Forum Tournament Group Stage - Group C

[Ted Lasso]

Code: Select all

                 Pts
treiz/El Turco     12
ATL Boy            6
DD12               6
Foye               6
Matty              0

Round 1
ATL Boy 6:7 El treizco
DD12 7:6 Matty

Round 2
Foye 1:0 DD12
Matty 5:8 ATL Boy

Round 3
Matty 4:9 El treizco
Foye 3:7 ATL Boy

Round 4
ATL Boy 6:7 DD12
El treizco 8:6 Foye

Round 5
Foye 6:3 Matty
DD12 4:7 El treizco

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

Voting begins (Match kicks off) at 6PM CET every other day & lasts for 44 hours. Please submit lineups prior to kick-off.

[Matty]

This is my starting lineup. I'm playing a 4-1-4-1 formation.

Game Plan: Offense:

My midfield trio is led by Thiago, whose excellent dribbling and maneuvering rate will absolutely trouble Paulinho and Pjanic, neither known to be DM juggernauts. Ramsey, the DM of the 3 midfielders, strives off of playing with creative midfielders and scored 16 goals this past season, a lot of those assists coming from Ozil. Just watch every single match him and Ozil were on the pitch, they were dangerous every time they move forward. Having Thiago beside Ramsey, and then to top it off another similar player in Barkley will be too much to handle for Pjanic, Mata, and Paulinho.

Another thing That Thiago excels at is finding players in the flanks. Lucas and Januzaj are the wingers of the future but have already shown to be deadly in their respective clubs. Just imagine for a second if Thiago and Lucas were playing in that Germany game, that would have been a deadly combo to handle for that slow German defense. And Januzaj has proven to be a winger who can change his pace at any moment and was the highlight of an otherwise bad season at Old Trafford. Both Cole and Naga are past their primes and will not catch up with the kids late in the game.

Not much needs to be said about Tevez. You pair him it up with fast paced wingers who are willing to cross the ball in the box, a genius in Thiago, and you create so many issues for Chiellini who is only capable of stopping strikers with height and no pace. Overall the uptempo game will be too much for an aging defense, and uninspiring midfield. The only real DM in there is Paulinho but there is only so much an average hold up midfielder can do against a fast and young midfield. 2 goals by Tevez and 1 by Ramsey.

Game Plan: Defense:

The only real concern up front is Robben. I immediately inform Pepe to switch with Boetang and play RCB. Flanagan will get beat by Robben most of the time but thankfully Arjen doesn't PASS. I've watched enough Holland games to know that Robben is ONLY effective against defenders that get trapped by his swift left turn. Boetang is one of the most verstatile defenders in the game for a reason, his defending IQ is off the charts and is generally a very calm player. He will be there to support Flanagan.



He's not going to take the bite and has played with Robben long enough to know he rarely goes to his right, but if he does its against FBs in the flanks which will eventually lead him to pass it back to his support since he has no right foot and as a defender you always want to take your opponent's wingers away from the box down the flanks and trap them. But most of the time Robben will take a quick left turn and once he does that he's looking to get a clear shot on net. Boetang should be there 75% of the time to block his shot and we all know Robben won't PASS so him deflecting it to Dzeko or one of the midfielders is not something that is going to happen. If Boetang fails a few times it should not be a problem when you have a Neuer in front of the net.

Willian will not cause a threat to Carvajal, one of the best RBs during the champions league last season and selected on the star team for that tournament. Dzeko's physicality will be matched by Pepe, and in set pieces Neuer is always there to get the ball so height is a non-factor.

Ramsey and Thiago will make life a living hell for Mata and Pjanic in the middle. My players are both faster and more energetic, and we all know slower midfielders will always have issues retaining the ball and retrieving it from the likes of Thiago, whose success rate of 77.1% in 1vs1, one of the best in Europe , will be next to impossible with the likes of my opponent's midfield. Not to mention having Barkley who has long feet similar to Pogba and will disrupt passing lanes with that length. It will be very tough to navigate and penetrate my system, but even in the rare cases that it does happen during the game, Neuer is there to take the ball out.



Final score: 3-1 in favor of SWEEPER-KEEPER FC

[ATL Boy]

My lineup for the first match.

I have two of the best play-makers in the world fueling my team's attack in Pirlo and Iniesta. Pirlo will be orchestrating everything going on in front of him as my team would play a possession oriented keep away game with Pirlo, Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, and Farfan. Alonso or Pirlo will be able to deliver a long ball to Lukaku, a clinical finisher, when the defense is caught napping. Lukaku is the perfect forward for my team: he's a good dribbler, a clinical finisher, and can the ball in the air. Iniesta and Farfan will be able to supply Romelu with crosses, as any defender would have trouble against his 6'3 frame.

Marcelo will also venture forward some to put pressure on the opposing defense and provide more space for Pirlo, Iniesta, and Farfan to work with. Cahill was one of the best defenders in the Premier League last season, rarely ever getting beat one on one (if at all): he was one of the main anchor's for Chelsea's incredibly stout defense and will be the anchor for my defense as well. Marquinhos is an excellent partner for him and is no slouch either. The key figure in my defense however will be Gary Medel. A true workhorse will rarely ever venture forward to attack, he'll stay back to provide reinforcements to the defenders and to prevent counter attacks with his ball winning ability.

In the 2nd half I might sub out Farfan for Kuba who will provide some fresh legs and be able to blitz the defense with his speed. If I'm losing then I'll sub out Alonso for Christian Benteke and play a two striker set with my lethal Belgians. Both Lukaku and Benteke can dribble, finish, and they'll both be scary for defenses in the air.

If I'm winning then I'll substitute Pirlo for Muhamed Besic, who's aggressive (the good kind of aggressive), defense oriented (was the best player in the Hungarian League last year, as a CB), and a workhorse in his own right (ran more than anyone else on the field in all three of Bosnia's World Cup matches). Besic would play a deeper CDM role along with Medel to solidify the defense even further.

[DD12]

Soccer formations made easy with this11.com

This is how I would start the game. Opponents midfielders are pretty weak at defending. Thiago-Ramsey-Barkley are all offensive minded players. I put Paulinho and Pjanic in the middle so that they can lock them up offensively also. I put Mata on my XI because he has deadly passes. Robben on the right, Willian on the left should kill it. Defensively I have no problem. I have one of the best GK in the world. Mascherano-Chiellini are strong enough to stop anyone.


Use this11.com for drawing your football tactics

When we take the lead, I would change my strategy a bit. Since I would have more open space, I would put Gervinho on the right who scored 10+ goals and 10+ assists this year. He is probably the fastest player. Also I would take Mata off since I will be looking for a counter a lot more than beginning. With Veratti, I make sure his team would score.


Draw your tactical diagram with this11.com

When I take the lead by two goals. This is what I would do. To put Mascherano on DMC with Nastasic on DB and Veratti on the midfield, I am controlling the game FOR SURE. I would change Dzeko to Doumbia because he is really fast and would be really dangerous for counter attacks with Gervinho and Robben. I would expect the game would probably be over 3-0.

I don't add anything if I conceeded the goal at first since my first line up would stay the same except some offensive changes up front like if Dzeko is not playing well, I would put Gervinho or if Willian is bad, I would put Doumbia etc etc.

[treiz]

Game plan against ATL Boy:

Out run and out work the midfield trio of Alonso-Medel-Pirlo by denying them space to even receive the ball with constant pressing with our energetic midfield foursome of Cesc-Mkh-Kruse-Jedinak with particular emphasis of man marking Pirlo with Jedinak.

Press high and counter quickly.

Griezmann and Debuchy to double up on Iniesta should he stay wide and should he go inside, it's still 4 v 4 in midfield and thus have a 2 on 1 situation against Marcelo

Ronaldo to stay up front at all times with Cesc or Kruse to help support Coentrao if need be, have Coentrao stay back. Constant interchange of positions within the front 3 or 4 if Mkh is involved, lot of fluidity with most of our attacking players capable of playing multiple positions.

Subotic to play aggressive against Lukaku with Busquets covering.

If a defensive change is needed should we be leading, Kuyt comes on for Griezmann and Demichelis comes on for Mkh to play a 4-2-3-1 with Jedinak and Busquets in front of the defence to help protect lead and close the game out.

Should a goal be needed, have Kiesling come on for Kruse and start lumping the ball towards him and Ronaldo.

[Matty]

Just posted my game plan.

[Foye]

My lineup against Massimo. Since I have the striker who would score 40 in the Bundesliga and 30 in the EPL the result should be clear. Even without the tactical explanations I might add later on.

[Ted Lasso]

I think the only way Busquets can play centre-back is for a team which has the ball all the time and mostly requires interventions high up the pitch.

[Ted Lasso]

Couple of nail-biters going on in this group.

[cgf]

Still can't make my mind up. Love treiz's front 3, especially how well they'd work together, both Cesc and miki are quality and biscuits is one of the few elite 6s in the game right now, but biscuits highlights the problem I had with this squad in the other thread. It just feels disjointed.

Ronaldo, miki and Griezmann are much better countering at speed, but if you're going to make proper use of biscuits, much less try to get away with him in defense, you need to be more cautious and focused on retaining the ball and strangling teams with possession high up the pitch. I like how your midfield matches up against the very static Pirlo-Xabi-Medel trio, as you should very much be able to outwork them and over run them, even with Iniesta cheating inside to make the formation more of a lopsided 442diamond that tries to overcome midfield running with numbers and skill.

But that even more brings me back to the issue of this team's style/identity. You could impose yourselves in midfield and control possession but then you're not playing to 3 of your front 5, including your star. Whereas if you play like you're describing those old men will have too many chances to cut through your backline and connect on a briliant through ball.

Not sure others will agree but I think if you're going to play the way you're describing using Matip next to Subotic may be your best. He's become very comfortable working in a highline, and done so regularly covering for Howedes or Santana. He's not an exceptional long ball passer to launch counters, though it's not a weakness by any stretch, but he's got good skills, handles pressing very well, is comfortable having to take a lot of touches and keep cycling the ball in possession. Plus he's a very good athlete who's very fast for a CB and like Subotic does a great job chasing back to clean up when the highline and pressing gets caught out.

With atl's squad I see what he's going for and I understand the strategy, but with the midfield being so lacking in running and treiz bringing a lot of speed and skill to that part of pitch I don't think he'll be able to implement the strategy. That said, if this match happened I could see atl's group switching well to a sit back and counter game if you made a ballsy sub early in the match, if the midfield battle goes how I think it will, to give yourself the legs in midfield. I'm thinking something like dropping Pirlo or Xabi for besic and having either him or Medel dropping into a back three with Iniesta moving centrally next to Xabi and letting Farfan and Lukaku run wild on the counter with Xabi/Pirlo having more space to hit some long balls and and Iniesta charging forward to link up with that front two. So **** me in terms of picking a winner.


As for the other match up I have issues with both midfield since of the 6 men who'll contest that part of the pitch, not one of them's game isn't based around getting forward. There's nobody who'll sit back in front of the defense and anchor the midfield. Thiago has the passing to play as the pendulum for Matty, but between he, Ramsey and Barkley there's not enough against the ball to hold things together. Massi actually has a player who's great in that role, but is using him in defense and instead is running out Paulinho...

In a chaotic scramble, like I expect this game to be, I've gotta side with the team bringing a lot more fire power to the party rather than the team with the monster in net, especially when the talent level of the backlines and midfields is comparable and both midfields are as unstructured as these two. So I'm voting massi with a 3-2 or 4-3, but if he wants to go far this time sorting that midfield out is vital. I like nastasic a lot and if he weren't coming off an injury plagued year would play him with chielini, letting masch replace Paulinho and bring the midfield together. But with this draft's criteria I think many would see starting nas as a liability.

[treiz]

Thanks for the feedback, thought about playing Matip or Demichelis (doesn't play a high line with City but he's the aggressor so he's always up there anyway). But with Pirlo spearheading his midfield trio I thought Jedinak would be a better option than Busquets to harass Pirlo and follow him everywhere as well as having more energy in midfield.

[Ted Lasso]

El treizco has defeated ATL Boy.

DD12 has defeated Matty.

[DD12]

Draw your tactical diagram with this11.com

I would start the game the way I want my team to dominate the ball and keep the ball on our side. De Bruyne, Burak Yilmaz were really disappointing for the past season. Bale is great and Isco was ok. Putting, Mascherano and Veratti would be pretty big as they are always pressuring and being physical to opponents. Bale is the only player that might create problems to me but giving the fact that there will be minimum 3 players to watch him(Mascherano-Chiellini-Nagatomo) it will not be easy for him. Burak is good but Chiellini would probably take his soul out of him

His midfielders are not that strong. Herrera and Rakitic are good but defensively they are pretty weak. If i can control the ball and dominate the field, I will have a great chance of scoring with Willian, Dzeko and Robben.

Either way would work for me. If Foye's team attack, I am okay with it, Robben, Willian and Dzeko would be deadly in counter as well as my 7 defensive system wouldn't give away even one opportunity.

I will also have more options on the bench. Doumbia-Gervinho-Mata and Pjanic will give me different options. In case, they score, I can still put Mata and letting him create chances for me. Pjanic would be a good fit also taking off Veratti if I need to score.

Except Bale, I don't see any dangerous spot or spot that I think my team is weaker than Foye's. With fair voting, I believe I get the 3 points. Even if he has Bale, I already put Chiellini-Mascherano-Paulinho and Nagatomo on him to keep him quiet. Isco-De Bruyne and Burak will be handled easily by my defenders as long as I keep Bale quiet.

[Matty]

After I was robbed of a point last game by cgf...I mean the ref in the final minute, I decide to put more experience into my starting lineup; Adebayor, Valbuena, and Castan.

Playing a 4-1-2-1-2 formation will allow a more fluid connection from defense to offense.

Game Plan: Offense:

This game I've decide to partner Tevez up with his former teammate Adebayor, who had a very underrated season with the Spurs. Not too far behind them is Ramsey who will switch the AM role with Thiago throughout the game. I have Valbuena replacing Januzaj at the right wing. He started in 3 of France's 4 world cup games and was instrumental in that midfield, arguably their best player of the tournament.

Medel just like in the premier league will have troubles containing Rasmey's movement, especially transitioning from offense to defense when we retrieve the ball back from deep, and Besic who was playing in Hungarian league will have troubles keeping up with my midfield simply due to his lack of experience playing against better players. His motor won't match the intensity and talent of my midfield-forward connections. Thiago's precision and timing of his passing as well as Rasmey's habit to move forward with pace will allow my team to transition from defense to offense in an instant. And if that option is closed for Thiago he can always slow down the tempo and send it back to Boetang in the left side for a quick 1-2 pass before starting it up again and lobbing it down the flanks to Lucas who will have plenty of options in the box to cross it to. The same will be applied if Thiago retrieves the ball back from the right side but this time we have Carvajal playing the dummy role on the side which will give Valbuena space to operate forward and have a quick short pass journey with Ramsey 5-10 meters outside the box before sending a thru lane passe to Tevez who is very good at running channels. Given that Gary Cahill will have to defend Adebayor to match up with his height, it will force an unexperienced Marqiunhos to deal with Tevez. You add the math.

Game Plan: Defense:

Keeping this short and simple, my only concern is Iniesta. Lukaku in front of top notch defenders is not going to make an impact unless he has support and that's only coming from Iniesta. No one knows Iniesta's habits better than the man who will take over his position on Spain very soon, Thiago. I will have him man marked by his disciple for the duration of the match, regardless of position. Ramsey has enough horsepower to deal with the rest of the midfield alongside Lucas and Valbena, who will press up the whole time and keep guys like Medel and Besic uninvolved in the offense.

in the last 15-20 once the game is out of reached for ATL, i send in Barkley for Lucas, and Adebayor for Flanagan to play a defensive 5-4-1 formation.



Putting Barkley in the RM will allow him to be in a position to lead the counter attack as soon as he receives the ball from Thiago/Ramsey. Knowing ATL will put all his eggs in my half late in the game his midfielders, Medel and Besic, who aren't really that good joining the offense to begin with, will have an even harder time catching up with him once he goes speeding.





And one last thing...

[Foye]

Three of Massimo's back 4 are huge question marks. Nastasic spent the whole season on the injury list, Cole is getting slower as each year passes and Nagatomo has never played against a player of Bale's caliber. No idea how he wants to keep a clean sheet with that defense.
Kyle Walker & David Alaba should do a good job of supporting Bale & De Bruyne on offense, outnumbering Massimo's defenders. In the middle there is always the top striker Burak Yilmaz.

Dzeko should be covered by Ramos & Bonucci. Although, considering Dzeko refuses to run these days Bonucci himself would probably be enough to stop Dzeko.
Alaba plays every day of the year against Robben. If anybody can stop him, it's Alaba.

There is not much to fear from Massimo's midfield. Taking out Mata & Pjanic seems like a major mistake since Paulinho is garbage and Verratti is the only playmaker left who can easily be covered by Isco.

In the second half Rossi can come on for Burak and create some havoc. Herrmann can come on and tear apart what De Bruyne has left of Ashley Cole.

[DD12]

Cole and Chiellini question mark?

Hmmmmmmm

[Foye]

Cole and Chiellini question mark?

Hmmmmmmm

You seem to be living in 2012 if you assume Cole is still the player he once was.
Although, I'm sure his tempo will be good enough for Serie A.

Who said Chiellini is a question mark? Cole, Nastasic & Nagatomo.

[ATL Boy]

Offense

ATL FC has made a number of tactical changes to match up with Matty's team after suffering a heartbreaking last minute defeat in game one.

The key will be the two workhorses playing CDM: Besic and Medel. The defense will be absolutely solidified thanks to these two players: both of whom might run for more kilometers than anyone else on the pitch. With seemingly Matty's entire midfield cheating forward (all of his midfielders have a tendency of going forward), all it'll take for a lighting counter attack from Kuba or Iniesta will be for one of my blue colored defensive minded players to dispossess one of Matty's midfielders. And when that happens, Kuba and Iniesta will have two giant targets to the cross the ball to in Benteke and Lukaku. My boys should be able to score an early goal from one of these counters and get off to the perfect start.

I highly doubt that Thiago will be able to do anything defensively against Iniesta, if that's the guy man marking one of the game's best midfielders all game then it'll be a tough day for the opposition. It'll also be devastating in its own right if Boateng and Carvajal get caught cheating forward themselves, because if they do and we get the ball back, Kuba and Iniesta are going to have a field day running down the flanks and picking out the Belgian twin towers. Lukaku and Benteke will both put a lot of pressure on Castan and Pepe when they have the ball, and they'll be able to work off of each other and Iniesta to create space for themselves to deliver a clinical shot.

Defense

Well, as I said at the start, Besic and Medel will be able to solidify my defense and set up counter attacking chances with Kuba, Iniesta, and even Marcelo accelerating forward and getting the ball to Benteke and Lukaku either with a cross or with a pass in open space for a high percentage shot. Cahill will put Adedbayor in his pocket, the way he did with almost every Premier League striker he was tasked with stopping one on one last season, and Marquinhos will never have to face Tevez one on one because there will always be extra defensive help thanks to the fact that Besic and Medel are playing instead of Pirlo and Xabi.

When we're up 2-0 in the 2nd half, we'll destroy any hope of a rally by taking out Benteke and putting in Kolasinac to be a third CB (he can play CB, he did it for Bosnia leading up to the World Cup), implementing a formation of 5-2-2-1 with seven defensive minded players on our side of the half, laying down the absolute bunker and taking away any space with which to work for Matty's midfield/attack. As Matty sends everyone forward, it won't take much to set up another devastating counter attack which will deliver another swift punch in the mouth, and put the nail in the coffin.

Final Score: ATL FC 3-0 Matty's Boys

[Matty]

[ATL Boy]

Marquinhos will never have to face Tevez one on one because there will always be extra defensive help thanks to the fact that Besic and Medel are playing instead of Pirlo and Xabi.