Rival watch

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Spur of the Moment said:
And Modric put in an amazing performance - defensively and creatively. Almost enough to make you want to cry....... If only......... <wah>
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I'm more annoyed that we didn't actually replace him, to be honest.
He was always pushing for a move, so it was pretty inevitable. Not bringing in someone in his role was pretty poor, though.
 
"Guardiola has won everything else they've been in at a canter and now has the wrong policy
because he ran into a stupendous Real Madrid performance?"

It wasn't stupendous.
And as LDL said, the Man Utd game at OT was warning enough to Pep.
 
PowerSpurs said:
Almost every poster on here thinks that tactics are unimportant and playing to your players' strengths is required. Is there actually any evidence for this?
I believe the exact opposite: all high class players have a very good skill set and what is important is how the team plays. Martinez has almost exactly the same group of players that Moyes had but has them set up a completely different way with more success. Guardiola has won everything else they've been in at a canter and now has the wrong policy because he ran into a stupendous Real Madrid performance?
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He has won The Bundesliga at a canter. Last night, as I pointed out earlier, he was playing a team who have a) seen that type of play many times before, and b) seen it done far better. The style of football Guardiola favours requires players with immaculate first touch and passing abilities - as possessed by Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, et al. He does not have the players with those skills at his disposal at Bayern. Therefore, they were consistently either giving the ball away or being harried into mistakes. With the pace Real possess, it was then fairly easy to hit them on the break.

Bayern were completely out thought. Guardiola's stubborn adherence to his tactics was the major contributor to that.
 
PowerSpurs said:
Almost every poster on here thinks that tactics are unimportant and playing to your players' strengths is required. Is there actually any evidence for this?
I believe the exact opposite: all high class players have a very good skill set and what is important is how the team plays. Martinez has almost exactly the same group of players that Moyes had but has them set up a completely different way with more success. Guardiola has won everything else they've been in at a canter and now has the wrong policy because he ran into a stupendous Real Madrid performance?
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Despite District Line's claims to the contrary, the Bundesliga is not strong. Borussia Dortmund are half decent, but the rest are no match for Bayern. They don't need to get out of second gear. The tactic of dominating possession and recycling the ball until you eventually find an opening may work against lesser teams, but it has proved to be fairly lame against the better and more experienced teams in the CL. Even a misfiring Utd could put men behind the ball and defend easily against an attack with the sole weapon of accurate passing. With no pace and little invention, there is no fear factor for experienced defenders. And Bayern have a weak central defence (by top level CL standards) and look at risk when they do concede possession high up the pitch against teams with pace and the counter. Even Danny Welbeck was a real threat, never mind Ronaldo. Yes, top class players can adapt to different tactics effectively, but Bayern have players whose best assets are not being utilised under Pep. We've seen Muller and Schweinsteiger destroy England playing an expansive, pacy game for Germany. Gotze and Kroos are attacking midfielders. Ribery and Robben can run at and take on defenders at pace out wide and centrally. Mandzukic is big centre forward who needs crosses delivering from out wide. Last season they won a treble playing a fast, attacking, powerful game. They scored tons of goals including seven v Barcelona (without reply) in the CL semi final. Why change?
 
I wonder who the Spurs fans will be rooting for in the CL Final?Will it be a case of :-

Real Madrid Fan Club,
Tottenham Branch.

I certainly hope they win it. Will the Chelski ruble spender want their manager back?

Funny how all those Bayern shots were incredibly blocked by Real defenders.On another day a lot of those shots may have finished in the net.......
 
bigsmithy9 said:
I wonder who the Spurs fans will be rooting for in the CL Final?Will it be a case of :-

Real Madrid Fan Club,
Tottenham Branch.

I certainly hope they win it. Will the Chelski ruble spender want their manager back?

Funny how all those Bayern shots were incredibly blocked by Real defenders.On another day a lot of those shots may have finished in the net.......
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Will we redesign Real's badge,like we did for Bayern :grin:
 
EUGH! I hadn't thought of that.
With a choice of supporting Chelsea or Real to actually WIN the thing i think i'd choose to poke myself in the eye and sit in darkness until the fallout from the game had passed.
 
Spurm said:
EUGH! I hadn't thought of that.
With a choice of supporting Chelsea or Real to actually WIN the thing i think i'd choose to poke myself in the eye and sit in darkness until the fallout from the game had passed.
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Go Atletico!
 
hold on, lads. Chelsea have gotta beat Atletico first.

Atletico look like a decent side. I fancy their chances tonight.
 
totsfan said:
Wonder if Jose will park his two buses tonight,even though he's at home :emoticon-0112-wonde :grin:
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no need to wonder, Tots. Of course it's going to happen! <laugh> Hopefully Atletico wont fall for it. If they do, it's likely they'll get ruined on the counter attack.
 
PowerSpurs said:
Luke - Why would Bayern change things? Because no-one has defended the CL - all systems get worked out!
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But it wasn't broken and it didn't need fixing. Possession for its own sake has proved an ineffective method for them when it mattered. Barcelona had a cutting edge in players like Messi, Villa and Pedro to go with the control of the ball in midfield. Bayern seem too predictable and one dimensional playing the same waro
 
Yeah, I'm rooting hard for Atletico. But with a doomed sense of foreboding, I would bet on a Real Chelsea final. I hate Real, but I hate Chelsea more, so for one game I'll be back to rooting for Bale and Modric.

Incidentally, I just found out Bayern were known as the Jewish club, had two of their highest ups (including their owner?) removed by Hitler because they were Jewish, and languished while the Nazis thrived. I'd tended to associate Bayern with the long tradition of Bavarian anti-Semitism and racism, but now look at the club more kindly.
 
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