http://chalkontheboots.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/keep-pressing-forward/ Thought this was a thoroughly good read. Well-researched and informed. DTLW
Indeed good article. I would like us to have a plan b for direct teams. Don't want to see ANY heavy defeats. Especially to spam/stoke.
Lovren gives our back four a size/mobility combination that we didn't have previous, which should help against teams that want to play lump-and-jump football; Hooiveld had the size, but if the ball was punted to a part of the field where he was not, gaps opened rather quickly. And having two midfield monsters won't hurt matters, either; Cork does a fantastic job of protecting the defense when the ball is played on the ground, but a more physical presence to win the ball off of scrambled knockdowns won't hurt. We may also improve off of set-pieces, which was a big problem defensively for much of the year...we weren't exactly the strongest grouping in the Prem. Cut down on the goal-scoring opportunities from those moments and we may force teams to come out and play a little more.
Pablo Osvaldo played under Pochettino before moving to AS Roma in Serie A:- “He makes you work like a dog. Sometimes, you feel like killing him but it works” Aaaahhhh so that's why he doesn't want to join us
To be fair to NA, he basically built a team to play a similar way. The main differences are that MP demands the team work probably 20% harder and be tougher to beat
Very interesting. Nothing new, but coherently explained. I think we did better against the good sides because they had confidence in their own abilities and we shook them out of their comfort zones. Teams more at our level operated game plans to beat us. I expect we will find the top sides next season will also make these plans (and have better players to carry them out)....we live in interesting times.
We also accused Adkins of sometimes not having a plan B.......the article in my view is suggesting that Pochettino needs to be aware that he will need to have one and be prepared to adapt the style he now uses on occasions.
Interesting description of Bielsa as "a man so defined by his beliefs that he would rather fail than change his methods." Sounds like the current Arsenal manager to me.
