Author Topic: The Level 3 Thread  (Read 1185418 times)

royhendo

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It's long because it deserves to be...

Interesting to make the comparison with our rivals too.

Man Utd, galling as this is, are at level 3. There is no coubt in my mind, all the hallmarks are there. However, even for them this is not something they have achieved consistently and seamlessly. I would argue that this current side is only one of perhaps 3 ever to truly reach this peak, and I would further argue that this is because a lower risk, higher finance strategy is being taken. Namely, the youth production is not that described for a level 3 side, it has been achieved over the years almost entirely through transfers. The longer Fergie goes on, I think, the fairer it is to describe their golden generation as an exception rather than a rule.

Chelsea, well, I would say that so far they have been a level 2 side of exceptional efficiency. They have so far not attempted to truly implement a level 3 style, and Mourinho is a level 2 manager all over...a strong reason why he shouldn't be considered as a replacement. It would be a backward step for us. A transition to level 3 is demande by Abramovich, yet the youth is not there, and the squad is still all about level 2. As we have seen from ourselves and indeed Man Utd this transition is not an easy one. Phil Scolari may be a genius (although I have my doubts) but he is going to have to be to achieve this transition under the pressure and time constraints he will have.

Arsenal seem to be a level 3, as you say, but clearly lack that ability to vary, and especially lack that transition from level 2 which enables them to fall back on those tactics when they are playing poorly or up against an opponent of phenomenal ability. The only time they have ever had that was just after Wenger had built on Graham's foundations. Since then level 2 has been abandoned, and doesn't seem to be coached into their youth. You see this as well with the kind of quotes their players always come out with...to paraphrase 'We play the best football. We love beautiful football. It's unfair when we lose because our football is beautiful and the other team played unfairly by not playing beautiful football.' Which to me misses the point of football: To win. There are no judges on the sidelines holding up cards for artistic merit, so until you learn to cope with teams who couldn't give a shit about the prettiness of their football you are never going to fulfill your potential. Their signings so far this summer are just a repeat of the same old same old. We will develop next year, MAn Utd are already there, Chelsea are trying, but Arsenal haven't developed since Arsene took over. In fact, they have gone slightly backwards, and in my view will never reach the next level for as long as Wenger remains in charge.

Therefore, although I am terrified at the thought of losing Rafa, I'm also optimistic that we can put a real challenge together, because quite honestly for this season I think we could be the ones who develop by far the most out of the top 4, and given how small the gap actually was last season, and given some semblence of off field stability, and with the media spotlight likely to be elsewhere again, I think this could be our best chance in a long while to realistically challenge, maybe even win.

this is awesome - thanks!

there are a few points below yours highlighting Mourinho's intent at Porto, and to an extent they're spot on. that said, the year they won the CL they faced a Real Madrid side who humped them off the park, to the extent that Mourinho said something like 'we needed 13 players to mark them properly'. with that in mind, he was still making do with a limited squad - he was just lucky to face sides who weren't able to box clever the previous year. Celtic fans will testify to their win at all costs approach the preceding year, for example - they should probably have beaten them in that UEFA final.

Anyway, thanks again for the kind words, and for an awesome post.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2008, 10:35:04 pm by royhendo »

royhendo

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Oh, and by the way - here's the link to the book on amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teambuilding-Road-Success-Rinus-Michels/dp/1890946737/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217368001&sr=8-1

As I said, it's a very dry read, and it's clearly a translation from native Dutch, so don't expect it to be one of those 'i just couldn't put it down' experiences.

Offline Shanks1965

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You twat !

I thought I knew a thing or two about football but that just about reset a lot of the things I thought I knew.

It did though confirm one thing I've been saying for a long time about the defensive / attacking debate which is when Rafa gets the players good enough to play 'attacking' football we will start to play it more often.

Great post and well worth a read.

Well done.
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royhendo

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if inculcating the framework into the players from the earliest age possible is the best way to reach Level 3 football consistently, how do we integrate our decisions to loan out youth players to other teams into this outlook?  This means depriving them of the TTTB from Melwood for significant periods of their development as players in favor of other modes of playing football with other teams.  These modes are arguably of a lower standard if they're playing in the Conference or League 1, although a case could be made that it exposes them to more styles of play than staying in the Reserves.  They will need to have the right mental capacity to process the lessons they learn on loan without the guidance from Rafa and his staff, and that seems a big gamble to take if we're banking on these youth products to get us and keep us on Level 3.

this is a great question manilakop.

for me it's an offshoot of the squad depth issue mentioned earlier, but i think hamberg's quotes tell us everything we need to know - players coming through the pipeline will be judged on merit. if they're tested and their level of quality is judged higher than the first team alternative, we'll see the first teamer shipped out, and we'll see the young player take his place.

if there's a question mark, he'll go out on loan, either to harden physically, hone his mental toughness, or broaden his experience; but the fact of the loan reveals a question mark, and the end goal must either be to cash in with a big money sale to another club, or if the player responds the way we hoped, to bring them into the fold and ship another established squad player out.

as the overall standard improves, it'll get harder to push your way into our first team squad; but standards will rise in all age groups as each year passes. it's a virtuous circle.

the thing is, no matter which sport you study, you'll see similar principles underlined at the highest level - jim fleming in rugby, phil jackson in basketball, you name it - there are parallels everywhere you look.

Offline gamble

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royhendo, that is a legend of a post. big respect!

never heard of rinus michels book, but your post hits where we are with football on the head. i studied as an economist and studied similarities between (business) organisations and football teams (which are the same thing) so this is definitely strategically where we are going.

each step up though is transitional and can go wobbly, but we definitely have a spine now. I don't think after our first 11, the rest of our first team squad matches man utd/chelsea (man utd who definitely play level 3 football), but I think our youths and reserves are as good as any.

we just need a season without any major injuries, like utd have pretty much had the last two seasons.

Offline GermanCarra90

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wow, that is a marvellous post, congratulation for that one ;)
well, we just need "Level 3" football don´t we?

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I doff my hat to you  :wave

This is without doubt the most intelligent and most informative analysis I've ever read about football. It was very well written and you argued your points quite persuasively. Top quality post and for me it outlines the goal Rafa is building towards better than anything else I've read. All the forumites should read this. 

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Offline Slidey

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i read it off and on over about 6 hours. pretty much the best post ive read on RAWK

I think i'll read it again tomorrow - I'm just about to go to bed an hour later than i wanted to with a job interview tomorrow, but couldnt stop reading...

the Michels book is on order from amazon!

Thanks!

Offline Manila Kop

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this is a great question manilakop.

for me it's an offshoot of the squad depth issue mentioned earlier, but i think hamberg's quotes tell us everything we need to know - players coming through the pipeline will be judged on merit. if they're tested and their level of quality is judged higher than the first team alternative, we'll see the first teamer shipped out, and we'll see the young player take his place.

if there's a question mark, he'll go out on loan, either to harden physically, hone his mental toughness, or broaden his experience; but the fact of the loan reveals a question mark, and the end goal must either be to cash in with a big money sale to another club, or if the player responds the way we hoped, to bring them into the fold and ship another established squad player out.

as the overall standard improves, it'll get harder to push your way into our first team squad; but standards will rise in all age groups as each year passes. it's a virtuous circle.

the thing is, no matter which sport you study, you'll see similar principles underlined at the highest level - jim fleming in rugby, phil jackson in basketball, you name it - there are parallels everywhere you look.

Nail on the head Royhendo, I think you're on to something there re: the virtuous cycle and rising standards.  Everyone keeps saying that the like of Fowler, Owen and Gerrard broke through early and why can't Nemeth step up now instead of going out on loan.  Maybe it just means that the standards of both the league and the team are of such a high level now that a 19-year old Nemeth, talented as he is, isn't being thrown off the deep end to reinforce the squad.  Although there will always be question marks over Voronin vs. Nemeth...something we'll get a chance to observe against Villareal tomorrow.

I think with the previous posts of i6uuaq and Red No. 7 there's a consensus that going out on loan as you pointed out reveals a question.  It's not just to toughen up the player or expose him to a different style of play.  It answers something about his mentality - his willingness to go outside the comfort of Melwood to prove himself, to let his talent shine through even among the dross.  As someone said, you become a better player carrying a team that's not as good as you, and that's what makes them so good when they slot back in to Liverpool.  I think this is why Rafa has given the likes of Hammill and Anderson new contracts after their loan stints - they may not be ready for the first team, they may not ever be, but they've shown they have the character not to shirk responsibility for their development or throw the toys out of the pram because they're not in the first team.  If the rumors about Nemeth rejecting the Leeds loan is true though, it does raise questions about how Rafa and his staff will view his attitude.

By way of ending I remember reading about Beckham and his loan at Preston North End.  The football was so dire, the standards so removed from those of Old Trafford, that he swore to himself he'd prove he was good enough to play for the Mancs.  He may not be the most talented footballer in the world but on the pitch the man will puke his guts out to prove himself, and I think that kind of character is what we're hoping will be revealed by loaning the younger players out.
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Lolzies. More chance of a wank off the pope than beating United, I'm afraid. It is beyond Benitez, apart from when they were at their lowest ebb, when we knocked them out of the FA Cup. They certainly aren't anywhere near there now.

Offline hesbighesred

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this is awesome - thanks!

there are a few points below yours highlighting Mourinho's intent at Porto, and to an extent they're spot on. that said, the year they won the CL they faced a Real Madrid side who humped them off the park, to the extent that Mourinho said something like 'we needed 13 players to mark them properly'. with that in mind, he was still making do with a limited squad - he was just lucky to face sides who weren't able to box clever the previous year. Celtic fans will testify to their win at all costs approach the preceding year, for example - they should probably have beaten them in that UEFA final.

Anyway, thanks again for the kind words, and for an awesome post.

Thanks for the info, and for your kind words. Most appreciated.
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Offline guest

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I'm fucking honoured if my original post in any way inspired that. Fantastic read. I must pick up Rinus Michels' book, too.

I think that the biggest indicator of level 3 is the wish to swap Alonso with Barry. Tempo, tempo, tempo. You can almost here Rafa repeating it like a mantra on the sidelines.

Rafa is the most intelligent manager in the world.

Sorry I can't get much else out. Just happy I finally set aside enough time to read it through.

Offline Oingy Boingy

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Great read that ...It takes a far more dedicated footie fan than i could ever pretend to be, to read a translation of a foreign coaches theories on team building and management...thanks for a great insight.

To me it illustrated perfectly the only route currently open to rafa in his pursuit of the league, and gives a great insight into why the likes of pennant was dropped to the bench for kuyt..

Also i think it shows partly why Zenden Momo etc have been shipped out. Rafa knowing that in order to play consistently at level three (domination, ball control etc) against top sides you cannot have players giving the ball away cheaply, and playing in a undisciplined fashion (headless chicken) which in the current squad there are a few who tick those boxes with ease but thankfully are the same ones that seem to have there necks next in line for the chop.

It also heightens my fear of the damage that would be done to the club if we lost rafa due to shortsightedness by fans or more than likely forthcoming shenanigans of the yanks.






« Last Edit: July 30, 2008, 05:48:39 am by Oingy Boingy »
Indeed...

Offline USC19Babel

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Fantastic post that I very much agree with.

Give Rafa time and patience and I am confident he will deliver.

Offline JoeTwerp

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Great post and I love what rafa was doing and pray he gets the time to see his plan out, but if you are right in saying the system cannot be judged until Adam Pepper is 21, well Rafa has surely bought himself some time (and money).  I would imagine he HAS to do some winning before then even if that claim is impossible.  But yes clearly there is MUCH MUCH MUCH more method to what people think is his "madness"

Offline Ozzy_Red

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whoa, new world record: Longest ever RAWK post  :champ Well done, Royhendo!
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Good post. Its took me a long time to getting round to reading it, but where you say about signing players like Zenden (free) instead of Alves (asking price of 14 million).  That was restricted by money, more a problem caused by lack of funds than anything.  There are other examples aswell but all have pointed to the same thing.  Lack of money.  Thats probably the main reason behind us not being more developed as a team and the reason for slower transition between the levels.  But as long as there is improvement and there definately has been I will be more than happy.  With the players being signed and the youth improving like it is I really believe that rafa is creating a dynasty that will last for a long time.

royhendo

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The McMananam quote about Redondo (Royhendo?) is revealing too 

I need to dig out El Macca from somewhere - think I gave it to someone actually... but I remember him saying that before he came, the midfield was held by Sanchis and Redondo. Hierro used to play the progressive defender role, obviously, and they had marauding full backs in Salgado and Carlos, but Del Bosque's key player was Redondo because he ticked all the boxes RM talks about, he was a world class athlete, and he could dominate an opposing midfield on his own - their CL game away to Man United for example, when Redondo was awesome.

Will have to try and dig out the quote mate.

BTW - I thought Macca was quite headstrong

Quote
Finally, do you know what Michels was like as a 'man-manager'? I ask because I'm still not 100 per cent convinced that Rafa couldn't do better here (I remember your previous post on this). Maybe it's not in the make-up of the boss, but a little bit of Harry Redknapp can be worth a helluva lot every now and then. If you want players to 'run through walls' for you then there has to be affection as well as respect.

there's a great bit later in the book on this stuff - he tells a few stories about his time with the KNVB national squads where he's disciplined players. The way he talks about it is really interesting and it makes you think about Stein actually.

He says something like "When Koeman complained about my team tactics in a newspaper column, it was an opportunity for me to discipline the squad." It's as if he was waiting to lay down the law, you know? He had other run-ins with Koeman it seems and threatened to drop him permanently for Danny Blind if he chose to play in a team-mate's testimonial at Barcelona.

Stein was like that according to Billy McNeill. He'd pick fights with players like McNeill who he knew could take it mentally, but his real goal was to get the message across to more sensitive players in the squad who could hear the argument loud and clear, but who couldn't cope with the big man's verbal volley! He tells some good stories - there's one where McNeill's getting strips torn off him after a game in the dressing room, and he says "stuff this" and heads off to the bath. Next thing you know Stein's in the bath beside him with his suit and socks and shoes still on. Stein's still going mental but suddenly he stops and says "I've went too far this time, eh?"

;D

« Last Edit: July 30, 2008, 12:43:28 pm by royhendo »

Offline Red number seven

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I He tells some good stories - there's one where McNeill's getting strips torn off him after a game in the dressing room, and he says "stuff this" and heads off to the bath. Next thing you know Stein's in the bath beside him with his suit and socks and shoes still on. Stein's still going mental but suddenly he stops and says "I've went too far this time, eh?"
What a top story. Can see how Stein and Shanks were close.

Tremendous insight into his players mentality to be able to bollock the weaker ones by proxy via the ones who can take it.
"You just have to give them credit for not throwing in the towel" - Gennaro Gattuso, May, 2005

And then we'll get 4th as well and everyone in the whole world can do one.

royhendo

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Tony Barrett has some good stuff in his piece today on this front...

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2008/07/30/krisztian-nemeth-set-to-make-liverpool-fc-debut-at-villarreal-100252-21433427/

Quote
Nemeth, who joined Liverpool from MTK Hungaria last summer, was the top scorer in the Reds’ title winning reserve side last season and Benitez is tipping him to have a bright future in the game.

He said: "Krisztian is a player who has a lot of potential and I feel the time is right to include him in the first team squad for the game against Villarreal.

"He played very well for the reserves last season and scored quite a lot of goals. It is clear that he has the ability to score but he also has good game intelligence.

"We have high hopes for him but he must continue to work hard every day because that is the only way to improve.

"The good thing is Krisztian likes to learn and work with the coaching staff and this will only help him."


Quote
The boss believes the progress shown by the reserves bodes well for the club's future and could help save Liverpool a fortune.

"The young players are doing a very good job and the work that they have been doing is already bearing fruit," he said. "We have good quality in the reserve team and we can see these players being in the first team in the future.

"We have done this without spending big money on them, the cost to the club has been minimum.

"It was important that we signed these players when we did because we needed to improve and it is clear that this has already happened because last season the reserve team won the league and the average age of the team was just 18.

"These players clearly have great potential and it would be very hard to find better young players than them without spending big money.

"Hopefully they will go on to fulfil their potential because this would save the club a lot of money.

“Every year the quality of the squad is improving and these players are an important part of that improvement."

Offline choi

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that has to be the longest post i've seen (glanced at)

hopefully will get round to reading it some time! :D

royhendo

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What a top story. Can see how Stein and Shanks were close.

Tremendous insight into his players mentality to be able to bollock the weaker ones by proxy via the ones who can take it.

Totally mate. I live in Dundee but I used to work in London for a long time and commute up and down every weekend. Anyway, one Friday night I was reading Archie McPherson's biography of Stein (which is absolutely f_cking brilliant by the way) and the conductor sits down next to me. I was thinking "aye aye, what's happening here?" but the guy says "Great book that. I knew the big man you know..."

Turns out he was a Dunfermline fan and his mum worked at the club. At the time, Stein had moved from Dumfermline to Celtic, but the conductor's Dad was big into the greyhounds, as was the big man, and they were big mates.

Anyway, he said one night his Mum came up and woke him up in his bedroom, and said 'I've got a surprise for you'. He came down into the kitchen, and round the kitchen table, brewing up a pot of tea and starting another marathon football and 'dugs chat, were his Dad, Jock Stein, and Bill Shankly.

Imagine that. He said it was the best moment of his life and he was only a wee boy.

Here's the link to the Stein biog:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jock-Stein-Definitive-Archie-Macpherson/dp/1905156375/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217417985&sr=8-1

McPherson's like the Scottish equivalent of Motty.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2008, 12:40:36 pm by royhendo »

Offline Stussy

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Royhendo and anyone else interested in the history and ideas of football tactics, strategy and philosophy.

I've been meaning to buy this book for a while it has great reviews and I read an extract from it onlin one the Guardian site and it was great. SOme good reccomendation blurbs on the Amazon page.



++++++

Jonathan Wilson is an erudite and detailed writer, but never loses a sense of the grand narrative sweep, and here he pulls apart the modern game, traces the world history of tactics back from modern pioneers such as Rinus Michels and Valeriy Lobanovskyi, the Swiss origins of Catenaccio and Herbert Chapman, right back to beginning where chaos reigned. Along the way he looks at the lives of great players and thinkers who shaped the game, and probes why the English, in particular, have 'proved themselves unwilling to grapple with the abstract'. This is a modern classic of football writing to rank with David Winner's 'Brilliant Orange' and Simon Kuper's 'Football Against the Enemy'.

++++++

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inverting-Pyramid-History-Football-Tactics/dp/0752889958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217418290&sr=1-1




"My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea. He wanted to conquer the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in."

royhendo

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I've been meaning to buy this book for a while it has great reviews and I read an extract from it onlin one the Guardian site and it was great. SOme good reccomendation blurbs on the Amazon page.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inverting-Pyramid-History-Football-Tactics/dp/0752889958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217418290&sr=1-1

top man! duly ordered

 :thumbup

Offline Stussy

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top man! duly ordered

 :thumbup



I just ordered it as well.

Here's hoping it inspires you to refract Rafa's mission through some more examples you find in it and write part 2 later in the season :thumbup

"My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea. He wanted to conquer the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in."

Offline LionsDen

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I doff my hat to you  :wave

This is without doubt the most intelligent and most informative analysis I've ever read about football. It was very well written and you argued your points quite persuasively. Top quality post and for me it outlines the goal Rafa is building towards better than anything else I've read. All the forumites should read this. 

:wellin :wellin

Offline rednich85

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Great post

Read it yesterday

Really interesting
"Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons."

@rednich85

royhendo

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I just ordered it as well.

Here's hoping it inspires you to refract Rafa's mission through some more examples you find in it and write part 2 later in the season :thumbup



haha aye that'll be right... i've got a carpal tunnel coming on!

seriously though, jonathan wilson's class isn't he? i wish the likes of balague would take a leaf out of his book, stop the media tarting and concentrate on their love of the game.

Offline hesbighesred

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Incidentally, anyone who enjoyed this should check out the following:

http://www.espnsoccernet.es/columns/archive?columnist=20&root=europe&cc=5739

From Uli Hesse Lichtenburger the articles from June 16th to June 26th.

These are slightly inspired by the famous book 'moneyball' and tell the remarkable story of SC Freiburg, who went from no marks to the top division via an application of some moneyball-esque principles. Also not a million miles away from Rafa's methods, and just a cracking story regardless.

I can't remember which forumite on which forum pointed me to these articles in the first place, but thank you that mystery person.
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Offline Manila Kop

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Royhendo and anyone else interested in the history and ideas of football tactics, strategy and philosophy.

I've been meaning to buy this book for a while it has great reviews and I read an extract from it onlin one the Guardian site and it was great. SOme good reccomendation blurbs on the Amazon page.

Read that extract as well Stuss, Jonathan Wilson's one of the best Guardian writers and the book seems a cracking read.  :)
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Lolzies. More chance of a wank off the pope than beating United, I'm afraid. It is beyond Benitez, apart from when they were at their lowest ebb, when we knocked them out of the FA Cup. They certainly aren't anywhere near there now.

Offline Yorkykopite

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I need to dig out El Macca from somewhere - think I gave it to someone actually... but I remember him saying that before he came, the midfield was held by Sanchis and Redondo. Hierro used to play the progressive defender role, obviously, and they had marauding full backs in Salgado and Carlos, but Del Bosque's key player was Redondo because he ticked all the boxes RM talks about, he was a world class athlete, and he could dominate an opposing midfield on his own - their CL game away to Man United for example, when Redondo was awesome.

Will have to try and dig out the quote mate.

BTW - I thought Macca was quite headstrong
I would have liked to have seen more of Redondo. I vaguely remember a football writer describing watching the Argentine national team training in the late '90s/early '00s. He said it was mind-blowing. All these great players like Veron, Simeone, Batistuta, Ayala - but all you could hear was the players shouting out Redondo's name. All of them looking to get the ball to him.

Macca was one of my favourite players in the Evans/Houllier teams, but I thought he lacked self-belief. He had a certain cockiness that cloaked this failing, but it was still there. You could see it when he played for Madrid. Technically he was one of the best players, but he was forever holding his hand up in apology. 

This excellent thread's got me thinking about Shanks and football theory. On the face of it you'd think he'd dismiss it as blather - a "simple game complicated by fools" etc. But I wonder whether that wasn't sometimes just for show. It's a matter of record that he fundamentally changed the way we played from the back after back-to-back defeats by Red Star Belgrade. And although he dismissed Ajax as "lucky" after they stuffed us 5-0 in Amsterdam, I'd be amazed if this hadn't forced an epic re-think in the Boot Room as well.
"If you want the world to love you don't discuss Middle Eastern politics" Saul Bellow.

Offline hesbighesred

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This excellent thread's got me thinking about Shanks and football theory. On the face of it you'd think he'd dismiss it as blather - a "simple game complicated by fools" etc. But I wonder whether that wasn't sometimes just for show. It's a matter of record that he fundamentally changed the way we played from the back after back-to-back defeats by Red Star Belgrade. And although he dismissed Ajax as "lucky" after they stuffed us 5-0 in Amsterdam, I'd be amazed if this hadn't forced an epic re-think in the Boot Room as well.

I've always wondered that exact same thing.
He is the cat who walks by himself, and all roads are alike to him.

Offline Red number seven

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...David Winner's 'Brilliant Orange' and Simon Kuper's 'Football Against the Enemy'...
I would add Joe McGinness' "The Miracle of Castel di Sangro" and Jimmy Burns' "The Hand of God" (normally don't do bios but this is a little more than that!) and you've probably got my 4 favourites.

Pyramid duly ordered - amazon will be wondering what's happening!
"You just have to give them credit for not throwing in the towel" - Gennaro Gattuso, May, 2005

And then we'll get 4th as well and everyone in the whole world can do one.

Offline Shanks1965

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Oh, and by the way - here's the link to the book on amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teambuilding-Road-Success-Rinus-Michels/dp/1890946737/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217368001&sr=8-1

As I said, it's a very dry read, and it's clearly a translation from native Dutch, so don't expect it to be one of those 'i just couldn't put it down' experiences.
Just ordered it. Some guy called Benitez selling it apparently? Apparently a very well thumbed and worn out copy.
;)
Seen more titles than he can remember...

Offline bod

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Thanks Roy for a fantastic post.  It brings together a lot of disparate bits of information:

Why Rafa started developing the youth immediately

How he's choosing captains, men who can take responsibility for changing a game and provide leadership.  Off the top of my head Stevie (Liverpool, England), Cara and Sami (Liverpool), Lucas (Brazil under 20's), Yossi (Israel), Robbie Keane (Spurs, Ireland), Fernando (Atletico) and Barry (Villa).

Why he goes for players who can play multiple roles to adapt to changing requirements during a game.

We are more than lucky to have someone who combines the vision and ability with a personality that sums up the Liverpool Way.  I just hope that Rafa is allowed the time to acomplish his plan. 

Offline nutmeg94

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Learned a hell of a lot from that post, including the importance Rafa and his henchmen put in "mentality".

I particularly agree with your last bit, about giving Rafa time to blood in youngsters he's brought in, and addressing his progress then.

Offline masher

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Brilliant Post.


Offline jackfrancis

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"Pass and move" and a few other quotes from Paisley and Shanks will show you that they were always thinking of players that can do simple things that lead to brilliant things with the ball and then make more space in which to do it again.  It's a simple formula really, and if you have a team of intelligent footballers you can do things with far less effort. 

Sometimes I wonder if footballers aren't held back by the fact that they spend so much time playing football and almost zero time thinking about it, or anything else for that matter.  Steve Heighway is a good example of the intelligent player who came from out of university and into Liverpool FC showing a level of thinking and poise that comes from, in my opinion, being more rounded of a person than just a footballer.  Zidane is a highly intelligent player, and his intelligence shows on and off the pitch (most of the time, but then he never went to university did he?).. I think there are tons of intelligent footballers who get run out of the system by precociousness.  The idea that if you can't make it when you are 14 you will be useless when you are 19-30 is complete and utter bollox.  Players can learn, evolve, grow into players who far exceed earlier expectations. 

Back to the post, its hard to find players who can understand tactics on this level, let alone display them on the pitch.  Part of the problem is the system, another part is that its hard to teach people to think on the pitch when they do almost no thinking off it.  If you really want a dominant team, start a youth academy that encourages education and sports theory, coaching concepts, training the mind as well as the body.   You could get far more interesting players out of the system for it, imo.

Offline Ozzy_Red

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L6 Red's excellent post a couple of days back entitled "This is the Year" got my grey matter ticking over big style. If you've not had the chance to read it yet, it's here: http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=224955.0

It'll make you laugh, and you'll find yourself swept along on a wave of hopeful euphoria. So much so you'll find yourself thinking it might indeed be the year - that we might indeed take the league for the first time in a generation.

I think L6 Red's on to something. I also think Yorkykopite's on to something. To be honest, I think Yorkykopite's "This season's Defence - an Attack" is a tour de force:  http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=224820.0

... and again it got my brain ticking over.

L6 Red's post is centred around the words of a certain George Michael, and in its honour I'd like to centre this one on the words of his namesake - Rinus. Well - a kind of namesake. A 'naymeshake'. Michael musht be Michels in Dutch, no? RiH?

Anyway, Last Christmas, instead of giving anyone my heart, I asked Santa for a copy of Rinus Michels' bible on the art of football coaching and management - "Team Building – the Road to Success". The book is hard work (it's a Dutch-to-English translation and you get the feeling Rinus won't be winning any prizes for literature any time soon (well, I guess not given he passed in 2005, God rest his soul), but what he does is set out a nice usable framework for coaches and managers at all levels of the game. He was one of the true 'gurus' of the game, after all.

As a result, he also gives you a nice framework for analysing a manager's progress - he describes the steps that must be taken, the things that must not be allowed to happen, and the limits that prevent a manager from developing things further.

I'll start out by summarising the point of the post, because chances are it could be quite a lengthy one.

In L6 Red's thread, the post hints that Rafa's regime is now 'mature'. I know that's not really the point of his post, but it's a view shared by many commentators on LFC under Rafa, and one shared by a growing number of fans.

The view emerging is that Rafa's squad is now 'his'. He's put his stamp on it, and as such there's an argument that this is all we can expect from life under Rafa - this season will show how good we can be. While that's now expressed as optimism for our chances this coming season, you can be pretty sure the optimism will fade should things turn sour over the course of the season.

We still have a while to go before the transfer window closes, but even based on our dealings so far this summer (and especially with the addition of a certain Robbie Keane), we've improved the level of overall quality in our squad. What's more, based on Rinus Michels' words, I think the way we've improved our quality is in itself significant, and it tells us something about Rafa's view of our own progress.

Of course, this assumes that Rafa follows something like the process outlined by Michels - possibly that's a big assumption to make - but my view is Rafa's done the pragmatic and analytical thing throughout his tenure at Anfield, and throughout his career, so aside from some minor details on his preferred playing style and his views on 'creative artists' on the park, he seems to apply the general model set out in the book.

If you take the view that the squad's being 'engineered' in this textbook way, our moves in the summer tell us something about Rafa's increasing confidence in the quality of his personnel.

I'll call Rinus RM from now on if that's OK with you, because he gets a mention or two in the next bit.

A Summary of RM’s 'Framework'

RM's book tells us (assuming we're coaches) how to build a team.

He doesn't stop at the first team - he regularly hints at the need for broader scope to your planning – for congruence at all levels from youth to first team - and the benefits that brings you in the long term. I think we'd all agree with that - it's good common sense.

The framework's not rocket science. In RM's vision of football, there are two basic teambuilding categories - Psychological Team Building and Team Tactical Team Building (a mouthful, but there you go).

Psychological Team Building

Throughout RM's book, and all through his discussion of the other factors to consider in coaching and management, RM constantly comes back to the need for correct 'mentality'.

It's worth spending a little time on the issue of mentality. It's clear that most (if not all) modern coaches would agree with RM on this. It's also clear that under Rafa, correct mentality has once again become central to life at LFC.

That said, maintaining correct mentality is obviously a complicated issue - one that's inextricably linked to boardroom politics and backing, to the players inherited from the former management regime, from the culture at the club (no, I'm not going down the Boy George route either, before you start) - it's going to be a complicated issue at even the simplest of clubs, let alone LFC in the post-Houllier years, with all the internecine politics that have wormed their way into the club's workings - politics that seem to have only become more entrenched since the new regime took over.

RM lays down some fundamental unbreakable laws that must not be broken if team spirit and correct mentality are going to be preserved - boardroom stability is the first, while an absence of disruptive public statements is the second.

Now I suppose you could argue that Rafa indulges in public statements himself, but for me, the fact that Rafa's kept the tiller steady in spite of the constant barrage of live grenades is little short of a miracle. We still enjoy consummate team spirit and correct mentality at the club, and in my view every LFC fan should be made to sit through forced explanation to make sure they understand what really happened - what's really still happening.

Regardless - in spite of the shit he takes, Rafa has reintroduced 'mentality' as a central 'pillar' of life at LFC.

I'm sure a few of you are shouting at your screen at this stage "but what about Reading away last season? I’m not even sure our manager has the right mentality - we conceded the game!"; but for me the issue was simple on that occasion - Rafa knew it was win next Wednesday, or kiss your Liverpool career goodbye. It's wasn't the greatest environment for him to work in.

There's also the argument that constant rotation undermines the collective spirit, togetherness, and 'mentality' of the squad. My view is that this argument is only valid as long as the players coming in are weaker than the player being ‘rotated' - and that's something that's less apparent with every passing year. But enough on that - here's my thoughts on Rafa's man management approach here if you’re interested: http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=194700.0

Anyway, clearly under Shanks it was the foundation of our whole approach.

There are a million similar quotes, but for me, from Shanks to Kenny, our players always had it right between the ears, or they didn't last long.

For me, when Kenny left that fell by the wayside. For example, Robbie Fowler told a few stories in his autobiography that gave me the impression that under several consecutive managers, we had staff and players at our club whose interests weren't always 100% focused on our consistent success on the pitch. Players like Fowler were undermined - we had talent in abundance, but we lacked correct mentality. That attitude persisted through Houllier's tenure and Rafa inherited a few issues in the squad he took on.

We've since seen a return to core values at LFC. Correct ‘mentality' is once again central to everything we do at all levels, and if the mentality is lacking in any way, people no longer last at the club. They're weeded out.

If you had a tenner for every time Rafa said 'mentality' in a press conference or post-match interview, you'd be a rich man indeed. It's drilled into everyone's head. We've been lucky in the last few days to get a detailed description from Eduardo Macia of our club's scouting and recruitment policy.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/features/this_season/FN13191080724-1204.htm

We'll come back to that later, but for now, a few quotes from Senor Macia.

On player recruitment.
On our youth development.
Another article - this time an interview with Academy supremo Piet Hamberg.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N157343071017-0947.htm

Hamberg's quote here maps perfectly to RM's model, and it’s no surprise, given RM was the architect behind the Ajax system, and that Hamberg served his time there as a player and then coach. In retrospect it's no surprise that Hamberg was recruited. I'd argue Rafa's applying something like RM's model in his work at LFC.

What about the backroom staff themselves? Do Rafa and his staff themselves have the correct mentality? For me, this quote from Macia sums it up.
I think that's the attitude everyone has to maintain at LFC, and if they don't, they quickly find themselves on the way out of the club. We deserve nothing less. But for the purposes of this post, it also puts the foundation in place for the next level in RM-style team - Team Tactical Team Building.


Team Tactical Team Building

Although a new coach will start work on this the day he takes the helm, RM separates it out to make the framework clearer to explain. He sets out three categories of TTTB: Organisational Team Building, Strategic Team Building, and Tactical Team Building.

As with his separate consideration of Psychological Team Building, the three categories included here are said to be arbitrary to an extent - the point is to make sure coaches cover the aspects they need to cover. In practice the three categories will overlap.

For me, this is where RM's book gets really interesting in the context of what's happening this summer. He makes some very interesting points - points that made me stop and think 'ah, so if Rafa's going down that route, he must think such and such'.

Anyway, RM's three categories - a little more on each.

1. Organisational Team Building
Simply stated, this is about the formations used, the balance of play chosen, and ensuring that each individual player understands his role in the collective unit clearly - ideally absorbing it so it's performed without thinking.

One thing that's not explicitly covered in RM's framework is squad depth - he makes occasional comments that 'you can’t always field the team you want to', but it's not directly addressed. I think it's something that slots into his organisational category though, and for me it's one of the biggest question marks hanging over Rafa's Liverpool. We’ll get to that in a bit.

2. Strategic Team Building
This is about the more detailed aspects of how play is organised - positioning, zonal marking, hunting the ball, closing down space, running intelligently, not wasting energy, and so forth. It applies equally at all age groups, and RM says this should be coached on an individual basis, with smaller functional groups, and with the team as a whole.

Anecdotally we hear a lot of people talk about how detailed Rafa is on this front. For me we've seen a shift in Rafa's thinking on this front during the last two years, and in combination with 1. and 3., we're starting to see the model mature in the way RM says it should.

3. Tactical Team Building
This category kind of speaks for itself. There's some considerable debate throughout the footballing world as to whether or not our Rafa's a tactical genius. Brian Glanville's view is that this is a myth based on his decisions in the two CL finals we've played in. Others including Arrigo Sacchi feel there's no greater tactical authority on the game than Rafa. The truth? Well, I'm inclined to side with Signor Sacchi on this one.

The whole Jorge Valdano 'sh_t on a stick' debate after the2007 CL semi final at Anfield centred around a widely held view that, along with Mourinho, Benitez is a manager who micromanages his players and strangles the artistry from his side in an effort to reduce risk. I think that's a fundamental misconception. It's based on a limited view that presumes the manager's work is complete - that he's honed his squad in his image and taken it through to maturity. That's very seldom the case for a manager, and it's not the case for Rafa - not yet. Some would argue it is, but based on RM's framework, we have a way to go before we reach the 'as good as it gets' level.

Another criticism you sometimes see is that Benitez gambles tactically by rotating in lesser quality players in games where he thinks he can get away with it. So we see Leto play at home v Marseille for example, and he looks way out of his depth. We see Voronin, well... we just see him from time to time. (Actually I'm not convinced he's that bad, but clearly he's not world class or a 'go to guy' in big games.) Again, this criticism is founded on the rotation debate, and it falls when the quality of the squad improves to the point where a 'first choice 11' is more difficult to identify. But again, more on that later.

Tactical work is an area that gets more focus at LFC under Rafa than arguably anywhere else on the planet. Angel Vales is Head of Technical Analysis at LFC (as well as being Reserve Coach) and has worked with Rafa on implementing new analytical software that builds on the state-of-the-art systems already in place at the club. The staff at Melwood aren't content with prozone. I can't remember which RAW member it was, but one of the guys on here contracted at the club on this software project. Our guys are pushing the boundaries of tactical analysis and pushing the boundaries of the technologies used.

Here's some information on Vales.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N160347080628-0902.htm

Here's the quote I wanted to pick out.
This from a man whose former job was a professor of football at La Coruna University.

For me, those close to Rafa betray the depth of his thinking on the game, and I get the feeling we haven't seethe full repertoire yet in tactical terms. Rafa's worked with what he's had, and that pool of players has improved each year.

He's worked with his staff to keep the messages simple, using video clips and clear briefings to communicate what he needs the players to absorb. And coupled with that, the messages he's putting across will have been coached into the players on a regular basis in a detailed programme laid out for the season. They won't be taking things in that they don't understand or expect. As such, we've seen certain players grow under Rafa's tenure, based on their mentality and their footballing intelligence. The ones who haven't learned have found themselves on the transfer list- it's my feeling that Alonso currently falls into that category, although there are clearly financial reasons behind it. I think that, with the transition we need to make, we need our midfield players to perform a strict function, and I'm not sure he's convinced Rafa he can do that - but he's still with us, and if any player is capable of proving his mettle, it's Xabi Alonso.

But I digress (again). Back to the point.

The Team Tactical category has a clear overlap with the organisational category to the extent that they're almost identical; however, the tactical side builds the detail onto the broad canvas laid out at the organisational level. It determines how the players should react based on the specific things that happen during a match.

So that's the framework.

RM then spends some time talking about the things that complicate the process. He talks about how football is inherently more complex than almost any other sport. He talks about the number of tactical variants. For me, that underlines why a player at LFC needs to have true footballing intelligence - it's clearly an advantage if the player is a 'student of the game'. Rafa's end game is a squad who understand all tactical variants to the nth degree, who can read and analyse the ever-changing conditions of the game in front of them, and make the right choices on the park. That exactly mirrors RM's view. He repeatedly emphasises that to reach the optimum level, a coach needs a squad full of players with a. quality, b. footballing intelligence, and c. the ability to make 'team efficient' choices during games.

Now, to achieve a squad that's choc full of players with all three of those attributes, you've got two options. First, you can go and manage a Chelsea or a Real Madrid or a Man United, and you can inherit or buy a deep squad of players with all those qualities in abundance. However, that's not an option at LFC. I know many argue that it is, and that Rafa's had enough money at his disposal to guarantee title challenges year after year, but it's simply not true. We've invested a fair chunk of money, and we have enough quality to take us to the brink of 'Level 3'football (more on what that means in a bit), but we're short of what we need to make the push to full quality.

No - with our finances in their current state, we can't go down that route and reach the level we need to reach. We have to look for value and take risks when investing in senior players, so while we can install world class when the opportunity presents itself, we can't buy world class to fill all roles - at least not yet. For that reason, we need to go with the second option - the option espoused by RM in his book, and the model brought to full fruition under his supervision at Ajax. We need to develop our own quality at youth level.

Youth Development and the Need for a Structured Tactical Programme

RM repeatedly cross-references this throughout the book. He'll be discussing a technical aspect of counter-attacking play, and he'll make an aside along the lines of 'of course, the best way to bake these ideas into your players is to have them on a tactical programme from their early teens'. In other places, he's more explicit. He doesn't even consider buying quality as an option. What he does is lay down criteria for rearing players who tick all the right boxes.

So what's the end goal? What kind of player are we trying to rear? Here's what RM says on the matter.

At this stage, let's revisit the interview with PietHamberg. http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N157343071017-0947.htm

Piet might as well be doing an impression of RM.

And again...

You couldn't get a clearer endorsement of RM's model. It's not immediately clear whether Piet will talk the talk and walk the walk, but at the very least, we're starting out with the right vision and philosophy if you see the current LFC project as one that follows RM's model.

Hamberg has introduced a structured skills framework in the Coerver method ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coerver_Method ), and while there's no conclusive proof of this, I'd argue that we're now seeing a pattern emerge in the way Liverpool plays football at youth, reserve, and senior level. We have a variety of ways of playing the game, and a variety of personnel that's suited to each style. Ideally the personnel can adapt to each style of play, and each balance of defence versus attack - these are the players who will form the core of the first team week in and week out - the 'monster' players whose athleticism and versatility allows a team to push the boundaries of its capabilities.

It's worth emphasising at this point that RM's team tactical framework can't be too rigidly imposed. It's a framework - meaning it's only there to enable and guide autonomous decision making on the pitch - to help players make the right 'team efficient' choices based on whatever situation is unfolding in front of them. Individual decisions and collective decisions. When in possession, do I pass, dribble, make a certain run? When the other team is in possession, do I close down space, hold a line, adjust my position, make a challenge?

It takes years to guarantee that a player's decision making is correct in every situation. That's why, in RM's view, it's a must to develop your own players according to a structured tactical programme that takes place over several years. The second factor in its favour from LFC's current perspective is it's a damn sight more cost-effective than the first option when it's done right.

Achieving success on this front is no mean feat, however. To successfully groom a pipeline of players from youth team to first team, and to ensure that the flow of players in is strong enough - these things are difficult. They take specialist know how and forensic planning skills. Funnily enough, the kind of planning and specialist know-how that we've now put in place.

There's a reason our head of Technical Analysis is a former professor of Football at La Coruna University (yes, I know he's Rafa's mate - but they've become friends based on their shared passion for this end-to-end process - they wanted a club where they could take this kind of project to its conclusion). There's also a reason why we our Academy supremo is a dyed-in-the-wool exponent of the Ajax youth development model. The LFC project is RM's project. What we're seeing from the first team now is not thebe-all-and-end-all of footballing life under Rafa Benitez. We're seeing the culmination of the second phase in an RM-style teambuilding process. We're only really now seeing us enter the third and final phase - domination, play-making, and circulation football.

Before moving on, here's a piece from Oliver Kay in the Times that hints at the quality coming through our ranks. Taken out of context, his words question Rafa's desire to bring these players through; however, we've already seen the words of Hamberg on this front – when they're ready technically and tactically, they'll be compared 'like-for-like' with their counterparts in the first team squad. The good ones will always play on merit.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article4412934.ece


The Three Development Phases

Back to the subject of overall progress at first team squad level under RM's teambuilding process. RM doesn't explicitly set development phases out in his book, but reading between the lines it's clear that three levels of quality exist:

Level 1 - Backs to the wall football

Level 2 - Compactness, organisation, and counter-attacking football

Level 3 - Domination, play-making, and circulation football

Let's look at each of these in turn.



Level 1 - Backs to the wall

We don't have to spend too much time on this one. What I'm talking about here is the 'Redknapp to relegation-threatened Pompey' scenario.

In this situation, a coach inherits a nightmare scenario, and has to quickly organise his side based on the limited resources available to make them difficult to beat, and encourage a siege mentality and team spirit that will see them fight their way out of the mire.

Liverpool's never really been in that situation in my living memory, and certainly not under Rafa's tenure. We might have played as if we were under the cosh while Ged was at the helm, but the reality was we were never truly in peril.

Since Kenny left (a time when we were comfortably at level 3, with some of the best football anyone has ever seen)we've been in some variant of level 2...



Level 2 - Compactness, organisation, and counter-attacking football

As hinted at above, Rafa inherited a squad who had learned to play an ultra-defensive, risk averse brand of football. He also inherited a squad of mixed quality - a few gems, a few functional pros, and a few genuine duds.

So Rafa's footballing life at LFC started in the lower regions of level 2. He quickly set about implementing the RM-style team building plan.

Level 2's where RM starts bringing in the detail of his 'Team Tactical Teambuilding' framework. This corresponds to RM's 'Counter Attacking Strategy'. Now I'm massively oversimplifying things here, because clearly teambuilding development is a continuum - there's no instant jump from one level to the next. You'll see elements of level 3football at level 2, and at level 3, not only will the team lapse into level 2 on the odd rare occasion (nobody's perfect), but it will also be able to master a full repertoire of playing styles, shifting balance and style as appropriate based on the situation they face in a game. But more on level 3 later - let's look at level 2 in detail first.

So far under Rafa we've demonstrated our ability to 'control' opponents. We've become good at playing compact football, and at exploiting our opponents' weaknesses on the counter attack. That's not to say we haven't dominated teams at times - sometimes we've done that beautifully, with memorable results - but we don't yet do that on a consistent basis, which is what, for me, equates to 'Level 3 football'.

So what characterises 'Level 2 football'? There's no point reinventing the wheel here - RM lays out his guidelines for the counter attacking strategy clearly, and as you read, you recognise the key tenets of our European success over the last few years.

Over to you RM...
Later, while still describing the counter-attacking style, RM tellingly remarks:
In my view, the passages quoted above encapsulate the stage we reached under Rafa in his second season at the helm. Since that time, it's my contention that we've been 'tweening' (to use an animator's term) - we've been making the difficult transition to level 3 - what RM calls 'the play-making' or 'game-making' style. The reason we've 'tweened' (alternating between periods at level 3 and level2, or for long periods reverting to level 2 - what seems to be termed a 'slump' in our current context) is that the transition to level 3 is, in RM's words, 'sensitive to quality'.



Level 3 - Domination, play-making, and circulation football

And so to the end goal of RM's teambuilding process. Here's a quote from Eduardo Macia (from the same interview linked above) that tells us something about the intent behind our project - the aim of Level 3 football.

That quote, for me, is symptomatic of the intent behind our plan, and hints at what we can expect from our youth pipeline, and from the successful instances in our scouting of senior players.

We're trying to implement RM's highest level strategy. Again, we might as well hear it from RM himself.

It's worth pausing to emphasise that last sentence. Keep it in mind as you read on…

Let's pause for breath here. My argument in this post is that Rafa's realised the squad is ripe for the final push to 'Level 3' football. Why do I think that? Well, looking at each of the guidelines RM lays out, ask yourself who fits the bill...

This style demands players throughout the team who are prepared to sacrifice their own agenda and work to defend from front to back. First up - we got confirmation in the last few days that Rafa approached Porto about Quaresma. Quaresma wasn't happy with his proposed role... a role that sounds a lot like one described by RM above.  http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=224821.0

Next up, defenders with attacking intent. RM clearly would have seen yorkykopite's point...  http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=224820.0

We've recruited pacy defenders with the ability to step out of the defensive line and disrupt the opposing side's organisation. That's not a new development especially (for example, we had already brought in Agger, San Jose, Aurelio, Arbeloa and Insua), but it's clearly been prioritised this summer. We've seen the addition of Degen and Dossena - two attack-minded full backs - and with the news that Degen's injured and that Arbeloa may have to return to Spain, we're linked with another of a similar ilk- Rafinha. These players are a clear signal of intent in the shift to level 3 football. Sweeper keeper? Check. Controlling midfield players? Check.

Players who don't let their direct counterpart past them? Check.

(Incidentally, RM's take on this last aspect is interesting- he's critical of Ruud Gullit's inability to 'perform his basic team efficient task' when playing for Holland - that of tracking his own man. Amazing to get an insight into that kind of thinking.)

Lastly, we have players throughout our side who are physically imposing and capable of winning back possession when it's lost. We hunt in packs and we're increasingly good at closing down space.

The trickier aspects come in the build-up and attacking phases...

Now here's a key point for me. Level 3 football demands effective ball circulation. It's stated as a cardinal sin to concede possession in the build-up phase, and it's equally stated as a cardinal virtue to play it simple, with one touch passing, quick release of the ball, variance of tempo, and so forth.

For me this provides some insight into some of the real reasons behind the Alonso v Barry saga. I guess I'm risking a mob lynching here, but for me, this last while we've seen him dally in possession, and occasionally lose it in critical areas. With level 3 football in mind, that's the cardinal sin. Barry's renowned for playing it simple and moving it quickly. I know this always sparks debate, so sorry for opening old wounds - I may be wrong on this, but the way I see it, the end goal is improving our ability to play our football in the final third - to maintain our pressure, circulate the ball, and wear out the opposing team's resistance. That's something we've struggled with in recent years. If the Barry thing falls through, I know in my heart of hearts Xabi's capable of getting it right from now on -and if we do get Barry, maybe this provides some insight as to why we wanted him.

It also tells you something about the reason Lucas is rated so highly by the coaching staff. Rafa's decision to bring on Lucas away v Everton - a situation when we clearly needed to adopt a 'play-making' style, and play the ball deep in their half of the field - thinking back on it, you can see what went through his head based on RM's ideas here.

Robbie Keane is another player with good technique and soft feet whose addition only improves our ability to camp in the other team's final third. He finds space, he manipulates the ball well, and he's capable of doing serious damage in the tight spaces between the lines. Which brings us to...

Attacking

RM goes into great detail regarding the various attacking strategies available. He concentrates on both flanks, and on more direct routes through the centre. It's best to summarise the key points here.

The qualities needed are:
- physical strength
- the ability to cross 'with feeling', particularly when running at speed
- strong technique
- the ability to switch positions (strikers and wide players)
- intelligent running and correct use of space
- strong tactical discipline when wide players are used...

...and so forth. but the key point for me is the mention of the second forward.

Sound like anyone in our squad? In fact, sound like quite a few coming through our ranks?

 Circulation Football

... and there endeth RM's lesson, so to speak.

Now, do you think it's fair to say that, since Rafa's second year in charge, in spells we've seen football that fits the photo-fit description RM sets out above? I'd argue that's a fair assertion. At times we've played wonderful dominant football - the ball's been moved with precision at one-touch pinball speed, we've seen quality opponents struggle to move the ball out of their own half, and we've seen us crush a few quality sides.

What level 3 involves is the consistent ability to do that kind of crushing, and the crucial point RM makes is that it's risky - it's 'sensitive to quality'.

As such, the possibility of consistent level 3 football becomes greater with every 'monster' you add to your squad. Obviously Mascherano's an example, but the clearest description I can remember was in McManaman's autobiography when they described Fernando Redondo. There they described a player who could all but dominate a midfield full of world class opponents on his own. This class of player doesn't become available too often, and if he comes cheap, it's a massive stroke of luck; but when he does become available, you need to take the chance.

It's my view that we missed out big when Alves slipped through our fingers, for example. There's a player who could have answered all our right-sided issues in one fell swoop, and brought us to the cusp of Level 3 football far quicker. I understand why we let him go, but I'm not sure if we'd make the same mistake given a similar opportunity for similar value. Actually, while we're on this subject, I should point out that this is my only real gripe with Rafa's approach - the issue of 'squad depth'. I actually wonder if his experiences at Valencia in 2004 have caused some kind of aversion here.

During that season, his squad worked almost to breaking point to achieve success, and Rafa left as a result. He now likes belt, braces, and elasticated waistband as a result. For me, it's the only weakness - one that's possibly hindered our progress to a degree. Possibly a few less players signed as squad cover (the likes of Zenden for example) would have freed up funds for genuine 'monsters' like Alves when the opportunities arose... but that's our manager's preference, and we have to accept his ways, warts and all. That said, I feel it's only delayed the pace of our first team's progress - that progress has now started to bear fruit regardless.

You get the feeling we've realised our error, and we've taken decisive action with a core of players - extending the contracts of the core of our squad - players who really do the job of two or three ordinary players on their own. These are the core players who can adapt to any strategy or balance we choose; whose mentality and leadership is beyond question. We've got a growing core of players in this mould, and we've even more coming through our youth ranks...

Anyway, I digress again. Back to the point.

I'm sure we can all think of other examples of sides whose level reaches 'level 3'. It's funny, but the majority of our football media would quickly tag Arsenal's football in this way, for example. But that misses RM's point. Sure, Arsenal mostly play a brand of play-making and circulation football exactly as described by RM above; however, RM also makes the point that a level 3 side can vary its approach as suited to the conditions and the opponent - it can switch seamlessly to the counter attacking style, and back again to the play-making style as the situation dictates.

We've often heard the phrase 'they've got no plan B' -well, level 3 football is winning football - it involves plans A, B, C, and D, right through to Z. It involves having a squad full of players who are capable of making decisions on the pitch, and who are schooled in the kind of team-tactical work that takes years to bake in on the academy training pitch. Arsenal's squad wasn't ultimately strong enough to sustain that type of football last year, and when things went wrong, they couldn't ride it out in level 2. They couldn't adapt their style when the situation dictated the need for it.

RM elaborates on this.
This is also the reason why, thus far, we've 'tweened', or faltered on the road to consistent level 3 football. We haven't got the balance right, we don't spend enough of our time carrying the game to our opponents, and we haven't yet mastered consistent circulation football against all comers when the need arises.

Reaching that point is the zenith that truly enables a title challenge - the point on which future domination pivots. Reaching it and staying there is the whole aim of the project. Our technical analysis, academy structure, scouting methods and scouting strategy all point towards it.

We're seeing certain styles of player being introduced at all levels - the types of player described in RM's text above.

For me, the summer's recruitment so far (Dossena, Degen, Keane, and the mooted interest in players like Barry, Silva, and so forth) tie in perfectly with RM's description of the players needed to play consistent level 3 football -dominant football that carries the game to the opposition, but with players who are intelligent enough, individually and collectively, to adapt their strategy as needed during a game.



Conclusions

A few words from our Gaffer...   http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=221890.0

In his column for El Mundo during Euro 2008, he made his intent perfectly clear - there's no doubt he's singing from the same hymn sheet as Michels.

For me, the buys he's made and the players he's been linked with over the course of the summer show he's reached a genuine level of confidence in the abilities of the squad's core.

We've also seen the addition of real quality, both at first team level, and in line with the other two categories in Macia's 'three tier' plan. (For more on this, see here:   http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=224855.0 ) We've seen genuine talent added in the likes of Buchtmann, Ince, Saric, Weijl, and NGog. The production line has already added several genuine prospects to our first team squad including Insua, Plessis, Pacheco and Nemeth.

I reckon our manager's recognised that our squad is ripening nicely in terms of RM's framework - he's making clear changes to improve our chances of playing this type of football consistently.

It's my contention that he's not quite there yet - our finances dictate that we won't be able to bludgeon our way to the title by first team buys alone. We are equipped to challenge, and again we'll be competitive on all fronts...but...

It's not until the youth pipeline bears its proper fruit that we'll see the kind of quality in depth that's needed to play truly dominant football - consistent league winning football. As RM emphasises, you need players throughout your squad with the correct mentality, quality, and team tactical schooling to sustain all variants in our pattern of play.

We'll get closer year-on-year, and we might even go mighty close to a win this year, but one thing's for sure - the longer we stick with the long-term plan, based on RM's teambuilding framework, the better chance we'll have of returning to our rightful place - consistent domination of domestic and European football.

For that reason, I'd call on everyone to check their expectations this year, no matter how many titles our rivals have accumulated - remember how close we are, remember how good our project is, and remember how hard it is to find talent of the sort we have at the helm of the club.

I'll finish by restating my own reply to L6's most excellent 'PS3 for Xmas'-based post.


Cheers!

100% agree
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Wanker : Manchester United fan. Follower of Manchester United. Denzien of Manchester. More likely to know more about white dog poo than football.

Offline Manila Kop

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"Pass and move" and a few other quotes from Paisley and Shanks will show you that they were always thinking of players that can do simple things that lead to brilliant things with the ball and then make more space in which to do it again.  It's a simple formula really, and if you have a team of intelligent footballers you can do things with far less effort. 

Sometimes I wonder if footballers aren't held back by the fact that they spend so much time playing football and almost zero time thinking about it, or anything else for that matter.  Steve Heighway is a good example of the intelligent player who came from out of university and into Liverpool FC showing a level of thinking and poise that comes from, in my opinion, being more rounded of a person than just a footballer.  Zidane is a highly intelligent player, and his intelligence shows on and off the pitch (most of the time, but then he never went to university did he?).. I think there are tons of intelligent footballers who get run out of the system by precociousness.  The idea that if you can't make it when you are 14 you will be useless when you are 19-30 is complete and utter bollox.  Players can learn, evolve, grow into players who far exceed earlier expectations. 

Back to the post, its hard to find players who can understand tactics on this level, let alone display them on the pitch.  Part of the problem is the system, another part is that its hard to teach people to think on the pitch when they do almost no thinking off it.  If you really want a dominant team, start a youth academy that encourages education and sports theory, coaching concepts, training the mind as well as the body.   You could get far more interesting players out of the system for it, imo.

That's an interesting post.  I'm not too familiar with the academy system in England/Europe, what DO they teach the kids aside from technique, physical training and football skills?  I would've thought tactical classes would be part of it, although maybe not the theory part.
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Lolzies. More chance of a wank off the pope than beating United, I'm afraid. It is beyond Benitez, apart from when they were at their lowest ebb, when we knocked them out of the FA Cup. They certainly aren't anywhere near there now.

Offline Scarlet`

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Damn, I just finished reading the entire thing.  It's superbly written.  Agree with it all but I think it will still take a bit of time before we reach lvl 3.  Saying that, we still have a lot of potential talent to reach that phase in the future.
If Ayre got £25m out of them he's willing to fuck all the female members of my family on Sunday's.