Bit random but I found this interesting... Picture of Barcelona's "stadium" from 1909. Source @combinedhistory on Twatter. please log in to view this image
The ghost of RvW lives on, in this piece. In fact, he's the major case-in-point! http://www.football365.com/news/want-to-stay-up-dont-buy-strikers?
I felt the urge to put digit to keyboard early this morning @cromercanary @StevenageFC Congrats on your 'giant'-killing efforts last night, you made the entire population of #Norfolk deliriously happy! #AdiosITFC
What a load of old tosh. We were not a newly promoted side when he signed, the point about Naismith completely ignores the fact we also spent a comparible ammount on Klose in the same window. The writer is being a tiny bit selective with what he reports to prove his point. The point is a reasonably good one, but shoring up any defense in any league is the surest way to avoid relegation. Not exactly a revelation! Bah!
Did anyone watch the Premier League Review/Preview on BT Sport last night? I found some of Ranieri's comments quite interesting, particularly when he said he wanted 2 of exactly the same player for each position, so that he could swap players in and out and not change the system game to game. I found that quite an interesting way of doing things as we often hear or talk about teams having different options available, as in swapping out a more technical winger for a pacey one or having a striker that can hold the ball up and swap him for one who can run in behind, and wanting to have those options available to try to change a game. Ranieri simply wants to rely on one system where he can change a player for one exactly the same, just the name changes.
Very strange. Teams will figure out how to mute them. You need a plan B. He must be lulling teams in, and making them not worry about other plans. No manager can be that obvious surely.
I don't think the are or will be. They had to contend with teams sitting back in front of them towards the end of last season and they still found a way. Bah!
Back to Ranieri, I guess the logic is that if you have full confidence in Plan A, you want to make it as strong as possible. Drill all the players in it, and be able to play it properly every week irrespective of form, injury and suspensions. It also keeps the tempo high in training, if everyone knows exactly who they're in a fight with, you're going to do everything possible to appear better than them. You can't fall back on hoping the manager wants a subtly different system that week.
I think you'll find that we've been down that route with a certain Mr Hughton, I seem to recall it went down like a lead balloon with City fans as he never appeared to have a 'Plan B' (except with Dave of course)
