http://www.eplindex.com/14831/andre-villas-boas-succeed-liverpool-failing-chelsea.html Beginnings at Porto In his first season as manager of FC Porto, Andre Villas Boas had statistics of: Won the Portuguese Super Cup Won the Portuguese League Won the Millennium Cup Won the Europa League Went the entire season with only FOUR losses, including 2 in the preseason, 1 in the League Cup and 1 in the 1st Leg of the Millennium Cup SF Undefeated in the league â Pld 30, W: 27, D:3 Scored 136 in all competitions STYLE OF PLAY Under Andre Villas Boas, FC Porto most frequently utilised a 4-3-3, but it was not âsymmetricalâ Andre Villas Boas altered the formation to expose opposition weaknesses and ensure the strengths of the squad were used. The back four frequently consisted of: Pereira â Maicon â Rolando â Sapanaru FC Porto played a high-line with a high pressing game, which meant GK Helton played as a sweeper keeper. The three in midfield consisted of: Fernando â Moutinho â Belluschi Fernando played as the âpivotâ, breaking up play, but more importantly recycling the ball. Moutinho played as the central playmaker, but also dropped in to cover if Fernando ventured forward. Belluschiâs role will be explained more in reference to Hulk. The Forward line frequently consisted of: Varela â Falcao â Hulk Varela had the role of utilising his pace as an option in behind high lines, but also offered natural width and had the ability to run at defences. Falcao played the âNo. 9â role as an outlet ball, holding the ball up but also to finish off moves Hulk played as an inverted right winger, tucking in and linking with Falcao. This left space wide right where Belluschi overlapped and, alongside the RB, caused an overload on the right. An important note on Varela was in his positioning on the left. Due to the overload on the right, if the opposition countered that by shifting across, he was used as an outlet to expose the open space, meaning a team could not stop the right side, as they then opened up the left, Catch 22 In attack, the fullbacks would push forward to join in, whilst the CBâs would spread and Fernando tucked in to effectively create a 3-4-3. This meant FC Porto were very fluid and able to adapt to different situations in both attack and defence IN CONCLUSION Andre Villas Boas implemented a fluid attacking 4-3-3 system which could also adjust easily to a 3-4-3. This was met with unprecedented success and ensured he won four trophies in his first and only season at FC Porto.
Why He Can Succeed at Liverpool http://www.eplindex.com/14831/andre-villas-boas-succeed-liverpool-failing-chelsea.html/3 THE CURRENT SQUAD Much has been said about how Liverpool’s squad is a ‘blank canvas’. It is a squad in need of a direction and a philosophy. It is also a young squad, with the age groups being able to be broken up into three sections: o Past Peak – Carragher, Gerrard, Maxi*, Kuyt*, Bellamy, Aurelio* o Peak – Reina, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson, Downing, Enrique, Adam o Not Yet Peaked – Lucas, Suarez, Carroll, Henderson, Shelvey, Kelly, Coates, Spearing, Eccleston (* almost certainly moving on) Also, the Academy is in full motion, producing talents such as Sterling, Coady, Wisdom, Flanagan, Robinson, Morgan, Adorjan and Suso. This squad, whilst with less quality than Chelsea, is in contrast to the one Villas Boas inherited. It is predominately a peak/young squad, whilst the Chelsea squad was more past/peak squad. SUITABILITY TO THE SYSTEM o The High Line – Liverpool’s back five (including GK) suits a high line to a tee. Reina is a naturally aggressive sweeper keeper, having been brought up in the Barcelona Academy, whilst the CB pairing of Agger – Skrtel suits an aggressive pressing game. o Lucas – He would be a key player in the system should Andre Villas Boas take over at Liverpool. He is the epitome of a Brazilian ‘volante’, who using the literal term is the ‘steering wheel’ or ‘metronome’ of the team. His style is to keep the ball moving and break up opposition attacks o Right Wing – For Uruguay, Suarez plays on the right of a front three. Whilst playing either as a lone forward or as part of a front two, he frequently drifts into space to allow him to turn and run at defenders (as seen by the 1st Goal vs. Chelsea recently). In a RW position here, he would occupy the ‘Hulk’ role where he can drop into gaps and pick up the ball, linking with the central striker. o Gerrard’s New Role – Where has Gerrard has the most impact as a Liverpool player? Under Gerard Houllier, Gerrard frequently played in a two man midfield with Didi Hamann. Once Rafael Benitez took over, initially Gerrard was deployed in a wide right role and then later in a free role behind Fernando Torres. There is no denying Gerrard is best suited in positions where he can utilise his attacking prowess, and also he is Liverpool’s best crosser of the ball. For this reason, Gerrard could be suited to the RCM role used under Andre Villas Boas. Jordan Henderson would also be suited to this role as he has tremendous stamina, but would need to work on his confidence in the final third. o Potential for the Future – even though they may not be immediately ready to slot in, players like Suso, Adorjan and Sterling would be suited to this formation. For the Reserves/Next Gen Series, Suso has often been deployed as an inverted right-winger, as his goal against Wolves shows he is very effective at cutting in, although he plays nothing like Hulk or Suarez, I would say he is more similar to Guti (though hopefully with a better attitude). Adorjan would be a suitable player to play as a midfield playmaker, but he may have to mature more. Finally, Sterling has the pace to attack any space left either in behind defences or in between the RB and the CB, allowing him to either shoot or link up play with the striker (as he is a natural right footer). POSSIBLE NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT Left Wing – Moving into next season, Liverpool’s realistic options on the left-wing are Craig Bellamy and Stewart Downing (assuming the club doesn’t cut their losses). There is also the potential for Raheem Sterling to play a few Europa Games and other cup competitions. This position would almost certainly need strengthening due to Bellamy’s injury problems/age and Downing’s inability to seemingly score or assist, essential for a player in a front three. An example of a player who could be bought would be Iker Muniain/Lucas Moura or maybe a more realistic option in Junior Hoilett Centre Midfield – A couple of additions would be needed to strengthen the midfield area. Firstly, an alternative to Lucas would be needed, as Liverpool’s form crashed once he became injured. This new midfielder could be either an alternative to Lucas if he were to be injured or suspended (or heaven forbid never return to his pre-injury form) or he could also be the midfield playmaker. A dream option would be Javi Martinez/Joao Moutinho who are world-class but also flexible, whilst a more realistic option would be Borja Valero who plays for the just relegated Villarreal (even though he did already struggle in English football) or Seydou Keita who has been linked with a move to Liverpool. Also, a higher quality playmaker would be required. Charlie Adam’s form was awful after the injury to Lucas highlighted his flaws, whilst Jordan Henderson and Jonjo Shelvey may be too inexperienced to play this role all season. Luckily, Liverpool has a player who plays this position already on their books, Alberto Aquilani, whether they will use him or flog him off cheaply is another question. Striker – Andy Carroll has found some form towards the back-end of the season, however if he was to become injured the only option would be for Luis Suarez to move centrally. More depth is needed here, where options such as Klaas Jan Huntelaar (on fire for Schalke but possibly undervalued due to age and spells at AC Milan and Real Madrid), Nilmar/Rossi (from Villarreal, though Rossi has a long-term injury), Dimitar Berbatov (leaving Manchester United) or Bojan Krkic could all prove to be ‘moneyball’ style signings. Left Back – back up to Jose Enrique may be needed. Fabio Aurelio will be leaving when his contract expires and Jack Robinson has had his injury problems this year (whilst still being very inexperienced). Two possible stop-gaps would be Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger, but an experienced back up may be bought. IN CONCLUSION Andre Villas Boas would seemingly fit right in to the squad and style of Liverpool. With all Academy/Reserve teams playing a 4-2-3-1 or similar variation, it would be easy to continue a progression from the Academy to the first team. Also, Liverpool’s potential new structure with the Director of Football’s role being broken up into two or three sub-roles, it would be near impossible for veteran players to undermine his job and his future plans. Finally, Andre Villas Boas has previously been looked at by Fenway Sports Group who looked at him just before Kenny Dalglish took over as caretaker manager 18 months ago and his youth and flair fit into the image which Fenway Sports Group look to.
Good read, he is a talented manager that hit a brick wall at Chelsea. It seems that everyone linked with us has a certain risk but with AVB there is huge potential that is obvious to see. He may also want to buy Moutinho wihich would be good. I'm also a fan of his system 4-3-3 is effective when done right.
He is still my Number one choice. The more i look him up the more optimistic I feel. I do have a funny feeling that we might end up with Laudrup though
Seen as though nobody has yet highlighted the most obvious flaw in what is a very informed article... Porto weren't exactly a bad side with bad players when they took over... I mean look at the player list yourself. Compare this with Liverpool. I'm not intending to say Liverpool have bad players, but they aren't considered the best of the crop of this league (maybe bar Suarez), so what exactly is this ONE YEAR manager going to do with your current squad and what is he going to care about youngsters for (given he managed Porto for a year, why is everyone obsessed with his focus on youngsters)? If I were in charge at Liverpool, I'd sign Ian Holloway and say **** it, this is Liverpool, we do attacking football... But then again, I'm no business man.
I agree. If the owners are definately going down the route of employing a young manager, then I'd rather have AVB because he seems more tactically aware and had proven success at Porto. He has more appeal across Europe and I get the impression that the better players in Europe would work for him. I think it's important that we employ high profile names as Sporting Director and Manager. The reason I say this is because the longer we are out of the CL, we continue to lose our appeal so attracting these names becomes harder. We can only rely on our history and brand for so long.
A good mate of mine that seems to get this stuff correct 90% of the time has just messaged me to say “Get your money on FRANK RIJKAARD as Manager and LUIS VAN GAAL as Director Of Football.!” Can’t see it myself…But would be interesting!!!
I love that kind of stuff and always stick a £1 on it with my account just in case. What's this guys record then? What has he got right in the past?
The latest one he told me was the Whole Kenny SAGA. Told me on the Monday night he had been sacked, so I waited for an announcement. And nothing. Then he text me again on the Wednesday to say the news will go public today. And it did! He is always doing stuff like that, though he is not always spot on.
Yep worth a tenner I think, will need to check the odds Although I kind of like the idea of AVB myself!
Seeing as it's 100% cast iron, going to happen, nailed on, never in doubt, in the bag, home and hosed, done and dusted and indeed in the back of the net - here's some wiki info on our new mgr: Coaching philosophy and style Rijkaard coaching Galatasaray in 2009.As a coach, Rijkaard's essential philosophy is to guide his team towards playing attack-minded football as a cohesive unit. In doing this, he believes a team can achieve the dual objectives of winning games and ensuring the audience's enjoyment of the spectacle. This follows in the best coaching traditions of Rijkaard's countrymen and forebears Rinus Michels and Johan Cruijff. In this light, it is notable that Michels coached both Cruijff and Rijkaard during their respective participations with the Dutch national team, and that Cruijff himself went on to coach Rijkaard. Nonetheless, Rijkaard believes in working within a contemporary football context and is not out to imitate the styles and tactics of past masters. In his own words: “ ...you gain many impressions from the past. You still have it in your mind when you become a coach, and if something happens you can recall how it was dealt with. But I strongly believe that you cannot copy anyone. The decisions that a great coach made years ago will not necessarily work today.[8] ” Rijkaard has evidently learned to curb the quick temper of his playing days and is often a portrait of calm and stability in training and along the touchline. He rarely courts controversy in the media and is more apt now to promote a positive environment and let his team's play speak for itself when faced with intense rivalry or criticism.[9] The tactics used during his tenure as manager of Barcelona best exemplify Rijkaard's commitment to playing stylish attacking football. During the team's 2004–05 and 2005–06 campaigns, the coach frequently fielded a 4–1–2–2–1 formation, a system which encouraged the creativity of the players in the front third of the field and created optimal interplay between the midfielders and forwards during attacks. Within this system the four defenders also tended to play in a relatively high position on the pitch to support the midfield which frequently advanced to participate in the attack. The team generally focuses on maintaining possession in the opponents' half of the field, applying pressure in order to force the opposition to make errors in defense and offensive counter-attacking. With regards to man-management and motivation, Rijkaard rejects the notion of a "star system" and promotes the idea that every one of his players is a valuable member of the team.[10] He rarely praises one individual over another in the squad, although he has been known to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of a player within the context of a team performance.
Well - I too love these types of 'mate in the know' rumours and am feeling lucky so I have put £10 on it No pressure SJD but my kids will go hungry etc...
Sounds great. Whilst I was reading your first post, I was already thinking the stuff you wrote in your second post. Reina the sweeper, Skrtel and Agger fitting that style, Johnson overlapping right wing, Lucas braking up play and passing like a wizard, Gerrard attacking freely and crossing, Suarez wide in a front three, Carroll holding the ball up and finishing. This is also the kind of thing I'd like to see done with the team.
As much as I hope that the Rijkaard/Louis van Gaal rumour is true, I thought we were looking for a young manager. Rijkaard hits 50 this September, while AVB is only 34.
I felt bad for AVB, as managing Chelsea has to be one of the hardest managerial jobs in world football. Managers have quickly seen the exit at Stamford bridge I'd Roman's play thing doesn't play the way he wants. I think AVB is given time and the board doesn't breath down his neck he'll be a very successful manager wherever he ends up. Oh and lol at Downing at his peak, a total of 0 goals and 0 assists sounds like a fantastic return for a winger in his peak.
