Author Topic: Preseason matches analyses (Read 4303 times)

apocalypse · « **on:** July 22, 2012, 07:17:38 PM »

Unfortunately I am on my phone so unable to put much effort into this plus have a feeling these threads aren't allowed as I can't think of another reason there isn't one (if yes, why?).

Discuss the tactics used; how effective they were and the positives and negatives from the match.

Keep individual player discussion to a minimum

SteLFC91 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:20:03 PM »

It's only our first pre-season game in which we played a large number of kids and nobody played more than 45 minutes. Don't really think we need to over-analyse any of our games for a few months or so yet.

apocalypse · « **Reply #2 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:35:55 PM »

Quote from: SteLFC91 on July 22, 2012, 07:20:03 PM

It's only our first pre-season game in which we played a large number of kids and nobody played more than 45 minutes. Don't really think we need to over-analyse any of our games for a few months or so yet.

Would think new manager and tactics would be debatable. Like us using inside forwards, if a team were to press us in our half we might get ourselves in trouble, etc.
Are threads like this around during the season?

El_Pistolero · « **Reply #3 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:38:40 PM »

Think the Round Table comes up after games in the season which looks into these kind of things in more detail. Micro analysis of pre-season games is a bit fruitless though, especially the the first one.

realtowz · « **Reply #4 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:38:51 PM »

I think we had some good passing going on... Loved seeing Lucas back distributing the ball..!

We weren't really sharp in the final third, but then again, this was a glorified training session...

apocalypse · « **Reply #5 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:44:18 PM »

Quote from: El_Pistolero on July 22, 2012, 07:38:40 PM

Think the Round Table comes up after games in the season which looks into these kind of things in more detail. Micro analysis of pre-season games is a bit fruitless though, especially the the first one.

Ok, that's good. Just thought it was a bit strange that all the discussion was going on in individual player threads

TSC · « **Reply #6 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:44:29 PM »

Not much to say or analyse. Pre season friendly with mix of youth players against Toronto - pointless discussing in any detail.

Carlos Alberto · « **Reply #7 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:47:50 PM »

What was our possession stats?

Aaron C · « **Reply #8 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:53:39 PM »

I think its fair to suggest that Rodgers style has already taken effect. The main point is when the Gk has the ball, the 2 centre halfs split to the touchline, and Spearing came deep looking for the ball. Alot of emphasis on short controlled possession, especially with Carragher who didn't once lump it as we're accustomed to.

Alot of wing play also from Pacheco and Ibe, but I felt the final ball at times was poor but that's to be expected on first match back. Another thing is I felt our attacking midfielders were not involved as much in the first half. Adam and Aquilani although they had some nice touches, didn't impose themselves in the game as much, that will hopefully improve as games come thick and fast.

Impressed with Shelvey, Sterling, Suso and also Wisdom. Spearing was tidy IMO, got alot on unfair criticism last season, hopefully under Rodgers he will prosper alot more

apocalypse · « **Reply #9 on:** July 22, 2012, 07:59:51 PM »

Quote from: Carlos Alberto on July 22, 2012, 07:47:50 PM

What was our possession stats?

67%. Anfield index has some good stats of match on Twitter

apocalypse · « **Reply #10 on:** July 22, 2012, 08:05:24 PM »

On phone so not sure if this format will look good. From Anfield Index
LFC Stats Breakdown Vs Toronto
1st Half: Passes - 354/384 (92%)
2nd Half: Passes - 291/328 (88%)

54% of total were in 1st half.

LFC Stats Breakdown Vs Toronto
1st Half: Tackles - 3/3 (100%)
2nd Half: Tackles - 14/16 (87.5%)

84% of tackles attempted in 2nd Half

Passing Vs Toronto
Wisdom: 93% (43/46)
Sama: 95% (38/40)
Wilson: 96% (22/23)
Skrtel: 91% (41/45)
Cole: 83% (24/29)
Shelvey: 91% (40/44)

Off the official forum

Passes attempted
1. Spearing 49
2. Shelvey 44
3. Adam 41
4. Suso 36
5. Aquilani 34
6. Lucas 18
7. Adorjan 15
Pass completion
1. Adorjan 100%
2. Aquilani 97%
3.= Spearing & Lucas 94%
5. Shelvey 91%
6. Suso 86%
7. Adam 80%
Caught in possession and
lost the ball
1. Shelvey & Adorjan &
Lucas 3
4.Spearing & Aquilani 4
6. Suso 7
7. Adam 9

DutchRed · « **Reply #11 on:** July 22, 2012, 08:12:39 PM »

Don't overanalyse a friendly. Our lads weren't at full fitness and a lot of the first-teamers weren't there anyway, on the other side the Toronto opposition are hardly the same as West Bromwich Albion. We need to be careful. Friendlies aren't a goal in itself, they are a way to reach OUR goal, which is starting with a win at The Hawthorns come August 18th.

Bakez0151 · « **Reply #12 on:** July 22, 2012, 08:25:14 PM »

i know it was only a friendly like but the amount of times we were getting the ball down the wings and then into the box made me think why can't carroll play in this system

but obviously that isn't the system, and there is long way to go i guess

geoffstrong · « **Reply #13 on:** July 22, 2012, 08:31:59 PM »

only thing that mattered was Lucas on the pitch really, we found out that Ibe has got some raw talent and bags of confidence, we saw Albert and Joe one in each half, Sterling is still not quite ready and Suso had the drag back of the game, and Morgan has his first senior goal, also Carra did not hoof it.

Alan_X · « **Reply #14 on:** July 22, 2012, 08:38:31 PM »

Quote from: apocalypse on July 22, 2012, 07:44:18 PM

Ok, that's good. Just thought it was a bit strange that all the discussion was going on in individual player threads

Nothing to analyze. Post match analysis after Pre-season games has one purpose - it highlights the knee-jerkers and doom-mongerers.

During the season there is a post game thread which is invariably full of shite. A day or so after we start a round table discussion for intelligent discussion of the game.

macca888 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 22, 2012, 08:54:24 PM »

1 - 1 draw to a gang of shit Mounties and transvestite lumberjacks and you want to discuss it? It should be the first "Rodgers Out" thread of the season, and I'm fucking still fuming. That Goulash is shite and after that howler, he wouldn't get in any of the top sixes under 11 sides. Alkaseltzer giving his usual "I'm boss in pre-season, give me loadsamoney anda maka me an offer I cannota refusa va fangu" performance. Joe Cole £80,000 a week? The fat out of breath fucker could do with 80,000 Ventolin inhalers. Charlie Adam looks like he spent his fucking honeymoon in a chippy. Skrtel clearly had a "I Heart Man City" vest on under his top. His head has been turned that much, it's only the fucking bolts in his neck that are keeping it in place. And everyone else bar the second comings of Jesus, Suso and Sterling, were shite. The sooner we fuck this Blue Ticcy Tac off and get back to a big 'un up top and one in the hole, the sooner we'll be back in the Premier Soccer League.

Alan_X · « **Reply #16 on:** July 22, 2012, 08:58:54 PM »

Quote from: macca888 on July 22, 2012, 08:54:24 PM

1 - 1 draw to a gang of shit Mounties and transvestite lumberjacks and you want to discuss it? It should be the first "Rodgers Out" thread of the season, and I'm fucking still fuming. That Goulash is shite and after that howler, he wouldn't get in any of the top sixes under 11 sides. Alkaseltzer giving his usual "I'm boss in pre-season, give me loadsamoney anda maka me an offer I cannota refusa va fangu" performance. Joe Cole £80,000 a week? The fat out of breath fucker could do with 80,000 Ventolin inhalers. Charlie Adam looks like he spent his fucking honeymoon in a chippy. Skrtel clearly had a "I Heart Man City" vest on under his top. His head has been turned that much, it's only the fucking bolts in his neck that are keeping it in place. And everyone else bar the second comings of Jesus, Suso and Sterling, were shite. The sooner we fuck this Blue Ticcy Tac off and get back to a big 'un up top and one in the hole, the sooner we'll be back in the Premier Soccer League.

incredibleL4ever · « **Reply #17 on:** July 22, 2012, 09:00:56 PM »

The main points for me were -
1. The following team was missing -
Reina
Kelly Agger Coates Johnson
Henderson Gerrard Downing
Borini Carroll Suarez
Most of the above would start ahead of those who played except for Enrique, Skrtel and Lucas.
2. There was a clear system and strategy, more than we have had in a very long time. 4-3-3, pass and move, press high up, keep the ball, no hoofing.
3. Some of the younger players, who rearly get a chance to impress did well including Pacheco, Ibe, Sama, Sterling, Morgan. However they have a lot to
learn also. Shelvey, on the other hand, looked like an old head.
4. The formation was text book, and in the real world of the premier league will need to be more flexible. But right now this is about education. The midfield 3 are very narrow, with 1 defensive playing behind 2 attacking. The defensive midfielder is absolutely key. He is the playmaker, the one almost all the play flow through (think Xavi). Lucas would be the obvious choice for us. Allen can play that role also.
5. Toronto managed to open us up a few times using a more direct approach. This is something we will have to work on, not allowing the opposition to break. When you press high up the pitch, you obviously leave gaps in defence. The key to covering this is not allowing the long pass to be made.

regnaD kciN · « **Reply #18 on:** July 22, 2012, 09:06:46 PM »

Quote from: DutchRed on July 22, 2012, 08:12:39 PM

Don't overanalyse a friendly. Our lads weren't at full fitness and a lot of the first-teamers weren't there anyway, on the other side the Toronto opposition are hardly the same as West Bromwich Albion.

More like the level of Sheffield Wednesday, I'd guess...

Il Capitano · « **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2012, 09:11:20 PM »

To me, I was impressed with the way the players are taking to Rodgers' training. There was a clear, patient emphasis on retaining the ball, and it was evident when the opposition had about a total of three touches in the first five minutes of the game. The team seemed a little unnerved by the fact that they obviously had some impressing to do on the manager, which I felt made them a little ponderous on getting the ball forward - we weren't possessing the ball higher up the pitch for long periods, and it seemed to me that a lot of the time in possession was used by the centre backs, who were recycling the ball between them. I thought that this changed in the second half, where Jonjo Shelvey took up a deeper role - collecting possession and moving the ball more quickly.

I also saw that the defensive line played further up - often on the half way line - in the second half, whereas in the first half it was deeper. This was either a tactical manoeuvre by the manager, or Carragher is still refusing to move further up the pitch due to his lack of pace. However, I'd feel extremely confident with Agger in possession of the ball there - he makes an excellent starting point to build attacks from and to recycle possession of the football. Liverpool's Pique.

The team's pressing was another interesting aspect. They would revert to a defensive shape at times, but this seemed to be a little after the ball had been lost - initial pressing to try to win the ball back instantly, followed by retreat into a defensive shape if the opposition were able to work the ball out of the press quickly. To me, this is either a gradual progression into pressing continuously in the opponent's half of the pitch (Barca-esque) away from the comfort blanket of defensive shape - or it is a way of playing that allows more defensive solidity and will be a permanent tactic. I'd like to think the former, as it is an extremely high standard to reach towards.

The team's fitness clearly was not as superb as it could be - which is, obviously, to be expected - but I felt they competed well against a team mid-way through their own season. What I want to see some gradual improvement on is the refinement of attacking moves in the final third - as I felt the team didn't perform well at constructing clear chances against a solidly organised defence, and this will be crucial in the coming season. The response to slow tempo football is to organise quickly into defensive shape, so breaking teams down is essential and the players need to be good at it.

JavierMascherano20 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 23, 2012, 11:02:59 PM »

Quote from: macca888 on July 22, 2012, 08:54:24 PM

1 - 1 draw to a gang of shit Mounties and transvestite lumberjacks and you want to discuss it?

SP · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2012, 11:18:59 PM »

Quote from: DutchRed on July 22, 2012, 08:12:39 PM

Friendlies aren't a goal in itself, they are a way to reach OUR goal, which is starting with a win at The Hawthorns come August 18th.

I hope that we would have won 2 competitive games by then.

DyingAtheist · « **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2012, 11:39:28 PM »

The main thing I noticed, that particularly made me happy, was that when people were running down the wings and trying to whip crosses in we actually had midfielders in the box for once, heck, PEOPLE in the box. Was quite a big problem last year so hopefully it's something that continues from now.

blert596 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 23, 2012, 11:39:37 PM »

Quote from: macca888 on July 22, 2012, 08:54:24 PM

1 - 1 draw to a gang of shit Mounties and transvestite lumberjacks and you want to discuss it? It should be the first "Rodgers Out" thread of the season, and I'm fucking still fuming. That Goulash is shite and after that howler, he wouldn't get in any of the top sixes under 11 sides. Alkaseltzer giving his usual "I'm boss in pre-season, give me loadsamoney anda maka me an offer I cannota refusa va fangu" performance. Joe Cole £80,000 a week? The fat out of breath fucker could do with 80,000 Ventolin inhalers. Charlie Adam looks like he spent his fucking honeymoon in a chippy. Skrtel clearly had a "I Heart Man City" vest on under his top. His head has been turned that much, it's only the fucking bolts in his neck that are keeping it in place. And everyone else bar the second comings of Jesus, Suso and Sterling, were shite. The sooner we fuck this Blue Ticcy Tac off and get back to a big 'un up top and one in the hole, the sooner we'll be back in the Premier Soccer League.

Well thats a first. Not often you get Round Table quality for a pre season friendly.

DanA · « **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2012, 11:42:21 PM »

I thought the game hinted a lot at how we will play.

- Reina as expected will be the sweeper keeper distributing short passes.
Johnson & Enrique look like they will be a bit more aggressive going forward
Skrtel & Agger much more involved in the build up.
Gerrard & partner seem like they'll be more conservative
I think we're looking at a center forward that really busts his arse closing down (think it'll be Borrini)
Wingers took on the fullbacks a lot, reckon swap out Suarez for Ibe and it'd be very exciting and quite fruitful.

From a player perspective:
Shelvey is looking a beast, could see him having a break out year and I reckon will be our most improved player.
Sterling had an excellent work rate and may adapt to the physical side of things better than expected despite his small size.
Sama has improved tremendously compared to 12 months ago, a beast of a lad.
Suso needs to get stronger but certainly a lot to like.
Pacheco's career may yet have legs at Liverpool, needs to get fitter though

We'll know more wants the more senior players return but some good signs I thought

Bobinhood · « **Reply #25 on:** July 24, 2012, 12:24:20 AM »

Quote from: regnaD kciN on July 22, 2012, 09:06:46 PM

More like the level of Sheffield Wednesday, I'd guess...

You guys have no idea. Sheffield Tuesday is more like it. I went to that game, I've had toronto tickets since inception and been a liverpool fan for more than 30 years so it was pretty much ideal for me. i had a lot of fun, but in the second half in particular toronto played reserves and youth. Your talking about 16-17-18 year old canadian kids whove never played a pro game before. That guy who scored....Never heard of him. turns out we picked him up the day before. Pasher the right back--17. the Goalie-17. (hell of a boot that kid had on him.) and so it went.

I couldnt resist when toronto scored. i was sat 6 rows behind the reds bench so after the cheering had died down i yelled (loudly) " Hey Liverpool! That guy who scored? (pause) He makes 30 thousand a year! (pause) Thats about 12.50 an hour! (pause) "Theres only one Quincy Amarikwa, theres only one Quincy Amarikwa...."

keeping in mind nobody on either side had ever heard of the guy. Adam actually turned and had a look at that one.

Call me crazy, but i felt that they picked it up a tad after that .

For all that, i loved seeing the lads having a run out. The real highlights were the entire crowd sang YNWA loudly and with gusto just before the game started, which was a fantastic experience if a facsimile one, and Cara gave Morgan a bear hug to end all bear hugs after he scored, clearly very well made up for his scouser mate, and Lucas subbing on to a standing ovation.

Other than that they were just test driving the new system and intentionally never really got out of second gear....first pre season game what the hell. these are the games that salif diao gets a run out in.

"Ninja Skrtel" · « **Reply #26 on:** July 24, 2012, 01:37:35 AM »

Maybe "analysis" was the wrong word for the title given it was a pre-season friendly. But with a new manager, system and a few debutants there are definitely some interesting things to discuss.

An encouraging thing for me was this stat (don't know if it's entirely accurate though as I just got it from someone on Facebook): "LFC completed 92% of their passes, 660 compared to the home side’s 277 to end with 70% of possession. very impressive for the first game from an under strength side."

Garcepticon · « **Reply #27 on:** July 24, 2012, 01:54:05 AM »

I thought we kept possession well, we consistently tried to play to the LF/ LW (Pacheco/Sterling) with a big diagonal ball. I felt that in both halves the delivery wasn't very good from our wings. The most basic lesson that you could take from the game against Toronto is that a lot of our penetration will come from the LW and RW. A popular phrase from Michels says 'Possession based football is sensitive to quality', against TFC I think the importance of that quality was demonstrated in the first half with a fairly blunt set of attacks from our front three.

TLDR - the wingers in Rogers' 4-3-3 are going to be crucial to creating goal scoring chances.

eLToRo · « **Reply #28 on:** July 24, 2012, 03:38:03 AM »

Only thing we can actually comment on was the tactics and what the players were trying to do even though they were still not 100 per cent etc.

Our formation seems to be very fluid.We have two centre backs who split very wide ,the keeper never goes long unless its the best option.The anchor man in midfield sits just infront of the two centre backs and gets on the ball a lot.I think lucas will excell in this position.

The full backs were playing at midfielders when we are attacking

Would love to see this team in the formation

REINA
SKRTEL AGGER

JOHNSON LUCAS ENRIQUE

AQUILANI* GERRARD

BELLAMY** SUAREZ*** BORINI **

*Allen or adam or henderson if aquilani is gone
** Pacheco or downing or sterling or cole
***CARROLL OR MORGAN OR DEMPSEY Or Eccleston

The great thing about the formation is the amount of triangles it has all over the pitch.We see little crossing and the wide men either try to take their man on and hit the byline to cross it for a tap in or cut inside and shoot or pass.The days of downing crossing it needlesly into carroll or noboday at all will be gone hopefully .Despite our dominance in games last year that was a big problem.Huge amount of crosses but either bad crosses or the person on the end of the cross couldnt score.

Will be fun when suarez gets back and we see him get involved in the triangles around the box.Hopefully we can get more men into the box furing attacks but we will then get caught a lot at the back considering our wing backs are so far forward and if agger is playing he will play very adavanced.

DanA · « **Reply #29 on:** July 24, 2012, 04:43:43 AM »

Quote from: Garcepticon on July 24, 2012, 01:54:05 AM

I thought we kept possession well, we consistently tried to play to the LF/ LW (Pacheco/Sterling) with a big diagonal ball. I felt that in both halves the delivery wasn't very good from our wings. The most basic lesson that you could take from the game against Toronto is that a lot of our penetration will come from the LW and RW. A popular phrase from Michels says 'Possession based football is sensitive to quality', against TFC I think the importance of that quality was demonstrated in the first half with a fairly blunt set of attacks from our front three.

TLDR - the wingers in Rogers' 4-3-3 are going to be crucial to creating goal scoring chances.

That's my initial feeling as well. Looks to me like we'll be relying heavily on wingers to create something and they'll need to be quality if we are to do well. I also agree with the general formation and tactic. Now more than ever i'm leaning towards Suarez playing as a wide forward though rather than a center forward. He'll still score goals from wide areas but his ability to beat a man too me is just too valuable. Take the goal setup by Sterling, that's the type of situation Suarez eats up.

To me I think Borrini is the man we want at CF. He's not as good a player as Suarez but he's good in the right areas. He'll work as hard as Suarez closing down, he's very intelligent with movement and clinical in front of goal. This system doesn't appear to involve the central striker in the build up and for that reason I think Suarez is underutilized a bit in that position.

At this stage I'd have us:
Reina
Skrtel Agger

Johnson Lucas Enrique

Gerrard Shelvey

Suarez Borini Bellamy*

* We need another wide player prepared to take on his man and capable of winning, Bellamy is a fine choice for 30% of our games, we need someone for the other 70%. To me that's not Downing or Cole either.

keyo · « **Reply #30 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:35:09 AM »

Quote from: El_Pistolero on July 22, 2012, 07:38:40 PM

Think the Round Table comes up after games in the season which looks into these kind of things in more detail. Micro analysis of pre-season games is a bit fruitless though, especially the the first one.

agree, but pre-season is the time to spot some positives such as work rate, promise, shape, etc.......with some realism brought in to temper the optimism.......no over-analysis required, but differences can be noted.....and is always interesting to see how the young lads respond to playing with the big lads (or in ibe's case, the same sized lads!!)

DanA · « **Reply #31 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:36:42 AM »

Quote from: keyo on July 24, 2012, 06:35:09 AM

agree, but pre-season is the time to spot some positives such as work rate, promise, shape, etc.......with some realism brought in to temper the optimism.......no over-analysis required, but differences can be noted.....and is always interesting to see how the young lads respond to playing with the big lads (or in ibe's case, the same sized lads!!)

In Sama's case it's the wee little lads

keyo · « **Reply #32 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:40:57 AM »

Quote from: eLToRo on July 24, 2012, 03:38:03 AM

Only thing we can actually comment on was the tactics and what the players were trying to do even though they were still not 100 per cent etc.

Our formation seems to be very fluid.We have two centre backs who split very wide ,the keeper never goes long unless its the best option.The anchor man in midfield sits just infront of the two centre backs and gets on the ball a lot.I think lucas will excell in this position.

The full backs were playing at midfielders when we are attacking

Would love to see this team in the formation

REINA
SKRTEL AGGER

JOHNSON LUCAS ENRIQUE

AQUILANI* GERRARD

BELLAMY** SUAREZ*** BORINI **

*Allen or adam or henderson if aquilani is gone
** Pacheco or downing or sterling or cole
***CARROLL OR MORGAN OR DEMPSEY Or Eccleston

The great thing about the formation is the amount of triangles it has all over the pitch.We see little crossing and the wide men either try to take their man on and hit the byline to cross it for a tap in or cut inside and shoot or pass.The days of downing crossing it needlesly into carroll or noboday at all will be gone hopefully .Despite our dominance in games last year that was a big problem.Huge amount of crosses but either bad crosses or the person on the end of the cross couldnt score.

Will be fun when suarez gets back and we see him get involved in the triangles around the box.Hopefully we can get more men into the box furing attacks but we will then get caught a lot at the back considering our wing backs are so far forward and if agger is playing he will play very adavanced.

did not see the game, so cannot say whether this relates to the performance or not...what i would say is that pressing the game into the opposition half - as is talked about alot by rodgers and those who have seen how he likes to set up - is that we play with alot more players in the opposition half whilst still being behind the ball....forcing pressure on the opposition, whilst making breaks difficult for them, which is best encompassed by the full backs pushing on as support AND back up, not overlapping or replacing the attacking option, but adding numbers to the opposition half......making it a choice for the opposition to leave one on ones or move back to cover

DanA · « **Reply #33 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:51:14 AM »

Quote from: keyo on July 24, 2012, 06:40:57 AM

did not see the game, so cannot say whether this relates to the performance or not...what i would say is that pressing the game into the opposition half - as is talked about alot by rodgers and those who have seen how he likes to set up - is that we play with alot more players in the opposition half whilst still being behind the ball....forcing pressure on the opposition, whilst making breaks difficult for them, which is best encompassed by the full backs pushing on as support AND back up, not overlapping or replacing the attacking option, but adding numbers to the opposition half......making it a choice for the opposition to leave one on ones or move back to cover

They were overlapping at times. I remember seeing Enrique in the box a few times and both Wisdom and Flannagan put in crossed from the goal line. Wasn't at the game so it's hard to know for sure how aggressive they were but I think the DM was dropping back and we were playing a back three. The times the we got caught out seemed to be when the opposition attacked down the middle and our DM was out of position. Both the goal and there only other decent chance came this way.

swordfishtrombone · « **Reply #34 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:55:16 AM »

If the plan for next season is to push our full backs so far up the pitch, then there have to be some concerns about Enrique's ability to play in that role. I think we saw last season that he isn't at his best going forward, and I thought the way he dawdled on the ball reallly stood out on Saturday night.

keyo · « **Reply #35 on:** July 24, 2012, 07:00:17 AM »

Quote from: DanA on July 24, 2012, 06:51:14 AM

They were overlapping at times. I remember seeing Enrique in the box a few times and both Wisdom and Flannagan put in crossed from the goal line. Wasn't at the game so it's hard to know for sure how aggressive they were but I think the DM was dropping back and we were playing a back three. The times the we got caught out seemed to be when the opposition attacked down the middle and our DM was out of position. Both the goal and there only other decent chance came this way.

cheers, suspect this is how we should go, and we need to understand how the system works overall, especially with the opposition attacks and breaks

royhendo · « **Reply #36 on:** July 24, 2012, 07:19:37 AM »

Try and put a wee bit more effort in with your opening posts mate eh?

Modern phones are amazing - you can write a novel on a smartphone.

There were noticeable differences and we'll only see more clarity on that front in the coming weeks and months.

Fuzion6 · « **Reply #37 on:** July 24, 2012, 09:48:00 AM »

I really liked the shape of the team and the way in which we kept posession and kept circulating the ball. What I didn't like however, which is an extension from last year, was the lack of bodies in the box. Most of the time the central striker was the only guy in the box...a continuing worrying trend.

apocalypse · « **Reply #38 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:07:29 PM »

Quote from: royhendo on July 24, 2012, 07:19:37 AM

Try and put a wee bit more effort in with your opening posts mate eh? Modern phones are amazing - you can write a novel on a smartphone.

There were noticeable differences and we'll only see more clarity on that front in the coming weeks and months.

To be honest I thought the thread would be locked so didn't want to waste my time.