Rivals Draft R1: Pat_Mustard vs Himannv

[Physiocrat]

Pat



himannv

Pat Tactics

Formation: 4-3-3

• Recber's big move to Barca ended in dismal failure, but he enjoyed a distinguished 12 season career at Fener and was, briefly, seen as one of the best GKs in the world, finishing third in the IFHHS Goalkeeper of the Year rankings in 2002.
• The distinguished defensive organiser Vasovic led Partizan Belgrade all the way to a European Cup final in 1966, even scoring in a narrow loss to Real Madrid. He's partnered with the fast, powerful and aggressive CSKA Moscow stopper Kaplychnyi.
• The athletic, technically sound Alex Sandro emerged as one of the most promising flank-dominators around at Porto, while on the other side Danny McGrain is a Celtic all-time XI shoo-in, with sports writer Hugh McIlvanney commenting, "Anybody who saw him at his best had the unmistakable impression of watching a great player, probably one who had no superior anywhere in the world."
• Wim Jansen lines up on the right side of midfield as he's the most suited of the midfield trio to peeling out wide to provide supporting width. He was a surprisingly effective creator in fact, with transfermarkt listing him as having 112 career assists. In the centre of the trio is Hajduk Split legend and Bepo man-crush Ivan Gudelj, a steely and resolute competitor with a knack of taking things into his own hands with surging forward runs. Rounding out the trio is Mustard man-crush Verratti, who with his freakish press-resistance and stratospheric passing stats, should ensure steady and punchy service to the front three.
• A youthful Hernan Crespo leads the line, with Bale at LWF and Edmundo as a second striker having freedom to roam in the attacking phase. Edmundo's signing was a catalyst for Palmeiras to win two successive Brazilian championships after 17 trophyless seasons, while Bale hit an extraordinary individual level at Spurs, winning the PFA Player of the Year award twice in three seasons.

himannv tactics

Formation: 4-3-3

General tactics:

- This is mostly a counterattacking setup that aims to be strong centrally in both the attacking and defensive phase.
- The midfield balance is basically one pure DM, one high workrate ball carrier, and one pass master.
- Front 3 interchange positions to suit the situation and are generally quite fluid.

Defensive tactics:
- Beara is solid and spectacular at the back
- The back 4 more or less hold their shape for most part and the fullbacks make sure they are not caught out although they do aid in attacking phases.
- The defense is mostly good on the ball and this aids in counters.
- Gilberto shields the back line and is a purely defensive DM with just short passes made to kick off attacks after winning the ball.
- Gazza's workrate helps with defensive work and offers some balance.

Attacking tactics:
- Gazza does most of the ball carrying work in midfield for this side.
- Cetin is the most creative option in midfield and has a silky touch, lovely vision, and dainty but pinpoint passing. He's a playmaker but more in the Xavi mold than a Pirlo.
- Dalglish shoves people off the ball with his arse and makes space for himself to take a shot or he plays in one of the others.
- Altafini gets on the end of passes and scores in addition to making off the ball runs and interlinking with the other forwards.
- Sivori is Sivori.

 

[Physiocrat]

@Pat_Mustard @Himannv

Game on!

 

[Šjor Bepo]

@Pat_Mustard why gudelj in the middle? both jensen and verratti make more sense there and free gudelj is better then the holding one

 

[NM]

Pat shades it IMO

 

[Pat_Mustard]

@Pat_Mustard why gudelj in the middle? both jensen and verratti make more sense there and free gudelj is better then the holding one

I struggled to decide how to set out the midfield tbh. I was quite impressed with Gudelj's tracking of Platini at times in one of your videos, and figured he can still burst forward on ocassion anyway from this position with two intelligent grafters like Verratti and Jansen alongside him. Mostly though, I felt that McGrain could do with a bit of support in building attacks down the right wing and I've seen Jansen do some good work out there. Had a gander on transfermarkt and Wim actually had a league season where he's credited with 14 assists, 7 of them from crosses. As it happens Himannv has a similar but more pronounced issue with his right side, with Carvalho at RB and the poacher-y (I think) Altafini as the right-sided forward.

 

[Himannv]

the poacher-y (I think) Altafini as the right-sided forward.

The Palmeiras version of him started off as an AM and RW before he became an elite goal scorer. I wouldn't pigeonhole him into goal poacher either - he's technically very good with neat little touches, pacy, and a good dribbler as well. Based on the limited footage I've watched, he actually seems quite well-rounded and I'm surprised he doesn't get picked up in drafts more often.

 

[Himannv]

Congratz @Pat_Mustard you had a lovely team. I feel like your midfield balance is off a little bit due to the positioning of players, but that's a minor nitpick really. Pick up one of my CBs if you can. Best of luck for the rest of it!

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Congratz @Pat_Mustard you had a lovely team. I feel like your midfield balance is off a little bit due to the positioning of players, but that's a minor nitpick really. Pick up one of my CBs if you can. Best of luck for the rest of it!

Thanks mate and hard luck. I thought I'd most likely lose this and wouldn't have been bothered at all as your squad probably had the most potential of all of us in the bottom pool. I'll definitely try to rejig the midfield for the next match, and there's a dismaying amount elsewhere that could use strengthening as well!

 

[Himannv]

Ideally I'd have liked a midfielder who was better off the ball than Cetin for this game. Having said that, he's fantastic on the ball and his passes are silky af. He's a playmaker type but more Xavi than Pirlo with sweet little short passes and little runs before he plays that final perfectly weighted pass into the final third.

Really enjoyed this draft - I certainly learnt a lot about players I've never heard of before!