Luke Shaw: ‘People can say I’m fat but I’ve never been out of shape’

Kag said:
You did. In its entirety. I feel no need to explain it again as I'd be best simply copying and pasting. I made a point about the content of players interviews, in which they can seldom win (true). You made a point about the performances on the pitch being the most important thing (also true). They're separate issues, however.
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It's a direct response to that though. They don't need to make excuses up in interviews and nobody is falling for it. They certainly wouldn't need to if they got their head down and performed well.
 
Rado_N said:
This is the equivalent of saying people on here are no better at football so can't question a player's performances.
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Not at all, because all that we're doing on here is sharing our opinions. Nobody is dictating what we can or cannot do.
 
villain said:
Not at all, because all that we're doing on here is sharing our opinions. Nobody is dictating what we can or cannot do.
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What does that have to do with legitimate concerns over Shaw's commitment to his fitness?

Your initial comment was basically saying only people with six packs can criticise him for being overweight, which is just daft.
 
In these types of situations maybe don't mention your weight because that's all people will talk about now. If he was smart he'll put his head down and concentrate on doing what Jose asks of him.

Made me chuckle at the Wayne Rooney comparison though!
 
He seems very concerned with his appearance, and how people perceive him. Hopefully he can find some form this season, and live up to some of his early promise.

He’s been an absolute disappointment so far, and that’s just based on his performances, and not his looks and body composition. If he just got out there and played to his potential, nobody would care about anything else.
 
Rado_N said:
What does that have to do with legitimate concerns over Shaw's commitment to his fitness?

Your initial comment was basically saying only people with six packs can criticise him for being overweight, which is just daft.
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My initial comment was exaggerated - but none of us really know anything about his fitness, plus it's possible to naturally have a 'chubbier looking' body, while being very fit - fat Ronaldo & Rooney come to mind and it happens more frequently in other sports.

Everything coming out in recent weeks suggest that he's taking his fitness very seriously, has impressed the staff and the faults in his game aren't because of his stamina, but rather his lack of ability.

So it's funny to read everybody claim to know better otherwise, when most of us are lazy sob's.
 
Kostur said:
I've never called his career pathetic and the part post bolded pretty much clears it up but I take it the comprehension capabilities have shut down after the bolded part.
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If a player has won and achieved as much as Rooney had in his teens and 20s, 99% of players won't give a damn if they fade away in their 30s. So to taking that example as a cautionary tale is a weird choice.
 
Jed I. Knight said:
He seems very concerned with his appearance, and how people perceive him. Hopefully he can find some form this season, and live up to some of his early promise.

He’s been an absolute disappointment so far, and that’s just based on his performances, and not his looks and body composition. If he just got out there and played to his potential, nobody would care about anything else.
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Of course he's going to be concerned about his appearance. You'd expect him to b concerned. Do you think the likes of CR7 aren't concerned?

He's not been an "absolute disappointment". He's been frustrating. Reason being, we all know what he can do. Has shown it in glimpses for us to.
 
No surprises how this thread went. Always liked Luke, hopefully he can step up this year because he was great before the leg break.
 
red thru&thru said:
Of course he's going to be concerned about his appearance. You'd expect him to b concerned. Do you think the likes of CR7 aren't concerned?

He's not been an "absolute disappointment". He's been frustrating. Reason being, we all know what he can do. Has shown it in glimpses for us to.
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I expect most footballers to be more concerned about how they perform than how they appear, which I am wholly certain goes for Ronaldo, too, despite his obvious concerns for his appearance.

He’s been an absolute disappointment. He was brought in as someone who was going to make the left back his own for a decade. Instead, he’s failed to make a decent claim for a first team spot, and has even struggled to make the bench for significant portions of his time with us so far. He’s even nearing the end of his contract with there being a real chance of him not having his stay extended. To call that anything else than an absolute disappointment is doing him and the promise he showed before joining us a disservice.
 
The Rooney comparison basically shows he doesn't have a clue about diet and just follows what his trainers tell him to do. Body types have been debunked for decades because they pigeon hole people into categories that don't fit 99% of people.

Losing bodyfat gradually is piss easy for anyone without hormone problems, you basically don't notice it if done correctly until the final stages when you are sub 10% where your hormones start changing as your bodyfat levels get very low.

Luke Shaw is also a very active person due to his profession which facilitates staying in shape as well. Im quite confident that Luke Shaw lets himself go when on holidays, then goes on an aggressive fat loss program to get into shape for the season. Players that operate like this never last long, because aggressive fat loss gets very difficult as you get older.
 
Jed I. Knight said:
I expect most footballers to be more concerned about how they perform than how they appear, which I am wholly certain goes for Ronaldo, too, despite his obvious concerns for his appearance.

He’s been an absolute disappointment. He was brought in as someone who was going to make the left back his own for a decade. Instead, he’s failed to make a decent claim for a first team spot, and has even struggled to make the bench for significant portions of his time with us so far. He’s even nearing the end of his contract with there being a real chance of him not having his stay extended. To call that anything else than an absolute disappointment is doing him and the promise he showed before joining us a disservice.
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He must be doing something correct for a manager like Jose to have not booted him out yet.

If we use your theory of absolute disappointment, Shaw is not on his own. Heck, I'd say only 5-7 players wouldn't be in that category.
 
I hope he will finally come good- god we need if if we aren't signing anyone else. But won't hold my breath.
He always looks like he struggles to zip up and down that touch line all game, I remember how the likes of Evra used to do it all day and not look like they are trying. Same with Marcelo etc. I think fullbacks have to be extremely fit. Both LVG and Mourinho have criticized his fitness levels
 
The guy gives "This season will be my season" interview every August since he's been here.
 
Jed I. Knight said:
He seems very concerned with his appearance, and how people perceive him. Hopefully he can find some form this season, and live up to some of his early promise.

He’s been an absolute disappointment so far, and that’s just based on his performances, and not his looks and body composition. If he just got out there and played to his potential, nobody would care about anything else.
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Lingard said in an interview he's the vainest person in the dressing room.
 
Giant Midget said:
I find posts like this a little weird. We’re not professional athletes being paid millions to play at one of the biggest clubs in the world, along with a plethora of nutritionists, trainers and sports scientists available at our fingertips.

If we apply that sentiment then we might as well all pack it in and not post on RedCafe since we’re not PL footballers and who are we to comment on the game?
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I couldn't have said it better, myself.

And regarding "The defender is in great shape physically after a personal pre-season programme in Dubai this month".
If he had kept himself in shape, he wouldn't need to go to Dubai or anywhere to get in shape. The guy really let himself go since he arrived at MUFC.
 
villain said:
My initial comment was exaggerated - but none of us really know anything about his fitness, plus it's possible to naturally have a 'chubbier looking' body, while being very fit - fat Ronaldo & Rooney come to mind and it happens more frequently in other sports.

Everything coming out in recent weeks suggest that he's taking his fitness very seriously, has impressed the staff and the faults in his game aren't because of his stamina, but rather his lack of ability.

So it's funny to read everybody claim to know better otherwise, when most of us are lazy sob's.
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Neither were at their best when they out of shape though?
 
Wumminator said:
I am so much fatter than Shaw ever will be.
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You can lose the fat, if/when you decide to. The only person holding you back, is you.
And regarding Shaw: if someobody paid you millions of pounds per year to stay in shape, I think you'd be in great shape.
 
Andersons Dietician said:
@Summit i’m with you on this. I chose my user name because of these mr universes that seem to know everything under the sun about nutrition and athleticism. He isn’t fat, just has that body type where he’ll stack on muscle easily and be bulky, as well as maintaining a decent body fat % also can we point out being 5% body fat doesn’t mean you’re athletic or even healthy.
I’m surprised half this lot haven’t had warnings tho, especially with the modern climate on body shaming and so on. Especially when suicide rates in men are so high. Something like 84 a week committing suicide. Would hate for Shaw to read some of the things written about him in here especially when those photos of him on holiday came out.
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I can't believe what I am reading.
You are supporting our player, as he eats himself into being overweight and then missing games as a result.
IMO, there should be clauses in players' contacts, that if they let themselves get fat, too heavy, drunk, etc, they can be suspended without pay or even sacked!

In pro sport, an athlete has to keep his body performing at its peak, for as long as possible, throughout the season. Shaw is not doing this and you are defending him.
For the record, I actually don't care that he is fat (for an athlete); what I do care about is the fact that he has had only 10 good games in 4 years for us, making him, quite possible, the worst transfer in our history. The most expensive LB in the World (when he arrived), to have 10 good games in 4 years is astonishing.
 
Leave him alone! He’s a United player and he says he wants to earn his contract. He doesn’t want it to be handed to him and said he will only sign if he feels like he has earned it. He hasn’t yet and that’s why he’s not signed. I find this a breathe of fresh air. Good on you Shaw! I look forward to seeing you bombing down that left flank like we know you can
 
villain said:
Is Shaw out of shape now? And at 22, is he anywhere near his best?
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I would say so, yes. Based on that Instagram photo which is supposed to show him in amazing nick after his efforts in Dubai.



I'm a (very) amateur athlete in my 40s and I'm in better shape than he is! Having said that, it's an encouraging interview and maybe it's just a case of him taking a bit longer than some other footballers to get all the elements you need to be an elite professional athlete in order.

There's no question he could do with getting in better shape but he's saying all the right things and I would be delighted if he could prove all the critics wrong. I'm still convinced there's a very good player in there somewhere. 22 is still very young and his best years are ahead of him. Would be fantastic if he fulfilled the potential he showed in his teens at United.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I would say so, yes. Based on that Instagram photo which is supposed to show him in amazing nick after his efforts in Dubai.



I'm a (very) amateur athlete in my 40s and I'm in better shape than he is! Having said that, it's an encouraging interview and maybe it's just a case of him taking a bit longer than some other footballers to get all the elements you need to be an elite professional athlete in order.

There's no question he could do with getting in better shape but he's saying all the right things and I would be delighted if he could prove all the critics wrong. I'm still convinced there's a very good player in there somewhere. 22 is still very young and his best years are ahead of him. Would be fantastic if he fulfilled the potential he showed in his teens at United.
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Can't really judge based on pictures, because they can be altered to any degree - but he's certainly not out of shape.
The problem is people have different body types & shapes, Shaw doesn't strike me as the type to get down to 5% body fat like Ronaldo can - Shaw looks very much the endomorph and there's nothing wrong with that.

A lot of people in this thread are suggesting that being 'fit' only looks a certain way - which is what I take issue with.

From what i've seen in pre-season so far he hasn't looked any less fit than anybody else, he's played at least 2/3 of the minutes, and wasn't struggling to make his way up and down the flank. He's been disappointing offensively, but that isn't a fitness issue.

Hopefully he kicks on from this season.
 
villain said:
Can't really judge based on pictures, because they can be altered to any degree - but he's certainly not out of shape.
The problem is people have different body types & shapes, Shaw doesn't strike me as the type to get down to 5% body fat like Ronaldo can - Shaw looks very much the endomorph and there's nothing wrong with that.

A lot of people in this thread are suggesting that being 'fit' only looks a certain way - which is what I take issue with.

From what i've seen in pre-season so far he hasn't looked any less fit than anybody else, he's played at least 2/3 of the minutes, and wasn't struggling to make his way up and down the flank. He's been disappointing offensively, but that isn't a fitness issue.

Hopefully he kicks on from this season.
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You see I don't think the whole ecto/enomorph thing is a valid excuse in the context of professional sport. You look at olympic athletes involved in sports which rely on speed, power or endurance and they're all absolutely shredded. Ditto 90+% of professional footballers. And the various body types are distributed far more evenly than that. The reality is that for professional athletes, even carrying 2 or 3kg more than absolutely necessary can be detrimental to their performance and, judging by that photo, he could lose another 5kg before you'd even begin to worry about him being too lightweight to handle the sort of collisions you get on a football pitch.

Anyway, time will tell. I'm still hopeful he'll turn things round.
 
Luke Shaw is in the teens bodyfat in that pic. Probably around the 15% mark. No seperation in the chest or along the midline. He still has that little lump of fat in his lower abdomen which is characteristic of someone in the teens. Like @Pogue Mahone has said he's still got a good amount to cut to be in peak condition which is around the 10% mark, and some athletes are in peak condition sub-10%

You won't find any footballer in peak condition where Luke Shaw is. That level is reserved for sports like NFL where the extra weight is actually vital to certain positions.
 
“There were no doubts but there has been emotion,” the player says. “I was very upset but he [Mourinho] only does stuff like that because he knows what I can do. We’ve had this conversation. He said he knows I can be the best but he sometimes feels frustrated that I’m not doing that.

“He knows what I can do. That was one of the texts he sent me in the off-season: ‘I know what you can do – you can be the best but you’ve just got to work on a couple of things.’ That’s why it pushes me on more. He says these things because he knows I can do it. He knows I can play for Manchester United.

This is exactly the point I bring up every time I hear someone say that Mourinho hates Shaw, doesn't rate him etc. He's still here because Mourinho realises the potential and that's also why he gives him tough love whereas some of our other players get an easier ride.

You can question Mourinho's man management of him though given that his approach is still yet to pay dividends.
 
He doesn't look particularly different to Marcelo in build. I think that there was a couple of comments about his body shape by LVG and Roy Hodgson around the 2014 summer and world cup and that has stuck.

Under Mourinho its never really been a fitness issue; it seems to have been a training/performance issue.

Personally, in all his games last season there might have been one obvious error. Yet all of our players at one time or another have missed chances, given away a penalty or made a mistake without the vilification Mourinho makes of Shaws errors. Perhaps, that's because he see's Fellaini or Youngs errors as mistakes while seeing Shaw's as a result of poor concentration or motivation.
 
People can say I'm fat but I just have a Johnny Vegas type of body. So I get where Luke is coming from. Most likely, McDonalds.
 
I could care less about body fat if he was performing better, but he got nutmegged by an MLS player who ran circles around him. That I do care about.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
You see I don't think the whole ecto/enomorph thing is a valid excuse in the context of professional sport. You look at olympic athletes involved in sports which rely on speed, power or endurance and they're all absolutely shredded. Ditto 90+% of professional footballers. And the various body types are distributed far more evenly than that. The reality is that for professional athletes, even carrying 2 or 3kg more than absolutely necessary can be detrimental to their performance and, judging by that photo, he could lose another 5kg before you'd even begin to worry about him being too lightweight to handle the sort of collisions you get on a football pitch.

Anyway, time will tell. I'm still hopeful he'll turn things round.
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You're using only olympic athletes, but they aren't representative of all professional sportsmen they would actually be the minority as a whole; Boxers, Rugby players, American footballers, Tennis players, basketballers etc can have a spectrum of body types which rely on a variety of speed, power & endurance - and only a small percentage of any professional within their sport makes it to the olympics.

We're used to seeing a stereotype of what a footballer should look like, absolutely - doesn't mean that every footballer has to look like that or there can be no exception to the rule.

I agree he could cut down some weight, but he doesn't need to be ripped.

We're in agreement though that this is a defining season for him and hopefully he takes his chance.
 
He is a mess of a player.

When we signed him Southampton had said he was struggling to last 90mins. Van Gaal confirmed it himself too and dropped him. Mourinho has done the same For a full back you want attacking up and down that is a massive issue. That issue has never gone away. Essentially for £28m we got a player who looked good for about 7 games before he broke his leg, 7 games that have been blown out of all proportion during the time he was out IMO. Since his return he looks completely out of shape and until the last few weeks seemed unable to do anything about it.

He should have the full back slot sewn up for us for a decade but he has to ask himself when he is being fat-shamed on holiday when arguably lesser talents were reaching World Cup semi finals with England. His ship is sailing and unless this has been a massive wake up call he is going to look back on a career filled with "what if's".
 
Pogue Mahone said:
You see I don't think the whole ecto/enomorph thing is a valid excuse in the context of professional sport. You look at olympic athletes involved in sports which rely on speed, power or endurance and they're all absolutely shredded. Ditto 90+% of professional footballers. And the various body types are distributed far more evenly than that. The reality is that for professional athletes, even carrying 2 or 3kg more than absolutely necessary can be detrimental to their performance and, judging by that photo, he could lose another 5kg before you'd even begin to worry about him being too lightweight to handle the sort of collisions you get on a football pitch.

Anyway, time will tell. I'm still hopeful he'll turn things round.
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Whilst I don’t disagree per se, it’s also not necessary for a footballer to be shredded, muscular or display the coveted v-shaped physique. Footballers need endurance above all else and Shaw, as an endomorph, has natural endurance and strength.

De Bruyne is a whippet and his physique is nothing special and yet he’s playing on a level higher than most of his peers.

What’s more important for Shaw is to maintain his conditioning rather than yo-yoing throughout the year.
 
sparx99 said:
He doesn't look particularly different to Marcelo in build. I think that there was a couple of comments about his body shape by LVG and Roy Hodgson around the 2014 summer and world cup and that has stuck.

Under Mourinho its never really been a fitness issue; it seems to have been a training/performance issue.

Personally, in all his games last season there might have been one obvious error. Yet all of our players at one time or another have missed chances, given away a penalty or made a mistake without the vilification Mourinho makes of Shaws errors. Perhaps, that's because he see's Fellaini or Youngs errors as mistakes while seeing Shaw's as a result of poor concentration or motivation.
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I think LVG was that he didn’t show up to pre- season as fit as he would have liked, which doesn’t necessarily translate to overweight, just he wasn’t as fit as the others. Therefore meaning he couldn’t go as hard in training.

To me Shaw’s probelems stems from that game in Jose’s first year where he had pushed on to get a ball for a counter and martial lost the ball and I think Watford scored from this. It was also the game he was sitting off a guy showing him down the line but the guy picked out this wonder cross. Jose went to town on Luke for doing things personally I would want a United player to do. However I think the problem is Knowing when Jose will allow him to go and when Jose wants him to stay. I think Jose thinks his in game maturity isn’t good enough.

Add in Newcastle game this season Shaw was getting double or triple teamed at times with Alexis just not tracking back and neither was Pogba I think but instead of Shaw getting a hold of Alexis and Pogba and telling them to get back he didn’t seem to say anything. That’s a situation Young wouldn’t be scared of, he’d have told them what is what.
These are things Shaw needs to learn and I expect this is what Jose is trying to get across.
 
My biggest concern for Luke is his mental attributes. That's the thing that's going to determine whether he's going to succeed next season or not. Not whether he can drop an extra 2-3 pound. He looks fine in that pic to me. That's not to say he hasn't struggled with fitness and weight because he obviously has, but i'm more concerned about whether he's got the mental fortitude to succeed here.

Really hope i'm wrong 'cause i still think there's a great player in there. It didn't last long, but that little period he had before that leg break showed how good he could be. I'm rooting for him this season for sure.
 
Andersons Dietician said:
I think LVG was that he didn’t show up to pre- season as fit as he would have liked, which doesn’t necessarily translate to overweight, just he wasn’t as fit as the others. Therefore meaning he couldn’t go as hard in training.

To me Shaw’s probelems stems from that game in Jose’s first year where he had pushed on to get a ball for a counter and martial lost the ball and I think Watford scored from this. It was also the game he was sitting off a guy showing him down the line but the guy picked out this wonder cross. Jose went to town on Luke for doing things personally I would want a United player to do. However I think the problem is Knowing when Jose will allow him to go and when Jose wants him to stay. I think Jose thinks his in game maturity isn’t good enough.

Add in Newcastle game this season Shaw was getting double or triple teamed at times with Alexis just not tracking back and neither was Pogba I think but instead of Shaw getting a hold of Alexis and Pogba and telling them to get back he didn’t seem to say anything. That’s a situation Young wouldn’t be scared of, he’d have told them what is what.
These are things Shaw needs to learn and I expect this is what Jose is trying to get across.
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I agree entirely. However, more games in the team and he might feel able to have a go at Alexis or Pogba. He's probably a bit unsure of his standing at times whereas Young has the benefit of experience and was part of Fergie's last team which gives him respect in the team.
 
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