Hang on, dickhead?!?! How else are you supposed to score with the keeper if you leave him in bloody goal? One day i expect Lloris to score after a mazy dribble
yes, I played it last night! It's not as realistic as FIFA, and seeing teams like "west london white", "Middlebrook" etc with fake players names is bloody annoying, but it's still good fun to play. You can score some worldies on Pro. FIFA has got so advanced in terms of its artificial intelligence, that it's actually taken a bit of the fun out of it.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/dec/20/the-guardian-2013-world-top-100-footballers A panel of 15 'experts': a very loose use of the word...
They are using the opinion of their own football correspondents from around the world, in other words it's a beauty contest.
Back in my day (i sound so old! I'm "only" 32) Pro Evo was the more realistic gameplay and FIFA had the real-names. I think this was on the N64 (the last great console as far as i'm concerned)
Plus three guest experts: "One year ago our inaugural list really caught your imagination. Occasionally you called our knowledge into question, so this year we recruited the esteemed figure of Alessandro Nesta, possessor of a World Cup winner's medal and towering reputation, as our lead judge in a beefed-up panel of 15 experts. Try telling him he doesn't know his football. We also brought in the former England women's coach, Hope Powell, and the retired, much-travelled USA goalkeeper, Kasey Keller, as guest experts." I imagine they were cheap.....
32?! i had it in my head you were 23. I think maybe you'd put the numbers the wrong way round on another thread! Pro evo is so "wooden" now. it's almost like they've given up, knowing everyone plays fifa. But it's still got that arcade game feel about it, which i love.
"in other words it's a beauty contest." Which (in the case of Modric etc) is a very loose definition of "beauty" as well.
Protecting a lead used to be a better strategy in all sports. As athletes get faster and more skillful, they're more likely to exploit being firmly on the front foot, IMO. I'd rather take the risks of offense as defense than have to watch another desperate attempt to hang on. Killing the game by dribbling is fine, though. I wish we'd do it more. I'm dining elegantly on a bite of crow about Sherwood, sweetened by a dollop of I told you so about Ade. I hope to have to work my way through a whole murder of the first, with enough of the second to make the feast extremely palatable.
People generally underestimate the advantage of risk taking because mistakes are easier to spot then the benefits. The 'highline' is a case in point. It is designed to snuff out attacks at source by restricting space in midfield and it does that very well. But when it goes wrong it is easy to criticise the massive space left for the attackers. My guess is that it has saved us about 10 goals conceded this season and cost us about 6. Which if true is an excellent trade off. But the 6 are pretty obvious and the 10 are much more arguable.
As usual I don't care for your numbers. There was absolutely no reason, at all, whatsoever! for Lloris to come out for that 2nd of theirs, Lallana was going away from goal with a defender close enough. He did the same v United giving away the pen bringing down Welbeck who was going nowhere. You highlight the ones that have cost, you offset that with 10 saved.......how about the other 10 we've got away with by the skin of our teeth, eg. explain the need for a header to thwart Suarez last week?? inexplicably Suarez didn't score. Lucky not to be sent off for handball outside the area in another game, I haven't got time to cite the rest!
Good analysis. Dribbling out from the back is analogous. People crucify BAE or whomever when it obviously leads to a goal, forgetting all the unattributable goals created by collective timidity. Have some balls, live a little, as a general rule, IMO. But that doesn't mean you should come charging out of your corner, as Lloris did, just that you shouldn't retreat to the ropes for the last round when you've been winning the fight in the center of the ring.
To Dare is to Do or put another way To Risk is our way. My prime objection to AVB was his aversion to risk. He is trying to turn football into a science as perhaps are many in the modern game. Not only will it not work it's boring as well. I always come back to this 'simple game' philosophy, get numbers in the box, deliver the ball and hey presto it is in grave danger of ending up in the net. Rule out the risk and you are in danger of ruling out the chances. Of course that's attack, defence is a little difference and I prefer the steady reliable goalkeeper who is adverse to risk. So to sum up: Jobsworths in defence. Nutters in attack.
