Comments on: Maybe we don’t need a forward anyway

By: George H

George H — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:42:44 +0000

Sounds like a great read, I’ll definitely order it.

It’s really interesting to see how tactics have evolved through the years. Where we used to see sweepers being used behind your defense, that role eventually changed to become a shield in front of the back four and the Makelele model emerged. It seems more and more that both teams are willing to wage their battle over midfield and hope that with lots of movement there, they can capitalize on the other side’s poor positioning.

Defensive schemes have become so much more difficult to break down. One example that I can remember from the past season was Rangers’ UEFA Cup run. Their back four were so organized that they eventually just frustrated teams to no end. Safe to say, their performance vs. Fiorentina in Florence was just about flawless. It wasn’t until they came up against a dynamic side like Zenit who played with a sole striker and tons of movement that they were able to be broken down.

It’s almost like you’re too predicable in your approach if you play with two front men. Many teams are pulling that second striker back into midfield either as an advanced attacking mid or as a 2nd holding player. We probably will see more teams take the approach of Roma and stack their midfield with different attacking options to see if they can wreck havoc with the other side’s defense. With a more congested midfield, defensive tactics will have to adjust in order to better defend the greater areas of open space outside of midfield.

By: weltmeisterclaude

weltmeisterclaude — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:40:37 +0000

no point assuming we get Yakin! Also, I don’t think you can judge Yakin on the euros, or Nevland on a couple of games as sub…

By: jgoldman

jgoldman — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:34:38 +0000

Id take Yakin, although based on what I saw of him in Euro 2008, hes not a world class striker. I see him as similar to Nevland in that although neither are the fastest or strongest of strikers, both play smart, thus allowing them to get into good positions on the pitch. Nevland seems to be a better finisher though.

Assuming that we get Yakin, what pairings would everyone like to see?

Yakin / Healy?
Yakin / Johnson?

By: bqfootball

bqfootball — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:34:45 +0000

Wouldn’t that be something. Hakan Yakin would be huge.

Good stuff Rich. We’ve seen football evolve over the years, but it seems it’s changing more rapidly, just like the world we live in. The internationalization of football, as well as the increased athleticism in players through better health and specialized training, has and is revolutionizing the sport. Oh, and to add to your discussion from above, even the defensive midfielder that was created in the late 90’s early 2000’s, roll has changed. There are not too many Makelele’s any more. Even the holding midfielder needs to have the skills to play at both ends of the field and is expected to cover as much territory.

Now if I could get my hands on a copy of that book.