Why are we obsessed with trying to play like Guardiola's Barcelona?

[fedupyid]

I still do not get why we are trying to recreate Guardiola's Barcelona play style. This is a style of football that only works if you have numerous world class players.

We all know the way Spurs are playing at the moment and what we are trying to do is never going to work because the players cannot play that way.

 

[Metalhead]

I still do not get why we are trying to recreate Guardiola's Barcelona play style. This is a style of football that only works if you have numerous world class players.

We all know the way Spurs are playing at the moment and what we are trying to do is never going to work because the players cannot play that way.

Didn't the Southampton players make it work to an extent?

 

[DaSpurs]

There really aren't that many similarities between Poch's style at Guardiola's, just the immediate press. In fact, the most essential components to each directly contrast each other (Poch's: quick transitional forward passing, Pep's: numbers into position with short, quick passes often sideways).

Nonetheless though, it's very true that we don't have the players to play Poch's system, or even the way Saints were able to with how much space they were afforded every week, and it's very worrying it's taken this long for him to recognize this.

 

[Lufti]

Never heard anyone except maybe Bus Conducter suggest that we play that way

 

[mpickard2087]

If we are trying to play that way, I think we must have successfully incorporated about 0.004% of the principles of it.

 

[thinktank]

I still do not get why we are trying to recreate Guardiola's Barcelona play style. This is a style of football that only works if you have numerous world class players.

We all know the way Spurs are playing at the moment and what we are trying to do is never going to work because the players cannot play that way.

Dude, what ya talking about??

 

[parklane1]

First I knew of it.

 

[Huddlebone]

Baldini was the one that wanted to build Roma to "Barca B" So maby try something here aswell....

 

[Shadydan]

Messi = Adebayor
Xavi = Paulinho
Puyol = Kaboul

no reason why it can't work.

 

[Spurger King]

Struggling to remember Barcelona playing like a bunch of clueless dullards.

 

[The Spurs Lad]

Baldini was the one that wanted to build Roma to "Barca B" So maby try something here aswell....

Roma played the False 9 before Barca ever did as far as i'm aware.

As for the rest of the thread, Poch has never suggested he would try that system. AVB however idolized Guardiola and his attempts to play like him are at best laughable.

 

[Syn_13]

We're not. I thought we were taking the Bielsa approach.

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

Kind of a tiki-taka post imo

 

[nidge]

We're not. I thought we were taking the Bielsa approach.

Was just about to say the same thing. I always thought Pochettino was of the Bielsa school of football coaching.

 

[DaSpurs]

We're not. I thought we were taking the Bielsa approach.

This is where the "connection" comes from, as apparently Pep also studied a lot of Bielsa's tactics and allegedly met with Bielsa for "four hours" the night before he took the Barca head job. There are indeed some similarities, but still so many key differences that there's just not a legitimate association there.

 

[Indacupfortottenham]

I have thought the same thing, and is not just us. The whole prem seemed to stop playing two up front and went with inverted winger forward types, pressing high up the pitch, with fullbacks providing most of the width, after that Barca team looked invincible for a couple of seasons. AVB had a similair approach.
Ironically I think our old style of sitting back, moving the ball fast and hitting teams with pace on the counter is the way to counter act the tika taka style, or when lesser teams play this way I like to call it give and go nowhere football. I disagree that possession is King, Goals are King IMO and we don't score nearly enough of them anymore, that was our identity, we may of got beat but we would lose 5-4 and when ever we went a goal or two behind I always had the feeling we could come back into it because we had a goal in us, I don't get that feeling anymore with this style, when we go behind we get beat.
I cannot remember the last time I had a half time full time bet up.

I will back Poch all the way and hope he is given time but I am not a fan of this style of football.

 

[DaSpurs]

I have thought the same thing, and is not just us. The whole prem seemed to stop playing two up front and went with inverted winger forward types, pressing high up the pitch, with fullbacks providing most of the width, after that Barca team looked invincible for a couple of seasons. AVB had a similair approach.
Ironically I think our old style of sitting back, moving the ball fast and hitting teams with pace on the counter is the way to counter act the tika taka style, or when lesser teams play this way I like to call it give and go nowhere football. I disagree that possession is King, Goals are King IMO and we don't score nearly enough of them anymore, that was our identity, we may of got beat but we would lose 5-4 and when ever we went a goal or two behind I always had the feeling we could come back into it because we had a goal in us, I don't get that feeling anymore with this style, when we go behind we get beat.
I cannot remember the last time I had a half time full time bet up.

I will back Poch all the way and hope he is given time but I am not a fan of this style of football.

I get what you're saying and I share a lot of your sentiment, but the problem isn't the formation or the brand of wingers, it's that we just don't have the right players to make it work.

Plain and simple, I've no idea why we've persisted with the high back line. Yes, we do have Lloris who is a good keeper-sweeper, but our CB's are just not quick enough on the turn to engage with how often we're countered in behind. Almost all of our goals conceded are due to mistake -> counter -> defense not in position -> concession. So until we get faster ones, I'm not sure why we're still doing it. I'm also with you though and I'll concede bias, I much prefer a traditionally placed back line and counterattacking football.

It wasn't just Barcelona that spread it though, it's that the Prem was behind in adjusting. It's part of why British players are so confused in these systems, as they've been trained with traditional coaching and systems while the rest of the continent moved on well over a decade ago.

 

[TheAmerican]

If anything, we should be playing like Bielsa's Marseille, not Guardiola's Bayern.

 

[Indacupfortottenham]

I get what you're saying and I share a lot of your sentiment, but the problem isn't the formation or the brand of wingers, it's that we just don't have the right players to make it work.

Plain and simple, I've no idea why we've persisted with the high back line. Yes, we do have Lloris who is a good keeper-sweeper, but our CB's are just not quick enough on the turn to engage with how often we're countered in behind. Almost all of our goals conceded are due to mistake -> counter -> defense not in position -> concession. So until we get faster ones, I'm not sure why we're still doing it. I'm also with you though and I'll concede bias, I much prefer a traditionally placed back line and counterattacking football.

It wasn't just Barcelona that spread it though, it's that the Prem was behind in adjusting. It's part of why British players are so confused in these systems, as they've been trained with traditional coaching and systems while the rest of the continent moved on well over a decade ago.

You make some great points, especially not having the personnel to play the high line, I am at a loss as to why both AVB and Poch were not given the players for this system and even more so as to why they both show/ed blind faith in it!

 

[SteveH]

I'd settle for playing like Kenier's Wimbledon