Skizzo
Full Member
Agreed. Muller alone almost made a deciding factor for voting for you. I'm surprised with how underrated he is.
what ended up swaying you the other way?
Agreed. Muller alone almost made a deciding factor for voting for you. I'm surprised with how underrated he is.
As much as I rate the Atletico defense trio I think only Godin is world class there, and although I rate your attack much higher, I don't think your midfield-defense will deal with it good enough. Gerrard will get a lot of freedom. Last match against Barney the whole concept of my plan was to deny him of space, and it seems like no one will do it here, and with players like Aguero and Ribery in front of him it could be costly.what ended up swaying you the other way?
Surely.@Skizzo think your being skrewed by the poll switch.
As much as I rate the Atletico defense trio I think only Godin is world class there, and although I rate your attack much higher, I don't think your midfield-defense will deal with it good enough. Gerrard will get a lot of freedom. Last match against Barney the whole concept of my plan was to deny him of space, and it seems like no one will do it here, and with players like Aguero and Ribery in front of him it could be costly.
@Skizzo think your being skrewed by the poll switch.
Yeah that was a bit of a bitch
I thought about asking if we could just keep the votes and not have managers count double, that way it wouldnt matter who voted, just so we wouldn't have to start again...but this way is the way it's supposed to be done, so oh well.
Although Caceres is indeed a liability I think Crappy has better player for player (with few exceptions) and superior attack. I feel Skizzo may be better using a 4-4-2 diamond, but he couldn't accommodate Sterling.
Müller is not on the peak with 25 now. And maybe we should tell that he completed the 25 CL goals last weeks - half a year prior to the time a CR7 did... And he scored a lot of them in final stages and/or against teams out of the top nations...
Last match we got all sorts of complaints about Silva playing as an IF on the right, and Muller playing centrally...and it was said they weren't in their preferred roles, even though both had played those positions and roles many times.
Now you suggest completely switching flanks, to where Muller hasn't played anywhere near as often is just inviting the same criticism.
It sure wasn't me complaining about Silva and Müller, I had no issue with it whatsoever. I could see some of the points raised, but there was a good case either way.
Very interesting match up. Both teams have ball playing midfields who would do great in an open match, Skizzo has the better set up defensively though for me in terms of the midfield. Skizzos attackers Muller/Lewandowski/Silva/Sterling would be very good defensively and would have so much hassling ability that it would cause problems for Carrick/Moutinho.
With that said Aguero-Gerrard looks dead certain to lead to goals and Ribery on the left will be doing great too with Coentrao who is really damn good offensively. Crappy's defense doesn't look too fun in my mind as I don't rate Varane too high at all - he's still a work in progress and his positioning needs a lot of work.
Coentrao/Caceres aren't top class either and Vidic has such a difficult job ahead of him to keep that defense from trembling. Vidic showed with his work with Rafael/Jones/Smalling/Evans that he'd be up for this job.
You have the two weakest fullbacks....arguably by a good distance.
Agreed. Muller alone almost made a deciding factor for voting for you. I'm surprised with how underrated he is.
Pretty much what I've been saying.
Both teams have goals in them. No two ways about that. But the biggest difference, I feel, is that we're much better equipped to handle his, than vice versa. Wouldn't claim to keep a shut out, but definitely think we could outscore him based on attack vs defence of both teams.
Cambiasso is there. He is guaranteed to be more of a nuisance to him, than anyone on the other team is to Silva.
And the problem is you aren't exploiting it. For all the knee-jerk player switching you did at the back to deal with his strengths, you have chosen not to engage in that when it comes to exploiting his weaknesses.
@MDFC Manager made a very valid point, game-changing IMO:
- if Cáceres has pace but is positionally suspect, do you want him against Sterling or Müller?
You've got your wingers the wrong way around, that's why no one gives a toss about his fullbacks being weaker than yours.
- if Vidic seems to be the lynchpin of the defence and has Lewandowski in his pocket, what else do you want but a player like Sterling trying to unsettle him and drag him out of his comfort zone with his pace and incisiveness?
How is Cambiasso tracking Gerrard if he is supposed to be supporting Juanfran against Ribery? And if he isn't supporting Juanfran, what the hell is he doing on the right of that midfield?
With all your stronger defensive players focused on Ribery, Gerrard and Agüero will tear you a new one. You need to switch back one of Godín or Cambiasso, the latter IMO as Godín is already providing adequate support where it is most needed and you need to pick up Gerrard early before it is too late.
The reason behind Atheletico's defensive prowess is the whole team set up and as to how everyone defends from top to bottom. They do not have exception defensive quality (bar Godin perhaps) to otherwise account for it. That is missing from your team since neither Silva or Sterling are known for their graft nor have you set them up to play like Madrid
I mean on which planet is Miranda a better defender than Varane? He can't even get into the Brazilian team ahead of Luiz.
Varane-Vidic would not be a better partnership than them if they had gotten the chance to play together.
I would have Coentrao ahead of him in terms of pure quality.
reject your assertion that your defense is better. It is mainly founded on the fact that you have 3 of Athletico's defense together. But that is not the point of a "fantasy draft" at all.
But peak Gerrard > peak Silva for me.
- Match reportMadrid's defence screamed offside, but it was inattention from Varane that led to the striker being left all alone, and he (Lewandowski) made no mistake in punishing the error as he slammed past Lopez for his and BVB's second.
The 10's are Silva finding gaps wide of and between Moutinho and Carrick might be a tad more promising than Gerrard having to deal with Cambiasso in his face all game
though Moutinho might be a key figure with Gerrard occupying Cambiasso's attention and Silva not really getting back to stop Moutinho from pulling strings.
While Kroos certainly kept the ball expertly – 91 touches of the ball and a 96% pass completion rate speak for themselves – he was also able to dictate the speed of the play at will, surprising the Portuguese defense over and over again by mixing up long diagonal balls with direct passing and dangerous crosses, one of which resulted in Müller’s second goal just before half-time. Add the corner that was directly converted via a Mats Hummels header and you’re looking at an all-round excellent attacking display.
Equally important, Toni Kroos has also made a significant leap in his defensive work rate and intelligence over the last two years and it was evident more than ever against Portugal. The 11,7 kilometres covered by the Bayern Munich midfielder represented a team high. While this stat reveals little about the actual purpose and quality of the runs, his willingness to track João Moutinho was admirable and ensured that the creative Portuguese midfielder never got a foothold in the game. Kroos’s determination to prove himself in the national team was there for all to see and his ability to keep up the tension may prove vital to Germany’s chances of winning the World Cup.
while moutinho edges out kroos. I
I think crappy's midfield would over-power Skizzo's midfield
i did forget Gerrard influence, I actually think with him you will win the midfield battle.
I don't think Silva will be that effective without Kroos also playing higher up/Muller playing closer and centrally.
as a duo Moutinho and Carrick offer better protection IMO.
I feel much better about either Varane or Vidic taking care of Lewandoski in similar circumstances.
Seldom has a player had to play on his wrong side in draft games as poor old Cambiasso. Reckon Sterling's getting over-rated in the context of this pool, for all his flourishing talents he's clearly the weakest winger / attacking midfielder on the pitch.
Switch the names around and you have the exact same issue with crappy's defence. Except his full backs and defence are more suspect than mine. You seemed to have failed to mention that at any point? Yet somehow Muller wouldn't be effective? His movement and runs are more than enough to cause trouble for Vidic if he's apparently just following Lewandowski around. Lewandowski runs all game, he'll be dragging Vidic everywhere if he's just supposed to be marking him.
Sterling has the pace to cause problems when Caceres is caught out positionally. Putting Muller there, your argument would be "well Caceres would just get back and outrun Muller".
I looked back through this thread...can't see where you got the idea from what Cambiasso is working on Ribery. OP states what Cambiasso's job is.
As for Cambiasso not being able to play on the right of a defensive two? He played on the right with Motta on the left for Inter in the Champions League, notably when they knocked out Chelsea and Barcelona.
Yeah that was a bit of a bitch
I thought about asking if we could just keep the votes and not have managers count double, that way it wouldnt matter who voted, just so we wouldn't have to start again...but this way is the way it's supposed to be done, so oh well.
I knew he'd get back at me somehow eventually.
Fair enough but I really think Cambiasso would be able to contain Gerrard and likewise Kroos with Moutinho.
G3 - No Assistant Managers. It wastes more time. But non-playing members can act as a 'scout' recommending players. Manager have the only say in teams. Scouts cannot vote for manager's games.
@Edgar Allan Pillow @Skizzo
We can try to find out who all voted for Skizzo in the first poll and if some votes are not accounted for we can add those to Skizzo's current tally.
As per the rules.
Not to mention the norm is that only one out of manager or assistant (which should not exist in this draft in the first place) posts in match day thread. In any case I will be replying to posts by either one of @Skizzo or @Joga Bonito today. They can decide and nominate one as they please.
Very interesting match up. Both teams have ball playing midfields who would do great in an open match, Skizzo has the better set up defensively though for me in terms of the midfield. Skizzos attackers Muller/Lewandowski/Silva/Sterling would be very good defensively and would have so much hassling ability that it would cause problems for Carrick/Moutinho.
That is a solid change and IMO Silva is now far more enabled, with movement much closer to him. Still missing a central runner from midfield but I'm now having to reconsider my vote.Fair enough @antohan and @MDFC Manager you do make some compelling points.
Not a sub, but a tactical update. Ball went out for a throw and the word was passed from the bench. Müller was instructed to swap with Sterling, looking to take advantage of the positional naivety of Caceres, and Sterling will be looking to drive at Vidic and unsettle him with pace, his kryptonite.
Cambiasso will swap with Kroos, still picking up Gerrard's runs from deep, while Kroos vigilantly keeps an eye on Moutinho potentially pushing forward.
Godín will still be looking to support Juanfran retaining his RCB role and cover in case Ribery cuts inside
@Edgar Allan Pillow
Cheers.
Mega post in coming.. to lazy to quote I will take in some of the criticisms..
- I am shocked that Varane has been underestimated here. I have no plans to replace him before the final. Vidic-Varane is as good a pairing you can get in the draft.
- Coentrao being portrayed as a weak link. He was part of the Madrid team that faced Bayern in CL semis last year. He came up against an attack containing Muller, Ribery and Robben. Yet he he was part of the defense that kept a clean sheet away from home. Incidentally in the same match, Kroos started in a MF two with Schwein, something Pep acknowledged was a tactical blunder later on.
- I have never "underrrated" Muller here. I conceded he will have an impact. I stand by my statement that for my side I would rather have Joaquin on right than Muller. (I even had the option to get Robben in drafting last round but stuck with Joaquin). Robbery with Bayern and then Ronaldo+Bale for Madrid have led to people think that inverted wingers is the way to go. I don't agree with that and believe there is great value in playing a winger that would widen the attacking area rather than cutting in all the time. The other comment about him not skinning anyone is valid. His strength lies elsewhere than playing like Ribery or Robben against the fullback.
- Why is brining up Lennon skinning Evra a cheap shot? It did happen, did it not? Evra was indeed the best left back in the world for period of 2 years at least. But even during his peak, he was never a shut out full back ala Cole. He would always give the winger against some chances. Part of it was concealed in the United team when we played Giggs in front of him and also due to Rio-Vida being there.
- Ribery against Juanfran is a better match up for me than any of his widemen against my fullbacks. Peak Ribery remains one of the most underrated players about. There is a reason why he won the UEFA player of the season award that season and came 3rd in Ballon'dor.
- Finally as much as Skizzo may wany to avoid talking about it. I simply have the much much better keeper here. And yes, that does help my defense more and increases my chances of conceding less goals or no goals. . Just look at DDG's performance at OT for an illustration of how a keeper can help his team win the match. Peak Cech was even better than current DDG's level.
Sterling is very good defensively? He plays as a pure forward for Liverpool, hard working winger who tracks back each time he is not. He is much more liable to hang up front, waiting for a break. Silva too does not provide better defensive support to midfield than Gerrard.