Decades Chain Draft: R1 - GSTQ vs Michaelf

[Šjor Bepo]

vs

Team GSTQ

Playing style - Attacking direct football with an emphasis on quick transitions to the final third

Team theme - A classic British style 4-2-3-1 built around a classic British No. 10.


Team Michael

My team will play a 4-4-2 formation with Cancelo playing as an inverted full back on the left-hand side often creating a three-man midfield. When he does this, Gordillo who has experience, including in his selected period, as a LB and a LWB will ensure that not too much advantage can be taken on our left-hand side. I will briefly discuss Ivan Gudelj who is the least often drafted player in my team before discussing some of my team's strengths and areas of advantage in this match.

Ivan Gudelj was the Yugoslav Footballer of the Year in 1982 and was included in L'Equipe's ideal team for the 1982 World Cup despite Yugoslavia not making it past the initial group stage. Gudelj was known as Beckenbauer from Zmijavci and as shown in this post from @Šjor Bepo was a superb all-round midfielder.

Prime Kempes was a rare combination of height, speed, strength, technique, smartness, and a relentless drive. He could beat defenders through pace, feints, dribblings, sheer power, or any combination of these. He also had a true striker's instinct for off the ball movement and sudden opportunities, which could give him a decisive advantage at any moment. He had the first touch to set himself up immediately. He could pass. He was a nightmare to defend.

The best stylistic comparison I can think of is a cross between Ruud Gullit and Gabriel Batistuta. Funnily this is even true in appearance, but just as much in terms of Kempes' in-game characteristics. At least in my eyes - it can certainly be discussed.

He was the offensive centerpiece of Valencia and '78 Argentina: the go-to-guy who made things happen, and the main man to finish it off as well. Yet he maintained a balance between talismanic difference maker and hardworking team player. A leader who was part of the collective.

Positionally, Kempes was as versatile as it gets. Nominally a central player, he could operate from both central and wide positions, deeper in midfield and high up in the opposition box. He was used in various positions and roles over his career, and when he had freedom to move, he popped up pretty much everywhere (see the compilation vs Real). He took direct freekicks, corners and indirect freekicks, and penalties, although neither of them exclusively.

The physicality of Kempes' game must also be mentioned. It wasn't uncommon for defenders to just bounce off him in 1vs1 duels, while he could still shield and control the ball. Sometimes they needed a bit of a lie down too, afterwards. On the other hand, Kempes wasn't shy to put himself on the line, and he was a frequent target for classic '70s/'80s style hackdowns. He also defended with intensity. This physical approach to the game likely contributed to the injury troubles he experienced while still quite a young player.

During the selected period Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or in 1997 (also finishing 1 vote behind the winner in 1996), FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996 and 1997, top goalscorer once each in both the Netherlands and Spain, 1998 Serie A Footballer of the Year, UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 1997-98, Golden Ball winner at the 1998 World Cup, MVP at the 1997 Copa America and in the All Star team of both the 1997 and 1999 Copa America's.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

@GodShaveTheQueen @Michaelf7777777 good luck

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Dalglish is .... sufficient there, but the rest of the team is phenomenal. Mike's team has noting wrong with it, but still have to give this to GSTQ.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Dalglish is .... sufficient there

That is a tad disappointing to hear. I agree he is not in the top tier but the front 4 (and to an extent Alonso) are the ingredients I would pick if I was to build a setup to get the best out of Dalglish. Even with Eusebio in there, I would still call it a Dalglish team and to put things in perspective, I would not even have someone like Baggio replace him there. Pele yes, but most others, no.

 

[Gio]

That is a tad disappointing to hear. I agree he is not in the top tier but the front 4 (and to an extent Alonso) are the ingredients I would pick if I was to build a setup to get the best out of Dalglish. Even with Eusebio in there, I would still call it a Dalglish team and to put things in perspective, I would not even have someone like Baggio replace him there. Pele yes, but most others, no.

Dalglish and Eusebio are great partners for me.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

That is a tad disappointing to hear. I agree he is not in the top tier but the front 4 (and to an extent Alonso) are the ingredients I would pick if I was to build a setup to get the best out of Dalglish. Even with Eusebio in there, I would still call it a Dalglish team and to put things in perspective, I would not even have someone like Baggio replace him there. Pele yes, but most others, no.

I think he looks great there. I draw the line at not swapping him with Baggio though!

I feel a bit bad voting against Mike, as he continues his track record of drafting less-known players, in this case Gudelj. I like that slightly unorthodox Cancelo/Gordillo flank, although on the other side I'm not sure that Jinky adds much to this particular set up.

 

[Physiocrat]

Does anyone know how deep Kenny would like to drop? GSTQ's CMs seem to lack more forward movement such that it is close to a 4222 positionally but with Giggs as a trad winger. So it seems to me that Kenny would need to drop pretty deep to link the play unless GSTQ is going long and collecting second balls which seems unlikely with Elkjaer. I like Michael's side and at last has put a more traditional width provider ahead of a non-overlapping full-back.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Does anyone know how deep Kenny would like to drop? GSTQ's CMs seem to lack more forward movement such that it is close to a 4222 positionally but with Giggs as a trad winger. So it seems to me that Kenny would need to drop pretty deep to link the play unless GSTQ is going long and collecting second balls which seems unlikely with Elkjaer. I like Michael's side and at last has put a more traditional width provider ahead of a non-overlapping full-back.

Dont really need to go the long ball route.

Its not obvious on a first look but a lot of the playmaking and link up would come through Krol and Alves. I dont think one would find better playmaking fullbacks/wingbacks in an all-time context. That has to be the most underrated yet most valuable aspect of my team

And then there is Alonso whose bread and butter was to thread passes forward from deep.

Forward movement from the midfield doesn't exist in the context of say goals and burst from midfield. But we don't really need that with that front 4.

 

[Physiocrat]

Dont really need to go the long ball route.

Its not obvious on a first look but a lot of the playmaking and link up would come through Krol and Alves. I dont think one would find better playmaking fullbacks/wingbacks in an all-time context. That has to be the most underrated yet most valuable aspect of my team

And then there is Alonso whose bread and butter was to thread passes forward from deep.

Forward movement from the midfield doesn't exist in the context of say goals and burst from midfield. But we don't really need that with that front 4.

I think Krol makes sense as an attacking inverted full-back adding more central linking. Alves will overlap Eusebio well, which is exactly what you want for Euesbio, but the creation will be predominantly wide right. Xabi was certainly excellent with threaded passes from deep it just seems to me that some more like Rui Costa rather than Kenny would suit the setup better.

 

[Physiocrat]

I think he looks great there. I draw the line at not swapping him with Baggio though!

I feel a bit bad voting against Mike, as he continues his track record of drafting less-known players, in this case Gudelj. I like that slightly unorthodox Cancelo/Gordillo flank, although on the other side I'm not sure that Jinky adds much to this particular set up.

That's a good point. Neither Ronaldo or Kempes were aerial monsters - Kempes was better I don't remember him being particularly great at it. @Synco What's your take on Kempes' aerial ability?

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Alves will overlap Eusebio well, which is exactly what you want for Euesbio, but the creation will be predominantly wide right

This is Alves from 2005-09 with two stints at Sevilla and Barcelona. Especially great with playmaking in the right central areas during his Sevilla stint.

 

[Synco]

Neither Ronaldo or Kempes were aerial monsters - Kempes was better I don't remember him being particularly great at it. @Synco What's your take on Kempes' aerial ability?

Nothing exceptional, I think. He could win headers and score, but wasn't dominant, nor did he have a great leap. (Edit - at least from what I've seen, no guarantees.) One of the things from my writeup I'd need to clarify/correct probably.

Edit 2 - but I don't think that crosses to Kempes & Ronaldo are a waste, as your point on Jinky seems to have been. You got to get your strikers into play, aerial monstership is a bonus. A dedicated wide man like Jinky is a good compliment, imo.

 

[Physiocrat]

This is Alves from 2005-09 with two stints at Sevilla and Barcelona. Especially great with playmaking in the right central areas during his Sevilla stint.

I have found some alleged all-touch comps for Alves when he was at Sevilla. I'll check them out today if I get time.

 

[Physiocrat]

This is Alves from 2005-09 with two stints at Sevilla and Barcelona. Especially great with playmaking in the right central areas during his Sevilla stint.

Watched this:



And yes Alves does play more centrally than I had remembered. So that does solve the midfield issue but then it seems a little less optimal for Eusebio. I liked my original interpretation where Alves was a pure overlapper giving complete freedom to Eusebio.

 

[Synco]

@Physiocrat

To clarify further on Kempes' aerial threat, maybe it's good to have moving pictures. This compilation starts out with his 1978 headed goal vs Poland, and has a section of headers from 3:09-3:34. So when I say not exceptional, it's in comparison with all-time greats in that department. It doesn't mean he couldn't put them away. There are also other scenes where he scores from crosses, like the flying volley at 2:06. So I think it's valuable to have them coming in at him.




Although I'm leaning towards voting for GSTQ for his overall team, I must say that peak Kempes & peak Ronaldo is a forward duo of the highest order. Both were one-man attacks in the first place, and I feel they'd have great chemistry, elevating each other even further. Their combined ability of pace, dribblings, high speed link-up play, and ruthless finishing gives Michael's forward line the edge, imo. Both of them running at your defense is just an extremely scary prospect.

 

[Physiocrat]

@Synco Just watched the headers. Perfectly decent and had a good leap but the marking was awful for most of them. I really like Kempes and R9 front two for the reasons you outline, it is more whether they gel well with Jinky. Maybe more of an AM would suit Kempes and R9 better.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

That is a tad disappointing to hear. I agree he is not in the top tier but the front 4 (and to an extent Alonso) are the ingredients I would pick if I was to build a setup to get the best out of Dalglish. Even with Eusebio in there, I would still call it a Dalglish team and to put things in perspective, I would not even have someone like Baggio replace him there. Pele yes, but most others, no.

Shouldn't be too surprising considering likes of Dalglish and Cantona are rarely picked in drafts as #10, more so in a 4-2-3-1. He certainly can do the job there, but there are better players. And the reason no one has a build around Dalglish is a all time draft.

It's not a knock against Dalglish and as I said, he fits the role here.

 

[Synco]

@Synco Just watched the headers. Perfectly decent and had a good leap but the marking was awful for most of them. I really like Kempes and R9 front two for the reasons you outline, it is more whether they gel well with Jinky. Maybe more of an AM would suit Kempes and R9 better.

As I said, my take is it can never hurt to hurl quality crosses at a front two like that. Kempes is the AM here pretty much, he could be displayed in the same position as Dalglish imo.

 

[Gio]

Really like @Michaelf7777777's tactics here. The dynamics on the left flank are spot on, the partnerships in midfield and up top click as well.

Standard issue quality from @GodShaveTheQueen as well - cracking flanks.

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Although I'm leaning towards voting for GSTQ for his overall team, I must say that peak Kempes & peak Ronaldo is a forward duo of the highest order.

Yea, as a neutral, I would have found it tough to vote against that forward line. It's unique for drafts here and excellent use of Kempes.

Will respond to rest of the posts tomorrow, wish I could debate more as the lineups both are really interesting but my wife is pissed with my constant phone usage.

@Michaelf7777777 , the offer still stands. If you love your team enough to let it through a round of reinforcements, please let me know and we can ignore this game as a friendly no matter who grabs more votes, have little interest in drafting currently, so enjoying match threads from the sideline is something I would enjoy more. Good game either ways.

 

[antohan]

That is a tad disappointing to hear. I agree he is not in the top tier but the front 4 (and to an extent Alonso) are the ingredients I would pick if I was to build a setup to get the best out of Dalglish. Even with Eusebio in there, I would still call it a Dalglish team and to put things in perspective, I would not even have someone like Baggio replace him there. Pele yes, but most others, no.

Agreed. I actually thought long and hard about getting Dalglish and this is exactly why I didn't. The way that job "in the hole" is performed can be quite different across players and it ultimately is more or less effective depending on what the rest of the team is playing at, not the individual quality/ranking.

 

[antohan]

Will respond to rest of the posts tomorrow, wish I could debate more as the lineups both are really interesting but my wife is pissed with my constant phone usage.

Rightly so, focus on getting well.

 

[Michaelf7777777]

Yea, as a neutral, I would have found it tough to vote against that forward line. It's unique for drafts here and excellent use of Kempes.

Will respond to rest of the posts tomorrow, wish I could debate more as the lineups both are really interesting but my wife is pissed with my constant phone usage.

@Michaelf7777777 , the offer still stands. If you love your team enough to let it through a round of reinforcements, please let me know and we can ignore this game as a friendly no matter who grabs more votes, have little interest in drafting currently, so enjoying match threads from the sideline is something I would enjoy more. Good game either ways.

Accepted if fine with draft organizer.

@Šjor Bepo

 

[Šjor Bepo]

Accepted if fine with draft organizer.

@Šjor Bepo

fine by me @GodShaveTheQueen

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Good luck going forward @Michaelf7777777 , great draft idea @Šjor Bepo , coincidentally all one sided R1 games though. Hopefully closer games going ahead.

 

[Physiocrat]

Good luck going forward @Michaelf7777777 , great draft idea @Šjor Bepo , coincidentally all one sided R1 games though. Hopefully closer games going ahead.

TBF me and Pat drew.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

@Michaelf7777777 loved your team, adore that Schweini Gudelj midfield, Cancelo was also a genius move but please try to sell a bit more unknown players as i had no idea what your RB and LM have to offer and when that is the case its hard to vote

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

TBF me and Pat drew.

It shouldn't have been a draw or even close IMO. Shocking result in my eyes even though Pat's team was pretty nice too. Your team was spectacular, and I was disappointed I logged in late and couldn't vote. Absolute shame the team couldn't go into QF as it was one of the best usages of Overath and Cubillas I have even seen in drafts here.