Round 1: Frisbee vs Necronomicon

LuckyLloyd

Frisbee wrote: »

The Wildcats

Team in order it was picked
Peter Schmeichel
Dion Dublin
Lee Dixon
Nicolas Anelka
Nigel Winterburn
Ray Parlour
Lee Carsley
Lucas Neill
Jimmy Bullard
José Antonio Reyes
Ruel Fox

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Schmeichel

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Dixon

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Neill

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Winterburn

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Carsley

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Parlour

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Bullard

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Fox

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Reyes

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Anelka

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Dublin

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Tactics

I've gone with the decision of having three at the back as I feel I have players who can handle this at the back. For me Dixon is the best right back the Premier League has seen and Winterburn is certainly up there with the likes of Irwin and Le Saux. Both of my fullbacks offer good options going forward (Dixon particularly), but won't make the mistake of over stretching themselves and both have the pace to get back if caught.

My inclusion of Lucas Neill is something a lot of people in the draft will view as a bad move. However there was only himself and one other CB who hadn't been picked at the time that I felt offered the athleticism needed to work with three at the back, which is the tactic I wanted. Neill has pace, strength, and most importantly for me, good tactical awareness. His positional sense is very good and I recognised this as something that would be very helpful.

Carsley is there to do exactly what Carsley does best. Shield the defense from balls coming through on top of them, collect the ball from the CB and lay it on to the two more creative players I have in midfield. He is good at breaking down play and I will ask no more of him.

Parlour and Bullard I picked because of their creativity. They can both give that spark that a team needs to get a goal.
Bullard is a very underrated footballer imo. He's very skillful, has a great work ethic, and an absolute nutjob.
I've chosen to play Parlour (also fondly remembered as 'The Romford Pele) in a more central role than he would have played in for a lot of his Arsenal days. This is because towards the end of his time at Arsenal he was beginning to play more in the middle of the park than on the right wing and it was then that I believe we saw some of Parlour's best football.
A midfield pairing of Parlour and Bullard is very much something I'd like to see going forward. However both are never afraid of a hard graft and will certainly not shirk their defensive duties.

On the flanks I've really gone all out offensive.
Fox is a very tricky winger who will be very hard to play against no matter how good of a full-back you are. His ability to go by players and get a ball in the box is outstanding and he is widely remembered as a great passer of the ball. With pace to burn he will be looking to catch opposition full-backs on their own and exploit their weaknesses.
Reyes is similair but not as skillful as Fox. He relies more on speed and pure brawn to get him around defenders. He has a fantastic left foot and is equally adept at getting a good ball into the box. However he will be encouraged to shoot if he feels as he has scored some absolute dingers in his time.

Now onto my forwards. This is the part of my team I'm most happy with.
Dublin and Anelka are an ideal combination for me.
With quality crosses coming in from the likes of Fox and Reyes, Dublin and Anelka will score more than the lions share of goals as both are fantastic headers of the ball.
Even balls pumped long from Parlour or Bullard, both of whom are good at deliveries, can be met by either with a mind to flick on to the other.
With Dublin laying off balls for Anelka from long balls I can see my team scoring plenty of goals.
Yes there has been questions over Anelka's mentality etc. however put him in a team that can get good ball to him and you will see he is a very clinical finisher and a consistent striker.
Both of my strikers are members of the Premier League 100 Goals club so I don't think I'll have a problem coming across goals.

I have no real superstars in my team, the closest you could come to was Anelka. This was because I made the decision to go with a goalkeeper first. I don't regret this decision in the slightest. Yes it meant I missed out on one of the 'big' flair players. however of all the keepers in this draft Schmeichel and Seaman are head and shoulders above the rest. Yes many more were very good or decent keepers, but nowhere close to Peter or David. Schmeichel is the kind of keeper than will win you a game by himself.
So because of this I decided to design my team as an actual team that I felt would work well together rather than a collection of individual superstars.
The front four and one of either Parlour or Bullard will attack as a unit, and if they lsoe the ball all will defend as a unit. Dublin and Reyes in particular are two attackers who always showed good commitment in tracking their man back, something that is a big benefit in modern day football.

Corners Left: Jimmy Bullard
Corners Right: Jimmy Bullard
DFK Left: Jimmy Bullard
DFK Right: José Antonio Reyes
IFK Left: José Antonio Reyes
IFK Right: Jimmy Bullard
Penalties: Nicolas Anelka

Captain: Lee Dixon

vs

Necronomicon wrote: »

Team: Jip Jaap United

Order:

Ryan Giggs
The greatest left winger ever to play in the Premiership. Manchester United's record appearance holder, and the captain of Jip Jaap United.

Jaap Stam
It's a shame he only had a few seasons at United, but he was solid as a rock and not in the least out of place as a second round pick.

David James
Seemingly gets better with age. He was a rock last season and a quick look in 'team of the season' threads will reflect that. In 2007 he eclipsed David Seaman's record of 141 clean sheets. England's No.1.

Gus Poyet
Bringing some class to my midfield is the Uruguayan who was a fan favourite at both Chelsea and Spurs, with a terrific goal-scoring record from midfield

Dimitar Berbatov
The Bulgarian had a very good record for Spurs (just under a goal every other game) and has an eye for the spectacular. Still finding his feet at United, but his record isn't bad so far. 8 goals and a bagful of assists, showing signs of what made him so sought after.

Henning Berg
Solid right back and the only player to win the Premiership with two different teams. Also part of the Treble-winning Man United side.

Sylvain Wiltord
It had been a toss up between Berg and Wiltord, and I was astounded that he was still free when the draft came back my way. He can play right wing or just off the front man. Recently included in Arsenal's Top 50 players of all time.

Ugo Ehiogu
I was delighted to get someone of his experience late on. Very solid centre back with hundreds of appearences, as well as a couple of League Cups to his name.

Scott Parker
I needed someone combative to complement Poyet in midfield, and I think he was good value at that stage of the draft. It really boggles me how many Premiership clubs he's been at for someone his age, I think he's quality.

Julian Dicks
I finished my defence off with Dicks, ensuring that I'd have a rock solid, if perhaps unadventurous, back four. With that cannon of a left-foot, he's my penalty taker.

Fabrizio Ravanelli
In my original write-up for Ravanelli I said it's a pity he never played for one of the top sides, and two relegations really belies his goal-scoring form.


How they line up

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James

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----Berg

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Stam

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Ehiogu

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Dicks---

----Wiltord

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Parker

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Poyet

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Giggs(c)-

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Berbatov

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Ravanelli

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Defence

I think I've as solid a CB pairing as any in this draft, with two very reliable full-backs to complement. They probably won't get forward as much as others in the draft, but I'm confident I've enough creativity ahead. If they are breached, I've one of the most experienced goalkeepers as the last line of defence. If there's one collective area I'm happy with, it's my defence.

Midfield
I think I have a good balance in midfield; Poyet will get forward plenty and link up with Berbatov and Ravanelli, with Parker providing the stability for him to do so. Playing a conventional 4-4-2 I feel I have one of the best flank combinations in Wiltord and Giggs. Not only will they be supportive of the front two, but both are capable of delivering plenty of decent crosses for a striker who scored a lot with his head in Ravanelli.

Attack
Berbatov and Ravanelli would be an awesome partnership. Berbatov dropping a little deeper and linking up play with the midfield combined with the fox-in-the-box mentality of the White Feather. Berbatov's intelligence and Ravanelli's clinical finishing should ensure the goals don't dry up.

Frisbee

Necronomicon

A lot of people are saying that my defence is too weak.

Schmeichel - Definitely the best GK to play in the Premiership

Dixon - The best RB to play in the Premiership

Winterburn - Top 3 with Le Saux and Irwin

Neill - I knew when I picked Neill I'd have to deal with people saying he's too defensively weak to play as the middleman in a back three. I picked Neill because of his athleticism. Neill is a very powerful player with good pace.
Of course people are entitled to vote whichever way they feel but I think alot of people are singling out Neill as a weak point because he's spent his career with Blackburn and West Ham. I would easily put Neill in the top ten CB's currently in the Premiership, imo anyway.

SO I'm struggling to see why people are saying my defence is so weak based purely on Neill when you factor the other 3 into it.
Playing Carsley, as I stated in my first post, is like playing another full back.
He is literally going to plonk himself in front of the defence and stay there for the duration of the game.

Also I think people are focusing too much on how 'weak' my defence is. With players like Anelka, Dublin, Fox and Parlour I will certainly score plenty of goals.
Also Fox and Reyes have the beating of Berg and Dicks whether by skill or pace.

Plus if things get too out of hand Dublin is more than capable to slot in at CB for me.