[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by h8kurdt

Lol. Bless you. And no I haven't and still haven't.

With regards to sweepers etc. I honestly think it's gonna get to the stage with players that it'll be rare to see a strict defeneder, a strict midfielder etc (don't be a douche and goalkeepers). As time goes on I think players will find themselves having to adapt to doing different jobs. It's rare even now to see a defender who focuses solely on defending.

A perfect example for me is Jordi Alba. Someone who quite happily plays left back, but every now and then is thrust into playing left-mid. Another example is Ronaldo. The motherfucker playes wherever he wants!

Yeah, you can't anticipate change. Just prior to Barcelona, everyone thought Mourinho held the key to the future in terms of tactics and formations. Then Guardiola came and spoiled it all for him. That's why Bayern intrigue me; they're looking like they could be on the cusp of dominating things but are they bringing anything new to the table, tactically, I mean?

[!@#$%!]

i just had a big lunch and im about to go into a food coma but here a quick few things

the difference between catenaccio and beckenbauer was that before him the libero was purely defensive while beckenbauer went on the attack. same as sammer.

the offside rule changes ended that so the new libero/sweeper plays now in front of the defense (yes, defensive midfielder). check bwt this awesome article about pirlo:

http://arsenalcolumn.co.uk/2012/06/3...ea-pirlo-code/

This is how the conversation unfolded, in the words of Mazzone: “I was managing Brescia when Pirlo still considered himself a “mezzapunta” (attacking midfielder). I told him to play in front of the defenders, because he had vision. ‘But I like goals,’ he told me, unconvinced. ‘You score four or five a year,’ I replied. ‘Play in this position and you’ll score even more. Let’s try it for two weeks. You’ll be a base playmaker.’ “I told him to play two games without asking questions. Afterwards he told me: ‘I feel very comfortable here. I get the ball all the time.’ He found out how it worked. If I’d told him I was going to play him as a libero ahead of the defenders, he’d have run away terrified! Calling him a base playmaker convinced him.”

pirlo = libero! (= sweeper) (!?!?!?)

h8kurdt -- true-- and that's why demonyo can't find any "great defenders" anymore. well they still have them i think but less. everyone plays everywhere, sorta...

--

and speaking of new tactics, last year i thought dortmund were the possessors of the new secret sauce but this year they have collapsed a little. reus came in for kagawa and reus is awesome but kagawa i thought was more creative. in the back they have hummels who is a defender but also a "deep lying playmayer". they may be on to something with their fast pace game but they might be lacking the players to execute properly what they did last year.

shit, this stuff fascinates me. though i am going to have to go unconscious right now...

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

in the back they have hummels who is a defender but also a "deep lying playmayer".

On that score, he may be the very model for this new type of sweeper, but is he mobile enough? Pirlo is a 'deep lying playmaker' but doesn't defend enough to qualify. Most defensive midfielders destroy rather than create so they wouldn't do, either. Although Xabi Alonso might fit. How is Schweinsteiger at defending? He looks capable and definitely has all the other attributes. Maybe my initial reservations about him are misguided. Maybe he (and by extension Bayern) really do have something new to offer.

Changing the subject a bit, this might be of interest to anyone interested in the (mis)fortunes of Suarez and Liverpool

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...ns-league-club

[!@#$%!]

in the 98 WC matthaus in his old age covered for sammer as sweeper. e.g.:

http://www.soccertimes.com/worldcup/...mes/jul04a.htm

he did so also at bayern, in old age

 

^^ 1999 champions final

granted, not his glory days of the late 80s/ early 90s as #10. but proof that the same talents can serve both positions.

[demonrail666]

Haha. what a nostalgia fest. David Beckham, 4-4-2. It's like the football equivalent of a good sunday roast, before those pesky continentals ruined it all with their clever formations and false number 9s.

[h8kurdt]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Changing the subject a bit, this might be of interest to anyone interested in the (mis)fortunes of Suarez and Liverpool

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...ns-league-club

*snigger* Liverpool would be lost without him. If anyone says Sturridge is a good replacement might as well do a silly dance whilst saying it.

[demonrail666]

Liverpool will be fucked without him but I bet Rodgers won't see it that way - privately, at least. He's a Dalglish signing and Rodgers won't like building a team around another man's main player. He'll get his big transfer budget to spend and can start to build a team in his own image. But I don't see an equivalent quality forward out there who isn't already being attached to bigger, richer clubs. I can see Rodgers taking a massive risk on a couple of more low profile players rather than just one big name. This is all assuming Suarez goes, of course, and it isn't just another media story. I'll be sad to see him go if he does. Regardless of his cheating he's been entertaining as fuck. It's like Big Brother. Everyone votes out the cunts so the last few weeks are just really nice but boring people who nobody wants to watch. The Prem needs its Nasty Nicks.

[!@#$%!]

maybe liverpool could hire neymar, haaa haa haaa.

[h8kurdt]

It is a problem for Rodgers no matter how he looks at it. The team is slowly but surely finding it's legs (aside from the brilliant loss to Southampton) and losing such a crucial player like Suarez is a bad thing.

If has to go and find a couple of young strikers who still need the experience then that's the whole of next season trying to get them settled in etc. As for big strikers, I can't think of anyone at the top of my head who'll want to go there.

[!@#$%!]

huntelaar, stuck in underperforming schalke. falcao (if he'll move). mandzukic/gomez/lewandowski (something's gotta give in all that clutter, i'll explain later). lambert, since he fucked them. some italian if he can afford him (cavani?)

then he could look at south america (i wasn't joking really when i said neymar).

but it seems to me rodgers has to beef up his defense right now. at least from what i saw in that match. of course without suarez he'd have no outstanding anything to defend.

keep suarez + find a good sub for him (feed coutinho, he's got promise), beef up the defense, and he'll be equipped to put up a good fight.

[h8kurdt]

Neymar would be shit in an English league and I think even he realises that. Even though it seems pretty likely that Falcao will be moving in the summer, Liverpool couldn't afford him.

Gomez could be a possible as Mandukic aint gonna leave anytime soon.

[demonrail666]

Looks like Klinsmann is under pressure in the US. Divided dressing room, players calling him out on his tactics. Hmm.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...lifer/2005237/

 

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by h8kurdt

Gomez could be a possible

Good call.

Neymar's out of the question. Real, Barca, Chelsea and Bayern are already interested.

And I was thinking about Lambert as a possibility, too.

Saying all that I'm just listening to a podcast and they're saying the quote from Suarez is meaningless, that he couldn't say anything else. Still nice to speculate.

[!@#$%!]

ok i'll explain the gomez/mandzukic/lewandowski conundrum

gomez + mandzukic have been fighting it out for who is the starter at BM. mandzukic was originally to cover for an injured gomez, but even after gomez returned heynckes has consistently favored mandzukic (and mueller) over gomez (and robben). maybe it's an issue of full fitness, maybe it's an issue of being better integrated to the team (robben was also sidelined on injuries), maybe it's something else (e.g., lost mojo).

thing is, heynckes is leaving at the end of the season. and barcelona under guardiola had in the past expressed interest in gomez (not sure today, but whatevs). so this would tend to indicate that guardiola wouldn't get rid of gomez. you can have 2 centerforwards, that's fine. deep bench ftw.

however, here's the shit-- there are rumors (or "rumoUrs" as you ingleses call them) that bayern might wanna lift lewandowski from dortmund (that would be horrible for dortmund). this rumor, if it were true and came to pass, would mean there'd be a glut of centerforwards/finishers in bayern. someone would most likely have to leave, not just because the team needs cover in other areas but also because those are all hungry players who want to be starters in a CL team.

hence, at least one of them would become available. right now i'm thinking the cheapest would be mandzukic, but this is like casino bets or the stock market-- one day up, one day down, who knows. on the other hand gomez could come in undervalued and regain his stature at liverpool-- but that would push out sturridge, not cover for a missing suarez, actually.

just feed coutinho more oats!

[demonrail666]

If Gomez comes to England, he'd better be prepared for a relentless stream of Marty McFly chants

 

[!@#$%!]

now seriously talking, someone who plays similar to suarez and could fit the same role (not just as a finisher but as a creative attacker, though he's not as good as suarez yet) might be gotze.

 

he's merely 20 though, and has a long term contract w/ dortmund till 2016.

[demonrail666]

I don't know much about Gotze but I'm wondering if Rodgers would want to replace Suarez with a player so similar. We know he aspires to a quite fluid Barca-like style and Suarez has never been a perfect fit for that. I don't even think you necessarily need a world class striker for that kind of style (look at David Villa). If Suarez does go, maybe a better idea would be to get another striker who's solid but relatively cheap, to work with or as an alternative to Sturridge (say Rickie Lambert - apparently a Liverpool fan, too) and then splash out a bit more on getting the right midfielder. Michu would be perfect. He's young, wouldn't cost ridiculous amounts, has proven Premier league experience and would suit Rodgers style to a T. Plus he'd surely view moving from Swansea to Liverpool as an upgrade. Coutinho and Michu in the same midfield would really look like the start of something, not least a future beyond Gerrard - a far bigger elephant in the room than what to do about Suarez.

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

guardiola wouldn't get rid of gomez.

I think Robben will go. That doesn't mean others will be safe but unless Guardiola adopts a very different style, I just can't see Robben fitting in at all. It'll be fascinating watching the ins and outs at Bayern this summer. I still have my doubts about Guardiola, at least in terms of whether he can adapt and build a side without the whole Barca infrastructure to rely on. Putting aside players he's inherited from the youth system, his record bringing players into Barca from outside isn't great.

More importantly, and sadly, West Ham will be confirming that they're leaving Upton Park to move to an Olympic Stadium they'll never fill and which'll have zero atmosphere. Nice one.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...lympic-stadium

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Looks like Klinsmann is under pressure in the US. Divided dressing room, players calling him out on his tactics. Hmm.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...lifer/2005237/

christ, how hard can it be to qualify in that shitty group. top 3! with rivals mexico, and then what? nada! nada! nada! shameful...

the rest:

gotze is a fucking child prodigy. must have smart genes, cuz his dad is a professor of engineering.

heres a little tacky kiddie video by some fangirl-- the point of it is.. it's recent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI1F_YvDE2k

coutinho + michu = i'd love to see that side!

gerrard should have at least another year in him from what i've seen

robben going - possible, sure. but here's my question-- who's to say that guardiola is going to make a barca II and not something completely different?

as for insfrastructure, bayern has a huge one-- 2nd team, youth team, women's team, academy, other sports, you name it. he's gonna have tons to choose from. member-owned club ran by former players. and profitable. fucking brilliant!

and west ham-- hey, don't be so pessimistic. maybe they can rent it out for concerts and make a little cash on the side so you can buy better players and win more games. eh???? or maybe they can sell more cheaper tickets. no??

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

gerrard should have at least another year in him from what i've seen

It's not so much about his fitness, I just think that for as long as Gerrard remains at Anfield, Rodgers will likely struggle to really stamp his identity there - similar to the situation at Chelsea while Terry's still around.

here's my question-- who's to say that guardiola is going to make a barca II and not something completely different?

I was trying to make the same point. The problem is that compared with most other managers of his stature, there are whole areas of management that we've yet to see Guardiola deal with. I'm not writing him off but I do think he's a bigger risk than his success at Barca might suggest.

as for insfrastructure, bayern has a huge one

And with that comes a certain institutionalised way of doing things. Fine if Guardiola's happy just to keep things going but I assume he'll want to do things his way and that could involve stepping on toes not used to being stepped on, with enough weight behind the scenes to make things difficult for him, especially if they have any kind of dip in form.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that if I was in charge at Bayern, I'd have broken the bank to get Mourinho. Love him or hate him, he's successful everywhere he goes, knows how to handle pressure (a definite weak point with Guardiola) and, well, he's Mourinho. If I imagine Bayern under Guardiola I'm faced with a mixture of excitement and a whole load of question marks. Bayern under Mourinho, though, and I see Death Star levels of pure awesomeness. Oh well.

 

[!@#$%!]

oh i see where you were going all along now.

dont know enough mourinho to know but just found out guardiola had detectives following piqué and thought "holy fucking shit maybe demonyo is right". with respect to, hm, "pressure". meaning, the ability to go nuts.

eh! we'll see what happens!