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Round 1: Mr. Nice Guy vs Xavi6
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06-02-2009 2:03pm#1Ok...Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »I'm very pleased to be able to introduce to you fine people of the soccer forum my Premiership draft write-up. Firstly I'd like to say I enjoyed the game as well as the spirit of the contest so credit to Lloyd for overseeing everything. Hopefully the good nature of the game will continue. OK then without further ado may I present to you F.C. (First Class) Athletic, a team I hope you'll agree is the classiest, most stylish team of the draft.
Team Formation:
Defoe
Bergkamp
Zenden
Petit
Carrick
Robben
Heinze----Ferdinand (c)----Brown
Geremi----
Van Der Sar
Right folks I'll break down my argument on why I feel my team is a worthy winner of the contest in three parts. Firstly, I'll explain my overall strategy and line of thinking, secondly I'll give a brief final explanation on why I picked the guys I did, and lastly, I'll give my overall assessment on the strengths and weaknesses of my team. By doing so I hope you'll be impressed with my efforts.
My strategy:
I enjoy good, attacking football as I'm sure you all do and I set out from the outset to mould a team that would have great passing and movement. I believed from the beginning that the core areas of all teams would be up front, central defence, central midfield and to a lesser extent on the wings. These are the areas where I feel more often than not games are won and lost.
I'll be brutally honest here - I think those people in the game who picked full backs and goalkeepers early on made a mistake. I don't see the benefit in choosing an outstanding full back or goalkeeper when, with a bit of patience, you could have gotten very good players in these areas later on. I felt confident I would get a good goalkeeper if I was patient. This turned out to be the case. I also feel I ended up with solid full-backs despite me picking them in the latter half of the draw.
I was keen to get myself a great, versatile winger early on who could play either flank as I believed this would give me greater scope later on when picking my second winger. For example, if you choose someone who works solely as a left winger you're forced later on choose a right-winger. However if like I did you go for a player like Robben who can work either flank (Duff was in my thoughts too some of you may recall), by adopting this strategy you are free to choose from a wider range of wingers from both flanks later on and you're not leaving yourself limited. I feel that was a smart strategy.
I think stategy-wise it was important to plan out the importance of not just the players you're thinking of, but also the positions themselves. I would argue I did well in this regard and I hope you'll agree!
Some final thoughts on my picks...
Pick 1: Dennis Bergkamp
I was fortunate in that I was given a fairly early pick in the first round. I can honestly say the only guy I would have wanted ahead of Bergkamp would have been Roy Keane. Bergkamp as I've said before on this board is one of my favourite players of the nineties and is a genuinely world-class player and a legend. I was delighted to get him and I feel he is a magical player that would grace any team.
Pick 2: Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand in truth was a pretty easy pick for me for the second round. I felt I needed to pick a great defender as I planned on prioritising other areas in the next rounds. In Rio I got one of the most praised defenders in the Premiership. As I recall I was going to go with him or Carragher and would have been happy with either as both are leaders. I plumped for Ferdinand as I felt he was a classier option. He will be my team's captain.
Pick 3: Arjen Robben
Robben as I touched on above was the versatile winger I felt I needed and I'm very happy to have him. I'd say one of the most explosive, impactful wingers the Premiership has seen.
Pick 4: Emmanuel Petit
At this point I turned my attention towards central midfield and felt I needed a defensive-minded player who was also a good passer of the ball. Manu Petit certainly fit the bill as he provided a combatative presence in the middle and yet meant I didn't have to compromise class for brawn.
Pick 5: Michael Carrick
I'd decided on the type of midfield I wanted - one that would be built on good passing. I didn't feel I needed an 'attacking midfielder' as I believed in Bergkamp I had the best playmaker around. This pick, as I kind of expected, got a bit of criticism as Carrick is someone that seems to divide people. Personally I believe he does an underrated job at Man United and I think alongside Petit, Carrick would have a great partnership. I reckon they'd compliment each other well. The only other guy I had in my thoughts for this role was Alonso but I felt his dip in form last season for Liverpool meant Carrick was the better overall draft choice.
Pick 6: Edwin Van Der Sar
As I mentioned above I felt a bit of patience would lead to a good goalkeeper pick and I feel relative to the rounds, Edwin Van Der Sar was one of my better picks. To get a guy I consider a man for the big occasion at round 6 was very pleasing. I'd acknowledge he's had his shaky moments at times but I think overall he's been an outstanding success at United and the best goalkeeper since Schmeichel.
Pick 7: Jermain Defoe
At this point I felt I needed to act fast to ensure I had a true goal machine up front. Defoe was the logical choice. His stats speak for themselves and alongside Bergkamp I felt the two of them would pose a frightening threat.
Pick 8: Wes Brown
I regarded Brown as a really important pick. I was surprised he was left at round 8 as he can do a fine job in two positions. My only concern really was where I would play him but because as mentioned above I don't really rate the full-back positions as that significant, I felt more confident having him play alongside Rio.
Pick 9: Gabriel Heinze
Again, relative to the rounds this was probably one of my better picks. To get such a talented guy in the third-last round was a great bonus.
Pick 10: Boudewijn Zenden
Initially I had gone for Stewart Downing not realising the guy had been picked beforehand but I'm happy to end up with my second choice of Zenden. I think Downing would have provided a better crossing ability for me but I think in my team that's not really going to be that important. With my team I think wingers who can run at defenders and link up with the front men matters more so I think my two Dutch wingers provide a good threat for me.
Pick 11: Geremi
Right-back was the last slot I needed and other than Geremi I considered Abel Xavier and a few others but I felt Geremi was the smartest choice available to me as he is strong and a good distributor, plus he can provide some set-piece competition with Bergkamp. I also felt the Robben/Geremi partnership on the right was a nice Chelsea-style combination.
My overall thoughts:
Funnily enough when I look at this team I think this is the kind of team Giovanni Trapattoni would give his right arm to have. It strikes me as a formation and style similar to the current Irish one. The central midfielders in my team won't be asked to do anything too elaborate. Just keep things tight and distribute to the wings and forwards. I feel my defence and goalkeeper are as solid as any in the game. I also feel I have wingers who can cause problems, a legend in Bergkamp who can pull the strings and in Defoe, a goal machine who can take chances that come his way.
I see this team's major strength being in its passing play. I have players comfortable on the ball whose job would be to try and get it to the quicker, pacier players. I feel this is a team that won't leak many goals but will create many chances. I think that's a fair assessment when you look at the talent on show.
I also feel I have created a team of winners, something I spoke of often when making my picks. My back four and goalkeeper for example have all won the Premiership. In fact only two players in my team haven't won the league, Defoe and Zenden. Five of my eleven have won the Champions League. One of them has won a World Cup. So this is not a team that is going to panic if it encounters some difficulty.
What are my team's weaknesses? Well I think my main concern would probably be the defensive nature of my wingers. I'd be concerned that Zenden and Robben whilst good up front, wouldn't be thorough enough in getting back and helping out. I would hope that the full-backs behind them would be able to cover in such instances and that my deep-sitting central midfield would be able to deputise too. I believe they would.
Overall I think this is a team with enough class, resilience, tenacity and ingenuity to be able to provide a tough match-up for any team. I feel my team strikes the best balance in attack and defence. I feel it's able to cause problems for opposition back fours and yet able enough to fend off and deal with attacking threats. I guess that's up to others to determine though.
Well that about sums up my case and assuming you've read this far I thank you for your time and hope you've been suitably impressed. Cheers. :cool:Which Team Would perform better over the course of a league season? 52 votes
Mr. Nice Guy0%Xavi6100%
52 votes
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Comments
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Xavi6vsTeam Name - Swindon Town (a tribute to the worst Premiership team I've ever seen)
Manager - Xavi6
My primary focus when beginning the draft was to form a solid spine as to me that is the key to success. I chose a goalkeeper first followed by 2 strikers, 2 centre halves and 2 central midfielders so by round 7 I had, in my opinion, a good core group of players.
Goalkeeper - David Seaman (Round 1)
I went with Seaman in the first round as I believe in building from the back. If a goalkeeper makes an error in a game there is no one to bail him out, unlike a centre half or a midfielder, so it was very important to get someone I know I can depend on.
Right Back - Warren Barton (Round 9)
There were a few full backs left when I chose Barton but his success at Newcastle following a huge transfer fee swung it in his favour. Could attack and defend in equal measure and I'd expect a good right side partnership with former club mate Gillespie.
Left Back - Christian Ziege (Round 10)
Great value in round 10 in my opinion. The team was lacking a real dead ball specialist, and aside from maybe 4 players, there is not much between a lot of the left backs selected in the draft.
Centre Half - Ricardo Carvalho] (Round 3)
A quite simply fantastic defender, in the top half a dozen the league has seen for me. I honestly cannot remember him making a serious error. Comfortable on the ball and quick.
Centre Half - Gareth Southgate (Round 4)
My very own Mr. Reliable. Gareth oozed class wherever he played and was a real leader right from his very early 20s. A simple choice for captain.
Right Wing - Keith Gillespie (Round 11)
Expected to go nowhere when he left United. Gillespie forged an excellent Premiership career at subsequent clubs. Every team needs a pacy winger and that's exactly what I have here. Good crosser of the ball too - perfect for Ferdinand.
Left Wing - Trevor Sinclair (Round 8)
Trev could play right or left and offers superb balance to a team. Always worked hard and got his fair share of goals. Perfect to play with the overlapping Ziege.
Central Midfielder - Olivier Dacourt (Round 6)
The holding midfielder is these days seen as the key to most teams and Dacourt is a player who plays the role superbly. Strong in the tackle, comfortable on the ball and has a real belter of a shot. Similar in many ways to Patrick Viera.
Central Midfielder - Eyal Berkovic (Round 7)
The little magician of my team. Fantastic vision combined with great balance and quick feet makes Berkovic the perfect player to be my playmaker. He could carve open even the tightest of defences.
Striker - Stan Collymore (Round 5)
Often unpredictable but on his day absolutely lethal. Had all the attributes needed of a top striker - could use both right and left foot, very quick, strong, good in the air and an eye for goal. Perfect.
Striker - Les Ferdinand (Round 2)
People always think Les is taller than 5ft 11ins due to his aerial ability. A real thorn in the side of any defender, I expect him to profit greatly from the service provided by Barton, Gillespie, Ziege and Sinclair. His knockdowns would be a dream come true for Stanley Victor.
My team will be playing a basic 4-4-2, including a defensive and an attacking midfielder.
Formation -
Seaman
Barton
Carvalho
Southgate
Ziege
Dacourt
Gillespie
Berkovic
Sinclair
Collymore
Ferdinand
Captain - Gareth Southgate
Free Kicks - Christian Ziege, Eyal Berkovic
Corners - Christian Ziege (R), Eyal Berkovic (L)
Penalties - Eyal Berkovic
Defending - The central trio of Seaman, Carvalho and Southgate is as solid as I could possibly have hoped for. I don't that there's a base they haven't got covered between them. Both full backs are well able to tackle and are both physically sound. Even if they do get exposed I don't think it would be too much of a worry given the baility of my two centre halves.
Gillespie and Sinclair both have good enough engines to get up and down the touchline to help their full backs, while Dacourt's defensive qualities are unquestionable.
Attacking - Obviously a lot of our offensive play will be going through Berkovic. I would like to see us use the wings as much as possible with the full backs overlapping the winger and getting crosses into the box for two strikers who are good in the air.
As an alternative, Collymore's pace and Berkovic's ability to pick a pass make for the ideal through ball scenarios, especially against some of the more sluggish centre half pairings.
Thoughts -
I'm can't think how the draft could have gone better for me all things considered. I didn't struggle for a pick in any of the rounds and I feel each player adds something very positive to the overall line up.
Our main strength I think is the spine of the team. The goalkeeper and two centre halves are simply brilliant, and will see us concede very few goals from central areas. Dacourt sitting right in front of them makes it even more difficult to break us down.
I'm also loving the two strikers. Collymore and Ferdinand could definitely have forged a great partnership at club level given the opportunity and I think there's goals aplenty between them.
Our main weakness is probably at full back. I have no doubts that Ziege's defensive abilities will be open to much scrutiny, and possible Barton's too. However, the two wingers I have chosen have both shown a willingness to track back and defend so hopefully that will help minimise any threat down either flank.
Overall I'm very happy with what I think is an extremely balanced and solid team. It's safe to say that even Alan Ball couldn't get this side relegated.
Cheers0 -
Xavi6I think my team First Class Athletic would perform better over the course of a season than Xavi's Swindon Town as while I think defensively we are fairly even-matched, I believe offensively my team pose far more of a threat. I think my wingers are more dangerous than his are and that my central midfielders of Carrick and Petit would be able to dominate matches better. I believe my forwards of Berkamp and Defoe would score more goals overall and be able to see out more games.
I also think my team has far more winners than his have. I can't see the likes of Collymore, Sinclair, Gillespie, Berkovic and Dacourt having the mettle to see out a title race. In contrast I think my team is made up of far more players who would have the bottle to do just that.
I also think if it came down to a title decider that my attacking players would be able to unlock his admittedly impressive defence whereas I don't believe his attackers could so to mine, which I would argue is one of if not the the best defences in the contest.
I know Xavi is one of the best liked members of the board, I think so anyway, so I hope people don't allow that to sway them and that they look at the teams objectively, as if it comes down to a popularity contest I know I will be toast.
I think on paper mine is the better outfit. Over to Xavi.0 -
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