We've hired a sports medicine/sports science specialist

[Maldini]

Something had to change after this season. It's an interesting appointment, I read an article recently with Kewell's agent Mandic saying Rafa had rung Harry to ask him who sorted out his injury problems. This must be the guy.

 

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/03/29/liverpool-fc-announce-appointment-of-leading-australian-sports-physician-peter-brukner-100252-26133470/

 

 

Liverpool FC announce appointment of leading Australian sports physician Peter Brukner

Mar 29 2010 By James Pearce

 

LIVERPOOL have announced the appointment of leading Australian sports physician Peter Brukner as head of sports medicine and sports science.

 

Dr Brukner, who is the current Australian football team doctor, will take up the full-time position after this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

 

Managing director Christian Purslow said: "Dr Brukner is recognised across the globe as one of the leading figures in this field.

 

"He will play a vital, strategic, role in adding a new dimension to our sports medicine and sports science services."

 

Dr Brukner is the founding partner of Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre in Melbourne, the largest sports medicine clinic in Australia.

 

He was instrumental in the development and recognition of sports medicine as a specialty in Australia, which culminated in the recent announcement of specialty status by the Minister for Health.

 

Formerly an Australian Football League (AFL) club doctor with Melbourne and Collingwood, Dr Brukner looked after various Australian national teams including swimming, athletics and hockey.

 

He has been Australian team doctor at Olympic and Commonwealth Games as well as numerous World Championships.

 

He is the co-author of the best selling sports medicine text book, Clinical Sports Medicine.

 

"The appointment is an indication of the high regard in which Australian sports medicine is held throughout the world", said Dr Brukner, who will spend the next month at Liverpool observing the set up before returning to Melbourne in May to help prepare the Socceroos for the World Cup.

 

"The prospect of working at one of the world’s great sporting clubs is very exciting and once the World Cup is over I will be devoting all my energies to improving the performance of the team."

 

 

[Sion]

final piece of the jigsaw

[Frosty Jack]

good call.

 

remember how adamant some were that there was no problem in this regard, because to accept that there was, would be cutting the manager some slack. can't have that can we.

[aka Dus]

Heh heh, is this what that WUM was getting at with the locked thread about diet?

[CaptainXabi]

final piece of the jigsaw

The Mancs spent 20K more on their specialist so we have no hope.

 

Seriously though, AFL sports medicine people are supposed to be some of the best aren't they?

[tag]

does this dip into our "hic" summer-kitty???

[magneto]

Would have preferred a new striker

[downunder]

The Mancs spent 20K more on their specialist so we have no hope.

 

Seriously though, AFL sports medicine people are supposed to be some of the best aren't they?

 

AFL lovers say they are the best, I am not sure though, I think it's just the usual we have the best of everything syndrome that AFL keeps going on about.

[Gerrardrules]

Missing link.

[drdooom]

Does this mean I should sell my stock in horse placentas?

[floyd]

Hope he's better than Phil Boersma.

First MilanLab, now AnfieldLab

[Roscoe]

I see this as the start of us developing our own 'Milanello' facility like that used by AC. This will allow us to prolong the careers of Gerrard, Carra et al well into their fifties, thus saving masses on transfer fees. It'll be like new signings every decade.

[cymrococh]

Hopefully he'll make our players as fit and healthy as the wife-beating, alcoholic, drug addicted rapists of AFL.

[Mike]

Hopefully he'll make our players as fit and healthy as the wife-beating, alcoholic, drug addicted rapists of AFL.

 

its fair to say you'd had enough of oz when you left then dude?

[cymrococh]

its fair to say you'd had enough of oz when you left then dude?

Fair dinkum.

[Conrad]

sounds promising

 

real shame the guy wasn't here when kewell was here - still maintain a fully fit harry kewell over a season and we'd have won the league during rafa's time - in fact last season, as there is no way rafa was getting rid off harry if his fitness could be relied upon

[Candystore]

sounds promising

 

real shame the guy wasn't here when kewell was here - still maintain a fully fit harry kewell over a season and we'd have won the league during rafa's time - in fact last season, as there is no way rafa was getting rid off harry if his fitness could be relied upon

 

If Torres and Gerrard had been fit during most of last season we would have won the league.

[Mike]

If Torres and Gerrard had been fit during most of last season we would have won the league.

 

they've played more together this season than they did the last. ergo: its not necessarily true.

[cymrococh]

they've played more together this season than they did the last. ergo: its not necessarily true.

neither has looked properly fit until the last couple of weeks though.

[dl2009]

sounds promising

 

real shame the guy wasn't here when kewell was here - still maintain a fully fit harry kewell over a season and we'd have won the league during rafa's time - in fact last season, as there is no way rafa was getting rid off harry if his fitness could be relied upon

 

On a related note, here's a recent interview with Peachy:

 

http://www.smh.com.a...00326-r35y.html

 

Harry Kewell has revealed he considered quitting football over the handling of his injuries by Liverpool's medical staff between 2003 and 2008. In an interview with the Good Weekend magazine, Kewell spoke of the depth of his frustration during a period in his career in which injuries relegated him to a bit-part player at Anfield.

 

''I came this close to quitting football,'' Kewell said from Istanbul, where he is playing for Galatasaray. ''Only my inner sanctum - my wife, [his agent] Bernie [Mandic] and another mate - know how close I came.''

 

Kewell's frustrations with Liverpool's medical staff came to a head prior to a Champions League match against Olympiakos Piraeus in 2005. An official asked Kewell about his fitness, to which he replied, ''To be honest, I couldn't kick the ball ten yards.''

 

The official responded by saying: ''Well, it's not going to get any worse.''

 

''I couldn't believe it,'' Kewell recalled. ''I just couldn't believe they'd play me in that condition. I got a penalty and it was all I could do to kick it to the nearest player. But what do you do? You have to pick yourself up and keep going.''

Mandic, who recently described Kewell's handling by Liverpool's medical staff as ''a disgrace'', told Good Weekend: ''People can say what they like about Harry Kewell. But no one can say that he is not a tough (Bob Saget) to come back from all that.''

 

Kewell confirmed his availability for this year's World Cup, but predicted a difficult passage for the Socceroos. ''Germany, Ghana and Serbia - any of these teams could virtually get into the semi-finals, let alone maybe win it,'' he said. ''So it's going to be very difficult for us.''

[Red Lecter]

Kewell's comments fit in with what a poster (who happened to be a doctor) on RAWK said 2-3 years back. The guy said that our medical staff simply weren't good enough and the way that our players injuries were being treated was the reason that some players like Kewell were out for so long.

[Conrad]

Kewell's comments fit in with what a poster (who happened to be a doctor) on RAWK said 2-3 years back. The guy said that our medical staff simply weren't good enough and the way that our players injuries were being treated was the reason that some players like Kewell were out for so long.

 

Its very annoying. Rafa was desperate to play kewell and the guy was never anywhere near peak condition.

 

people on here kept slagging him off, but you only have to see the difference between a half fit Gerrard and Torres and their performance on sunday to see what a huge difference it makes. Kewell was extremely unlucky.

[Arazel]

Once again, I picked up on the area that needed improving. And you all laughed when I said something needed to be done backstage to improve conditioning.

 

Shame on you all.

[Maldini]

I wonder if this means the end of Paco De Miguel or will he work alongside him

[Berger]

This area really needs to be addressed.

The number of key players who is not available during our fixture-congested year-end period is shocking and it has been many years even the days of Houlier.