Reds Deserve Credit For Training

ManUtd.com’s Mark Froggatt blogs on the growing trend of Manchester United players posting workout footage to social media during their summer break…

Football has transformed radically in recent decades. The era of players reporting for pre-season training with expanded waistlines and questionable levels of fitness has long passed.

It was once acceptable for them to return from their summer break without completing any physical preparation at all, with the hard work beginning on the training ground around six weeks before the new season. They would run under the watchful eye of a taskmaster and it would be relentless, and perhaps somewhat primitive, yet the process was a necessary evil back then.

Today, as you know, times have changed and this summer of 2016 has highlighted the emergence of the pre-pre-season. Yes, ahead of Manchester United's training camp starting in July, a group of Reds have already began their personally tailored regimes in a bid to hit the ground running in 2016/17.

This includes the likes of Adnan Januzaj, Ander Herrera, Andreas Pereira, Antonio Valencia, Luke Shaw, Memphis Depay, Tim Fosu-Mensah and Tyler Blackett, who have all uploaded training footage to their social media accounts with captions centred on themes of hard work, ambition and self-improvement.

This is not a phenomenon and others have previously trained hard during the off-season. Roy Keane wrote in his 2014 autobiography The Second Half about attending a detox clinic in Italy, while Ryan Giggs is on record about his extreme decision to eat dry toast without butter in the latter stages of his career. Sir Alex Ferguson has also revealed Bryan Robson, perhaps an exception in his era, completed 1,000 push-ups a day to maintain physique – although Captain Marvel was admittedly prone to the odd pint.

The difference between them and the class of 2016 is social media and, whether you like it or not, platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have changed the game completely. They provide a digital gateway into the players’ personal lives and fans can literally follow their movements throughout the summer months, as opposed to the old days when you wouldn’t see them during June and July.

Fans may scoff at these videos and photos from the gym, claiming it to be narcissistic or self-promotional, but consider the motives of the players first. It must be hard to resist the temptation to post when you have millions of followers, less than five per cent body fat and abs that could grate cheese. Also consider the alternative... surely this is far better than footage of them in exotic nightclubs, surrounded by hangers-on and oversized bottles from the top shelf? Of course it is.

In all seriousness, we should applaud their level of commitment at the only time when they can relax. At this crucial time in United’s history, with a new manager at the helm for the third time in four summers, players with a desire to succeed and progress are exactly what is required at Old Trafford.

There are also squad places to earn under Jose Mourinho and, importantly, those who have not been on international duty this summer have the first opportunity to impress the new Reds boss, firstly at the Aon Training Complex and again while on tour in China. For this writer and fan, it is reassuring to see them showing enough intuition and professionalism to work on their fitness ahead of such a vital window.

So when the squad reports for training in July, do not expect them to be overweight and unfit like their predecessors of yesteryear - expect a group of men with a point to prove and miles already in the legs.

That could be especially beneficial in a season that demands success for Manchester United.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be considered as representative of Manchester United Football Club.

Credit: Manutd.com