World Cup Draft - The Final: Frisbee v Mr. Guappa

The Volt

With Necronomicon not responding to Frisbee's post in the semi final, I give to you our two finalists. Congrats to Frisbee and Mr. Guappa who have done really well to get this far, may the best team win and if you have voting rights, please use them.

Thanks

Mr. Guappa

I'll start by posting our respective line-ups:

My XI:


Frisbee's X1:

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Akinfeev

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Eboué

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Heitinga

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Piqué

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van Bronckhorst (C)

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Meireles

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Muntari

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van der Vaart

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Silva----

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Pelé

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Rooney

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My Left Flank:
Frisbee has previously stated that he would encourage van der Vaart to cut inside onto his left foot. This tactic would suit my defence down to the ground. When he cuts inside, van der Vaart will be running into a crowded area, with van Bommel and/or Zokora patrolling this area. With little space to manoeuvre in, I can see a lot of possession been lost by Frisbee's team in this area of the pitch. This would play to one of my main strengths, with van der Vaart having vacated his RM berth, the ball will be played out to Ashley Cole who will have the whole left side of the pitch to run into.
This will be a very productive area of the pitch for me, and with Eboue not renowned for his defensive play, I can see Cole and Clint Dempsey combining to great effect down this flank. Cole would have the beating of Eboue on his own, allowing Dempsey to get in the box with Eusebio and Thomas Mueller, which will create havoc for Frisbee's CB pairing.
Defensively I am confident that Cole and Dempsey will deal with Eboue when he comes forward.

Frisbee's attack vs. My Defence
With van der Vaart and Silva on the wings I think its clear that Frisbee's team does not have an awful lot of width. With minimal threat from wide areas, Cole and van der Wiel can tuck in close to Chiellini and Bruno Alves. With Zokora and van Bommel harrassing the wide players when they come inside and Pele when he drops deep, my defence is ideally suited to ensure that Frisbee's attackers get limited time and space on the ball, reducing their capacity to threaten Petr Cech in goal.
Of course Frisbee has some talented attackers, but van der Vaart and Silva were not first choice for their countries in South Africa, and Rooney had an extremely poor World Cup, which has to be taken into account in this draft. That just leaves Pele!! However, I think I've explained how I will shut down the time and space that he will get in dangerous areas of the pitch, and if he does manage to breach my defence, he still has to beat one of the very best 'keepers in the world.

Formations:
I think that this World Cup and recent League campaigns have shown that 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 to be a far more effective formation than 4-4-2. In addition to this I believe that all my players are in their natural positions where they will produce their best performances. Meanwhile, Frisbee has a number of square pegs in round holes, notably Eboue, van der Vaart and Rooney.
Arsene Wenger has identified Eboue's weakness as a RB and no longer plays him in this position in big games, preferring to utilise him as a RM. Van der Vaart is left-footed and is best suited to a LM or central attacking midfield role. He has been shoe-horned into Frisbee's team as a RM, which only puts more pressure on Eboue and clogs up the centre of the pitch. Rooney has played his best football as one half of a "Big-man Little-man" combo, or as last season as a lone striker, with support from wide areas. By deploying him in tandem with Pele, Frisbee is reducing the oppurtunities for Rooney to positively impact the game.

Meireles and Muntari:
I think that both of these are decent midfield players, although neither is by any means outstanding. As a partnership, I don't think they are going to be very effective at all. Neither is an out-and-out holding midfielder and I think that Cesc Fabregas will find plenty space in this area to pull the strings, play balls out to the flanks, and get a chance to run at Pique and Heitinga with the ball. Both Meireles and Muntari would be far more effective in a 3-man midfield, with a holding player giving them licence to roam forward.

My Attack vs. Frisbee's defence:
In this area of the pitch the pace and movement of my players will cause countless problems for Frisbee's backline. As previously stated, I don't think that Meireles and Muntari are defensively disciplined enough to provide consistent protection to their back four, giving Fabregas oppurtunities to dictate the play. Mueller will have enough pace and energy to give van Bronckorst problems on the right, and when Cole gets forward on the left Mueller will be driving ito the box to get on the end of things at the far post.
The pace and power of Eusebio will give Pique and in particular Heitinga a torrid time through the middle, and with Eusebio sometimes pulling into an inside-right channel and Mueller driving into the centre, Frisbee's defence will be pulled all over the pitch, allowing Fabregas and Dempsey to arrivie into the box from deep positions and get on the end of any crosses/breaks.
Pique has impressed me at Barcelona and with Spain. However, both of these teams command the majority of possession in most games and the defensive work required of Pique is not great. I would have concerns over how he will cope in a team that will be under a large amount of pressure throughout the game. His partner, Heitinga is a solid defender but no more than that. I think he will be exposed by Eusebio and the rest of my attack, piling more pressure on Pique to clean up.

Goalkeepers:
While their is not much to choose between Akinfeev and Cech, Cech has to be given the advantage here. He is more experienced and has been in far more big-game situations than his Russian opponent. While Akinfeev often looks like a good 'keeper, he has never been under the microscope at a big club in the way that Cech has at Chelsea.

Conclusion:
Basically I think that Frisbee has a one-man team (Pele). Whatever magic Pele can produce Eusebio is equally capable of producing at the other end. The difference is that Eusebio will have plenty support from his colleagues and won't be under as much pressure from the opposing defence.
I think that my team will win this game 3-1.

Frisbee

Here's my generic write up to start:


Pick 1: Wayne Rooney
Pick 2: Gerard Piqué
Pick 3: David Silva
Pick 4: Igor Akinfeev
Pick 5: Rafael van der Vaart
Pick 6: John Heitinga
Pick 7: Pelé
Pick 8: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Pick 9: Raul Meireles
Pick 10: Emmanuel Eboué
Pick 11: Sulley Muntari


Team Line-up:

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Akinfeev

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Eboué

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Heitinga

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Piqué

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van Bronckhorst (C)

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Meireles

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Muntari

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van der Vaart

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Silva----

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Pelé

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Rooney

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My team is based on being compact, working well as a unit across the whole pitch and getting attacks started from the back with direct play and counter attacking football.

Akinfeev is a top keeper who will help keep me in games by himself, he has brilliant reactions and is well capable of spotting the right ball and launching my team onto the front foot with a quick kick out or long throw.

Piqué and Heitinga are a centre back pairing that I think is going to work very well together. Piqué will play in the more sweeper role, using his intelligence and reading of the game to mop up any balls that are put through over the top or inside the full backs to an overlapping attacker and he also has the pace, height and strength to go head-to-head with any striker and use these attributes to win the ball back. Heitinga on the other hand will be the 'attacker' of this pairing, man marking the opposition centre forward and using his strength and leap to match them in the air or on the ground. If the other team is playing two centra forwards Piqué is perfectly capable of stepping forward from the 'sweeper' position and man marking the other centre forward.

Neither Eboué or Gio are the most attacking of full backs but they both give me solidity and dependability. Eboué is the more attacking of the two, having often been utilised at right wing for Arsenal when defending a lead to give them more defensive cover. He has pace, power and stamina and will take on board any instructions given to him and stick to them. He will have licence to get forward when the opportunity presents itself, thus allowing van der Vaart to step slightly more central and closer to Pelé and allow them to use their skill in there.
van Bronckhorst will have less attacking licence than Eboue mainly as I want a minimum of three at the back at alll times. Gio is an experienced campaigner and someone of his experience will be a brilliant calming influence on my team and he will reprise the captains armband he holds at both Feyenoord and with the Dutch national team here again. He also scores cracking 30 yard stunners in World Cup semi-finals.

Meireles and Muntari were two players I was hapy with for the position I got them in the draw as both can do the job I require of them very well and both are established midfielders. Neither will be playing as the typical anchorman style of defensive midfielder, but rather they will be used to chase and hassle any opposition players on the ball and once again both have very high levels of physical fitness to keep this up throughout an entire game. Muntari is all about pace and power, has a good tackle and is not afraid to get stuck in. Meireles also gives me an outlet in front of Pique for ball distribution, he is a very good passer of the ball and can easily spray balls forward for the onrushing wingers and forwards.

In my two wide men I will be getting different styles of play. van der Vaart on the right will be playing as less of an out and out winger, rather cutting inside more onto his left foot to have a pop, in turn this space he leaves will be open for Eboué to make an overlapping run into. The idea of playing left footers on the right wing and vice versa allows for more shots on goal and getting van der Vaart to cut inside anywhere inside 25m of the goal can easily have disastrous effects for the other team.
Silva will be operating as a slightly more standard wide man, using his pace and trickery to go past his man and deliver quality service into the box, something he is undoubtedly capable of doing. There is also the unpredictability value when it comes to Silva too, if a defender is sick of seeing him go past him down the line constantly he may try and block the line off in which case allowing Silva to cut inside where he is equally dangerous either shooting or supplying Pelé.

Pelé. To be honest I don't think there's a whole lot I can do to describe this one for you. Recognised the world over ans one of the greatest players of all time and by FIFA as joint best player of all time this guy is going to bring something really different to my team. 1087 goals in 1120 games for his hometown club Santos is a crazy scoring record and that was not even him playing as an out and out striker, but rather playing in the hole behind the frontman which is the same role he will be occupying in my team. A player of his skill is certainly someone who needs to be rigorously marked for an entire game and by my than one player. IF anyone does try and do this it leaves more time and space for the likes of Rooney, VDV and Silva which is something no team wants to be doing. Operating between the opposition midfield and defence is going to see him get a lot of the ball with time to turn at it and drive straight at the heart of the opposition defence which is where he can really hurt a team.

Rooney has the ability to be a match winner all of his own and will cause trouble for any defence in this competition. He's not had a great World Cup but he's just had his best ever season with United and with a fantastic goal return too, however Rooney brings so much more than goals to a team. His willingness to chase down every lost cause and not give any opposition defenders any time whatsoever on the ball as putting defenders under pressure will often lead to you regaining possession in some shape or form. Lethal in the air, running at defenders and inside and outside the box Rooney is the complete forward and brings a work rate that is second to none to my team also. His intelligence in making runs will also be a huge factor to the success of my team, if he chooses to drop deep he will drag a defender out of position and leave space for Pelé to drift into or even VDV or Silva to cut in from the flank and drive at the exposed gap in an oppositions defence. He also has the pace to match any defender in reaching a ball played over the top.

Frisbee

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

My Left Flank:
Frisbee has previously stated that he would encourage van der Vaart to cut inside onto his left foot. This tactic would suit my defence down to the ground. When he cuts inside, van der Vaart will be running into a crowded area, with van Bommel and/or Zokora patrolling this area. With little space to manoeuvre in, I can see a lot of possession been lost by Frisbee's team in this area of the pitch. This would play to one of my main strengths, with van der Vaart having vacated his RM berth, the ball will be played out to Ashley Cole who will have the whole left side of the pitch to run into.
This will be a very productive area of the pitch for me, and with Eboue not renowned for his defensive play, I can see Cole and Clint Dempsey combining to great effect down this flank. Cole would have the beating of Eboue on his own, allowing Dempsey to get in the box with Eusebio and Thomas Mueller, which will create havoc for Frisbee's CB pairing.
Defensively I am confident that Cole and Dempsey will deal with Eboue when he comes forward.

Your talking about VDV losing the ball when he cuts inside. VDV has the beating of either one of van Bommel or Zokora any day, and he won't have to contend with both of them as one of them is going to have to mark Pelé, who simply cannot be left free. Unless one of your CB's did it, in which case ou leave Rooney 1-on-1 with your other CB, which I'd dbe delighted with tbh.

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Frisbee's attack vs. My Defence
With van der Vaart and Silva on the wings I think its clear that Frisbee's team does not have an awful lot of width. With minimal threat from wide areas, Cole and van der Wiel can tuck in close to Chiellini and Bruno Alves. With Zokora and van Bommel harrassing the wide players when they come inside and Pele when he drops deep, my defence is ideally suited to ensure that Frisbee's attackers get limited time and space on the ball, reducing their capacity to threaten Petr Cech in goal.

Chiellini and Alves, while both good defenders, are a very pooor pairing imo. They are both very similair players and there is no-one in that defence capable of reading a situation before it unfolds and sweeping in behind to cut out any trouble. As for saying I've no width, I don't know if you've ever watched David Silva play? Yes he does a lot of his work in the centre but he's more than capable of:
(a) Getting to the byline and whipping in a cross.
(b) Tearing van der Wiel a new one.

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Of course Frisbee has some talented attackers, but van der Vaart and Silva were not first choice for their countries in South Africa, and Rooney had an extremely poor World Cup, which has to be taken into account in this draft. That just leaves Pele!! However, I think I've explained how I will shut down the time and space that he will get in dangerous areas of the pitch, and if he does manage to breach my defence, he still has to beat one of the very best 'keepers in the world.

Well in that case I may as well talk about your players too. You say VDV and Silva weren't first choice.
Fabregas for you was far from first chocie, he barely played.

Yes Rooney's poor form at the WC has to be taken into account, but so does his blistering form in the league this season, by comparison Dempsey had a poor league campaign missing a lot of it through injury, as did Ashley Cole.

Taking such a blunt approach and saying that my only attacking outlet is Pelé is a silly thing to say tbh. Silva has the beating of van der Wiel. VDV and Cole are well matched, Pelé would tear journeyman Zokora and van Bommel apart is on his game and given the chance.

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Formations:
I think that this World Cup and recent League campaigns have shown that 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 to be a far more effective formation than 4-4-2. In addition to this I believe that all my players are in their natural positions where they will produce their best performances. Meanwhile, Frisbee has a number of square pegs in round holes, notably Eboue, van der Vaart and Rooney.
Arsene Wenger has identified Eboue's weakness as a RB and no longer plays him in this position in big games, preferring to utilise him as a RM. Van der Vaart is left-footed and is best suited to a LM or central attacking midfield role. He has been shoe-horned into Frisbee's team as a RM, which only puts more pressure on Eboue and clogs up the centre of the pitch. Rooney has played his best football as one half of a "Big-man Little-man" combo, or as last season as a lone striker, with support from wide areas. By deploying him in tandem with Pele, Frisbee is reducing the oppurtunities for Rooney to positively impact the game.

Eboué played plenty of games for Arsenal at RB last year, he doesn't play the big games for one reason, there is a better RB at the club than him. He is a natural RB.

I've already explained my reasons for playing VDV on the right.

As you say Rooney had his best season ever in a United shirt playing up top on his own. Which is the exact position he is in here. Pelé isn't playing as a striker, Pelé was never a striker, it's a 4-5-1, or a 4-2-2-1-1 to be pedantic. No idea how you think I'm playing Pelé up front. So not only am I playing Rooney in his preferred position, I'm playing him in his preferred position with the best #10 of all time behind him, instead of what he had last year in Giggs/Anderson/Park.

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Meireles and Muntari:
I think that both of these are decent midfield players, although neither is by any means outstanding. As a partnership, I don't think they are going to be very effective at all. Neither is an out-and-out holding midfielder and I think that Cesc Fabregas will find plenty space in this area to pull the strings, play balls out to the flanks, and get a chance to run at Pique and Heitinga with the ball. Both Meireles and Muntari would be far more effective in a 3-man midfield, with a holding player giving them licence to roam forward.

Meireles and Muntair give me a solid base to build on and neither are supposed to be an out and out anchorman. As for Fabregas, I expect him to be very ineffective. You are playing him in an atrocious position. We tried to play him there at Arsenal two season ago and he was a passenger, he needs to play further back the pitch, playing him behind the striker which is what you're doing hwere is a waste of his talent.

As for your own CM pairing, both of them seriously lack pace, which is a glaring weakness I've spotted straight away, if either of them push up even slightly they'll really struggle to get back and cath up with the pace of my attackers on the break. van Bommel disgraced himself in the WC with the amount of bad challenges he put in and against the quick feet of Silva/VDV/Pelé I really wouldn't be suprised to see you end the game with ten men.

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

My Attack vs. Frisbee's defence:
In this area of the pitch the pace and movement of my players will cause countless problems for Frisbee's backline. As previously stated, I don't think that Meireles and Muntari are defensively disciplined enough to provide consistent protection to their back four, giving Fabregas oppurtunities to dictate the play.

Again, not quite sure how anyone can dictate the play from just behind the striker tbh.

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Pique has impressed me at Barcelona and with Spain. However, both of these teams command the majority of possession in most games and the defensive work required of Pique is not great. I would have concerns over how he will cope in a team that will be under a large amount of pressure throughout the game. His partner, Heitinga is a solid defender but no more than that. I think he will be exposed by Eusebio and the rest of my attack, piling more pressure on Pique to clean up.

Ah this old myth again, that Piqué is only a good defender because he plays in a team that keeps posession. I'm sick of hearing that shíte tbh. You don't have winners medals for two Champions Leagues, European Championships and the World Cup without being a good defender. Piqué is a very very good defender, and as I've said countless times in this draft as well as in Barca match threads he's not just made look good by his team keeping posession, he looks good because he is damn good.

As you say Heitinga is solid without being spectacular, however he is a great man marker, and as he ahs done in the other games he will man-mark your lone striker. I'm not saying he'll keep Eusebio out of the game, but he'll certainly make it difficult for him.

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Conclusion:
Basically I think that Frisbee has a one-man team (Pele). Whatever magic Pele can produce Eusebio is equally capable of producing at the other end. The difference is that Eusebio will have plenty support from his colleagues and won't be under as much pressure from the opposing defence.

I'm still confused as to where you're getting the one man team aspect from?

The Volt

Any more voters lads? Hurry!

Mr. Guappa

Can I lash out my winners speech yet? :pac:

curry-muff

Pretty sure you can, its been open plenty of time now.

And congrats, it was well deserved

Mr.Nice Guy

Mr. Guappa

Congrats Mr. Guappa. Both yourself and Frisbee formed very strong teams. Well done to Voltwad also for overseeing everything.

It seemed to me the general interest of the participants involved seemed to wane after the picks phase, which perhaps indicates that in future a knock-out format ought to be avoided when trying to determine the winner. I remember in the Premiership Draft game that was done a few years ago there was a similar situation. I would suggest that the next time something like this is attempted that after the picks phase finishes, people just vote for their favourite teams and we tally the votes that way, to lessen the chances of the enthusiasm for the game dropping off.

Mr. Guappa

Cool,

Delighted with my win.. commiserations to Frisbee on a hard fought final!

I thought there were at least half a dozen teams that could’ve won depending on the draw.

Fair play to everyone who took part, the picks stage especially was great fun and went along at a very good speed. Obviously enthusiasm waned once the first round of knock-outs was over; a change is probably needed for the next draft so that a winner can be determined within a week or so of the last pick.

And of course: Thanks to Voltwad (plus Frisbee) for running this.. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to keep a lid on things at times!

Frisbee

Congrats. I think the only reason interest waned was because it dragged on far too long. If it had have been started maybe two weeks earlier there would have been more World Cup buzz and people would have stayed interested and we could have stuck to a time frame rather than it dragging out and people not posting etc.

Haaving said that it was good fun and cheers to Mr. Guappa, Voltwad and everyone else involved.