Black Sheep Draft QF - onenil vs Pat

[Isotope]

Yeah, that would have worked best as Hierro has this reputation for being slow which would be an issue vs. Ronaldo but not Socrates. He would also be a superb option for the defenders to distribute from the back.

-----------------Spencer
Barnes----------------------------Matthews
----------------Cruyff--Tardelli
----------------------Hierro
Maldini---Kohler----Desailly----Burgnich
--------------------Schmeichel

Was the optimal setup, and I sure would have voted for that. Cruyff in a Zidane type role as the transition dynamo. So just pack the midfield, and it might "nullify" their attack.

I guess @Moby was right. You don't bench Cruyff but tinker to find him the key role he deserves.

Yep That looks good, as onenil only "weakness" is he doesn't have a true winger to stretch the play, and his fullbacks have their hands full with Pat's wingers. Thus packing and squeezing the midfield might "nullify" onenil.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

@Pat_Mustard, great job building the side around Spencer's talents. Tough to then have someone like Cruyff available so late because you can't not pick him up. At least it was better match than our No Mates match where we both got it wrong

Cheers mate and well played! Its an absolute juggernaut of a team you've put together. Yeah, I needed the star quality of a Cruyff but it does present some difficulties picking him up right at the end rather than trying to assemble the team around him. TBH Di Stefano was the GOAT that I thought would really fit this team like a glove, although the thought of Barnes/Scholes/Cruyff playing together is brilliant to me. And this was definitely better than that atrocity of a match in the No Mates Draft .

Scoreline is harsh on @Pat_Mustard . Thought he had a very good setup and some favorable matchups.

Congrats @oneniltothearsenal you have an excellent team

Thanks mate . I always knew I was up against it here, although the Matthews vs Nilton card gave me a glimmer of hope.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Yeh. I did suggest Desailly-Kohler as CB duo in the main draft thread. Maldini - Kohler - Desailly - Burgnich, with Schmeichel guarding the goal. How do you penetrate that?

Then get Hierro - Tardelli protecting defence, and then you can have Cruyff on the tip. So Anto can still fulfill his hard-on on Barnes. Hehehehee..

Yeah, that would have worked best as Hierro has this reputation for being slow which would be an issue vs. Ronaldo but not Socrates. He would also be a superb option for the defenders to distribute from the back.

-----------------Spencer
Barnes----------------------------Matthews
----------------Cruyff--Tardelli
----------------------Hierro
Maldini---Kohler----Desailly----Burgnich
--------------------Schmeichel

Was the optimal setup, and I sure would have voted for that. Cruyff in a Zidane type role as the transition dynamo.

I guess @Moby was right. You don't bench Cruyff but tinker to find him the key role he deserves.

I can see the stylistic merit of putting the strong and fast Desailly at CB but honestly I think he was at his monstrous best as a defensive midfielder. Scholes or Tardelli was the hardest decision and maybe I should have went with my first instinct which was to play Tardelli, but I went for Scholes primarily for the reason Physio stated below. I also factored in how impressive he was over 2 legs against Barca in 2008 in that role against a similarly stacked opposition attack.

I thought Scholes was the right man for the quick counters with his long passing. Cruyff really had to play centrally in this system and the wingers were definitely needed. IMO you played your best team and got Desailly and Hierro the right way round

Thanks mate

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Nice to see Barnes get some overdue recognition. He was a superb player in the First Division, was clearly Liverpool's best player for many years and it's a pity he never really had a chance to shine in Europe. That said, I'd have liked to have seen him light up a major international tournament. On one hand I'm not sure Robson and Taylor were ever that great at embracing creative players like him, Hoddle and Waddle. On the other, many of the very greatest still forced their ability to shine despite questionable tactics or management.

Aye, its so unfortunate he didn't get a chance to play in the CL in his prime. Agreed on his international career, although he seems to have been infuriatingly misused from what I've seen. I watched his 15 minute cameo vs Argentina in the 1986 WC the other day, and it was weird how rarely his teammates looked to pass to him, despite delivering a peach of an assist and then serving up another gilt-edged chance on the few occasions he did see the ball.



the near-assist starts at 4:55ish:



*I'm assuming no-one gives a shit about spoilering videos now that the match is done and dusted.

 

[antohan]

I can see the stylistic merit of putting the strong and fast Desailly at CB but honestly I think he was at his monstrous best as a defensive midfielder. Scholes or Tardelli was the hardest decision and maybe I should have went with my first instinct which was to play Tardelli, but I went for Scholes primarily for the reason Physio stated below. I also factored in how impressive he was over 2 legs against Barca in 2008 in that role against a similarly stacked opposition attack.



Thanks mate

I agree that was the best Desailly. The point is you didn't need the best Desailly but the best setup to deal with the threats from Onenil.

I understand your view on Scholes, that's why I completely blanked the option of dropping him and started yapping about Barnes or Cruyff. Then somebody mentioned it and, in fairness, Hierro from deep and Cruyff further up offered most of what Paul brought to the table.

 

[Enigma_87]

@Pat_Mustard I don't think you could've done any better in terms of tactics to be honest. You got it spot on and even reshuffling the CB/DM position it wouldn't do that much difference. It was really tight game for me as I thought you could just nick it with Matthews and Spencer in the box.

 

[Moby]

Cheers mate and well played! Its an absolute juggernaut of a team you've put together. Yeah, I needed the star quality of a Cruyff but it does present some difficulties picking him up right at the end rather than trying to assemble the team around him. TBH Di Stefano was the GOAT that I thought would really fit this team like a glove, although the thought of Barnes/Scholes/Cruyff playing together is brilliant to me. And this was definitely better than that atrocity of a match in the No Mates Draft .



Thanks mate . I always knew I was up against it here, although the Matthews vs Nilton card gave me a glimmer of hope.

Hated voting against your team mate, was really well constructed and this would have been a really close battle in reality with both teams dealing punches. In the end onenil packed enough quality in there to edge out this game and unlike the usual GOAT combos the ones he had lacked the usual big headedness and could work together very well, Messi is probably the best when it comes to being at the very best tier and still always willing to play a team game. The scoreline is very harsh but I believe like me a lot of people thought onenil would be victorious in the end despite the teams being very close. The only thing in your team for me would be switching Hierro and Desailly, the latter was no doubt a beast there but he was perhaps needed more at the back where the biggest onenil threat lied while Hierro could add as an additional defender when needed. But overall a fantastic effort as usual!

 

[Raees]

Hated voting against your team mate, was really well constructed and this would have been a really close battle in reality with both teams dealing punches. In the end onenil packed enough quality in there to edge out this game and unlike the usual GOAT combos the ones he had lacked the usual big headedness and could work together very well, Messi is probably the best when it comes to being at the very best tier and still always willing to play a team game. The scoreline is very harsh but I believe like me a lot of people thought onenil would be victorious in the end despite the teams being very close. The only thing in your team for me would be switching Hierro and Desailly, the latter was no doubt a beast there but he was perhaps needed more at the back where the biggest onenil threat lied while Hierro could add as an additional defender when needed. But overall a fantastic effort as usual!

Well said. I felt Pat maximised his side as much as he could, it just he was up against a behemoth of a side.. which could have knocked out anyone.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

onenil doesn't have pacy wingers who stretch the defence. His threat is more central.

A compact defence would be much more effective than a traditional back 4 with both Maldini and Burgnich capable of drifting wide and Desailly/Hierro dropping back. Very fluid. WM (or even a hybrid 3-3-3-1 a la Netherlands) would have been nice since . Scholes to dictate from the middle. Cruyff in a free role.

Would have been deadly on the counter.

...............Spencer................
....Barnes....Cruyff....Matthews.
................Scholes.................
.........Desailly......Hierro...........
.Maldini........Kohler......Burgnich.

 

[Moby]

You have a problem, EAP.

 

[Enigma_87]

onenil doesn't have pacy wingers who stretch the defence. His threat is more central.

A compact defence would be much more effective than a traditional back 4 with both Maldini and Burgnich capable of drifting wide and Desailly/Hierro dropping back. Very fluid. WM (or even a hybrid 3-3-3-1 a la Netherlands) would have been nice since . Scholes to dictate from the middle. Cruyff in a free role.

Would have been deadly on the counter.

...............Spencer................
....Barnes....Cruyff....Matthews.
................Scholes.................
.........Desailly......Hierro...........
.Maldini........Kohler......Burgnich.

..................Spencer......................
............Cruyff....Matthews..............
.......Desailly...Scholes...Tardelli.......
.Maldini....Kohler....Hierro...Burgnich.

even better

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

..................Spencer......................
............Cruyff....Matthews..............
.......Desailly...Scholes...Tardelli.......
.Maldini....Kohler....Hierro...Burgnich.

even better

Yay, Pyramid... Man after my own heart. Thought of this before but not a fan of Matthews in that role, tbh! Yeah defend in numbers and strike a quick counter is the best way against onenil.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

I agree that was the best Desailly. The point is you didn't need the best Desailly but the best setup to deal with the threats from Onenil.

I understand your view on Scholes, that's why I completely blanked the option of dropping him and started yapping about Barnes or Cruyff. Then somebody mentioned it and, in fairness, Hierro from deep and Cruyff further up offered most of what Paul brought to the table.

@Pat_Mustard I don't think you could've done any better in terms of tactics to be honest. You got it spot on and even reshuffling the CB/DM position it wouldn't do that much difference. It was really tight game for me as I thought you could just nick it with Matthews and Spencer in the box.

Hated voting against your team mate, was really well constructed and this would have been a really close battle in reality with both teams dealing punches. In the end onenil packed enough quality in there to edge out this game and unlike the usual GOAT combos the ones he had lacked the usual big headedness and could work together very well, Messi is probably the best when it comes to being at the very best tier and still always willing to play a team game. The scoreline is very harsh but I believe like me a lot of people thought onenil would be victorious in the end despite the teams being very close. The only thing in your team for me would be switching Hierro and Desailly, the latter was no doubt a beast there but he was perhaps needed more at the back where the biggest onenil threat lied while Hierro could add as an additional defender when needed. But overall a fantastic effort as usual!

Well said. I felt Pat maximised his side as much as he could, it just he was up against a behemoth of a side.. which could have knocked out anyone.

Cheers lads

 

[Pat_Mustard]

onenil doesn't have pacy wingers who stretch the defence. His threat is more central.

A compact defence would be much more effective than a traditional back 4 with both Maldini and Burgnich capable of drifting wide and Desailly/Hierro dropping back. Very fluid. WM (or even a hybrid 3-3-3-1 a la Netherlands) would have been nice since . Scholes to dictate from the middle. Cruyff in a free role.

Would have been deadly on the counter.

...............Spencer................
....Barnes....Cruyff....Matthews.
................Scholes.................
.........Desailly......Hierro...........
.Maldini........Kohler......Burgnich.

I love it mate . I have actually wanted to put together that sort of uber-strong back three with no wing backs formation for awhile so I could flood the attack, but even if I had the freedom of the whole pool to choose from I don't think I'd have tried it against Onenil's attack. Effectively Maldini/Kohler.Burnich would be likely to be one on one vs Messi/Ronaldo/Henry, with one of the DMs picking up Socrates, and I'd rather my spare man be in the defnesive line than at DM.