Draft Last 16: Incognito Man vs Blatter

Frankie Lee

Poll will be added when both teams are up, but votes in the thread with a little reasoning will be the ones that count towards the winner.
Voting finishes 24 hours after the second player's team is announced.
Best of luck.

IncognitoMan

Heres my side and I want to say I've had fun picking it and following the draft over the last few weeks. Good Luck to Blatter and may the best side win.

So my team will set up in a 442 diamond formation or 433 depending on how you look at it with Mata having a free roll.

Looking at Blatters side he's very strong up front but of the few defenders available in this draft that could keep Shearer quite I think I have one in Tony Adams, also my midfield would outplay his and as a result restrict his side from creating enough chances to win this one as its probably the weakest point of his side.

I also have a better center back pairing and RVP, Keane and Mata are more than capable of getting goals from Southgate and Gallas.

Up front I have two real goal scorers in RVP (142 league goals) and Keane(126 league goals). They are supplied by a free roaming Mata who during his best league seasons with Chelsea knocked up 18 goals and 25 assists across that period.

Moving into my midfield I think I have picked a midfield that has a good balance to it in that I have a playmaker and someone to control the tempo of the match in Modric, I have someone who can cover every blade of grass out there in Fletcher(who has shown his worth time and time again in big games for man utd) and someone to sit at the base and offer protection to my center backs in the form of Emmanuel Petit.

In the defence I have two members of that famous solid Arsenal defence of the 90s in Adams and Dixon. To partner Adams i think Distin will complement him very well. Tony Dorigo and Lee Dixon are my full backs two good solid pros

My keeper is one of the best shot stoppers around and a man who has kept whatever team he was playing for in many matches.

Subs bench:

Jagielka
Hargreaves
Santi Cazorla

Blatter

First off, I'd like to wish IncognitoMan the best of luck.



I believe Schmeichel in goal is a massive asset. He's almost always in the conversation when talking about the GOAT goalkeepers. His ability to make one v one saves is immense and he often made even the best of strikers to second guess themselves up against him. He was also a great organiser and had outstanding authority in the penalty area. I believe these attributes greatly increase the confidence of the back 4 ahead of him and thus makes the defense that bit more assured. In games where chances will be few and far between (a lot of games in this draft) I think he can be a key difference.

My back 4 itself is very solid. In Evra and G. Neville, I have two of the most accomplished fullbacks in PL history. Both solid defensively and both offer a great deal going forward. Evra's ability to link up play at a high level added to his searing pace and quality of his dribbling, offers me a great outlet down the left. Most know about Neville so no need to go into too much depth. First and foremost he was a quality defender but he also offered very good width and had a very good cross on him.

Southgate and Gallas as the CBs are very reliable and have a nice mixture of pace and strength.

I think Dacourt and Di Matteo are a good duo in the centre of midfield. For those who aren't familiar with Dacourt, I'd liken him to a Vieira in style (although obviously not as good). Very combative and energetic, assured in possession and has a touch of class about him. Di Matteo will be the more creative of the duo. He had a fantastic range of passing but could also get stuck in and work hard. I don't think the two of them will set the world light in comparison to other CMs in the draft but at the same time I think they'll be well able to hold their own and not roll over.

Malouda on the left will offer good width but also if you remember his peak days at Chelsea, he often tucked in close to the CMs when his stamina and work rate was at it's highest, which helps to prevent the midfield getting overrun. I believe his directness will suit Shearer down to the ground.

Wiltord on the other side will provide a real goal threat as well as a strong work rate and counter attacking threat with his pace. His incisive runs inside won't be wasted with the vision and creative talent of Bergkamp in the side.

There isn't too much to say about Bergkamp, most people are aware of his qualities. Not the most prolific of goalscorers but he doesn't need to be when he's in the same side as Shearer, as well as having good goal threats from the wings. His creative input and vision was second to none in the PL. He'll also relax the workload of the midfielders by keeping possession of the ball.

Like Bergkamp, there isn't too much to say about Shearer that people already don't know. I'd just like to point out that Shearer (pre injuries) was fairly quick in comparison to his later years. His hold up play will help bring the best out of Bergkamp and the wingers and his finishing will help get the best out of them.


VS. IncognitoMan

This is a fairlty fomidable team I'll be playing against. The midfield is very strong and there's little chance of dominating possession but thankfully I won't need to. I presume IncognitoMan will play with a diamond midfield, devoid of natural width. My team will sit back (although not too deep) and remain fairly compact. I think Malouda and Wiltord would get a lot of joy on the break and along with Evra and Neville, create 2 v 1 situations of the flanks. This will lead to IncognitoMan's CMs coming across to help out, which will in turn create pockets of space for Bergkamp to thrive on. I also think crosses (from Malouda and Neville in particular) towards Shearer, will cause a lot of problems for Given, who wasn't the best at coming off his line and commanding his area.

I think I can nick this one by the odd goal.

Morzadec

Blatter just has an awesome team imo.

Arguably the best 9 and 10 we've seen, probably the best right-back, one of the best left-backs and probably the best goalkeeper

Shearer and Bergkamp is an excellent front 2. Wiltord and Malouda are handy on the wings and very pacey. Lack of pace in Incognito Man's backline perhaps.

RVP and Adams are probably the only players who stand out with real star quality on IM's team.

IM might have a little joy in the midfield with Petit and Modric but Blatter's team takes it for me

bucketybuck

I'm reminded that Alan Shearer scored a hat trick on his debut - against Tony Adams' Arsenal!

Two very even teams, its going to be hard to separate them. Blatter might have more players who were among the best in their position than any other team in the draft, and backed up by a solid support cast. If he has a weakness for me its on the wings. Not saying they are bad players, but I would prefer a more direct winger than Wiltord in there, and Malouda does have the stench of some very bad seasons at Chelsea hanging over him. When he was good he was very good though. I also like Blatters midfield, mainly because I wanted both of them myself!

Incognitoman has more question marks for me, the biggest one of all being Tony Dorigo, I remember him well and I just wish I was unleashing Ronaldo upon him. I also wonder how well Keane, Mata and Van Persie will gel, but I do like the midfield, its as balanced a midfield three as you will get in this draft. Distin? He was good but definitely at the lower end of the scale compared to other defenders in the draft, Blatter has the better pairing for me.

I think Incognito wins the midfield battle but struggles with width, with Mata proving to be ineffective in a tight game. Blatter has the better team and gets my vote.

SlickRic

Has to be Blatter.

IM hasn't enough of an advantage in midfield to control things enough in order to get it done.

Blatter just has too much elsewhere.

Also, the Distin/Dorigo axis will be preyed upon mercilessly by Shearer.

redzerdrog

very very close here but i think ICM just pips it here.

Midfield battles are often key in the bigger games and I can see ICM dominating thishere as a result Blatter wont get the best of his weapons in Shearer and Berkamp. I think to get the best out of both you need to dominate possession which i cant see blatters midfield doing. A counter attacking team would best exploit the weaknesses in icm team.
I really think it comes down to fine margins and icm team just have more functionality for me

#15

I don't like Blatter's midfield at all but the rest of his team is excellent. I would be leaning towards picking Blatter based on the strength of his defence and attack.

edit: Redzerdrog has made me reconsider this now.

Liam O

IM has a better central defence and midfield by a pretty good distance which is unfortunate as Blatter has a very good attack but they are not going to get the chance to do it in this game.

Chrissybhoy

ICM just for me. I think even tho Shearer is the EPL greatest goalscorer RVP and Keane might score a goal more against blatter defense

GLaDOS

I vote for Blatter, although it is a close one. While ICM has a slight advantage in the back 4, I think Schmeichel in goal vs Given evens things up. I feel ICM's team is very narrow, and Blatter's team can exploit that, with 2 strong wide men, backed up by 2 of the best attacking full backs to play in the EPL. I think he'd get a lot of joy out wide, especially with Bergkamp linking things up and Shearer would be sure to put away the chances created.

#15

Absolute best case scenario for Blatter's midfield is that they hold their own imo.

They have potential to get overrun too.

The rest of his team is excellent. I'm torn.

Are the managers allowed to make follow up posts to argue points raised by commenters? Or are we meant to decide based on their OPs alone?

SlickRic

I'm pretty sure it's OPs alone.

It would give someone with more time and access a distinct advantage. Best to just leave it at the OPs.

redzerdrog

SlickRic wrote: »

I'm pretty sure it's OPs alone.

It would give someone with more time and access a distinct advantage. Best to just leave it at the OPs.

surely you need to be able to counter argue once the teams are in as is we dont know what formation/players the oposition pick when we name our teams

SlickRic

redzerdrog wrote: »

surely you need to be able to counter argue once the teams are in as is we dont know what formation/players the oposition pick when we name our teams

Yeah, like I did in my game, maybe make a post once you know the opposition team.

It's back and forths that should probably be avoided.

Yes, it's probably frustrating, I'm already frustrated looking at some of the posts in my game, but it's the simplest way of doing it.

Brien

Incognito Man takes my vote here based on set up. Shearer and Bergkamp have an almighty challange against the 5 man defence, and I dont rate Malouda and Wiltord on the attack as much as Fletcher sweeping up for modric to get forward, then having Mata with space between Dacourt / Gallas / Southgate, I'd bet on Mata finding RVP and Keane more then a few times in the game.

My heart says Schmeichel and Shearer win it on their own, but I've gone against it. Both very good teams though

Blatter

No. 1 One Direction Fan wrote: »

backed up by 2 of the best attacking full backs to play in the EPL.

Adding nothing new here as I already said it in my OP, but I feel the above is a crucial point that is going to be underestimated by many. They are a vital part of the attack, particularly against a diamond formation.

Winston Payne

It's tight, but I'm going to give my vote to Blatter.

Incognito Man's attack VS Blatter's defence:
The central duel is 1-1 for me. van Persie in the form he was in for the calendar year of 2012 scores at least one in this game. Southgate was a decent player and a good pro, but he wouldn't have the class to keep van Persie out. I'd back William Gallas to keep tabs on Robbie Keane though. Neville and Evra are a very good pair of fullbacks and they have a lot of space and not a lot else in front of them. Given the shape of the match either can tuck in and make it tight along the box to squeeze the space that van Persie and Keane have, or support their centre half in their battle with the striker.


The midfield battle:
Incognito Man has a numerical advantage and a better midfield I would say. How this is brought to bear is another question. Dacourt and Di Matteo are both comfortable pressing in on their immediate opponents in Mata and Modric, or dropping deep to shield the defence. Neither of Mata or Modric are especially quick either, alleviating worries about the space in behind. Malouda and Fletcher would shuttle with each other up and down the pitch, and space would be at a premium. Blatter wouldn't be too concerned about Petit on the ball in the centre circle and beyond. He's not going to run past people or present a long-range shooting threat. While Incognito Man would enjoy most of the possession, I'm not sure Blatter would be too worried about that with his team capable of forming a very solid shape and also with space to break into, particularly out wide, when on the counterattack.


Blatter's attack VS Incognito Man's defence:
The best striking partnership in the draft. That's what Incognito Man has to keep out. The Premier League's best number nine and one of it's best second strikers, who would be a very natural foil for each other. A mid-twenties Alan Shearer was no slouch either, another threat on the counter. I'd back Shearer to score against that defence even if he was up front on his own, and he will have ball from Bergkamp coming into him, remember.

From what I've heard Tony Dorigo was always more of a wingback than a full back and he's up against a quick player with good movement in Sylvain Wiltord. Wiltord is one of the last players I would want running against my full back if there were positioning concerns with him. Fletcher would cover Dixon pretty well against Malouda I feel, and the Englishman was as solid as could be in his long career anyway. Overall I think Blatter has the edge in this contest.


The balance of the game:
The pattern of the game would be fairly simple. Incognito Man would enjoy most of the ball, in central areas, and look to play through Blatter. Blatter's team would be deep for the most part, looking to break out wide or through Bergkamp dropping towards the halfway line and then with the Dutchman playing a ball in behind for Shearer or spreading the ball wide looking to get in behind Incognito Man's full backs. I do think Petit would make a half-decent fist of picking up Bergkamp for the most part, but Incognito Man's left side is a big weakness with the pace of Wiltord and the support of Neville against Dorigo. Modric is hardly going to offer flawless cover there either, whereas Fletcher will be more solid against Malouda. Blatter has the better strike partnership that can make something out of nothing through either player. Set pieces against Given spell huge danger. too Blatter would win by the odd goal in my opinion, 2-1.

keeponhurling

I go for incognito.

When you consider these players would all be at their peak, that's an awesome team.

Despite Shearer and Schmeichel, there's a few in the other team that are quite underwhelming

Ferris_Bueller

Tough one to call. For the majority of the draft I thought Blatter was going to be the favourite, but some of his selections left him weak in key areas, mainly central midfield. IncognitoMans set up looks like it would exploit Blatters team - he should dominate the middle of the pitch, Adams is one of the top defenders of the PL era and Dixon is a very sold right full who will be able to deal with Malouda and Evra I think. Despite Blatter having arguably one of the best GKs, RB, LB and two of the best forwards I think his weaknesses let him down more than Incognitos do, can't help but think of how many chances Keane & Van Persie would get with Modric and Mata supplying them with passes, Schmeichel will be an asset but in the end I can see IncognitoMan shading this 2-1.

IncognitoMan

#15 just to confirm did you vote for blatter or change your mind to me?

#15

IncognitoMan wrote: »

#15 just to confirm did you vote for blatter or change your mind to me?

Actually haven't cast my vote yet. Going to wait until tomorrow. It's a really close one and I can't decide at the minute!

IncognitoMan

Also I just wanted to say to anyone who is saying Distin isn't that good. A peak Distin is a pretty athletic defender and I think that would complement Adams game. Thats what I've tried to do around the pitch pick players who would offer different things to the overall team.

Winston Payne wrote: »

Blatter wouldn't be too concerned about Petit on the ball in the centre circle and beyond. He's not going to run past people or present a long-range shooting threat.

I just want to show this video to anyone who maybe doesn't fully remember Petit for Arsenal but one thing is for certain you should definitely be worried about him having possession in the center circle with Strikers like Keane and RVP who love to play on the shoulder of the last defender and even Mata roaming around picking up the space left open.

From about 48 seconds in it starts showing him picking his out his strikers with long range passing and also shows him getting a goal or 2.

PhlegmyMoses

If Blatter had managed to get one top level midfielder, this would be a walkover. But Incognito is set up really well there and I can see Blatter's team struggling to get the ball back in there to feed it to his superior wingers and forwards.

Distin and Dorigo is definitely a weak link, especially against Bergkamp and Shearer. Hard to choose who would win this.

Soups123

Two excellent teams, slept on my vote!

IM has my vote, excellent balance overall his 'lesser' players at there peak were top draw, very similar to blatter I just feel his midfield is too week.

Great teams and well debated best ive seen so far.

SlickRic

with all due respect to IM, I don't see how this is all THAT close.

i don't think Blatter's team would win easily, or indeed every time by any means, but literally the only issue people seem to have is Dacourt and di Matteo.

midfield is the only area IM has any advantage IMO, and it's not a huge one. we're not talking Madrid's Modric here, and Fletcher was never elite.

Skylinehead

Blatter for me. Adams is very good, but Distin might struggle against a peak Shearer and Bergkamp gives any defender trouble. Good wingers, a solid midfield that isn't going to give much away, and peak Gallas and Southgate should be fairly ok against Keane and van Persie, maybe letting a van Persie goal in. Blatters fullbacks are better too. 2-1 Blatter.

Blatter

I'd also add that I'm not sure you'd get the best out of Modric on the left of a diamond. In that position, there's an emphasis on supporting the attack and defense from wide areas which IMO would somewhat take away from Modric's major skill; dictating the game from the centre of the park. I don't think he has the stamina and energy required to make up ground out wide efficiently.

I'm trying to think of players like him that have excelled in a wide position of the diamond and I can't think of any (I could be wrong on that!)

The great Milan side was one of the few elite teams to use the diamond over a consistent spell and I always remember Pirlo (Modric like) at the base, with Gatusso and Seedorf playing the wider CM roles.

I would also say that Keane and sometimes van Persie (although less so in his peak years) have a natural tendency to drop deep, which wouldn't overly suit Mata, who thrives on runners in behind. That might be nitpicking though.

SlickRic

Blatter wrote: »

I would also say that Keane and sometimes van Persie (although less so in his peak years) have a natural tendency to drop deep, which wouldn't overly suit Mata, who thrives on runners in behind. That might be nitpicking though.

yeah, to be fair, they can both play on the shoulder of defenders very effectively, so I don't think that'd specifically be an issue necessarily.

redzerdrog

I am intrigued to what way the poll fares out on this game.

Blatter makes a very good point regarding the use of his fullbacks against the diomand formation.

This one will down to the wire

Blatter

SlickRic wrote: »

yeah, to be fair, they can both play on the shoulder of defenders very effectively, so I don't think that'd specifically be an issue necessarily.

Yeah that's true. I just think it'd be handy if one one of them was direct with blistering pace that was comfortable at drifting out wide at times which would help with stretching the game a bit and create a bit more space in the centre.

I actually picked Adebayor as an option for that exact reason.

Van persie could do it well when he was younger but just happened to peak as a player at a time when he had sort of lost that ability due to injuries after losing a yard of pace. As I said though, not really a huge issue.

IncognitoMan

SlickRic wrote: »

with all due respect to IM, I don't see how this is all THAT close.

i don't think Blatter's team would win easily, or indeed every time by any means, but literally the only issue people seem to have is Dacourt and di Matteo.

midfield is the only area IM has any advantage IMO, and it's not a huge one. we're not talking Madrid's Modric here, and Fletcher was never elite.

Well the votes seem to say otherwise. Midfield is probably the most important part of the game in fairness. If you are going to dominate any area that'd the one to do so. You can have the best strikers in the world if you have a poor midfield they will be no use to you.

Just look at how man utd have struggled in recent weeks with rooney in there who isn't a natural midfielder and you see the importance of a strong midfield.

Also it's not like I'm carrying Sunday league footballers up top or at the back. At his peak Rvp is as good as Shearer. He didn't do it for as long but in 2012 Rvp was by far the best player in the league. And Adams is one of top 2 or 3 defenders available in this draft.

Iused2likebusts

Blatter for me. He has a great defence and front 2. Wiltord and malouda are fairly direct and good runners off their wings and due to the way IM has set up his team in a diamond they should have the space to do this.

IncognitoMan

7 all by my count at the moment

v3ttel

I've gone for Blatter. I prefer the balance of his team overall.

It strikes me that without natural width, IMs team would dominate possession but would struggle to breakdown a well organised side. There isn't really anyone to inject any directness for a bit of variation.

SlickRic

just a bump.

a few hours to go.

menoscemo

Again, two very good teams but I just went with Blatter. I feel the two teams are equally matched in defence and MF but Blatter's front 2 are just too strong and they would have great service from the wings. I think Malouda and Wiltord are underrated.

eagle eye

Blatter for me and it comes down to the lack of width in Incognito Man's team. If you don't spread them out then you have no hope of breaking through Blatter's defense imo. Blatter has a very solid lineup and I think he wins this one comfortably.

ctrl-alt-delete

Very close one to call for me.

I think Incognito Man will have more joy in the centre of the park, but i think Blatter's team has the attributes to be lethal on the counter attack.

No doubt both teams will score, but I think Blatter's team will be more clinical with their chances, winning by the odd goal.

Frankie Lee

Blatter takes it 10-7 in the end after a close contest. Good game lads.

IncognitoMan

Well done Blatter and good luck in the rest of the competition

Blatter

Cheers, good game. Thought you were going to edge it in votes for a bit. It'll be intriguing to see how the pole votes went.

IncognitoMan

Well I just voted for myself so there's one more. When does it go public?

Blatter

Voted for myself as well! :pac:

I presume they'll be up 24 hours after Slick added the poll, around half an hours time.

Frankie Lee

17 minutes past 9 it will be public.