Poppa Out

[LFC]

On another note, still related to the thread England and France have excoriated Tuchel and Deschamps.

Have not seen the latter criticism, but plenty on Tuchel.

Deschamps has a far better proven NT winning record than Tuchel will ever have but he has copped flak..

Agree Poms shouldn’t have gone so defensive. Most of them wouldn’t do it much at club level for sustained periods.

I think Tuchel needed more short, nimble players, like Saka.

Incl sentence above - aside the defensive directive and for me non issue tall or short he picked wrong leaving either Palmer or Foden creative players behind, even TAA could have provided more from the right flank but I get him leaving him behind.
They relied heavily on Bellham and lets face it he saved their bacon couple of games - I feel Rice is over rated generally to the ire of gooner supporters.

Apparently, the Poms are happier though coming 3rd. Their biggest achievement away from home.

well its better than 4th or lower or a poke in the eye.

English fans and media seem to despise their football team.

Been the norm since '66.

 

[Decentric]

My impression of Segecic was great left foot, not a lot else in general play. Triantis made a serious mistake choosing Greece.

Yes.

Greece may never qualify for a WC. Triantis misses out.

Segecic unlikely to be selected for Croatia, who have many good players.

 

[Dinamo]

Deschamps has a far better proven NT winning record than Tuchel will ever have but he has copped flak..

Incl sentence above - aside the defensive directive and for me non issue tall or short he picked wrong leaving either Palmer or Foden creative players behind, even TAA could have provided more from the right flank but I get him leaving him behind.
They relied heavily on Bellham and lets face it he saved their bacon couple of games - I feel Rice is over rated generally to the ire of gooner supporters.

well its better than 4th of lower or a poke in the eye.

Been the norm since '66.

Tuchel is going to cop a lot of criticism but he isn't really the problem. They declined physically, you could see how heavy their legs were on TV and you can see it in the stats. Playing in Mexico City and then backing up with 120 minutes in Miami was always going to be hard to overcome. Combine that with their inability to retain the ball (2 completed passes in 19 minutes) and it's no surprise Argentina ends up clamping them in their own half until Lautaro scores.

 

[Dinamo]

Yes.

Greece may never qualify for a WC. Triantis misses out.

Segecic unlikely to be selected for Croatia, who have many good players.

Croatia has a new manager and if Segecic keeps playing at this level he will get selected because they have no wingers outside Marco Pasalic. This might happen as soon as the Nations League in September.

 

[grazorblade]

I

I think our offensive transition is slow by coach direction. Our wing backs, centre mids and wide forwards all seem to hold their line too long to support our striker or be a threat. It's a risk management thing where we don't want to concede any vulnerability to get countered.

I'd like to see us drop a centre defender for a midfielder at the Asian Cup. Play Robertson at the attacking point of a diamond midfield with Okon and O'Neill behind. Give our full backs and wide forwards more freedom. Support Toure more.

We can still use the 5-4-1 against stronger opposition at the pointy end of the tournament but might find our attacking mojo along the way.

My guess is we sometimes hit on the counter when getting the ball and sometimes try to hold the ball to give the team a breather

 

[LFC]

Tuchel is going to cop a lot of criticism but he isn't really the problem. They declined physically, you could see how heavy their legs were on TV and you can see it in the stats. Playing in Mexico City and then backing up with 120 minutes in Miami was always going to be hard to overcome. Combine that with their inability to retain the ball (2 completed passes in 19 minutes) and it's no surprise Argentina ends up clamping them in their own half until Lautaro scores.

View attachment 8384

no doubt he going to cop it - started FT after the semi.
I actually think he will be lucky to survive tbh - they are relentless expecting success and a coach they admire/accept.

Hey who didn't run their arse's off and altitude adjustments.
Look at Argy how many long games they had made it to the final - then played a final with no ball virtually, 10men later, lost it early period 2nd ET time.
For the Poms Mex's were always going to give them a run for the money @ home, a given, altitude sure a diff but really.
Miami would have been a good change.

 

[LFC]

My guess is we sometimes hit on the counter when getting the ball and sometimes try to hold the ball to give the team a breather

oh, so they already have a defeatist mode built in - thinking my team mates need to recover in the meantime the opponent has time to reset.
My guess is, when you don't have players who can hold the ball/retain the possession and give to support your up a creek without a paddle most times.

 

[ClockworkOrange]

Marcelo Bielsa is available, he wanted to coach us ages ago, should put feelers out to see if he is still interested.

Loved him at Leeds. But seriously, he’s a system guy so would fail with our NT unless we’re all prepared to lose for two years while players learn his system. Failed to get Uruguay out of the group. Imagine if Poppa had failed to get out of a group with Cabo Verde and Saudi.

 

[Encomium]

He is a good all round player, but younger players appear to have higher ceilings.

He's at a good club to develop, who knows what will happen in the future, I don't think he's right for the NT right now.
NT isn't club football, we should choose players best for the positions/roles at the time imho.

 

[Encomium]

Tuchel is going to cop a lot of criticism but he isn't really the problem. They declined physically, you could see how heavy their legs were on TV and you can see it in the stats. Playing in Mexico City and then backing up with 120 minutes in Miami was always going to be hard to overcome. Combine that with their inability to retain the ball (2 completed passes in 19 minutes) and it's no surprise Argentina ends up clamping them in their own half until Lautaro scores.

View attachment 8384

I've said it before, but England is to physical focused still, while it's an important part, it's not the be all.
Physicality will take more out of players obviously, where a technical player can control the ball/tempo and not make it so demanding on a player. I think you see it with Spain, they have good technical players who have physical strengths, but they selectively use the physical techniques as opportunists, where England has it as a constant.
It's a mindset that holds them back imho.

 

[grazorblade]

I've said it before, but England is to physical focused still, while it's an important part, it's not the be all.
Physicality will take more out of players obviously, where a technical player can control the ball/tempo and not make it so demanding on a player. I think you see it with Spain, they have good technical players who have physical strengths, but they selectively use the physical techniques as opportunists, where England has it as a constant.
It's a mindset that holds them back imho.

its hard to get the balance right

I guess its also what type of physicality and what type of technical ability

england are technically perfect when it comes to first touch and some of the basics of the game but even their best players lack flair.

Spain might be technically amazing, but they are also maybe physically more advanced in some areas than England. This is just my eyes, no hard data to support it. But I think Spain are better at changing directions quickly as well accelerating and decelerating quickly and repeatedly throughout the match even if they have less strength height and speed. So their counter press is invincible. Their engines were also spectacular

 

[onedaywinners...]

its hard to get the balance right

I guess its also what type of physicality and what type of technical ability

england are technically perfect when it comes to first touch and some of the basics of the game but even their best players lack flair.

Spain might be technically amazing, but they are also maybe physically more advanced in some areas than England. This is just my eyes, no hard data to support it. But I think Spain are better at changing directions quickly as well accelerating and decelerating quickly and repeatedly throughout the match even if they have less strength height and speed. So their counter press is invincible. Their engines were also spectacular

A lot of these examples re agility and acceleration may likely be due to the extra focus on the physical as per previous poster. You can only work your body mechanics so much that your body disposition allows.

Possibly we share a similar challenge with England where we tend to focus on upper body strength and muscle growth as athletes - even culturally. I know this has been mentioned before on this forum.

How many of the Spanish team would have bulging shoulders and biceps?? It is called football after all.

 

[grazorblade]

A lot of these examples re agility and acceleration may likely be due to the extra focus on the physical as per previous poster. You can only work your body mechanics so much that your body disposition allows.

Possibly we share a similar challenge with England where we tend to focus on upper body strength and muscle growth as athletes - even culturally. I know this has been mentioned before on this forum.

How many of the Spanish team would have bulging shoulders and biceps?? It is called football after all.

yeah one thing I learnt from the guest from scouted was that direction changes, accelerations and decellerations are still counted as physical talents these days. Apparently Dobson for the jets stands out physically, I would have never guessed that because I had some old school ideas about what physical excellence entailed

 

[grazorblade]

Milligan got jets playing sexy football

if he can do well in Asia I'll be convinced

 

[Encomium]

yeah one thing I learnt from the guest from scouted was that direction changes, accelerations and decellerations are still counted as physical talents these days. Apparently Dobson for the jets stands out physically, I would have never guessed that because I had some old school ideas about what physical excellence entailed

Dobson is a good example, he has good physicality and is technical, he usually uses his technicality to get out of trouble or get past a player, but uses his physicality to close down players or strength to protect the ball.
Clayton Taylor was the opposite, he used his physicality to get past players or get out of trouble, close opposition, his technicality was in first touch, pass and strike.
Two very different players.

There is a physical technicality, pace, shifting direction and strength to get the better of your opponent.
Technicality in the pure sense is trickery with the ball at your feet I guess, letting the ball do the work rather than physicality.