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Just realised you have just exposed my team!!:D:D

After writing 1200 words on my team, if only I applied myself liek this whn I was younger:)

Trigger wrote: »

Edited it there, sorry.

At least you havent been voted against before the opposition even picked his team :pac:

ah it wouldnt take a genius to work out how i was gona set up!

Ha I seen that alright, its pretty harsh :pac:

To be copied into the match thread once open

My formation and tactics are fairly simple, but I’m going for a tried and tested approach that takes inspiration from a couple of different teams. Here’s how I’ll line up to begin with:



As many could tell from just that line up, it’s a counter attacking style I’ve adopted and intended to use from the start, and it’s modelled on Leicester City’s title winning season, with some minor tweaks and obviously much more talented personnel. It also takes elements from Houllier’s Liverpool side, and plays very much to the strengths of Michael Owen who I’ll be partnering with Lukaku up front, to form what I hope would be a much more deadly, clinical version of the Owen-Heskey partnership of old, which was highly successful to begin with. I’ll get into the tactics and what I want from my players a bit now:

Goalkeeper

Reina was a great pickup for me here, as I was looking for a keeper who wasn’t just a great shot stopper, but also had the ability to distribute the ball accurately and quickly, to begin very direct counter attacks by kicking the ball into space for Owen and Overmars to run onto, or straight on top of Lukaku to knock it down for a teammate. I’ll also be asking him to play the sweeper keeper role to an extent, because my back four has the pace to maintain a high line and keep the pressure on at times.

Centre Backs

I’m adamant that I’ve got the best centre back pairing in this competition. Both are PFA Player of the Year winners and really stood out in a sport where defenders usually go under the radar. I don’t need to speak too much of their qualities here because they’re clear to see, but in terms of how I want them playing; Virgil will lead and organise the entire back line as he does currently at the highest level for Liverpool. McGrath won’t have to worry about those duties, I have him in here purely to defend. They both have a great turn of pace, so they’ll be keeping a fairly high line and trying to catch the opposition offside if my midfield are controlling the game, and will have few problems catching a forward who occasionally gets in behind them. If my side is losing the midfield battle or defending a lead, they’ll be sitting back in a more traditional position for centre halves and snuffing out any danger in the box, heading crosses away with ease which both are well known for.

On the ball, McGrath with his excellent ability in possession will keep it simple and play short passes, while Virgil will be the playmaker from defence when required, pinging his trademark diagonal balls out to Kuyt to or occasionally down the line for Overmars to chase. Both will offer a significant threat from set pieces too, primarily the Dutchman.

Full Backs

Baines and Johnson are two of the most experienced fullbacks in this draft, and between them have come up against many of the wingers drafted at some point. It’s a small thing, but familiarity is key in one-on-one battles and I’m expecting that to factor in a little bit. Much like the centre backs, their position will vary depending on the opposition and how the game will flow. In moments where my team is on top and building attacks, Johnson will be close behind Dirk Kuyt and giving him an option on the overlap or occasionally inverting his run and cutting it back for a midfielder or delivering a cross for Lukaku at the near post. Baines will take a more defensive position, letting Overmars roam a little further forward but he’ll be overlapping as well when Overmars cuts inside and takes on his fullback, offering an added threat with his superb crossing ability. Most of his deliveries will come from deep though, hanging balls up for Lukaku at the back post. Baines will also be my set piece specialist.

In more defensive situations, the pair will fall back into a solid line of four and try to keep their shape, they’ll aim to keep the opposition wingers at bay and stop the crosses coming in. On the counter attack, one will always stay back behind the halfway line and the other will provide an option on the overlap to stretch the move if the opposition defenders tuck in to deal with my front two.

Midfield

I’ll go through this section individually, as this is the main area which will mirror the title winning Leicester City side.

Fabinho wasn’t my first choice for this position and was a controversial pick, but I feel he was the best equipped of what was left to take on my interpretation of the Kante role. His ball winning ability is of the highest quality and I’ll be asking him to hassle opposition midfielders as often as possible, particularly in the few seconds after my team would lose the ball. He’ll sit back a little more than Kante would have in the same role, vying to dominate the midfield alongside Scholes with his neat passing and ability to play the ball in tight areas.

Scholes will be the playmaker here of course, providing the much needed link between defence and attack. If he finds himself with the ball at his feet during a counter attack, there’s no better man to make that key pass whether it’s from 50 yards or 5. In possession, he’ll keep things ticking over with Fabinho and bring the wingers into play to stretch the opposition. On top of all that, Scholes is a significant goal threat from any range and if he’s given space for a shot or makes a late run into the box, there are few better midfielders to convert a chance than him. I’d call him the Drinkwater of my team to keep the Leicester comparison going as that’s the role he’ll occupy, but it just sounds ridiculous. :pac:

Overmars will be dynamite on the counter attack of course, but from general play, I’ll be asking him to start out very wide and trying to beat his man with his dazzling skills on the ball and his electrifying pace, cutting inside or taking the ball down the line. He can cross or shoot well from either foot, so his unpredictability will test the opposing defence and he also has the option of cutting it back to Baines to whip in a cross, so much of my attack will come down that side of the pitch.

Kuyt is the workhorse of this team. He’s primarily in there to link up once again with Glen Johnson and add some defensive steel to the right hand side. He’ll be bombing up and down the wing as ever and making runs into the opposition’s penalty area from out wide, and there are few better at getting into goalscoring positions from out wide than Kuyt. He can cross the ball well, he can shoot, he can tackle and he’ll be putting all of those skills to use in my team, and he’ll do it for the full 90 minutes given his remarkable stamina and work ethic. Won’t be my number one option for building attacks, but he can’t be taken lightly be defenders or they will be punished.

In defensive situations, Scholes and Fabinho will sit in front of the back four and keep their shape. Overmars and Kuyt will be sat a little further forward, the latter helping out my weakest defender in Glen Johnson and Overmars giving Baines a bit more to do in defence while he himself waits for the chance of a counter attack, offering me an outlet on the left hand side to start one off.

Forwards

As I’ve already alluded to, I’m looking to reform the Owen and Heskey partnership of old, but with a significant upgrade on the latter in Romelu Lukaku. Michael Owen in his prime has always worked well alongside a big man, so by having him play off Lukaku, he’ll be excellent at anticipating the knock down from his strike partner and identifying the spaces he can run into. The other main reason I chose to draft Owen so early on is that he had deadly pace, and I’m going to take full advantage of that on the counter attack with quality service from a number of areas, mainly between Reina, van Dijk and Scholes with their excellence in long range distribution.

Lukaku will be a solid goal threat in his own right, and he’ll be the number one target for Baines and Overmars to pick out at the back post. He’s got good pace for a target man too, so that threat can’t be ignored either. Another man who’ll threaten from set pieces. He’s mainly in the team to get the most out of Owen, but he’s an accomplished goal scorer and won’t let a good chance go to waste.

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With that, I’ll wrap up with a picture of how my team will line up without the ball, a position from which I’ll hope they’ll not only hold out defensively and earn a clean sheet, but also enable me to operate a lethal counter attacking strategy and nick a win:

Hopefully we get more forum involvement, the first few matches had a lot of involvement with maybe 20 posters pitching in with valid votes and reasoning, seemed to tail off yesterday...

Also, heads up I will likely be offline all weekend, not sure if the QF matchups were scheduled for this weekend or not?

IncognitoMan wrote: »

This round will be done 9am tomorrow so would probably look to get the QF started around Friday evening after getting someone to draw again.

If your set up and that is the same, we can just stick that up from this tie if you win.

Then if you get a chance to pop in for a few minutes even on mobile you can add in.

If not I don't think it makes a massive difference either way once your side has been set up. unless it's a really close tie.

Cool I'll be off tomorrow morning. So if needed someone can just pop up my post from game 1 if there's a game going ahead. I'll try to log on and briefly explain how I might adjust this set up based on whoever I'm facing / where I feel I could win the game etc...

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Apologies I'd voted in a few of these but didn't know you had to post your reasons

Maybe we could add "no post, no vote" in the thread titles?

Also would be good if people had both teams laid out in a separate tab when they make their judgements, I've seen some examples of reasoning based on players not involved in the match (people confusing team etc..)! I wonder should such votes be discounted?

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

The first few matches had the results hidden and I think it's more absorbing when the outcome remains unknown. If people click on a thread and see a one-sided contest taking place they may not be bothered giving their thoughts.

i concur. precisely my reasoning when I kept them hidden in the first few that I had to add a poll too.

IncognitoMan wrote: »

SlickRic wrote: »

i concur.  precisely my reasoning when I kept them hidden in the first few that I had to add a poll too.

Are the results not hidden from everyone but the thread starter and mods until the end of the poll?

That was how I read it. Happy to leave names hidden if not

I see the % of the votes but not who voted. The first couple I couldn't see any result