- Nov 16, 2006
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Absolutely agree with this. The flipside, of course, is that we may already have a load of players who could be of Modric/Bale/VDV quality but we'll never know it because even Modric/Bale/VDV wouldn't have looked good in this system.Your last point about system based managers is an interesting one. I have often thought about how 3 of our best players in recent years could work in Poch's system:
People can agree/disagree with the above but one of the problems with a lack of flexibility with a 'philosophy/project/system' is that you risk discarding players who have a lot to offer the team just because they do not fit exactly with the requirements of the system. I am totally with the principle of adopting a clear personality for the team/club but just hope it isn't overly restrictive for the reasons above....
- Modric probably not mobile enough to play the role in one of the midfield berths despite his genius in possession of the ball
- Bale doesn't do enough defensively when without the ball in the forward wide role
- VDV definitely wouldn't have the desired stamina and workrate to play as one of the forward three in a high pressing team
As a general rule, 4231 seems to favour 'much of a muchness' players. Either bung them in the midfield or plonk them out wide. They all charge around the pitch enthusiastically but ineffectively while ONE attacking player labours on his own upfront. Horrible formation. Works for Mourinho but that's because he has taken anti-football to an unprecedented degree.