleeping and had installed a hypoxic chamber in his house (an area of varying size that simulates high-altitude conditions).
Research by Spurs Head Physio Geoff Scott threw up a company in Tyneside, Mammoth and their mattresses which had the desired effect, so much so that the club ordered mattresses and pillows for all the playing staff.
“Our new Player's Lodge is a unique environment for our players to sleep and recover in. Everything in it is designed to maximise sleep and the mattresses are a part of that system.
“We have a chosen specification for our players, the mattresses we think will give them the best benefit for sleep and recovery the night before a game. We have also provided them to the players to have at home to have a consistency of sleep environment.”
A mattress you say, what difference is that going to make?
Dr Jonny Bloomfield has worked with golfer Darren Clarke and the England Rugby team and he explains the difference a mattress makes.
“The entire body is supported evenly, from all major points, with these mattresses. The spine remains in a neutral posture and the hips, shoulder and neck are all supported evenly, even if you’re with a partner.
“The body needs to be supported and comfortable with the spine in a neutral position or else there’s the potential for an ache and pain to emerge, which can then become an injury when you’re training.
“The mattresses are made of Medical Grade Foam, combined with pocket springs on some models. The way the foam is cut and shaped allows heat to be taken away from the body, while cooler air is directed back to it. Staying cool is key to getting to sleep and staying asleep.
“Basic foam mattresses typically feature a solid slab of memory foam, which doesn’t allow airflow or dispersion of heat from the body.“You can overheat, lose a lot of sweat and wake up very dehydrated. The slab also locks you into a posture, restricting the freedom to move."
The Lodge at Tottenham has 40 bedrooms and incorporates a digital tactical room.
When arriving back in the early hours from overseas matches, players would obviously then have to travel home before they could get any rest, the Lodge solved that.
The players have their own room in the Lodge, designed for them and with the same mattress that they have at home to aid sleeping continuity.
There are special pillows, blackout curtains and the temperature changes automatically for the time of day.
Evidence of the effect that this attention to detail makes is an improvement in recovery says Head Physio Geoff Smith.
“It became obvious to us that there was an improvement in recovery. There has been a significant reduction in minor neck and back problems within our squad, which were often caused by poor mattresses.
“Quality sleep helps our players recover faster and this, in turn, helps to improve performance.”
I have no doubt many of you see this as poppycock but there have been studies into sleep and the effect it has on performance.
Football is a mental game so if your brain isn't in peak condition then you won't produce a peak performance.
A study in 2017 by Cheri Mah at the University of California on Major League Baseball players showed a decrease in fatigue and an increase in cognitive performance.
A study in Chicago by the Northwestern University among basketball players showed travelling disturbed sleep and had a detrimental impact on performance.
At Bournemouth they have the players wear special sleep specs and sleep rooms are common in football.
Manchester United have even gone as far as appointing a Head of Recovery and Regeneration.
In 2018, Dr Jonny Bloomfield specifically discussed footballers.
“They could be performing at 3pm, 8pm, or even later if they’re away in Europe. That means they might finish at 11pm and still have to do media commitments before flying home.“There’s also a biological rule that once you finish high-intensity exercise you will be unable to sleep for three hours, so rest on the plane back will be difficult.
“It all disrupts the circadian rhythm quite severely.“The players and teams that get the best sleep probably have the highest potential for success and the lowest potential for injury.
“It is an absolutely core piece of the performance jigsaw.”
Player Nutrition
While we are discussing this off the field issues, Hannah Sheridan became Spurs first full-time nutritionist in June 2017.
She is still in the role today and our Lead Nutritionist had previously been with the high-performance centre at the University of Birmingham.
The attractive Hannah took over from Matt Lovell, who had been Spurs consultant nutritionist for seven years.
Lovell was at Spurs when Harry Kane changed his nutritional approach which coincided with an upturn in form as reported on the Training Guru website back in 2017.
"If a player is testing even a tiny bit higher on body fat the management will know about it and there will be pressure put on the player to get as lean as they possibly can."If a player is not looking after themselves in terms of lifestyle and diet, one of the first places you see that is with a small accumulation in some belly fat. It might be they're choosing the wrong food groups or having a few too many treats.“We do all kind of tests. I was in charge of doing all the blood results, we test for every nutritional deficiency you can think of. I've got a machine that scans players for pigment in their skin that tells you how many vegetables a player is eating. They can't get away with anything.“Take someone like Harry Kane, who was on loan at Norwich and was essentially on the wrong side of 15% body fat."Then over quite a short period of time he suddenly knuckled down, lost all the fat and got down to round about 10% and now he's banging in the goals left, right and centre. Then they're saying: ‘You're not going on loan anymore.’"
Kane hired a chef and has a nutritionist that helps him.
That is what having a winning mentality is all about, going the extra mile, doing what others don't to make yourself the best you can be, NOT just trying to win a football match.
Was Dele doing that last season, is Tanguy Ndombele doing that?
There is a huge difference between trying to win and a winning mentality.
You certainly get variety on Tottenham Hotspur Blog News (THBN) and the takeaway for you from this is not to scrimp on your mattress, you use it every day and it is a vital part of you getting the sleep you need to recuperate.
Spurs News
To finish off today, you'll have noticed Cinch have become our partners with a sleeve sponsorship deal and Getir UK are our training wear sponsorship partner.
I have been telling you that the stadium naming rights will be announced AFTER the summer transfer window, while others were telling you it was going to happen a few weeks ago.
I explained to you why and in response to a question I can tell you that an announcement is on the cards but I have no specific date, it's soon though folks, it's soon.
Wolves vs Spurs
Ticketing info for Wolves away in the League Cup on 22nd September at 7.45pm GMT.Adults £15
Over 65/Under 21 - £10
Under 17 - £5
Spurs Youth Internationals
The list of Spurs Youth International call-ups.
Both Scarlett and Donley scored penalties.
Fabio Paratici
Tottenham director Fabio Paratici: “I think we signed one of the most talented in Europe. Pape Sarr is a great signing. We’re planning for the future. In all of Europe they speak about Pape - lot of teams were interested but he’ll play for Spurs”.I'll see you tomorrow after you have had a good nights sleep and perhaps improve your diet!
Well that's it folks.
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1 comment
Certainly I know for an absolute certainty that once Danny (& he's a fantastic lad BTW - Not just a great striker.) got serious and started looking at what he could do beyond the basic training to improve his ability beyond his basic talent that he became almost a different player.
I know this is mainly about Spurs but he's a good illustration of much of what you repeat over & over again.
COYS!!