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Overhyped EPL
Thanks to those who responded to my email regarding Rodgers yesterday.
As i’m off work today and i have a spare five minutes, please allow me to retort to you points.
I certainly have plenty of self awareness, the simple fact of the matter is that had Brendan had stayed and won the ‘treble treble’ he would have done something that has never been done before, thus immortalised himself in Scottish (and the wider) football history.
However, he took the first large amount of Premier League money offered and ran away from his ‘dream job’ – he’s a snake oil salesman, pure and simple. I notice that he has already said that “he will die” for Leicester. Ha ha ha, let’s see how that works out.
And i have considered an alternative view about Brendan’s motives, however i still conclude that he went to the EPL for the money as soon at it was offered, making all of his previous statements about Celtic being his dream job null and void. And for you to say that being remembered for a great achievement in the world of football means nothing, is just ridiculous. If people aren’t int he game to win, chase glory, be remembered, then why even bother?
Scottish football isn’t the best standard by a long way, but i’d rather be a fan of, and watch that than the overhyped EPL, who have the absolute brass neck to claim a game such as Cardiff vs Burnley as ‘super sunday’ – now THAT is a lack of self awareness!
Liverpool vs Man United last sunday….. if they were playing in my back garden i’d have closed the curtains!
Anyway, i stand by the fact he will achieve nothing with Leicester, and will be on the move in 18 months or so. With Leicester pretty much where they are now.
Paul
Thoughts on Man City and waterpolo
Guardiola as a manager so evidently teaches his players to play a bastards game similar to the defensive tactics of top waterpolo teams which is seconded by Manel Estiarte Duocastella, the worlds best waterpolo player 7 times in a row who is his technical advisor at every club he goes too.
I played waterpolo
I am an insufferable bastard 99.9% of the time in sport and probably out of sport.
waterpolo main defensive tactic is too commit small fouls across the opposition play line but either outside of a 6-7m range ( too far for any player to truly shoot at a goalie that knows how to float and move his hands ) or in wide areas that are close to the goal line effectively making players play it back out or cross. ( both ineffective tactics when you have 8 grown men reaching with their hands into the air at the same time).
Guardiola asks his players to replicate this tactic across the board, Liverpool and watford had 6 fouls between them by 70 minutes into last nights game. Man city had 8 themselves before half time. Most of the time in these ineffective areas. People have noted this numerous times but it is directly a tactic taken from waterpolo.
On that connection their are also other methods Guardioa has ripped straight out of the mind of his waterpolo partner and smacked onto his side:
In water polo, two wingers will rush the opposition down the side, one winger in front of the other, the first winger will block off the opposition defender either by holding the ball or screening ( standing/floating in space ) before laying it back to the deep lying defender who will lob it past the blocked defender into the onrushing winger who has driven through.
Man city utilise this exact tactic for 70% of their goals
In waterpolo, everyone barring the wholeman (usually the biggest bastard) are all interchangeable, similar sizes and abilities, this is because in waterpolo the general consensus is to shift position on defence and flood through the middle to rush back to goal to prevent counters, the nearest player wil, then commmit a foul on the attacker.
Pep freuqently wants to flood his sides or at least his midfield and defence with similar style and sized players, obviously football requires a bit more variation but his attempt to have a interchangeable side is obviousespecially in his time in Munich where he tried to convert all his defenders to midfielders and vice versa, Fernandinho is often the culprit but he is always the first commiter on any player before a tactical break out.
Waterpolo wingers and the wholemen run on a fulcrum ( this is comething I haven’t really seen directly mentioned) but Pep always has his playes pull from right to left. Aguero will start centrally recieve the ball, turn to attack, and if he cannot he will lay it back or to the wing and then move to the left hand side of the field, this in turn allows Sane to push the ball into centre and move it out right to sterling, sterling will then push to centre while sane lopps over right and sterling will lay it back to a midfielder who then recycles and aguero pulls back through to centre.
This method of attack is the top procedure/ or most basic considering how you look at things used by most Polo players. The wholeman will always hold centre position ( Aguero/Messi) but will constantly shift and pull their allocated defender to a set position generally City use this to pull the Centreback outbut they will always have the winger shifting in, this will then let the fullback push forward for the other rotational winger to perform the screen move stated aboe.
Football has 11 players not 7, and it has more defined roles, especially in England where certain positions are more physically based ( hence why he hasn’t made Bernando Silva his star RB yet) but whenever I watch him I feel like if other teams just hired a polo layer they would figure out his plays quite succintly.
Inherently this was a very long mail to say I love waterpolo and played alot of it, and that you should all really look at Manel Estiarte Duocastella because he is beautiful, also if anyone can actually tell me a rule from waterpolo without googling ( I will know intrinsically as a being who is one with the internet) then they can have my cookies that my browser keeps giving me.
Thanks
Cole (LFC and scored a hattrick in social footy last night but I have no one to tell)
The Sin Bin is now more important than VAR
What do we want to see? Great footballers playing great football, What do we actually see? Great footballers going past a midfielder or defender and then getting fouled. If the same player fouls three times they may get booked, but more and more the niggly, not bookable foul is spoiling the game. It has become accepted that it is a “professional” thing to do. With a sin bin, a player can be penalised for the little click of the heels that stopped the attacker, for the block, the pullback, the tug. And it will stop them. Because with one player off for ten minutes, the attacking side will have more opportunities, and if they force another player to do the same, then he’ll be off to the sin bin too.
There is also the point to be made that players used to be much better at not falling over. A quick look at one of the George Best compilations on YouTube and you can admire his skill, but also his determination to stay vertical. It is amazing.
Tim McKane
On Jose not wanting ‘internal conflict’ at his next club
You know when an attractive woman says she ‘hates drama’, that all her ‘ex-boyfriends were abusive psychos’ and she just wants ‘a man who would be nice to her’ and ‘accept her how she is’, and ‘not leave her traumatised like the last guy’, and ‘not argue all the time’, and berates any and every person even remotely in their way, and constantly craving attention, and hinting at buying her stuff from time to time, and getting angry for not getting those things?
Everything Jose said ever since managing Madrid has been a parade of red flags with TOXIC scratched all over them with those long, acrylic nails.
Piotr (also, it’s been nice knowing you Paula), Warsaw
Kane/Salah/Silva
Dear Stevo and Liam, regarding the Bernardo penalty/dive comparisons, I think I have an answer to why the press aren’t making as much as a fuss over it as they do with Salah. In fact if you think about it’s really quite simple and could have saved you the effort of writing a conspiracy theory letter.
Ready for this? Salah has lots of contentious penalty/dives and now, as of last night, Bernado has one. And one is not the same as lots. See, told you it was simple. I’m sure if Bernardo wins another few like then the press will be making a whole lot of fuss.
Kind regards,
Andy D (False equivalency expert), Manchester. MCFC.
There are two points I would put forward to refute Stevo’s position on the treatment of Kane/Salah:
1) Reacting to getting a kicking with one of those lame leaning in head butt things that only footballers do may be stupid and not on, but it’s an emotional offence that people (rightly) don’t view in the same way as diving – which is a calculated act of cheating. There were mitigating factors to Kane’s transgression.
2) To get the same treatment that Salah got earlier in the season for diving, Kane would have to headbutt at least five or six more people over the next few fixtures…
Hope that clears it up.
Andy (MUFC)
Evanescence
The My Immortal reference in this mornings mailbox shows F365s delicate musical nuances as usual. As an online dictionary describes Evanescence as to disappear gradually; vanish; fade away, for a Friday sub section, what else fits that category with around 10 games to go?
Me first. Ipswich. And with luck, Marcus Evans next.
Chris, (Not actually me first) ITFC Liverpool
One dimensional Tottenham
Dear F365,
I’m a Spurs fan and left pretty frustrated by the results this week. On a pragmatic level a loss away to Chelsea isn’t the most unexpected result and I can kind of live with it, but the biggie was on Saturday, that was the one we should really be getting the flack for.
Last night’s game, I didn’t think we did that much worse than Chelsea, so many moments of bad control and misplaced passes and very little real attacking intent. Though Chelsea’s defence was excellent, really worked hard and squeezed us, defended deep to keep Son and Kane checking and then worked hard to nullify Eriksen, was a really impressive tactical display.
Was really getting hacked off with our insistence of always playing it out from the back. It’s a fine tactic when you have time but it was so obvious what we were doing that Chelsea let Lloris play a pass then closed down the defender until we either gave it to them centrally or hoofed it and ceded control. If even I could see it not working then why didn’t the players take some responsibility and deal with it. Lloris distribution is really poor. Needed the midfield to be an option and not just Sanchez/Alderwiereld.
Thought the ref did well actually, let plenty of things go and the players in the main got on with it.
Disappointing week and I’m not confident it’s going to get any better on Saturday, we are pretty one dimensional in attack and I think easy to nullify at the moment. Maybe we are a team that operates on instincts, keep playing games and get some momentum, wonder what our stats are like when we do have extra time off? I was suggest that Kane operates only at 100% fitness, might explain why he looks rusty in August?
Oh well, as always for a NLD, just don’t lose.
Steve (THFC)
Love for Lejeune
As a Newcastle fan the uptick in form is most welcome, and Cardiff and Fulham are doing their best to help everyone else, so it looks like we will now be safe. While the improved form has had a number of drivers, particularly a change in formation, the return of Florian Lejeune has made a big difference.
The guy is amazing. Signed on the cheap last summer, he’s had two injuries and been so solid whenever he’s played. He’s not quick, but positionally he makes up for it. But importantly, he can play out. Him and Schar (who’s got more headlines for goals) are now creating from deep meaning we can play with two shuttler CMs. It means it’s hard for Jonjo Shelvey to get back in now he’s fit too.
He’s an unfashionable player so may not get snapped up but top 6 teams could do worse than having a serious look. I’m glad they almost certainly won’t as the trio of Lejeune, Lascelles and Schar, with Dubravka behind is as good a defence as you’ll get in the league, and the main reason Newcastle will be playing Premier League football next season.
Also, great to see Sean Longstaff step up, he’s been excellent and wouldn’t rule out an England call up soon!
James, London
What a win!
A 1-1 draw away to Manchester United, with a last minute equaliser to bring the tie to a replay.
What more does Mike Paul have to do to get into Daniel Storeys winners & losers?
DC, BAC
