Individual battles.

[Lurker#3]

Weirdly I have been really enjoying my football in the last few months. I think its mainly because I have stripped all the emotion from it and have started viewing it the same as I do most other forms of entertainment. With that, I have been watching pretty much every game I can. 

What I have noticed is almost all other teams  by and large trust their players to compete individually with their opposition. Normally with the better player winning the majority of duals and then the lesser player gets protected by a tactical change. 

We never seem to do this. And that is because our players are not physically capable so they have to defend 2 v 1 at all times. 

I have long been an advocate for a team of pace  energy, power and athletes. Much like the USA approach. Get your team put together where they cannot be out ran, out worked or out fought. Then have a sprinkling of quality in key areas. 

Its worked for Klopp, pretty much everywhere he's been and its always better to watch than tip tippy, tappy bollocks.

[Birdman1811]

Weirdly I have been really enjoying my football in the last few months. I think its mainly because I have stripped all the emotion from it and have started viewing it the same as I do most other forms of entertainment. With that, I have been watching pretty much every game I can. 

What I have noticed is almost all other teams  by and large trust their players to compete individually with their opposition. Normally with the better player winning the majority of duals and then the lesser player gets protected by a tactical change. 

We never seem to do this. And that is because our players are not physically capable so they have to defend 2 v 1 at all times. 

I have long been an advocate for a team of pace  energy, power and athletes. Much like the USA approach. Get your team put together where they cannot be out ran, out worked or out fought. Then have a sprinkling of quality in key areas. 

Its worked for Klopp, pretty much everywhere he's been and its always better to watch than tip tippy, tappy bollocks.

Like yourself, I love the tactics and intricacies of football, though I think we have different ideas of how football should be played.

However this is correct. We win nothing. 

Interesting that Field in his QPR interview mentioned he loves the nitty gritty and 'winning' battles. That's the attitude every player should have. Credit to Pereira for being a rare skilful player who does this too.

[Hopalong]

we lost 10 battles tonight on an individual basis.

[Lurker#3]

we lost 10 battles tonight on an individual basis.

Yep, my exact point.

---

Weirdly I have been really enjoying my football in the last few months. I think its mainly because I have stripped all the emotion from it and have started viewing it the same as I do most other forms of entertainment. With that, I have been watching pretty much every game I can. 

What I have noticed is almost all other teams  by and large trust their players to compete individually with their opposition. Normally with the better player winning the majority of duals and then the lesser player gets protected by a tactical change. 

We never seem to do this. And that is because our players are not physically capable so they have to defend 2 v 1 at all times. 

I have long been an advocate for a team of pace  energy, power and athletes. Much like the USA approach. Get your team put together where they cannot be out ran, out worked or out fought. Then have a sprinkling of quality in key areas. 

Its worked for Klopp, pretty much everywhere he's been and its always better to watch than tip tippy, tappy bollocks.

Like yourself, I love the tactics and intricacies of football, though I think we have different ideas of how football should be played.

However this is correct. We win nothing. 

Interesting that Field in his QPR interview mentioned he loves the nitty gritty and 'winning' battles. That's the attitude every player should have. Credit to Pereira for being a rare skilful player who does this too.

I like Pereria and think he would fit very well into most squads in the league. Not as a main man for anyone in the top 6, but a very useful squad player. 

Perhaps our 'philosophies' would differ. Past the above. But what I am talking about has become the bog standard yardstick against which to measure top teams. There are not many David Silvas etc now who just float about making the game look beautiful. The top players now all have insane outputs.

Now my obsession with 'output' probably comes from my sports science degree and working with junior elite athletes (football included). But without matching and in many cases exceeding your more talented oppositions outputs, you have little chance of a result. 

Leeds are the lazy example. But teams like Leicester do the same. Sheff Utd did last year. Any team competing above their means must start there.

[Birdman1811]

we lost 10 battles tonight on an individual basis.

Yep, my exact point.

---

Weirdly I have been really enjoying my football in the last few months. I think its mainly because I have stripped all the emotion from it and have started viewing it the same as I do most other forms of entertainment. With that, I have been watching pretty much every game I can. 

What I have noticed is almost all other teams  by and large trust their players to compete individually with their opposition. Normally with the better player winning the majority of duals and then the lesser player gets protected by a tactical change. 

We never seem to do this. And that is because our players are not physically capable so they have to defend 2 v 1 at all times. 

I have long been an advocate for a team of pace  energy, power and athletes. Much like the USA approach. Get your team put together where they cannot be out ran, out worked or out fought. Then have a sprinkling of quality in key areas. 

Its worked for Klopp, pretty much everywhere he's been and its always better to watch than tip tippy, tappy bollocks.

Like yourself, I love the tactics and intricacies of football, though I think we have different ideas of how football should be played.

However this is correct. We win nothing. 

Interesting that Field in his QPR interview mentioned he loves the nitty gritty and 'winning' battles. That's the attitude every player should have. Credit to Pereira for being a rare skilful player who does this too.

I like Pereria and think he would fit very well into most squads in the league. Not as a main man for anyone in the top 6, but a very useful squad player. 

Perhaps our 'philosophies' would differ. Past the above. But what I am talking about has become the bog standard yardstick against which to measure top teams. There are not many David Silvas etc now who just float about making the game look beautiful. The top players now all have insane outputs.

Now my obsession with 'output' probably comes from my sports science degree and working with junior elite athletes (football included). But without matching and in many cases exceeding your more talented oppositions outputs, you have little chance of a result. 

Leeds are the lazy example. But teams like Leicester do the same. Sheff Utd did last year. Any team competing above their means must start there.

Exactly. Even players individually.

For us, Scharner and Yacob, not good footballers, would fail at most academies. However the very concept of losing a battle was alien to them. No matter what they gave up on their opponent in skill, strength or size. 

Because of that they were crucial players for us. Shane Long another, Jonas, Reid, in fact these were the players we went for!

Wider world, Keane and Viera were easily replaced as footballers on skill alone, however both were crucial for the two top teams in the country. Neither accepted losing an 80/20 against them, let alone an entire game.

Win your individual battles, you help the team, the team wins most of those battles,chances are, you win the game.

It's why I never buy in completely to the 'not good enough story, we haven't been before either, but competed.