Team V Ream Madrid (A)

[trifon]

If I remember, three years ago Roma murdered them with that Spalletti's strikerless formation.

I'd like to see the set up like in Milan away game, only with VDV in a "false 9" role, one that Totti played for that Roma side. I think Pepe and Carvalho wouldn't have much trouble handling Crouch. He would not see much of the ball because Real are defending vey high and these two are very urgent and excellent at making early tackles.

VDV would see more of it with his movement, and he is also pretty good at holding up the ball. But the key will be distribution to the wings and the combo of Modric as main playmaker & VDV as a false 9 could do the trick.

In the midfield I would like to see the bite and tenacity of Sandro and Pienaar (Jenas) again.

Just no more Defoe, please.

 

[rebrab]

If I remember, three years ago Roma murdered them with that Spalletti's strikerless formation.

I'd like to see the set up like in Milan away game, only with VDV in a "false 9" role, one that Totti played for that Roma side. I think Pepe and Carvalho wouldn't have much trouble handling Crouch. He would not see much of the ball because Real are defending vey high and these two are very urgent and excellent at making early tackles.

VDV would see more of it with his movement, and he is also pretty good at holding up the ball. But the key will be distribution to the wings and the combo of Modric as main playmaker & VDV as a false 9 could do the trick.

In the midfield I would like to see the bite and tenacity of Sandro and Pienaar (Jenas) again.

Just no more Defoe, please.

You mean maybe:

--------------Gomes---------------
Corluka--Dawson--Bassong--Ekotto
-----------Hudd--Sandro-----------
--Lennon------Modric-----------Bale
----------------VDV---------------

?

I know you were advocating Pienaar, but if you're going to play 6 midfielders then for me Tommy has to be one of them.

 

[trifon]

You mean maybe:

--------------Gomes---------------
Corluka--Dawson--Bassong--Ekotto
-----------Hudd--Sandro-----------
--Lennon------Modric-----------Bale
----------------VDV---------------

?

I know you were advocating Pienaar, but if you're going to play 6 midfielders then for me Tommy has to be one of them.

I was thinking exactly that.

But I think Huddlestone should not play in this one, especially coming back after injury. Real play at insane pace and they will outrun and outmuscle us if we fail to put some steel and tenacity in the middle.

 

[brett.spurs]

Gomes
Corluka Dawson Bassong Ekotto
Pienaar Sandro Modric Bale
VDV
Lennon
​

 

[TwoSaintsComeMarching]

Gomes
Corluka Dawson Bassong Ekotto
Pienaar Sandro Modric Bale
VDV
Lennon
​

I like this...

what about a Barca-esque formation?

Gomes

Corluka .... Dawson .. Bassong .... Ekotto

Sandro
Pienaar ............ Modric

VDV
Bale ........................... Lennon
​

 

[ItsBoris]

I like this... what about a Barca-esque formation?

Gomes

Corluka .... Dawson .. Bassong .... Ekotto

Sandro
Pienaar ............ Modric

VDV
Bale ........................... Lennon
​

That looks good but I would replace Pienaar with Huddlestone. If we are putting our best 11 players on the field it would be Hudd, Modric, Sandro, and VDV and no strikers. Who knows if that would work though? :shrug:

I think Bale would play on the right and Lennon on the left so they could cut inside.

 

[brett.spurs]

Yeah I think Lennon and Bale up top would terrify teams to death, currently they're stuck out wide running past people and 9/10 crossing to one of our useless strikers who inevitably miss. I do like Crouch in Europe but as a couple have said, Carvalho and Pepe will deal with him fairly easily imo and watching Madrid quite a lot they generally allow the opposition to play .. even the other week Lyon had more possession than Real but it's their forward threat that's often the difference.

Pienaar offers decent protection to Corluka and is quick enough to deal with most players.

 

[ItsBoris]

Yeah, I'm now convinced we should do this:

------------Gomes--------------
Corluka---Gallas---Dawson---BAE
------------Sandro-------------
---------Hudd---Modric--------
----Bale-----VDV-----Lennon---

Barca style, we know it worked against them once already :razz:

Although I think there's little doubt that Crouch will play.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

First of all, not sure how anybody could call any of the above formations Barca-esque because a) they play with just the one DM in Busquests or Mascherano (injuries permitting of course) and b) while they don't use a number 9, they do use actual forwards up front, 3 of them in fact, whereas Bale and Lennon are clearly not forwards but wingers, and while VDV passes as a forward he doesn't pass as a number 9 which is what he'd have to be in that style.

Second of all, we have our own style, nothing like Barcelona's, and it serves us pretty well when we have all players available and are utilising it to its full effect. The injuries in the past couple of months to VDV, Bale and Modric have thrown that a little askew (in my opinion largely because the manager has started putting square pegs in round holes instead of just making like for like changes with our hefty reserve squad) have meant that we've not gotten to see it, but the style at which we have proven time and time again we are most effective with involves thinkers in the middle and blistering wingers out wide putting in as many balls as possible.

Barcelona aren't Barcelona because they put a couple of players good on the ball in the centre and skillful players on their wrong foot out wide. This isn't an instant 'how to play like Barca' formula. They have evolved into what they are over several years, well over a decade in fact, by having a philosophy which runs through the club from the youngest youth sides upwards. They didn't start from the top and let it filter down to the youth, quite the opposite in fact, they started from the very bottom and let it develop upwards, even sacrificing short term league performance to an extent.

We, however, have developed into a side (when at our best) who are very good at getting round the outside of defences with fast, clever, skillful wingers feeding off of service from central midfielders who they can rely on to find them and forwards to finish off (unfortunately not the case so much this season barring VDV) those moves by being in the right place at the right time. We are capable of doing this very well. Just by putting Bale and Lennon on theri wrong feet, having VDV more advances and flooding our midfield, we're not suddenly going to turn into Barcelona, nor should we want to because ultimately, if we face them, we are certainly not going to beat them by trying to play them at their own game.

 

[tobi]

Graham Hunter says Pienaar is out.

 

[nedley]

Graham Hunter says Pienaar is out.

Probably for the rest of the season knowing our medical staff.

 

[ItsBoris]

@BBLG I see what you're saying, but really it feels to me like our strikers have been ruining our game/strengths this season. If they can't get into correct positions or put in easy chances then it ruins the point of getting round the outside of defenses quickly because our strikers simply aren't taking advantage of that kind of service.

Also Barca's tactics seem a bit more simple than that to me. They keep possession in midfield, passing it through the opposition, and they almost always try to play through balls to Messi, Villa, and Pedro. If the defense is more compact they play one-two's to try and slip through it. It doesn't mean other sides can't try to emulate it, even if they won't do it as well. To me having a rigid playing style and formation is a weakness because you can't exactly play against your opponents weaknesses. Not that we'd even be playing in the same style as Barcelona even with the same formation.

There's no chance Harry will try it, so we're just speculating kind of, but Bale and Lennon can get around a defense time and again, and put superb crosses into our badly positioned and misfiring strikers and we will never score. It makes more sense to allow them to cut inside and take their own chances imo. Like Johnson did with City today.

 

[There's always next year]

Yeah, I'm now convinced we should do this:

------------Gomes--------------
Corluka---Gallas---Dawson---BAE
------------Sandro-------------
---------Hudd---Modric--------
----Bale-----VDV-----Lennon---

Barca style, we know it worked against them once already :razz:

Although I think there's little doubt that Crouch will play.

Crouch will unfortunately play, which lead to Dawson pinging 50 yd balls for Crouch to every now and then flick on the ball to the opposition and lose possession

Going with your formation will allow us to retain possession better, but Redknapp won't play it, never in a million years.

 

[Such Small Portions]

Honestly don't think absence of Pienaar is any great miss. Have yet to work out what be adds.

A willing runner. Great.

Also, I don't think it ever works when Bale and Lennon play on their 'wrong' wings. People think it's a smart move, allows them to cut in and threaten goal etc, but they just look uncomfortable and predictable. All our best performances last year and this year, they've been on their 'right' sides.

 

[Legacy]

Gomes
Corluka Dawson Bassong Ekotto
Pienaar Sandro Modric Bale
VDV
Lennon
​

I don't know if that's a serious suggestion or not and it's definitely never going to happen, but I've often thought about the possibility of trying Lennon as a striker.

He's lightning quick, has very good close control and dribbling skills, has the ability to go out wide when needed and has a very under-rated and accurate shot on him when he's inside the box. He's also shown he has great composure and has scored some very important late goals for us (Liverpool and Newcastle this year, for example).

No manager will every be brave enough to try it, and there's every chance it won't work, but I genuinely believe it'd be a revelation.

 

[mpickard2087]

Honestly don't think absence of Pienaar is any great miss. Have yet to work out what be adds.

A willing runner. Great.

Also, I don't think it ever works when Bale and Lennon play on their 'wrong' wings. People think it's a smart move, allows them to cut in and threaten goal etc, but they just look uncomfortable and predictable. All our best performances last year and this year, they've been on their 'right' sides.

IMO Lennon has looked better in the last couple of months playing on the left than the right.

 

[nightgoat]

Modric in central midfield is 'solid' because he keeps the ball better than anyone else we have...

I'd struggle to think of a reason to start with anything other than what BBLG suggested in the first post of this thread... (Not including fitness or whatever...)

 

[mpickard2087]

I don't know if that's a serious suggestion or not and it's definitely never going to happen, but I've often thought about the possibility of trying Lennon as a striker.

He's lightning quick, has very good close control and dribbling skills, has the ability to go out wide when needed and has a very under-rated and accurate shot on him when he's inside the box. He's also shown he has great composure and has scored some very important late goals for us (Liverpool and Newcastle this year, for example).

No manager will every be brave enough to try it, and there's every chance it won't work, but I genuinely believe it'd be a revelation.

Wouldnt play him up top on his own, but would play him off of Crouch. Can chase the flick ons and would scare them all night with his pace, and potentially lethal on the counter attack like Milan away for Crouchy's goal.

 

[nightgoat]

Also, I don't think it ever works when Bale and Lennon play on their 'wrong' wings. People think it's a smart move, allows them to cut in and threaten goal etc, but they just look uncomfortable and predictable. All our best performances last year and this year, they've been on their 'right' sides.

IMO Lennon has looked better in the last couple of months playing on the left than the right.

If you were to compile highlights reel of all of Bale and Lennon's key moments this season, assists, goals etc, the overwhelming majority would come from them being on their 'correct' side... Off the top of my head I can't remember Bale scoring from cutting in from the right, or Lennon assisting from the left, for example...

 

[cozzo]

Any ideas when we fly out for the game? Or have we flown out already? Was Bale or Gallas on the flight, if so?