Sheep draft - NoPace vs Edgar Allan Pillow

[Balu]

Team NoPace​

Why I will score:

-2 great goalscorers feasting on crosses and through balls: Sanchez 5 year peak is the 3rd greatest goalscoring peak in the post-war history of La Liga with only Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi above him. Rummennige won the Ballon D’or back to back and was similarly great on the end of crosses and through balls.

-Beckham was a truly phenomenal winger at his peak for United and he has 2 perfect forwards for him here. Montero will be uncomfortable coming wide and upfield in dealing with him. 99 era Beckham will beat him for pace if he does.

-Angloma was excellent overlapping and will combine well with Beckham. The left-side will be less dangerous, but capable of getting balls into the box. Camacho was a good crosser and Tshabalala was 2010 South African footballer of the year and has gained 90 caps as a classic winger. He is capable of giving Pantil lots of trouble and getting crosses into the box. He’s actually not a bad overall footballer, as he works hard and has 12 goals for South Africa.

-Liedholm was one of the great passers of all time and is generally seen as the greatest Swedish player of all time. He will look to hit Sanchez and Rummennigge in dangerous spots or get it out wide to my 4 crossers.

-Liedholm and Yaya will NOT have the full license to go forward that they did in their best goalscoring years, but are still decent secondary goal threats and very capable of scoring after Sanchez and Rummennigge cause hurried clearances or last-ditch tackles. Ancelotti aside, there’s a massive hole in EAP’s midfield and that will mean chances for Liedholm and Toure to create for others or beat a man and have a pop.


Why I’ll defend well:

-Toure and Liedholm will focus on cutting off supply to Baggio and Ancelotti and Djemba-Djemba/Rocco aren’t good enough to do anything with the ball. Similarly, Tshabalala will focus on denying service to Jairzinho (well marked by Camacho) rather than worrying about Panstil having a bit more time on the ball.

-Forster and Chumpitaz should make a great pair with Chumpitaz (one of the Elite South American CB”s along with Figueroa, Da Guia and Passarella by most accounts) as the leader and Forster as the more athletic chaser.

-No sheeps in the back 4 and my one sheep will work hard, has pace and is against a sheep fullback.


Why I’ll win:

-EAP and I both have sheep, but he has 2 starting. My side is balanced and my sheep is matched up against one of his, whereas his 2nd sheep is going to be overmatched in central midfield, which will hurt his ability to defend and get the ball to his exciting front 4.

-I’m sitting fairly deep and looking to hit my strikers and EAP has a midfield/fullback 4 of Montero, Pantsil, Ancelotti and Djemba-Djemba/Rocco, which will lead to him having a broken side. His CB’s were good passers, but good enough to consistently complete the long passes they will have to is a different story.

-If EAP tries to overcome his personnel issues and let his offense thrive by sitting extremely deep my team will stay fairly rigid to cut off his counter and just wait until Rummennige ends up on Pantsil at the back post and one Beckham or Angloma cross and it’s 1-0.


-TLDR: This game should be ugly. By focusing on early balls into my strikers and leaving my players deep and numerous enough to cut off EAP’s counter-ing game (which I would concede is tremendous with Jairzinho, Muller and Baggio’s pace on the break), I can win 1-0 or 2-1.

an early tactical change 30 minutes into the game:

Spoiler: starting formation

​

vs

 

[Balu]

Team Edgar Allan Pillow​

Formation:
3-2-3-2 with strength through the middle and flexibility in attack.

In Defence:

Schmeichel, Great Dane needs no introduction to United fans. One of the greatest GK's of all time his ability to pull of fantastic saves protects the goal.

A 3 man defence led by the incomparable libero in Franco Baresi flanked by Paolo Montero, a versatile and hard defender comfortable at CB/LB positions and Marcel Desailly, one of the best CB/DM's of all time form a no-nonsense defensive line at the back. They are shielded by Carlo Ancelotti, one of the best Italian midfielders of his generation. A tidy Central Midfielder with strong defensive qualities, he will keep the ball ticking forward. Here he is ably supported by the John Pantsil a tactically versatile player with ability to excel as LB/DM, who played a integral part in getting Fulham to a record 7th place in Premier League and reach the final of Europa League.

This forms a tough and yet flexible defence where the versatility of Montero, Desailly and Pantsil would prove crucial to adapt against wherever the attack may come from. Pantsil dropping back to for a standard back 4 and Desailly able to move up to complement Ancelotti gives this defence a dynamics that will help solidify my defence.

In Attack:

An attack that is comprised solely of Greatest of All Times players!!!

With Ancelotti, Baresi and Pantsil all capable of starting attacks from the deep, the attacking midfield is made of Thomas Müller, the Raumdeuter (a master of interpreting space). He has proved himself competent and lethal operating through the middle or from either flanks. This will prove crucial in temporarily overloading either wing and force attacks through, if needed. He is flanked by Nereo Rocco, a efficient if not popular Left Half and Jairzinho, one of the greatest Right Wingers of all time. Spearheading the efficient midfield is the incomparable attacking duo of Roberto Baggio and Gerd Müller, both Greatest Of All Time's in their own right.

This attack will be difficult to defend against simply by it's flexibility and adaptability. Baggio has a free role on top and has freedom to help Rocco out drifting left or push up through the middle when Thomas Müller drifts to the flanks. Marking them will be difficult for any defender as they are as deadly as they are versatile.

Goal Threat:

Thomas Muller, Raumdeuter - 26 goals in 51 appearances
Jairzinho, Hurricane - One of the 2 players in the history of the World Cup to have scored in every game of the tournament.
Roberto Baggio, Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail) - 30 goals in 43 appearances
Gerd Muller, Der Bomber - 67 goals in 49 appearances

As the above stats indicate, all of my front 4 have goal records to envy. With such a widespread threat, it will be a hopeless task for my opponent to try and contain that attack or prevent me from scoring.


Tactics & Advantages:

Opponent's lack of a dedicated DM:

My opponents lack of a dedicated Defensive Midfielder will aid my attack. Yaya Toure for all his skills is not known for his defensive shift. Him moving forward will provide time and space repeatedly for my attack to flourish, and with the quality of my front 4, it will definitely result in plenty of goals.

Exploiting opponent's lack of midfield pace:

The two crucial elements in my opponents attack are Liedholm and Beckham, the bridge between defence and attack and they both share a common weakness. Lack of Pace. They are adept at moving and need to create time and space to operate. Their strength in passing and crossing to create opportunities is directly proportional to the time and space they can get. I'll look to exploit their lack of space by denying them what makes them special.

- Nereo Rocco has been instructed to keep a close watch on Beckham. Beckham is not a pacey/tricky winger type. He needs time and space to ping in his pinpoint crosses. Rocco will look to deny him that. This will aid Rocco who having operated as Left Half has the workrate to reduce Beckham's impact in this match.

- Similarly John Pantsil has been instructed to keep close watch over Liedholm and to deny him the space and time to exhibit his crossing ability. Being versatile to play Defensive Midfielder, he has the necessary qualities to deny Liedholm time and space.

The more Rocco and Pantsil can deny time and space the my opponent's midfielder the better advantage it is to my team. Opponents lack of pace would help them greatly in this regard.

Good luck @NoPace and @Edgar Allan Pillow

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Well, this ought to be suicidally interesting.

Good luck @NoPace

 

[Balu]

Thomas Muller, Raumdeuter - 26 goals in 51 appearances
Jairzinho, Hurricane - One of the 2 players in the history of the World Cup to have scored in every game of the tournament.
Roberto Baggio, Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail) - 30 goals in 43 appearances
Gerd Muller, Der Bomber - 67 goals in 49 appearances

I don't get these stats. Where did you get them from and what competition are they for?

Gerd Müller has 68 goals in 62 games for Germany if that's what you mean. And the stats for Baggio and Thomas Müller seem to be off as well if you're talking about the nationalteams.

 

[MJJ]

Goalie

 

[kps88]

Wow did not expect that lineup from Edgar.

 

[Balu]

Goalie

I didn't even notice . @NoPace , if you post an updated formation with your actual goalkeeper named in it in the thread, tag me and I'll update the op.

/edit:
I actually did it for you, I like Preud'homme too much and thought he deserved to play. I hope that's okay, @Edgar Allan Pillow

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

I don't get these stats. Where did you get them from and what competition are they for?

Gerd Müller has 68 goals in 62 games for Germany if that's what you mean. And the stats for Baggio and Thomas Müller seem to be off as well if you're talking about the nationalteams.

Best goal season to highlight attack threat.

Thomas Muller - 2013-14
Jairzinho - 1970 WC
Baggio - 1992-93
Gerd Muller - 1972-73

All from wiki.

 

[Balu]

Best goal season to highlight attack threat.

Thomas Muller - 2013-14
Jairzinho - 1970 WC
Baggio - 1992-93
Gerd Muller - 1972-73

Oh, that makes sense, my bad.

 

[MJJ]

I want to vote for eap attack but that defense is making me have second thoughts.

 

[MDFC Manager]

EAP's formation is...interesting to say the least!

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Wow did not expect that lineup from Edgar.

EAP's formation is...interesting to say the least!

.

I want to vote for eap attack but that defense is making me have second thoughts.

Tbh, it may not be usual in draft, but against this opponent it works. He has a Sheep at one wing and Beckham (playing in a sitting deep and counter tactic) at the other. I don't see my defence coming under any sustained pressure here from wings here. And playing through the middle would not be that productive as I'm concentrated there and any kind of passing game from Liedholm/Beckham will have lots of obstacles.

 

[BorisDeLeFora]

Tshabalala may be a sheep, but if he drifts to the wig he'll have oceans of space, and you would imagine it those situations he would be able to contribute in some meaningful way to NoPaces attack, as the extra time on the ball would elevate him beyond what you would generally expect of him in this company.

 

[MJJ]

.


Tbh, it may not be usual in draft, but against this opponent it works. He has a Sheep at one wing and Beckham (playing in a sitting deep and counter tactic) at the other. I don't see my defence coming under any sustained pressure here from wings here. And playing through the middle would not be that productive as I'm concentrated there and any kind of passing game from Liedholm/Beckham will have lots of obstacles.

If his wingers stick to the byline and one of your defender follows you are only left with a libero in baresi to cover. I don't expect too much help from ancrlotti or pantsil in dropping deep and acting as another cb.

 

[NM]

EAP's attack

The rest of his team

Liedholm and Toure will destroy his midfield. Leaning towards Nopace.

 

[antohan]

EAP's formation is...interesting to say the least!

It's a 3-2-3-2 with Desailly wrong-footed, Pantsil somehow turning in a stellar performance as the midfield destroyer next to Bozsik and the Italian pornstar allegedly doing something useful out wide. The most dodgy out of that is Pantsil, clearly, but then, NoPace isn't playing a holding midfielder either and looks far more vulnerable. Sorry man, but I can't see Beckham/Liedholm getting Sánchez and Rummenigge anywhere close to scoring against Montero, Baresi, Desailly and Schmeichel.

As expected, all of EAPs moaning was just feigned weakness. Watch him get rid of the sheep and become a serious challenger.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Tshabalala may be a sheep, but if he drifts to the wig he'll have oceans of space, and you would imagine it those situations he would be able to contribute in some meaningful way to NoPaces attack, as the extra time on the ball would elevate him beyond what you would generally expect of him in this company.

Maybe, but not quite. With Jairzinho there, I don't expect too many overlapping runs from Camacho. In my tactic I mentioned I have tasked Pantsil to keep an eye on Liedholm. No 'taking him out' nonsense, but against a 'sitting deep' Liedholm, I expect Pantsil to have some joy.

If his wingers stick to the byline and one of your defender follows you are only left with a libero in baresi to cover. I don't expect too much help from ancrlotti or pantsil in dropping deep and acting as another cb.

I don't expect my defence to get out of position. He is playing a sitting deep game. And without support from Camacho, I don't see Tshabalala causing any concern. I certainly don't see either Desailly or Montero leaving Baresi alone.

 

[antohan]

If his wingers stick to the byline and one of your defender follows you are only left with a libero in baresi to cover. I don't expect too much help from ancrlotti or pantsil in dropping deep and acting as another cb.

Personally, I'd expect that to be sorted via Pantsil becoming a permanent RB. That seems to leave no midfield behind, but I'd expect Rocco to do something reasonably useful, Müllerinho to have some responsibility supporting Ancelotti... and the rest to do feck all. Flimsy, but just about enough if you compare firepower and defensive units.

 

[NM]

Maybe, but not quite. With Jairzinho there, I don't expect too many overlapping runs from Camacho. In my tactic I mentioned I have tasked Pantsil to keep an eye on Liedholm. No 'taking him out' nonsense, but against a 'sitting deep' Liedholm, I expect Pantsil to have some joy.



I don't expect my defence to get out of position. He is playing a sitting deep game. And without support from Camacho, I don't see Tshabalala causing any concern. I certainly don't see either Desailly or Montero leaving Baresi alone.

Please EAP. Pantsil versus Nieldholm?? Have some joy? Ffs

 

[harms]

I don't get Liedholm-Toure pairing. Which Toure is it? Barca's? It doesn't look like a complimentary partnership to me at all. It's strange - I liked NoPace's team on paper, and now when I've seen it "live", I don't get it.

So far I like Edgar's team better, and it's ballsy to go for 5-2-3. The only issue that I'm seeing here is your halfbacks - Anchelotti is not the type and Pantsil is a sheep. Look at how Duncan Edwards explained center-half role in his book - it's about 5-3-2 though, but it's even more important in your formation:

These (the left and right half) are the link men, the men who make or break a side. Have a good defence, have a good attack, but have poor wing-halves linking them and the team loses half it’s efficiency. Their job is to stop the other sides inside-forwards fetching and carrying the ball – once they have done that the game is half won – and yet at the same time see that their own inside-forwards get as much of the ball as possible.

But before a ball is kicked or a tackle made, the keynote of this position is stamina. The wing-half is never still. Either he is foraging in his opponents’ half, or else back helping his own defence withstand pressure.

The main part of his defensive job is to keep check of those inside-forwards.

Yet obviously he cannot do it through close marking, in the way that the full-backs and centre-half do their job. Rather he has to rely on his own speed to get him back in defence once his own side has been suddenly robbed of the initiative.

His dominance of mid-field is the deciding factor in any match. When a line of forwards is sweetly and smoothly mounting an offensive, notice where the move starts. Invariably it is with some enterprising wing-half. Conversely, if a side’s attack is starved of the ball, watch and see who is winning the mid-field duels. It must be the other team.
The wing-half needs all the defensive skill, power of recovery and hardness of tackle of the full-back, yet he must ally these to the enterprise of the inside-forward

 

[antohan]

Maybe, but not quite. With Jairzinho there, I don't expect too many overlapping runs from Camacho. In my tactic I mentioned I have tasked Pantsil to keep an eye on Liedholm. No 'taking him out' nonsense, but against a 'sitting deep' Liedholm, I expect Pantsil to have some joy.

Seems I spoke too soon. That's just ridiculous. Christ, first Landa as MVP, now Tshabalala. WTF are you guys smoking?

 

[antohan]

I don't get Liedholm-Toure pairing. Which Toure is it? Barca's? It doesn't look like a complimentary partnership to me at all. It's strange - I liked NoPace's team on paper, and now when I've seen it "live", I don't get it.

So far I like Edgar's team better, and it's ballsy to go for 5-2-3. The only issue that I'm seeing here is your halfbacks - Anchelotti is not the type and Pantsil is a sheep. Look at how Duncan Edwards explained center-half role in his book - it's about 5-3-2 though, but it's even more important in your formation:

Wait, what? Duncan Edwards wrote a book?

 

[NoPace]

1. Toure is perfectly capable of sitting deep and pulling strings. We all remember how gwell he played at CB in that CL final, and as a DM he was also very good. No shame in Busquets beating you out for the lone DM spot in a Tiki-Taka Guardiola side.

With how narrow and attacking EAP's formation is, he'll sit deep and look to distribute wide and forward.

2. There will be more freedom for Angloma and Camacho to burst forward at times, but especially Beckham and Tshabalala and when Sanchez or Rummennigge attract the attention of a wide CB, massive gaps out wide. Jairzinho has no interest in defending and Rocco was playing in the lower leagues by age 28 from what I can tell.

When I break on one wing and Rummennigge or Sanchez's movement draws in Montero or Desailly, that wing will be free. We'll be looking to play horizontally, especially on the counter, to attack what should be an ugly transition game from EAP's side.

3. Ancelotti, Pantsil, Rocco and Jairzinho will all be under pressure due to his formation, unless he just wants to blast long balls from his CB's to Baggio and Gerd Muller. Jairzinho can turn that into an advantage, so Camacho will be careful on him (and is up to it) and Ancelotti knows how to play it safe and get it back to his keeper or a CB, but Pantsil and Rocco will turn it over and then it's counters and Sanchez and Rummennige (39 and 42 goals in the best seasons) getting in behind/converting crosses or the massive wide gaps for my wingers to exploit.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Seems I spoke too soon. That's just ridiculous. Christ, first Landa as MVP, now Tshabalala. WTF are you guys smoking?

Please EAP. Pantsil versus Nieldholm?? Have some joy? Ffs

Well, as a standalone statement it is ridiculous.

But here Liedholm is expected to stay deep and has defensive duties added to him. Him not having a free role, just makes it a bit more balanced for Pantsil to do his job, imo.

 

[harms]

Wait, what? Duncan Edwards wrote a book?

Yes

 

[antohan]

Conversely, if a side’s attack is starved of the ball, watch and see who is winning the mid-field duels. It must be the other team.

No shit Sherlock.

 

[NoPace]

I don't get Liedholm-Toure pairing. Which Toure is it? Barca's?

Absolutely. Especially with EAP's tactics, it's clear a sitting deep Toure is the best option here. I assumed that playing him at DM was clear but should have specified in my original post.

 

[harms]

Absolutely. Especially with EAP's tactics, it's clear a sitting deep Toure is the best option here. I assumed that playing him at DM was clear but should have specified in my original post.

Yeah, it's obvious, but I still don't like it. It's still better that EAP's midfield, mind you Maybe you can get away with it, considering your opponent.

 

[antohan]

Yes

I remember reading a RUGGER one of those by Gerwyn Williams, but was always under the impression it was a book series written by someone else and just getting the big name to "sponsor" it. There's a Denis Law one as well. Did he actually sit down and write it? Blimey, I knew he was precocious and special but that takes the biscuit.

 

[NoPace]

Yeah, it's obvious, but I still don't like it. It's still better that EAP's midfield, mind you Maybe you can get away with it, considering your opponent.

That's the plan. My team isn't perfect, obviously, but I think it's a solid unit and lacks the glaring weakness that is EAP's "middle" of Rocco-Ancelotti-Pantsil-Jairzinho coughing up the ball (Jairzinho aside) or at least being forced backwards, and eventually being overrun on the break (Jairzinho no help here).

 

[harms]

I remember reading a RUGGER one of those by Gerwyn Williams, but was always under the impression it was a book series written by someone else and just getting the big name to "sponsor" it. There's a Denis Law one as well. Did he actually sit down and write it? Blimey, I knew he was precocious and special but that takes the biscuit.

I don't know - I haven't read it all, just some parts. It looks like it, but, considering his age, maybe it was just some promotional b-s. Or maybe he was just that good

 

[antohan]

NoPace probably needs to do a better job of selling his spine. It's clear he has won the flanks here, but Forster-Chumpitaz may not get the credit they deserve. Or Liedholm with an early Yaya for that matter.

 

[NoPace]

Personally, I'd expect that to be sorted via Pantsil becoming a permanent RB. That seems to leave no midfield behind, but I'd expect Rocco to do something reasonably useful, Müllerinho to have some responsibility supporting Ancelotti... and the rest to do feck all. Flimsy, but just about enough if you compare firepower and defensive units.

This is the problem. He's asking his sheep to be tactically flexible (Phillip Lahm, basically) and make split second reads on the counter and they just don't have it in them. I'm only asking my one sheep to be disciplined defensively and burst forward on the counter, which he can actually do.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Absolutely. Especially with EAP's tactics, it's clear a sitting deep Toure is the best option here. I assumed that playing him at DM was clear but should have specified in my original post.

Why? You now have both Liedholm and Yaya sitting deep and trying to dictate play. How is playing 2 DLP's together a balanced midfield? Beckham is your best bet in bridging the midfield gap.

 

[antohan]

I don't know - I haven't read it all, just some parts. It looks like it, but, considering his age, maybe it was just some promotional b-s. Or maybe he was just that good

Nah, just read in his bio he actually wrote it and was published post-mortem with his family's permission. Remarkable.

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Why? You now have both Liedholm and Yaya sitting deep and trying to dictate play. How is playing 2 DLP's together a balanced midfield? Beckham is your best bet in bridging the midfield gap.

This is the problem. He's asking his sheep to be tactically flexible (Phillip Lahm, basically) and make split second reads on the counter and they just don't have it in them. I'm only asking my one sheep to be disciplined defensively and burst forward on the counter, which he can actually do.

Well, Pantsil's big threat is....Tshabalala. I think he'll cope.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I remember reading a RUGGER one of those by Gerwyn Williams, but was always under the impression it was a book series written by someone else and just getting the big name to "sponsor" it. There's a Denis Law one as well. Did he actually sit down and write it? Blimey, I knew he was precocious and special but that takes the biscuit.

Doubtful. It was probably heavily ghost written. The book was published after his death - I don't know the details but I imagine the latter part is significant. He may have written a book at some point (most big names have done, after all), but I suspect it would've been at a later stage if he hadn't passed away so untimely.

 

[antohan]

This is the problem. He's asking his sheep to be tactically flexible (Phillip Lahm, basically) and make split second reads on the counter and they just don't have it in them. I'm only asking my one sheep to be disciplined defensively and burst forward on the counter, which he can actually do.

I don't think Rocco will have much trouble playing in midfield since he was actually a midfielder. Pantsil is all over the shop though, no doubt about that.

 

[antohan]

Well, Pantsil's big threat is....Tshabalala. I think he'll cope.

But you said he was having joy against Liedholm only a few posts ago. And in the previous post you painted Liedholm as a DLP, one I would expect to go on runs, but since you just portray him as a sitting duck at the back, can you explain how Pantsil is dealing with him AND Tshabalala's pace down the wing?

 

[NoPace]

NoPace probably needs to do a better job of selling his spine. It's clear he has won the flanks here, but Forster-Chumpitaz may not get the credit they deserve. Or Liedholm with an early Yaya for that matter.

You probably know more about Chumpitaz than I do, but my impression is sort of a better John Terry. All leadership and power and positioning. He was voted #2 among all time South American CB's at the end of the century in those IFFHS elections.

Forster was a truly great man-marker with the pace and intelligence to deal with EAP's attackers.

Liedholm was the best and most reliable passer of his era, which will help me turn defense into attack, as will Toure, a very good DM for Monaco and then Barcelona and a wonderful distributor from deep with the size and power to do a job against AM's.