Premiership Draft, Qualifying Round: redzerdrog v eugeneious

Blatter

This will be one of three qualifying matches which will decide who enters the last 16.

The match will last for 48 hours, in which time the participants will need to outline their team, basic strategy, and strategy against their opponent.

Also, the voting will take place during this 48 hour period. There will be a poll but only votes with answers developed in a post will be taken into consideration. This development doesn't have to be paragraphs long, even a single sentence is fine. But don't vote until the competitors have had a chance to outline their teams.

Best of luck.

Blatter

eugeneious is not around at the moment but he sent me his write up and here it is:

Originally Posted by eugeneious
Goalkeeper:

For me Brad Friedel is still one of the best 'keepers around and has shown this already this season at Spurs with some incredible performances. It's testament to his ability that Hugo Lloris can't nail down the number 1 jersey because of Brad's form. Has everything a great 'keeper needs, great command of his area, of course wonderful reflexes, good distribution and great decision making. Also has a goal in him :pac: Anyway he will provide a very solid presence behind my back 4 and I don't think you could pick too many faults in Brad.

Defence:

With regards my full-backs O'Shea will give the side plenty of experience and is primarily there for his solid defensive ability, although that's not to say he can't be an attacking threat especially at set-pieces. Taylor on the other hand, while also very good defensively, provides a great attacking outlet on that left hand side and with Carrick in midfield to cover his position when he goes forward Taylor is the exact right type of player to have at left back and his form for Swansea last season and also Wales was consistently excellent.

In central defence Ferdinand and Vidic provide me with the perfect partnership. Obviously they have shown that they suit each others' games very well and I think while many on the draft have 2 good centre-backs, not many have two good-centre backs that balance each other out quite as well as Vidic and Rio do. Both of course possess a great threat from set piece situations. The most important thing about them is of course is their ability and imo Ferdinand has shown this season for Manchester United that he is still among the very best in the league and has even stood out as Utd's best player in some games (Liverpool away in particular comes to mind) and while I can understand people's reservations about Vidic due to his injury, he has also shown this season he is amongst the very best (imo along with Kompany the best) in the league and it was only this time last year when he was helping Utd on the way to 7 clean sheets in a row. Vital player and he is also my choice for captain of the side (just ahead of Vieira)

Midfield:

My midfield is, imo, the strongest area of my team and that is where I believe this team could win any game. First of all Carrick's job is to simply intercept any opposition passes and cover for the defence while also using his long range of passing to supply the likes of Johnson, Moses and Berbatov. People will say Carrick doesn't cope well when pressed by the opposition and this is one of the reasons why I felt it was important to pick two dynamic box-to-box midfielders like Ramires and Vieira who will help relive a lot of the pressure from Carrick. Everyone of course knows just how good Vieira is and imo he is the best player in this side and him and Ramires, who I think is second to only Yaya Toure as the league's best midfielder, will be the real engine of the team and will be immensely important in both defending and setting up attacking play and with their pace, especially that of Ramires', their ability on the counter attack with the pace of Moses as well is a very important strength that this team possesses.

Attack:

With Moses and Johnson either side of Berbatov I feel as though I have struck a perfect balance between the pace of Moses and the great technical ability of Johnson. Both of course are goal threats and imo both will work very well with Berbatov. Johnson also is a threat with set pieces with a very good technique in terms of his delivery from dead-balls. With regards Berbatov, he is just a class act. Only RVP has more goals/assists in the PL since 2008 and I think very little else needs to be said about his ability. Has had a very good goal record where ever he has been, PL golden boot winner and will of course be this team's main attacking threat and will be important in bringing the midfield and wide-men into play.

Blatter

Redzer isn't around until later on but here's his team:



People can vote away now if you feel a write up from redzer wouldn't change your mind either way.

Morzadec

Think I have to go for eugenious here. That midfield is excellent. Full of running, but also having the ability to knock it around and dominate possession. The defence is strong too. The attack is not the strongest but has a decent balance, and Berbatov is probably better than Torres at the moment.

Liam O

Morzadec wrote: »

Think I have to go for eugenious here. That midfield is excellent. Full of running, but also having the ability to knock it around and dominate possession. The defence is strong too. The attack is not the strongest but has a decent balance, and Berbatov is probably better than Torres at the moment.

At first glance eugenious looked significantly better, the more I look though the more even they seem, can't really make up my mind at the moment, think I'll leave it til tomorrow.

GLaDOS

eugeneious

I meant to vote for Eugeneious, got mixed up cause of the order of the thread title

I think his superior midfield would control the game and makes up for Redzerdog's superior attack.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Two very strong teams here. I would normally be against the 3-5-2 but it seems appropriate for Rederdog here with him having Bosingwa and Kolarov. Also think Barry and Wilshere would be a good midifeld pair although no match for Vieira and Ramires. I almost feel that Torres is a bit of a waste and just having Tevez on his own up top would have been a better bet. Also Reina hasn't been great for a while so is a bit of a downside.

For eugeneious, as I mentioned, Vieira and Ramires, along with Carrick, is a very strong midfield. Vidic and Ferdinand is a strong central defence but the fullbacks aren't the strongest. However the midfield and wingers should be able to help them out if exposed. Berba is in better form than Torres but up front the team is lacking a little bit in terms of a cutting edge.

All that said, I think I'll have to go with eugenious' team as there are fewer potential weak spots than redzerdog's team.

curry-muff

I'd have to go with eugenious, strong team all around whereas redzer has a brilliant strikeforce but left his backline and midfield a bit weak.

Also not a fan of 3-5-2, even with wingbacks.

redzerdrog

eugeneious

My Team:

Firstly I set out at the start of the draft to set my team out as 3-4-3/3-5-2 formation as I presumed the majority of teams would play some variant of 4-2-3-1 and I felt this would be a great formation to play against such teams and also I felt there was a lack of quality widemen available. I picked my team to be well balanced and players that fit and playing this year which is a big thing in my opinion. I also picked players that would suit my formation and not be shoehorned into a position.

GK - pepe reina
while Reina hasnt been playing up to his high standards he is still a quality keeper and better than the majority in the draft. i also picked Reina because he suits my team perfectly, I needed a keeper who can sweep in behind my back line and is also good on the ball. I dont think there is a better keeper in the draft for these 2 aspects of the game which are both crucial for my team.

Defence- At the centre of my the defence I have Sami Hyppia and what a player he was, one of the most solid CB to play in the premier league, reads the game so well and good with the ball at his feet.
Either side of Sami I picked two CB's that have played as full backs before, this is done so both will be comfortable on the ball and When Reina gets the ball these will spread wide and look for the ball. As the opposition only has one striker who doesnt like to move a whole lot I expect to get easy possession to build attacks.

wingbacks- I feel both kolorov and bosingwa will thrive in this position and will get forward with pace and urgency but also have the ability to get back and defend when needed. I expect kolorov in particular to cause havoc down his wing.

Midfield-
My centre midfield pairing on Barry and Wilshere I feel compliment eachother perfectly, is very well balanced and can control any game both are integral to their clubs success and are a great base for my team to build on.

Hoolahan is a classy player who while thrive in the space between midfield and attack and I expect him the give carrick the runaround just like he did a week ago.

up front:
Tevez and Torres

Tevez is back to his best and has been citys best player this year he will run all day and harry and hassle the defence, he will play just off torres who while he isnt torres of 2 years ago he is still better than a fair amount of strikers in the draft and still has 4 league goals this season in a team that doesnt play to his strengths. This team will with Torres not expected to get involved in any build up play etc he will hang on the shoulder of the last man and we will look to get quick ball from midfield into him. I feel that torres and tevez are a very strong combo for this way of playing

will right some more shortly

Comic Book Guy

Going to go with Eugeneious. 2 top box to box midfielders in vieira and ramires who combined would dominate that middle sector and supply the bullets to 2 tricky wingers and berba up front is in good form at the mo. He also has the ability to pick out the runs of the 2 middle men.
Carrick not the best when pressed but not likely to be a problem in that midfield. Very strong centre defence partnership too.

Jax Teller

Tevez , Hoolahan + another Cm would have worked much better than with Torres .

redzerdrog

eugeneious

eugeneious's team

Gk Is a player a like and a good pick

Defence I feel is an awful lot weaker people are saying this is vidic, rio and o'shea of today NOT 2 or 3 years ago. I think O' shea has been particularly poor this year, He seems to have disimproved alot since leaving utd. Rio has been in decent form. Vidic hasnt played 10 games in 2 years, give me a break if he was medically fit to play today there is not a hope he would be anywhere near previous ability and I think Torres and Tevez would give him a torrid time. Taylor while a decent play is also injured thus has to be classed as a liability.

So basically the defence consists on two crocks, a poor RB and Rio.

Midfield is quality but has its weaknesses. Carrick is a good player but needs time on the ball and that is something he wont get with both Tevez and Hoolahan hassling him. Viera is Viera and he is undoubted quality. ramires I feel is very like viera and both are box to box midfielder so i struggle to see who is going to dictate the game from midfield as a playmaker and also ramires has been in shocking form in recent weeks, again he was great last year but this year has been quite poor.

Wingers - Inconsistency personified

Striker- berba I like a lot but feel that Hyypia in his prime is more than capable of keeping berba quite

All in all I think that Defence is a liability in this team and I can not see my team not scoring, while I think my team has a better chance of keeping a clean sheet.

SirDelboy18

Redzer you are going on an awful lot about form - calling out eugenious on the form of his players, without acknowledging the form of your own players.

Gallas has been very poor this year - looked a liability on multiple occasions. Michael Dawson who went unpicked is a better player. I don't think much needs to be said about Torres - simply nowhere near what he was and hasn't been for some time. You say Chelsea don't play to his strengths - just another excuse to justify his poor performances over 2 years.

Bosingwa has been a disgrace this season. Looked completely disinterested, has turned in poor performance after poor performance and symbolised everything wrong with QPR under Hughes.

Reina has been extremely suspect for a very long time. I don't think that his ability to play out from the back can compensate the fact that he has become a liability on form dating back a year or two.

Will post my view of match itself tomorrow.

DDC1990

eugeneious

I think Redzers wins this by a good margin.

Much better balance to his team IMO.

Love th Hyypia selection at CB. Deals with strikers of Berbatov's ilk with ease (where he might struggle with a Luis Suarez for example).

The wingbacks are guys who love getting forward, and would whip crosses into the area for tw of the best strikers (on their day) to stick away.

I feel Redzer might have to channel rafa to get the best out of Torres, but its not so long ago that he was the best striker in the Premier League. Form is Temporary etc.

Think there are a lot of holes in Eugenious' team. Don't like the right hand side of defence, with Ferdinand and O'Shea. I could take or leave the attacking trio as well. Berbatov (like Torres) on his day can be brilliant, but I don't think Johnson and Moses would be a consistant threat to Redzers back 3.

bullvine

Eugeneious has a much better team, the midfield will totally dominate and with great width and a strong defense, they will be too strong. Its hard to talke a team with Gallas and Torres serious the way they have played this season. Also, I'd question the inclusion of Hyppia, a very good defender but can't help but think the pick was based on heart rather than head.

Donnielighto

eugeious takes this one for me, has polenty of outlets for balls if his defence is in trouble and his midfield should win this one easily. Also allows carrick to do what his main tlent is and whould have enough time on the ball to ping long passes. Really think gallas could suffer here. Tevez is the main hope for this team but redzer doesnt win enough matchups to take the game. Eugeneious by 2 or 3

G.K.

I like eugeneious's team style. It strikes me as very direct and he's picked a team that on the whole is very suited to it. I can't think of many better players to play alongside Carrick than those who he picked, who can benefit so so much from the energy that Vieira and Ramires provide. Taylor, Berba and Moses are very suited to the style too. Johnson and Moses will provide good cover for the FB's, especially considering they are only against wingbacks. However, I'm unsure about Johnson's reliability attacking-wise and extremely unsure about O'Shea as a FB. Those are things that can really hurt this team later on if he proresses.

As for redzer, as a rule I like back 3's. I feel they get unwarrented bad press for no reason. It seems like Redzer wants a lot of posession and he could well get it. It looks like his attacks will be focused on the inventiveness of Tevez and Hoolahan and the width from the wing backs - all looking to slip in Torres quickly. With Wilshere as well it seems like they have a number of players who can do this kind of thing. My worries are Bosingwa, who imo is useless and the mobility of his CB's - Gallas in particular.

How will they do in a matchup?

I think Redzer will dominate posession, especially with his midfield 3 as eugeneious' will be sitting quite deep in order to protect Carrick. On the flanks Kolarov will be key but Bosingwa will have negligible impact. The onus will fall on Hoolahan and Tevez to create. Can they create? Absolutely, but their outlets are limited and they can expect to be both harried by the likes of Ramires and Vieira and have Carrick cut off things with his defensive ability. With Torres playing as he is, there is a real possibility that there could be no goals from redzer's team. It will take a moment of magic from Tevez imo. Although Kolarov should have the beating of his flank, I think he'll just have a lack of options.

The big problem imo is that Wilshere cannot push up - because eugeneious's team have go a deadly counter attack. Taylor, Johnson, Moses, Ramires and Vieira can all get up from defending (Or covering in the wingers' cases) at one moment to attacking the next and you can't leave that reasonably immobile defense open to quick breaks consistently, especially when Carrick can be the one starting them. Kolarov doesn't have the pace of Moses so I don't see how he can help, and Bosingwa is not a good defender. Berba will keep Hyppia occupied, so if a midfielder storms past Barry or Moses breaks past Gallas it could be curtains, especially with the out-of-form Reina in goal.

Now, if eugeneious's team have been enjoying posession, I think that redzer's defense would be tough to break down. I see the battle as 7 v 5 with the wide CB's free. But as they are made for counterattacking, this won't be as much of a concern as if they were built for dominating posession.

All in all, I don't see many goals. Perhaps 1-0 to eugeneious on the break via Moses. He's got a great counter but the lack of a creative player in the midfield will hurt him later on, as will the weakness of some players. redzer had a really bad draw - the hardest thing for him to face was a counter-attacking team which imo stops Wilshere from giving him the extra body he needs going forward.

That writeup got a bit stae toward the end, sorry if it bores anyone.

eagle eye

I gotta go with eugenious too. I just don't like the wing backs on redzerdog's team.