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Thread | Why is pressing so crucial in the modern game?
at 05:23 12 Dec 2011
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The Question: Why is pressing so crucial in the modern game?
Barcelona and Bayern Munich both demonstrated the value of pressing the opposition to regain Cesc Fabregas is tackled by Sergio Busquets: Barcelona's pressing game caused problems for Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images.
After Valeriy Lobanovskyi's Dynamo Kyiv had beaten Zenit Leningrad 3-0 in October 1981 to seal their 10th Soviet title, the report in Sportyvna Hazeta lamented that Viktor Maslov was not alive to see his conception of the game taken to such heights. It's a shame both weren't still with us to have seen those ideas taken to another level again by Barcelona against Arsenal last Wednesday.
As many have noted over the past week, Barcelona's rapid interchange of passes, the relentless attacking and the marauding full-backs perhaps recall one of the great Brazil sides, but the underlying process by which they play comes through the line of Maslov, Rinus Michels and Lobanovskyi.
"Without the ball," Pep Guardiola said after last season's Champions League final, "we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball." It is a sentence that could equally be used of Arsenal: of course they are much better in possession than out of it. The difference is that Barcelona are much better at regaining possession than Arsenal.
After 20 minutes last Wednesday, Barcelona had had 72% of the possession, a barely fathomable figure against anybody, never mind against a side so noted for their passing ability as Arsenal. Their domination in that area came not so much because they are better technically — although they probably are — but because they are better at pressing. In that opening spell, Barça snapped into tackles, swirled around Arsenal, pressured them even deep in their own half. It was a remorseless, bewildering assault; there was no respite anywhere on the pitch, not even when the ball was rolled by the goalkeeper to a full-back just outside the box.
Arsenal buckled. Again and again, even players for whom composure in possession is usually a default gave the ball away. It's hard to believe Cesc Fábregas, who was admittedly possibly hampered by injury, has ever passed the ball as poorly as he did in the first half. Andrey Arshavin was so discombobulated he did a mini-Gazza and crocked his knee lunging at Sergio Busquets.
The psychological factor
This is the unspoken strength of Barcelona: they aren't just majestic in possession themselves; they also make other sides tentative in possession. Think not just of Arsenal, but of Michael Carrick and Anderson haplessly misplacing passes in Rome last May. Partly that is because Barça are so quick to close space; but it is also psychological. Barça are so good in possession, so unlikely to give the ball back, that every moment when their opponents have the ball becomes unbearably precious; even simple passes become loaded with pressure because the consequences of misplacing them are so great.
Although less spectacular in possession, Dunga's Brazil do something similar, aided, as Rob Smyth noted, by having conned the world into believing they still play in a way that they haven't since 1982. That's why so many pundits seem baffled by Brazil's recent successes in the Confederations Cup and the Copa America. John Terry, having watched from the stands as they beat England 1-0 in Doha last year, was still talking about them having "individuals who can frighten anyone one-on-on" while insisting "I don't think Brazil are anything really to worry about".
Their individuals probably aren't, but individuality is no longer their strength; their strength is their cohesion, and the discipline of their pressing which, allied to their technique when in possession, means their opponents almost never have the ball, something Wayne Rooney pointed out in a post-match interview in which his bright red face paid eloquent testament to just how much fruitless chasing he had done.
Notably, Brazil's worst recent performance came in their 1-1 draw in World Cup qualifying away to Ecuador, when only a string of saves from Julio Cesar preserved them from heavy defeat; in Quito, of course, the altitude makes the physical effort required for hard pressing far more difficult.
Shock and awe
Even in the context of their own excellence, though, Barça were exceptional in that opening 20 minutes. Which raises the question of why then, why not every game, and why not in the final 70 minutes. Perhaps an element of complacency crept in, perhaps Arsenal slowly shook themselves out of their daze and began to play, perhaps the replacement of Arshavin with Emmanuel Eboué gave them a greater defensive presence on the right; certainly those seemed to be the commonest explanations.
It is, anyway, a historical truth that when sides strike a period when everything clicks perfectly as it did for Barça in that early period, it rarely lasts more than a few minutes, even in performances held up as the greatest of all time. West Germany, for instance, only really played brilliantly for the first 35 minutes of their 3-1 win over England at Wembley in 1972. Even Hungary, in their 6-3 demolition of England in 1953, were done after 65 minutes, and had dipped towards the end of the first half. Transcendence is, by definition, very difficult to achieve and even harder to maintain.
But it may also be that Barcelona's early surge was part of a calculated plan, and that is why the comparison with Lobanovskyi seems apt, even though the more direct line of influence is through Michels and Johan Cruyff. Pressing with the intensity Barcelona achieved on Wednesday is exhausting, and cannot be kept up for long periods.
In The Methodological Basis of the Development of Training Models, the book he co-wrote with Anatoliy Zelentsov, Lobanovskyi lays out three different kinds of pressing. There is full-pressing, when opponents are hounded deep in their own half; half-pressing, when opponents are closed down only as they cross halfway; and there is false pressing, when a team pretends to press, but doesn't — that is, one player would close down the man in possession, while the others would sit off.
Particularly against technically gifted opponents, Lobanovskyi would have his sides perform the full-press early to rattle them, after which false pressing would often be enough to induce a mistake — and often, of course, his side would be comfortably ahead after the period of full-pressing.
Whether Guardiola has quite such a structured theory is unlikely, but it does seem probable that there was a conscious effort from Barcelona to impose themselves early. The only problem was that, mainly through excellent goalkeeping, and partly through ill luck and poor finishing, Barça were not ahead after 20 minutes, and Arsenal, this season, as their catalogue of decisive late goals suggests, are rather more resilient than they used to be.
Pressing back
Arsenal's attempts to respond with pressing of their own were, frankly, dismal. Allowance should be made for how shaken they were in the early minutes, but the gulf between the sides was still obvious. For pressing to be effective the team must remain compact, which is why Rafael BenÃtez is so often to be seen on the touchline pushing his hands towards each other as though he were playing an invisible accordion. Arrigo Sacchi said the preferred distance from centre-forward to centre-back when out of possession was 25m, but the liberalisation of the offside trap (of which more next week) has made the calculation rather more complicated.
Again and again, Arsenal's forwards would press, and a huge gap would open up between that line and the line of the midfield. Or the midfield would press, and a gap would open in front of the back four. What that means is that the player in possession can simply step round the challenger into space, or play a simple pass to a player moving into the space; the purpose of the pressing is negated. Or, if you prefer, it was as though Arsenal were false-pressing, without having achieved the first stage of the hustle which is to persuade the opposition you are good at pressing.
Even worse followed after Arsène Wenger apparently attempted to address the issue at half-time, and encouraged his back four to push up. The problem, though, is that if the timing and organisation of the step-up are amiss, a side becomes vulnerable to simple balls over the top such as led to the first goal, or through-balls such as led to the second. This has been a recurring problem for Arsenal over the past couple of years, Gabriel Agbonlahor's goal for Aston Villa at the Emirates last season being a classic example.
The Walcott protocol
What turned the game towards Arsenal — although even in the final 25 minutes when they scored twice, it would be a stretch to say they took control — was the introduction of Theo Walcott. When England beat Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb 18 months ago, he was a key player not just because he scored a hat-trick, but because his pace hit at Croatia's attacking system on their left. At Euro 2008, they had got used to Ivan Rakitic cutting in on to his right foot, with the full-back Danijel Pranjic overlapping, but Pranjic, aware of the danger of allowing Walcott to get behind him, became inhibited. He was neutralised as an attacking threat, while Rakitic became predictable, always turning infield without anybody outside him to draw the full-back — which is the downside of the inside-out winger.
By the nature of how they play, Barcelona, similarly, are vulnerable in the full-back areas. Dani Alves, in particular, is a sham of a defender — which is why Dunga prefers Maicon — but so long as Barcelona control possession it doesn't matter because his job is to be an extra man in midfield and to overlap for Messi (it may have been fear he would not be able to get forward as usual that led Guardiola to use Messi not on the right but as a false nine).
That is one of the reasons Barça's pressing is so awesome; with the full-backs pushed on, their system often appears as, effectively, a 2-5-3. To press with so many so high is a gamble, but one that has tended to be effective. Florent Malouda's performance against Alves in the second leg of the semi-final last year is an indication of what happens when the gamble fails and Barça do not control possession.
The arrival of Walcott disrupted Barça's pressing because Maxwell, like Pranjic, suddenly began looking over his shoulder (in a similar way, Charlie Davies's diagonal runs behind the full-back were a key to USA's victory over Spain at the Confederations Cup because they prevented Sergio Ramos pushing forward and so made Spain very narrow in midfield).
Samir Nasri had earlier had some success against Alves — almost all Arsenal's attacks in the first hour came through him, or through space he had created — and once Arsenal had weathered Barça's initial surge and begun to have some possession, it may be that Arshavin could have done something similar against Maxwell. Real pace, though, adds another dimension, because it means the full-back knows that as soon as the wide-man has got behind him, he has no chance of catching up. Perhaps that is an argument for Walcott starting, but then again, without Eboué last week, maybe they wouldn't have got any grip on possession.
And that, really, is the dilemma for Arsenal: attack Barcelona where they are vulnerable, by playing two out and out attacking wide-men, and the danger is you never have enough possession to make the most of that potential advantage. Concentrate on winning possession by playing more cautiously, and you may have no damaging way in which to use it.
The bigger problem, though, is the issue of pressing. Even if all else is equal, the fact remains that Barça are far, far more adept at winning the ball back than Arsenal, and that makes it all but certain they will dominate possession, and thus the game. Maslov and Lobanovskyi would have approved.
[END]
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/apr/06/question-pressing-crucial-moder
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Notable notes:
"Without the ball," Pep Guardiola said after last season's Champions League final, "we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball."
"Particularly against technically gifted opponents, Lobanovskyi would have his sides perform the full-press early to rattle them, after which false pressing would often be enough to induce a mistake — and often, of course, his side would be comfortably ahead after the period of full-pressing."
"Concentrate on winning possession by playing more cautiously, and you may have no damaging way in which to use it."
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Points to ponder:
1.High level of Cardiovascular in fitness to ascertain stamina intensively.
2.High Agility to overcome the brute physics in football. Art of distribution/ deflection of force.
3.Depth of squad to rotate players, avoid backlash if injury occured.
4.High accuracy and consistent running pass.
5.Individual skill i.e. Zidane, never letting the ball go easily in any challenge given.
6.Tempo in Full/Half/False implementation of pressing Game based on strength and weakness by both teams.
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Thread | I even forgot my password
at 04:50 11 Dec 2011
digged up scrap paper around hitherto looking for it, i'm beginning to realized why i don't have favourite football club eversince france 98, i simply dont have the required fortitude in weathering spikes of performances. i'm not cut for this.
good bye all. sniff  [Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
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Thread | What? Why? Huh? Any?
at 04:29 11 Dec 2011
Really that simple actually, take the last match with Manchester City play style then re apply last night game. Toned down intervally to muster up defense. Workrate as in high, intercept downtime as in 6 seconds, flanking onwards, aerial passing (QPR good in this), Faurlin middle, constant vying for spot kicks (due to Barton excellent delivery and team follow through) etc as we all have seen. There's no excuse in B/EPL, so what is it? Why such inconsistency? Is it really injury or simply a debonking like 'Huh?' Anything else that make us look doodle? Debonking means, "bollocks out frustration minute with incendiary effect." -- yep a moment ago. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” ~Plato. And cheers.
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Thread | Players Sell by Date and Top 10 Bargain
at 04:52 8 Dec 2011
[START]
ALL PLAYERS HAVE THEIR SELL-BY DATE
Time moves on and Frank Lampard found himself on the Chelsea bench on Tuesday
by Graham Taylor
Thursday December 8,2011
WHEN I was a young Âmanager, my idol was Bob Paisley of Liverpool. And he gave me the best bit of advice I ever received in the job.
We were talking after Watford played Liverpool who had won the League and we had finished runners-up to them in 1983.
I had been manager of Watford for six years by then and had got them into the UEFA Cup. But Bob, in that quiet Durham accent he had, said to me: “Always make sure your players’ legs go on another manager’s pitch.”
In other words, move your players on at the right time.
Liverpool and Bob were past masters at that. A player would be sold or moved on and people would wonder why. But very few players left Anfield and moved on to better things.
They left and joined other clubs and were very often disappointing, because Liverpool had spotted the right moment when they should be moved on.
It was a piece of advice that came back to me as I watched Chelsea and Andre Villas-Boas the other night because he too is in the middle of a rebuilding job.
"I’m the manager, I will listen — but this is the way I want to do it" -- Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas
Only a manager who is with the players in training every day knows them well. Only he can judge his players. We, as fans and commentators, only see them in matches.
I’m not talking about specific players here like Frank Lampard or Didier Drogba. It is just something a manager has to do — and only he knows when the time is right.
Villas-Boas may now have that situation at Chelsea. To the fans, a player may be playing well and they cannot understand why you let him go. But you, as the manager, know that his time is up.
So, as Bob said, you move him on before his legs go.
You might get criticised at the time, but a year later, when the player has done next to nothing at his new club, you will know you made the right decision.
It is not easy. Sometimes you get it wrong and they go on to have another few good seasons. That is your judgment.
At Watford, I could move players on relatively quietly. But Bob at Liverpool could not do it quite so simply because, at a massive club, you are under such scrutiny. It is the same for Villas-Boas at Chelsea. Every move he makes is watched.
Look at Drogba. He was magnificent the other night, playing in that lone role he loves. But does Drogba, at 33, need a rest? Can he do it again next week against Manchester City? Only the manager knows that.
Villas-Boas is new to the club. He has only been there five months. He has to find out what his players are like as people as well.
There has been a lot of player power in the past at Stamford Bridge. But AVB has gone in there and said: “I’m the manager, I will listen — but this is the way I want to do it.” Lampard is an exceptional player. You will never hear a word of criticism from me about Frank. His goalscoring record as a midfielder is fantastic and he will play a part in Chelsea’s season. He is the ultimate professional and a great ambassador for football.
But with every great player, time moves on. Can he handle two fierce games a week now? Only the manager knows that. I was delighted for Villas-Boas that he got that win because, at a top clu, you have to keep winning.
That is how you establish your authority as a manager. Defeat on Tuesday would have diminished that authority.
But what concerned me was how he reacted, when he accused people of attacking his club. That showed how important that win was for him, but I don’t think he helped himself.He has only been here five months, he has hardly had any criticism. If he thinks the English press have started on him, he hasn’t seen anything yet!
One other old truism is maybe one he should listen to. ‘You have never played as well as you think you have — and you have never played as badly as your critics say you have’.
He needs to learn that, because he is at a big club an, if results don’t go well, you are going to get criticism.
[END]
Link: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/288635/All-players-have-their-sell-by-date-
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Does this mean QPR last transfer signing were in vain? Maybe a couple of them perhaps?
Secondly, Helguson stirring comebacks despite his age. What about the rest of above 29 years old players? Are they truly "out of date?"
Third is the conclusion. A fine line to be drawn upon based on topic, determining factor? If there's any at all or one must do some sort of mix match to get nearest result?
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The following link will bring us to similar condition:
Link: http://www.footballfancast.com/2011/12/football-blogs/the-ten-premier-league-tra
As a start, are they "Sell By Date" truly? Or maybe a new manager is enough to reignite their potency like what Warnock did with Helguson.
And lastly, there's no mention of Taarabt here (from 15 to 20mil pounds price tag, today around 4 to 3mil only just to let him go). Double standard or simply out of radar by English media?
Cheers.
[Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
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Thread | SAFA & Blatter: Starbucks Coffee gone Mad.
at 08:35 22 Nov 2011
SAFA: Blatter is not a racist
SAFA have come to the defence of FIFA president Sepp Blatter regarding his controversial comments on racism in football.
The 75-year-old came under fire last week after saying incidents of racial discrimination between players on the pitch could be settled with a handshake at the end of the match.
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was just one of many high-profile names to take offence at Blatter's comments.
Blatter insists he was misunderstood but later apologised "to everyone who was offended" by his comments.
SAFA issued a statement at the weekend in support of the Swiss.
It reads:
'The remarks by FIFA President, Mr. Joseph 'Sepp' Blatter regarding racism in football has received extensive publicity.
As the South African Football Association (SAFA), we would like to indicate that Mr. Blatter's initial comments were unfortunate in the sense that it sent a wrong signal about the international controlling soccer body's intention to wipe out racism from football and the face of the earth.
Our history with Mr. Blatter as SAFA goes a very long way. We know him as a person who has always been upfront on confronting and condemning any form of racism and discrimination. His statement in Palestine recently clearly demonstrated his commitment to this cause.
It is unfortunate that this matter was blown out of proportion as FIFA statutes are very clear on this matter of zero tolerance to any form of racism and discrimination. His lone voice insisting on South Africa hosting the first ever World Cup in 100 years on African soil, is further testimony of Mr. Blatter being a champion of anti-racism and discrimination.
Mr. Blatter has traversed the globe preaching and discouraging any form of racism.
Back home, we all know Mr. Blatter's stance on racism as articulated by the honourable Minister of Housing and Human Settlements, Mr. Tokyo Sexwale. We at no time doubted Mr. Blatter stance on this issue, hence we view the latest statements as being unfortunate, regrettable and out of sync with what he stood for all his life as a servant of this beautiful game.
From our past experience, in which an individual was discriminated on the colour of his skin, racism is a very sensitive issue and we view any form of racial discrimination with utter disdain. Racism has no place in modern society. Racism is a social ill which must be fought by forward thinking society.
To his credit, Mr. Blatter issued a statement apologising unreservedly on this unfortunate statement. We as SAFA have accepted his apology.
However, having apologised for his proclamation, we hope the world will move on and forgive him. He has indeed owned up and retracted his statement and this to us shows great humility on his part as a leader of the number one sport in the universe.'
Link: http://www.football365.co.za/story/0,22162,14340_7322265,00.html
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SAFA (South Africa Football Association) defended Blatter recent unbecoming remarks over racism. I remember watching movie 'Invictus' where Springbok won Rugby World Cup years back after Apartheid. If not mistaken there were only one black player and rest consisted of European's white. There were understanding amongst Mandela administration to proceed without having enough black players representing South Africa, but recent Football World Cup where South Africa became as host took a u-turn where whites seemingly not welcomed in their first squad. Such frailty in Blatter's circle of symphatizers.
If memory serves me only. No research has been done here, maybe you guys have better input or you may choose to ignore these, stop stalking me with your stupid portraying and get on with your own life.
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Thread | Fifa World Cup: England plots 2014 route
at 07:22 22 Nov 2011
Fifa World Cup: England plots 2014 route
While Capello plots a Euro 2012 campaign that will bring an end to his time in charge, it will be left to other senior FA figures to try to thrash out a route to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Club England managing director Adrian Bevington will head an FA delegation also including director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking for a meeting in Warsaw with their counterparts from Poland, Ukraine, Montenegro, Moldova and San Marino.
Their task will be straightforward.
Knowing England's players tend to tire after a long season, June qualifying matches will preferably be avoided and if that is not possible then no long trips - such as the one that took them to Kazakhstan in 2009 - would be ideal.
Key matches against second seeds Ukraine and Montenegro - who England twice drew with in Euro 2012 qualifying - will be pencilled in for September or October, when England tend to be at their best.
However, there are other competing interests, such as a desire to play England early to maximise commercial revenues or to play in the summer when the heat may benefit certain teams, which may mean there is no resolution, as was the case when England tried to put their Euro 2012 programme together.
If that happens again, the matter will be decided in a random draw by FIFA at a later date.
The outcome may only be of passing interest just now, but with only one automatic place for Brazil on offer, the man who eventually replaces Capello - FA chairman David Bernstein insists talks will not start until the Italian's work is done in Poland and Ukraine next summer - will have reason to hope Bevington and Brooking get their way.
Link: http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1082339/England-plots-2014-route
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This article alone will is worth thousands of possibility to come in regards of football related aspect and industry. This is Loft For Words, apart from occasional social adherents we do talk about football seriously. Are we not?
There are a lot of other theme parks out there and you'll be handicapped if football matters isn't your foremost. Here we discuss heavyweights on football, perchance some related posts does irrate you then what f**k you're doing here?
Top executives are straight forward in their task given and we hope for conducive outcome especially knowing our beloved club QPR will probably manifest Champions League in near future, not to mention our depency on 'veterans.'
Cheers all.
Note: Veteran -- 2 or 3 match per week does not bode well for our benevolent Helguson, he will be 35 years old or so when time comes.
Other related: A forummer told me once, this is a good place for QPR's follower. So be it.
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Thread | Neil Warnock it's your turn now.
at 14:19 17 Nov 2011
Neil Warnock it's your turn now.
Next fixture versus Stoke will be a true test for Warnock as Manager of QPR newly found confidence in 4-4-2 formation with current positioning of players. It is not about Barton & compatriot any longer, they have proven their worth with Manchester City fortnight ago.
So Gaffer, what would it be? What will you do now?
Remember last time we played against Fulham, what happened? Where are supposedly momentum after Wolves match? Perchance a repeat of such poor performance, then one must say, your performance as Manager will definitely come into question. Taarabt was proven unworthy for Premiership level, now how about you?
Oh Warnock, hear ye, hear ye...
As stated Stoke 1 - 3 QPR but it is not based on Bink's Almanac, result will go either way still.
I'm not sure about this thread, is it a "thread" to be spun at all or simply a glimpse of future. |
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Thread | Site Attendance Dwindling
at 03:51 14 Nov 2011
Is it because Skyrim out, international break or what?
Are you guys happy now?
Cheers all and all. |
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