http://www.livestrong.com/article/387950-how-far-does-a-soccer-player-run-during-a-game/

These are the figures for a match and of course added to this must be the training the players do on most days. What is also not factored is the mental energy expended in a game.

It is easy for us who have never played at this level to snear and be cynical, that the players an play at a high level with so many games in such a time frame is testimony to their personal professionalism and fitness.

When I were a lad, I always preferred to be goalie ... but retrieving the balls that I 'let in' (there were no nets in 'em days), invariably meant that a fifty yards dash [both ways] behind the goals, kept me fit :0)

Aitchbee

Not related to Frank Haffey are you.

He had the same problem.

Personally I have zero sympathy for the little princesses in the Andrex Premier League, but even saying that 4 games in 10 days at that level really is tough. I played competitive football at a reasonable amateur level for nearly 30 years (Moved into an over 35's league for the last 10 or so) and at my 'peak', if you can call it that, played Saturday and Sunday at a decent level, and trained twice per week. When the inevitable fixture backlog would hit towards the end of the season, we'd play midweek too and even at my level, that was tough. It's not about being able to turn out and run about a bit for 90 minutes, that's easy, anyone can do that, but the level of concentration they must have, and the ability to perform at their absolute maximum, react at their quickest and make the best split second judgements can be the difference between winning and losing a game at the top level. This can equate to hundreds of thousands of pounds for their club in league position and all adds mental pressure. And even when I was fit, you would feel OK for a game, but your muscles would still not have fully recovered from a tough game a few days previous, which generally led to an injury, pulled/torn muscles etc. That is what is tough about it. It's not that they can't do it... it's how well they can do it

Definitely overpaid