PR Draft QG: Physio/Synco vs Gio

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

vs

---------------------------------------------------- TEAM PHYSIO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TEAM GIO --------------------------------------------------------


TEAM PHYSIO


FORMATION
Tight 4231 in defense, 433-ish in offense

TACTICS
Moderately deep counterattacking setup to stifle Gio's offense and play out our own strengths in fast transitions.

Especially Eusebio and Matthews will be less effective when we methodically restrict the tempo and dynamicism of Gio's attack. On the other side, our own attackers are perfect for fluid, unpredictable attacks on the break.

PLAYER ROLES
The central core of Voronin, Robson, Van Dijk, Nesta will be the heart of our defensive formation. Even Puskas and Eusebio will have a hard time playing through that.

On the flanks, Bergmark can play his natural game as a world class marker against Rensenbrink; Demyanenko (a fine defender to start with) gets extra protection against Matthews through the setup. Both wide forwards will support their fullbacks to close down the wings.

Platini will play akin to the "Sneijder" role, but better of course. Disciplined defending in front of our central bloc, bossing transitions from CM with his passing range, moving up to scoring positions with the second wave.

Seeler picks up Passarella, should he move forward.

KEY ADVANTAGES OVER GIO'S SIDE

• stronger team defense - all outfield players are determined defenders, our entire front four has serious workrate; we believe our players are in a better place defensively compared to Gio's
• our counter strategy will exploit this to the fullest, giving us the necessary tactical advantage
• our midfield three can sufficiently contain and trouble Gio's 442-ish center
• set pieces - we have Seeler, Van Dijk, Nesta, Voronin, Kempes, and Robson going for Figo's deliveries. A massive advantage over Gio's somewhat undersized defense

TEAM GIO

THE APPROACH:

The team is now built around its swashbuckling strikeforce of Puskas and Eusebio. The gameplan is to get the ball up to the front two as quickly as possible to enable them to wreak havoc. It's not about patiently probing around in midfield, but in sharply shifting it forwards. Both Roy Keane and Paulo Roberto Falcao can feed them with the regular and early service they need.

I got the ball and passed to Gary [Neville], who was on my team. In a normal game that was a great ball – pass to your teammate, go up the pitch. And then Keane turned round and just started going,

“Pass the fecking ball forward, take risks, you’re not at Leeds or West Ham now, you’re at Manchester United!’

In the same vein the ball can be shifted quickly up the flanks. Both the Antonio Cabrini / Robert Rensenbrink and Berti Vogts / Stanley Matthews duos are direct, complementary and can create chances. At the back Daniel Passarella is introduced into the defence to provide leadership and his aerial prowess will be particularly valuable in defending against Seeler. He too can fizz the ball early up to the feet of Puskas and Eusebio.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

• Puskas (708 goals and 341 assists in his career) and Eusebio (580 goals in 575 games) offer threats from all over the shop. Defend high - as Van Dijk and Nesta might prefer - and Eusebio has the power and pace to break an offside trap and motor towards goal. Defend deep and both Puskas and Eusebio have the powerful and potent shooting to net from anything up to 30 yards.
• When Platini makes runs beyond the midfield Passarella will be tasked with keeping tabs on him - he’s done this successfully in the past shutting him out 9 times out of 11 games between Argentina v France and Fiorentina v Juventus.
• Both wingers will be expected to isolate their full-backs 1v1 to stretch the opposition defence, creating more space for Puskas and Eusebio to exploit centrally. Generally speaking I fancy Rensenbrink (2nd and 3rd in the 1976 and 1978 Ballon d’Or) against Bergmark, and Matthews (one of England’s greatest ever players, 1956 Ballon d’Or winner) against Demyanenko to cause problems - particularly given our strategy of quick-fire transitions into attacking areas, with the passing ability of Falcao well-placed to spray passes out-wide or thread balls over the top behind the opposition backline.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

@Physiocrat @Gio All the best

 

[Physiocrat]

Gio has a very attacking line up which I don't think is ultimately balanced. Keane will be somewhat restricted next to Falcao, Resenbrink and Matthews are more forwards than LMs and RMs. Also with the defensive work rate of Kempes and Figo it will make it very difficult for Resenbrink and Matthews.

Going down the middle against VVD, Nesta, Voronin, Robbo with help from Platini is as close to a brick wall that you would come up against.

With the passing ability of VVD, Voronin and Platini blistering counters outwide will cause chaos in Gio's back line especially given how Eusebio and Matthews tend to be somewhat unintense without the ball.

I also think Matthews and Eusebio are not a great combo. Eusebio liked to drift wide (right given Gio's setup) and run with the ball from deep which is exactly what Matthews would want to do.

 

[Physiocrat]

@Physiocrat @Gio All the best

Thanks Edgar.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Not a fan of Puskas and Eusebio being paired together. Both are SS and are best playing behind a CF. I'm not convinced this matchup will be best of either. Will wait to hear more from Gio.

VVD, urgh!

 

[Gio]

Gio has a very attacking line up which I don't think is ultimately balanced. Keane will be somewhat restricted next to Falcao, Resenbrink and Matthews are more forwards than LMs and RMs. Also with the defensive work rate of Kempes and Figo it will make it very difficult for Resenbrink and Matthews.

Going down the middle against VVD, Nesta, Voronin, Robbo with help from Platini is as close to a brick wall that you would come up against.

With the passing ability of VVD, Voronin and Platini blistering counters outwide will cause chaos in Gio's back line especially given how Eusebio and Matthews tend to be somewhat unintense without the ball.

I'm not convinced the counter-attacking strategy is that effective as you lack real pace in attack. Seeler was fairly slow, Figo had a good change of pace over 10 yards, but never had an impressive top gear to accelerate into space. On the other side Kempes is not a Boniek style out-ball for Platini, and hard-working though he certainly is, was not a natural width provider who you would want to stretch the play. Plus he is up against Berti Vogts who is pretty much the perfect player in his solidity in the right-central areas to defend against such a tactic.

I also think Matthews and Eusebio are not a great combo. Eusebio liked to drift wide (right given Gio's setup) and run with the ball from deep which is exactly what Matthews would want to do.

Matthews is an outside-right - his job has always been to stay wide. If he was frequently making runs into the central areas in the style of Salah, Rummenigge, Kubala etc then I would agree there is some overlap, but that is simply not how he played.

 

[Gio]

Not a fan of Puskas and Eusebio being paired together. Both are SS and are best playing behind a CF. I'm not convinced this matchup will be best of either. Will wait to hear more from Gio.

VVD, urgh!

Boiling them down to just support strikers doesn't reflect how they were both incredible 9.5s and 9s. You don't average over a goal per game by being just a support striker. Stylistically this isn't a partnership of Baggio and Dalglish for instance. When you've scored over 1300 goals between you, the last thing required is another player occupying the penalty box. They were so good that they could play both roles to a GOAT level. And therefore the question becomes do they complement or clash?

I think they're a cracking partnership personally. So complementary - Puskas short and stubby, Eusebio big and dynamic. Puskas all left foot and working the central and inside-left channels, Eusebio all right foot and working the central and inside-right channels. Puskas as much of a provider as he is a goalscorer, with the best assist-to-games ratio of any player in history. Eusebio much less of an assister and much more of a pure goalscorer in his mentality. Both from the same era and on the same wavelength. And it's Puskas who makes it work. He can both be the central reference point for Eusebio to bounce off, but he can also be the creative force, constantly sliding through balls into Eusebio's path.

 

[Physiocrat]

I'm not convinced the counter-attacking strategy is that effective as you lack real pace in attack. Seeler was fairly slow, Figo had a good change of pace over 10 yards, but never had an impressive top gear to accelerate into space. On the other side Kempes is not a Boniek style out-ball for Platini, and hard-working though he certainly is, was not a natural width provider who you would want to stretch the play. Plus he is up against Berti Vogts who is pretty much the perfect player in his solidity in the right-central areas to defend against such a tactic.

Kempes began as a winger and is more than capable of stretching the play whilst Demyanenko bombs up on the overlap.

Whilst having absolutely rapid players in an advantage in counter attacking setup Kempes, Seeler and Figo were hardly slow and remember the ball moves quicker than any player.

As a point of reference in the 01-02 season Utd got to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a transition based side, although at a somewhat more controlling version than they had in the 1990s. The front 6 was normally something like this -

..........................RVN..........
......... ....Giggs.................
Scholes...Keane...Veron...Beckham

Apart from Giggs none of these players were particular quick (also this is the post 2000 Giggs who wasn't as fast as in his youth)

Matthews is an outside-right - his job has always been to stay wide. If he was frequently making runs into the central areas in the style of Salah, Rummenigge, Kubala etc then I would agree there is some overlap, but that is simply not how he played.

The issue is Eusebio will get in his way with when picking up the ball. Also Matthews didn't offer that much off the ball. That could be unfair on him given that he was by far Blackpool's best player but it is not ideal for Matthews here.

 

[Physiocrat]

Boiling them down to just support strikers doesn't reflect how they were both incredible 9.5s and 9s. You don't average over a goal per game by being just a support striker. Stylistically this isn't a partnership of Baggio and Dalglish for instance. When you've scored over 1300 goals between you, the last thing required is another player occupying the penalty box. They were so good that they could play both roles to a GOAT level. And therefore the question becomes do they complement or clash?

I think they're a cracking partnership personally. So complementary - Puskas short and stubby, Eusebio big and dynamic. Puskas all left foot and working the central and inside-left channels, Eusebio all right foot and working the central and inside-right channels. Puskas as much of a provider as he is a goalscorer, with the best assist-to-games ratio of any player in history. Eusebio much less of an assister and much more of a pure goalscorer in his mentality. Both from the same era and on the same wavelength. And it's Puskas who makes it work. He can both be the central reference point for Eusebio to bounce off, but he can also be the creative force, constantly sliding through balls into Eusebio's path.

I think EAP is discussing position rather than role. Puskas and Eusebio liked to drop deep a lot especially Eusebio. I had him in a recent draft and watch a lot of him. He generally drops deep and dribbles with it then shoots. He doesn't link up that much with any other player whilst of course he could. Puskas played quite a bit like a 10 but turned more into a purer striker later on. I would expect then Puskas to be more of the genuine striker with Eusebio deeper but this wouldn't get the best out of Puskas who would like to start deeper. With Real, ADS was a false 9 ish with Puskas starting a bit deeper as an inside left. Both Eusebio and Puskas would prefer playing of a proper central striker.

 

[Gio]

Kempes began as a winger and is more than capable of stretching the play whilst Demyanenko bombs up on the overlap.

Whilst having absolutely rapid players in an advantage in counter attacking setup Kempes, Seeler and Figo were hardly slow and remember the ball moves quicker than any player.

As a point of reference in the 01-02 season Utd got to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a transition based side, although at a somewhat more controlling version than they had in the 1990s. The front 6 was normally something like this -

..........................RVN..........
......... ....Giggs.................
Scholes...Keane...Veron...Beckham

Apart from Giggs none of these players were particular quick (also this is the post 2000 Giggs who wasn't as fast as in his youth)

I think that team's obvious (only) attacking flaw was its lack of pace going forward. And it wasn't a transition-based side any more. But it didn't really become an effective counter-attacking side until the second half of the decade when they added real pace with Cristiano into the attack.

 

[Gio]

I make no apologies for the attacking system. When you have attacking talent like Puskas, Eusebio, Rensenbrink and Matthews, the last thing you do is constrain them in a set-up alien to how they played and excelled during their careers. Each of them are in familiar roles:

• Puskas and Eusebio - enjoys a stacked attack with a central partner and genuine wingers (see Gento, Czibor, Budai, Augusto) stretching the play either side
• Matthews - plays in front of a defensively robust full-back who can nail the flank down, and Matthews can hug the touchline with two complementary targets to hit in the middle.
• Rensenbrink - played on the left in a 4-4-2 for Anderlecht and Brugge. And he contributed plenty off the ball as a TotalVoetballer for Holland during the 1970s.

 

[Gio]

I think EAP is discussing position rather than role. Puskas and Eusebio liked to drop deep a lot especially Eusebio. I had him in a recent draft and watch a lot of him. He generally drops deep and dribbles with it then shoots. He doesn't link up that much with any other player whilst of course he could. Puskas played quite a bit like a 10 but turned more into a purer striker later on. I would expect then Puskas to be more of the genuine striker with Eusebio deeper but this wouldn't get the best out of Puskas who would like to start deeper. With Real, ADS was a false 9 ish with Puskas starting a bit deeper as an inside left. Both Eusebio and Puskas would prefer playing of a proper central striker.

I'm not buying that. They are a proper strike partnership who can alternate dropping off and the beauty of that is they present contrasting threats which keeps your defence guessing. Not every strike partnership has to be a 9.5 and a 9. For example, how did Ronaldo form brilliant partnerships with both Romario and Rivaldo? Ronaldo is probably the closest modern day equivalent to Eusebio and, in the modern game, sparked off all types of partners. How did an SS like Henry (another similar player to Eusebio) play his best football next to a 10 in Bergkamp - where's the no9 there? How come Cantona and Hughes was one of the best United strike partnerships of the last 3 decades?

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Not a fan of Puskas and Eusebio being paired together. Both are SS and are best playing behind a CF. I'm not convinced this matchup will be best of either. Will wait to hear more from Gio.

VVD, urgh!

Not convinced with the rest of the team bar midfield but Eusebio/Puskas for me is a great combination. Both are 9.5's and neither is even borderline close to being a proper support striker with borderline No. 10 vibes (Puskas might be very close at some point but has had peaks in different roles). Love 4-4-2's with two 9.5's. (This might be closer to a 4-2-4 but at least the attempt is to play like a 4-4-2 and there the strike partnership is aces in my books)

 

[Synco]

Hey @Gio, AMing for Physio, good luck first of all!

On some of the talking points so far:

I personally think Puskas/Eusebio is fine as a duo, no complaints from me there.

Where I see our main advantage is our compact 4231 vs a relatively open 442. Aggravated by our deeper and tighter formation against the ball. This also intends to deprive your attackers of space to run & play into, which should curb some of your strength in terms of pace and take-ons.

So I basically think our team can absorb your attacking impact better than the other way around, and play more freely on the ball in transition.

As for the counter strategy:

1) Our side is not on the cartoonish end of the counter spectrum (hence only "moderately deep" in the OP). It's simply a side that collectively falls back against the ball and plays fast, direct transitions after winning it back.
2) all of our front three loved to play fast and direct in transition, Demyanenko has lots of pace to burn, Robson (2nd wave) is a great transition player too.
3) Kempes was rapid and is definitely a good target for direct outballs. For example, look at his goal in the comp vs Nantes I posted recently. It's from the right side, but he did his solo runs even more from the left:



This is pretty much what we intend to do - or rather, one of the things.

Beyond that element, I see this more as a combination-based counter side: Seeler dropping back to help spreading the ball, then immediately pushing up again. Kempes in a left-sided free role, with Demyanenko bombing down the flank. Figo isolating his marker on the right and going 1:1. Fast-paced fluid movement, quick combinations while the opposition is in transition, then ideally the killer ball. That sort of thing, with Platini distributing from the center.

 

[Physiocrat]

I think we are being dragged away from the main point here. Gio's side is wide open and very vulnerable to counters. Two very attacking wingers, one of whom did very little off the ball and in defence, with just a midfield two. This is not going to withstand Voronin, Robbo and Platini. Robbo is also set to have a better game than Keane - he has Voronin beside him so he can play his two way game to the full whereas Keane has to be restrained alongside Falcao.

Onto goals, Seeler scored 404 goals in 476 games for Hamburg. Also Platini scored 54 goals in 88 games (82-83 to 84-85 season) in a Serie A which averaged only 2.2 goals today which compares with 2.8 goals in the 21/22 EPL season.

 

[Gio]

I think we are being dragged away from the main point here. Gio's side is wide open and very vulnerable to counters. Two very attacking wingers, one of whom did very little off the ball and in defence, with just a midfield two. This is not going to withstand Voronin, Robbo and Platini. Robbo is also set to have a better game than Keane - he has Voronin beside him so he can play his two way game to the full whereas Keane has to be restrained alongside Falcao.

Onto goals, Seeler scored 404 goals in 476 games for Hamburg. Also Platini scored 54 goals in 88 games (82-83 to 84-85 season) in a Serie A which averaged only 2.2 goals today which compares with 2.8 goals in the 21/22 EPL season.

I'm happy with a game of transitions and counter-attacks.

Firstly, I think the problem is your counter-attacking gameplan is let down by the lack of pace on the break. So while you can be fairly solid off the ball and get bodies back, it minimises the threat you have on the counter. Seeler simply won't be as effective playing the majority of the game away from our penalty box. Kempes isn't a traditional winger who will stretch our back line. If anything his central attacking instincts allows Vogts to defend narrower and make it harder for your attack to find space. So I'd be fairly confident we can keep your chances to a minimum. And when we compare the defences, we look stronger with a much more formidable pair of full-backs in Vogts and Cabrini, with comparable quality through the centre of our back four units.

Ultimately your routes to goal look a lot less persuasive than ours where we have 4 prongs to the attack - from the left with Rensenbrink, with Puskas and Eusebio almost undefendable in the middle, and Matthews on the right. Those are the players who are most dangerous in quick transitions. With the defence-splitting passing ability of Falcao and Passarella releasing them, they will get into dangerous positions time after time.

 

[Gio]

Platini scored 54 goals in 88 games (82-83 to 84-85 season) in a Serie A which averaged only 2.2 goals today which compares with 2.8 goals in the 21/22 EPL season.

And relevant to this game is he scored 1 in 9 games against Passarella in Serie A. Statistically he found it 6 times harder to score against a Passarella-led defence than everyone else in Serie A. Passarella was always an expert in spotting that danger, typically as the spare man in the defence he could anticipate those trademark runs into the box and snuff them out.

And for what it's worth Passarella has 3 in those 9 games against Platini's Juventus. Another arm to our attacking firepower.

 

[Physiocrat]

And relevant to this game is he scored 1 in 9 games against Passarella in Serie A. Statistically he found it 6 times harder to score against a Passarella-led defence than everyone else in Serie A. Passarella was always an expert in spotting that danger, typically as the spare man in the defence he could anticipate those trademark runs into the box and snuff them out.

And for what it's worth Passarella has 3 in those 9 games against Platini's Juventus. Another arm to our attacking firepower.

According to Transfermarkt -

Of the 8 games Passarella and Platini played against each other (the other was in the Coppa Italia) Fiorentina played 352 in 5 games and 442 in 2 games and 433 in 1 game (Fiorentina played 352 in the Coppa Italia). Now I'm no expert on Fiorentina's midfield four but given it was the 80s it will look nothing like Gio's midfield.

Also Passarella is like to have scored his goals from set pieces either direct or as a header. As mentioned in the OP this is a distinct advantage for us. We have a number of 6ft plus players who are good in the air and Gio has only one of his back line over 6ft. The only other player over 6ft is Falcao. With Figo swinging them in this is definitely a serious route to goal.

It's not meant as a precise depiction of a corner setup, more for illustration purposes.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

why is preudhomme doing a de gea

 

[Gio]

It’s an argument that might have some merit if we had a small team that were poor in the air. But we don’t. Passarella is phenomenal at defending and attacking set pieces. His central defensive partner Tresor is 6ft and boasts tremendous athleticism. From midfield we can count on the contributions of Falcao, Remsenbrink and although Keane was the shortest he always had the tenacity to match his man. Perhaps most importantly our goalkeeper Cech is over 6ft 4’ and was superb at defending crosses in the maelstrom of the 2000s EPL. It’s just as likely he plucks a cross out of the air to unfurl and release the attack on the break. And with Preud’homme rooted to his line Eusebio and Puskas have all the space in the world to hit.

 

[Physiocrat]

why is preudhomme doing a de gea

You can't move the keeper on SharemyTactics.

 

[Synco]

It’s an argument that might have some merit if we had a small team that were poor in the air. But we don’t. Passarella is phenomenal at defending and attacking set pieces. His central defensive partner Tresor is 6ft and boasts tremendous athleticism. From midfield we can count on the contributions of Falcao, Remsenbrink and although Keane was the shortest he always had the tenacity to match his man. Perhaps most importantly our goalkeeper Cech is over 6ft 4’ and was superb at defending crosses in the maelstrom of the 2000s EPL. It’s just as likely he plucks a cross out of the air to unfurl and release the attack on the break. And with Preud’homme rooted to his line Eusebio and Puskas have all the space in the world to hit.

Passarella is great, but it's an obvious mismatch, come on

I mean, in terms of heading prowess the places 4 and 5 in our team are probably held by Robbo and Voronin.

Spoiler: ROBBO

Spoiler: VORONIN

And with Preud’homme rooted to his line Eusebio and Puskas have all the space in the world to hit.

This of course we haven't thought of. Move your lazy butt, Michel!

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Excellent standard of discussion here and a very enjoyable read.

 

[Gio]

According to Transfermarkt -

Of the 8 games Passarella and Platini played against each other (the other was in the Coppa Italia) Fiorentina played 352 in 5 games and 442 in 2 games and 433 in 1 game (Fiorentina played 352 in the Coppa Italia). Now I'm no expert on Fiorentina's midfield four but given it was the 80s it will look nothing like Gio's midfield.

Also Passarella is like to have scored his goals from set pieces either direct or as a header. As mentioned in the OP this is a distinct advantage for us. We have a number of 6ft plus players who are good in the air and Gio has only one of his back line over 6ft. The only other player over 6ft is Falcao. With Figo swinging them in this is definitely a serious route to goal.

You have three - Van Dijk, Kempes and Nesta. We have two - Tresor and Falcao. We also have the most aerially dominant goalkeeper who cuts stuff out at source. It’s hardly a glaring mismatch. As I said it ignores the obvious point that some of the other players in my side were tremendously springy and won and scored plenty of headers over their careers - guys like Passarella, Keane and Eusebio.

 

[Synco]

In the great draft tradition of writing long posts over minor squabbles, I'll go a bit deeper into this

First up, some historical evidence. Here's Robson wrecking a Tresor-led French defense in the 1982 World Cup, including some nice displays of aerial ability at 1:00 and 2:33. (Tbf, Tresor wasn't the marker for Robson's headed goal, although he loses the aerial duel before Robson's first goal right at the start.)




The pic I posted further up is from that game, btw. And as I said there, Robbo is probably our #4 guy on offensive headers.

-------------------------

Secondly, this isn't only about height (although we outmatch the opposition there too), but heading ability. Seeler and Passarella are among the aerial GOATs, able to take on anyone, and they're short guys. Them battling it out on set pieces would be a great sight to see. (Although defensively we'd put VVD or Nesta on the Argentinian.)

So let's assume we get a corner. Going through the top headers on both sides*:

Seeler / VVD / Nesta / Robson / Voronin / Kempes

Passarella / Tresor / Keane / Eusebio / Falcao / Rensenbrink? Cabrini?

The mismatch already starts with the #2 pair: VVD (1.93, monster header) vs Tresor (1.82, good in the air, but not on the same level). I do agree guys like Keane, Eusebio, Falcao can hold their own aerially in principle. But the cumulative advantage our guys have over the opposition is just undeniable, imo. No guarantee this amounts to goals in a single game, but still a viable threat to be considered.

* Doesn't matter if man-to-man or spacial marking, the problem stays the same.

 

[Gio]

In the great draft tradition of writing long posts over minor squabbles, I'll go a bit deeper into this

Secondly, this isn't only about height (although we outmatch the opposition there too), but heading ability. Seeler and Passarella are among the aerial GOATs, able to take on anyone, and they're short guys. Them battling it out on set pieces would be a great sight to see. (Although defensively we'd put VVD or Nesta on the Argentinian.)

So let's assume we get a corner. Going through the top headers on both sides*:

Seeler / VVD / Nesta / Robson / Voronin / Kempes

Passarella / Tresor / Keane / Eusebio / Falcao / Rensenbrink

I'm not really buying it as a notable mismatch. I'd get it if it was one of these midget draft teams where half the team was 5ft 7 or less. But we're pretty comparable on the whole - we have 2 players over 6ft, you have 3. And we both have guys shorter than 6ft who routinely more than hold their own and cancel out their men. So on the whole you have a marginal height advantage, but I'd argue that it is offset by two more central factors:

1. A commanding goalkeeper. Cech is 1.96m. He's a modern aerially dominant goalkeeper who excelled in the physical Premier League of the 2000s. He dominates his six-yard box and can pluck crosses well beyond that too. He gives the defence a lot less space to defend at a set-piece, which makes their job much easier.
2. A GOAT aerial organiser. Passarella is arguably the greatest of all time at aerially commanding a penalty box. Having that defensive leader calling the shots is absolutely critical. We saw how rudderless United were last season without that leader at the back barking orders at his team-mates at set-pieces. As well as directing others, Passarella was a magnet to the ball in the air - he read it quicker than everybody else, and got on the end of things you thought he had no right to win.

What those two factors do is make the collective defensive effort at set-pieces immeasurably easier. Those two factors are far more influential than having a marginal advantage in height. And to give a real example, a relatively small team like Manchester City boast the best set-piece record in the 21/22 Premier League by a country mile.

Despite having a squad full of small players, City are in credit by 21 goals at set-pieces, far outstripping much bigger sides. What this tells us is that collective organisation is a more important factor than small differences in height. And while collective organisation is difficult to assess in a draft, I guarantee that a commanding goalkeeper and central defensive organiser are its main drivers and the biggest determinants of set-piece success.

 

[Synco]

I'm not really buying it as a notable mismatch. I'd get it if it was one of these midget draft teams where half the team was 5ft 7 or less. But we're pretty comparable on the whole - we have 2 players over 6ft, you have 3. And we both have guys shorter than 6ft who routinely more than hold their own and cancel out their men. So on the whole you have a marginal height advantage, but I'd argue that it is offset by two more central factors:

1. A commanding goalkeeper. Cech is 1.96m. He's a modern aerially dominant goalkeeper who excelled in the physical Premier League of the 2000s. He dominates his six-yard box and can pluck crosses well beyond that too. He gives the defence a lot less space to defend at a set-piece, which makes their job much easier.
2. A GOAT aerial organiser. Passarella is arguably the greatest of all time at aerially commanding a penalty box. Having that defensive leader calling the shots is absolutely critical. We saw how rudderless United were last season without that leader at the back barking orders at his team-mates at set-pieces. As well as directing others, Passarella was a magnet to the ball in the air - he read it quicker than everybody else, and got on the end of things you thought he had no right to win.

What those two factors do is make the collective defensive effort at set-pieces immeasurably easier. Those two factors are far more influential than having a marginal advantage in height. And to give a real example, a relatively small team like Manchester City boast the best set-piece record in the 21/22 Premier League by a country mile.

Despite having a squad full of small players, City are in credit by 21 goals at set-pieces, far outstripping much bigger sides. What this tells us is that collective organisation is a more important factor than small differences in height. And while collective organisation is difficult to assess in a draft, I guarantee that a commanding goalkeeper and central defensive organiser are its main drivers and the biggest determinants of set-piece success.

Alright - had my 3 posts and gave my takes. Always nice having a go at it in a friendly way.

 

[Theon]

This looks like a great game - an uber-attacking 4-4-2 vs a counter-attacking 4-2-3-1. Would definitely be goals in this and I think it would be a great watch.

Starting with Gio I don’t buy the criticism of Eusebio / Puskas for one second, and for me that’s an electric combination with the right blend of pace, power and ruthless-finishing. At Benfica Eusebio thrived off the physicality of Jose Augusto Torres, and I think he’d have similar success given the barrel-chested strength of Puskas.

On the flanks Matthews looks a good fit as a dedicated outside right, which stretches the play and creates room in the middle for Gio’s front two. Physio’s fullbacks are one of the weaker parts of his team, and I’d fancy the wizardry of Matthews to cause problems for Demyanenko - particularly if he’s tasked with providing much of the width on the left with Kempes cutting inside.

With Rensenbrink I think the role is a bit more controversial, I remember losing to Harms who used him in a similar position but I’ve always preferred him in a 4-3-3 given his goalthreat. With that said, given Dutch totalfootball he should have the workrate for the role - but there’s no doubt it’s a very offensive front four, which makes the rest of the midfield and defence particularly important.

As quite possibly the biggest Keane fan on the Caf, I think the partnership with Falcao looks absolutely spot on. The burden of running that midfield looks tailor-made for Keane, and it’s the sort of humongous challenge he’d relish and deliver. I don’t agree that you need Keane to play box-to-box and for me he was just as dominant as a dedicated holding player, running the show with crisp passing, intelligence and defensive positioning. The burden for breaking the lines sits more naturally with Falcao, who would relish the offensive options here when he gets on the ball.

For Physio I love the midfield and it looks well-designed for Platini to shine. Voronin has become a bit of a cheat-code in drafts (which I think is a bit overstated) for his all-round ability to contribute defensively and in possession, whilst simultaneously not getting in the way of whichever #10 super-star that makes up the creative fulcrum of the team. I also agree with the comment on Robson who looks well placed to capitalise on the stability behind him which frees him up to break forward.

Given Physio is playing on the counter and the attacking nature of Gio’s front four, I think he has to play a high-line here to minimise the gap between defence and midfield the amount of space Robson / Platini have to play in. Passarella’s style of aggressive defending looks perfect for that, and I think a lot of the game would be played in Physio’s half of the pitch, waiting to try and counter.

The point around the lack of raw pace in Physio’s front four is really interesting, and it’s not something I would have noticed. There probably is an element of truth to it, though I wouldn’t want to overplay it and that team would still pose a threat running at Gio’s backline. Platini can counter with a precise through ball, and even aged 33 at Germany 2006 Figo could drop a shoulder as well as anyone and was still getting in behind Abidal at times in the semi-final.

Ultimately though it comes down to goalthreat and how well each side is placed to defend against the opposition attack. Returning to Puskas / Eusebio I just can’t see anyway that partnership doesn’t wreck havoc given the majority of the game will be played in Physio’s half, and the support provided from Matthews / Resenbrink / Falcao.

Physio’s defence isn’t near good enough to keep that attack out but could get a goal on the counter through Platini or Kempes - most likely 2-1 to Gio.

As an aside - I haven’t checked the restrictions but imo the biggest difference in the sides looks like the quality of the fullbacks and I’d probably have upgraded there rather than Robson / Edwards.

 

[Physiocrat]

Thanks for the thoughtful post @Theon

 

[Enigma_87]

There's absolutely no issue with Puskas / Eusebio as a front two. Puskas molded his game to accept being a second fiddle to top dog AdS, whilst also has proven to be a very natural and clinical striker.

At the moment struggling to call this game, very good teams with little into it.

 

[Gio]

Well played chaps @Physiocrat @Synco. Really loved your midfield unit, central defensive duo and, while I felt Matthews was a compelling chance creator here, Demyanenko is one of my favourite flank dominators of all time so I didn't want to over-egg that point.

 

[General_Elegancia]

Cabrini?

Cabrini could be considered as an aerial threat too, he was a strong header on the ball and had some great finesse. He was also very effective in heading clearances. I can say that all of Gio's defensive players were effective and not weak in the air( yeah Vogts too).



You can see his heading technique in his goals compilation.

Wikipedia said
he was known for being prolific in front of goal, despite his defensive playing role, courtesy of his striking ability from distance, and his ability to make attacking runs up the flank; due to his timing and elevation, he was also strong in the air, and was an effective free kick and penalty kick taker

 

[Physiocrat]

Well played chaps @Physiocrat @Synco. Really loved your midfield unit, central defensive duo and, while I felt Matthews was a compelling chance creator here, Demyanenko is one of my favourite flank dominators of all time so I didn't want to over-egg that point.

I think with someone more defensively aware at RM this could have been a lot closer.

 

[Synco]

Well played chaps @Physiocrat @Synco. Really loved your midfield unit, central defensive duo and, while I felt Matthews was a compelling chance creator here, Demyanenko is one of my favourite flank dominators of all time so I didn't want to over-egg that point.

Thanks, Gio. Glad to be going through, especially since getting drawn with you is always a bit of a *gulp* moment. Our careful setup was in large parts testament to the firepower you've assembled.

Also cheers to @Theon for the detailed breakdown, I'll perhaps reply at some later point. Always a bit easier when one doesn't have to promote one's side.