Boards.ie 2019 Draft Game 4 - Mr.Nice Guy v Lucas Hood

IncognitoMan

This is the thread for Mr.Nice Guy v Lucas Hood

If you want to use a site to set you side out these are good:

https://this11.com/#!/editor/

https://www.buildlineup.com/

Each poster can go as in detail as you wish in your write ups incuding set up for your own side. Once the two posters have set out their teams they are allowed one post each to explain their gameplan against their opposition (exposing the other teams weakness or to draw attention to a player they think doesn't work in the other team etc).

I would ask people to hold off casting votes until both posters have submitted their teams.

If one team does not set put their side/tactics inside a 24hr period they will automatically forfeit the tie.

Each poster who votes must give some kind of reason in the thread as to why they voted one way or another to have their vote in the poll counted. This is in the interest of fairness and to discourage voting because you like/dislike a certain poster and to encourage voting for a set of players/ tactical approach instead.

Good luck to both posters.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lucas Hood

My team:

My thought process...

I decided early on when I made my first pick of Frank Lampard that I wanted my team to be very much in the mould of Mourinho's 4-3-3 Chelsea side from his first run there. With that being the case I sought a team with a strong spine, coupled with exciting wide men, and a clinical finisher, not to mention a stubborn defence, and so I hope that's the impression my XI provides.

Given that it was the centre of the park that caught my eye for my first pick, I will begin explaning my thoughts there:

Midfield

The pick of Frank Lampard was a key component of my team. It was mentioned that longevity and peak performance would be taken into account, and if so then Frank Lampard surely becomes one of the game's most valuable assets. He has scored more goals than any midfielder in the league, notching up double figures in ten straight seasons, and is also the fourth all-time assist provider. That is incredible consistency I think it's fair to say.

As mentioned, I wanted my midfield to resemble what Lampard played with at club level. He would tend to be paired with a box-to-box type (Essien for example) and usually would have a holding midfielder to protect (e.g. Makelele). For my box-to-box role I chose Darren Fletcher, a player who, while admittedly not the most glamorous of options, at his peak in the late 2000s had become one of Ferguson's most trusted lieutenants, someone Ferguson has described as a "big game player", and making the PFA Team of the Season in 09-10. With his energy, workrate and desire to play the ball forward, he fulfils what I need in this position. And behind the pair of them adding an extra layer of protection in the holding role is Didi Hamann, a sitting player adept at tidying up, as well as capable of pinging some lovely passes to the forward channels for my attackers to utilise.

I wanted my midfield to have a healthy balance and I think this trio of a forward-thinking player, a midfield dynamo, and a deep-lying player gives me that.

Attack

It is up top where I think I have my team's USP: the Arjen Robben and Damien Duff partnership, so devastating in Mourinho's first spell. These two love to be direct and run at the opposition, and had a habit of combining well together that was rare for wingers. Both are also flexible enough to alternate on either wing should that be so desired.

As noted, I wanted my team to have that type of '05/'06 Chelsea vibe to it, and felt I needed someone who could play the lone striker which Didier Drogba did so well. In Ruud Van Nistelrooy I have a top tier striker that can fulfil this role for me. Van Nistelrooy is comfortable working up top on his own, and of course has historically worked well with Robben.

With these two wingers bombing forward, dribbling inside, they will stretch opposition FBs, allowing my own FBs the option to overlap and exploit the space. Should my wingers beat their man, opposition CBs will face the dilemma of whether to go and close the space, knowing by doing so they will then give one of the all-time great fox-in-the-box strikers in Van Nistelrooy the chance to move into a shooting positon, not to mention Lampard's late runs into the box as a further headache. There should be enough chances created over 90 minutes for my team to get on the scoresheet.

Defence

I wanted a big strong character at the heart of defence and in Jaap Stam I have one of the most physically dominant CBs the league has ever seen. I sought someone alongside him that could be mobile and aggressive in winning the ball, and considered the likes of Otamendi - who ended up unpicked - but I though Stephane Henchoz was an ideal partner because I had the famous Hyypia and Henchoz combo in my mind. I feel Stam and Henchoz would work similarly well as a partnership, with attributes that complement one another well. Those two will not be bullied.

In Steve Finnan and Danny Rose as my full-backs I have two dependable players that have each made the PFA Team of the Year (back-to-back in Rose's case), and who are both competent going forward, as well as winning back possession.

Finally, with Brad Friedel, one of the Premier League's longest and most respected servants in goal, who had a habit of being an absolute wall when at his peak, I don't see this team giving away too many opportunities. Again this fits the Mourinho style model I was looking for: solid at the back, dangerous when springing forward.

Final Thoughts

There are many fine teams in this draft, my opponent for this round being one of them, and I believe my team is very well suited for finding match-winning moments in such tight contests as these. The midfield three has a nice balance that I think would combine well, and all with a mentality that would not be found wanting. The defence is combative and stubborn, with a highly reliable number one between the posts. And my front three has the skill to create space and exploit it.

On a final note, away from the actual formation side of it, these players not only have impressive peak spells behind them, but longevity too, with several seasons of success under their belt, which hopefully will count for something.

It is for these reasons I hope my team gets the nod to advance. Thanks for reading.

Lucas Hood

Defence
Allison
21 clean sheets in his debut season in the premier league. The highest save percentage of all keepers (who played more than 5 games) in the competition. Champions League & Copa America winner where he made the team of the tournament in both competitions.

Kyle Walker
2-time Premier League champion, 3 times in the pfa team of the year. Flying right full back.
Expect him to overlap Bernardo Silva, who he has built up a good understanding with at City

Sol Campbell
2-time Premier League champion, 3 times in the pfa team of the year.
No nonsense centre back, tough in a tackle, good in the air in both boxes, tidy on the ball.

Steve Bruce
3-time Premier League champion captain. All round good cb, dangerous from set pieces attacking & a good penalty taker.

Lucas Digne
One of my riskier picks but I believe he was the best attacking full back available, excellent stats last season in his premier league debut. 71 chances created that was over 20 more than his nearest rival Robertson, coming from open play & set pieces.

Midfield
Idris Gana Gueye
Another risky pick but perhaps the best defensive midfielder currently playing in the league behind Kante. Consistently around the top in tackles made stats.

Roy Keane
7-time premier league champion, 5 time in pfa team of the year, PFA player of the year 1999-2000
Don’t need to say much about him, perhaps the best centre midfielder to have played in the premier league? Wrongly thought of just a defensive midfielder but was box to box and chipped in with the occasional goal.

Paul Pogba
World cup champion, Once in pfa team of the year 2019. I got stick for this pick, but I stand by it. 13 goals & 9 assists from midfield last season. Does he do as much as he is capable of? Probably not but that doesn’t stop him being a good player.

Bernardo Silva
2-time premier league champion. Once in pfa team of the year. More importantly Man City’s player of the year 2019 ahead where they had such a good season. Doesn’t give opposition players around him a minute’s piece, constantly covering more ground than most.

David Ginola
Pfa player of the year 98-99. United won a treble that season so to finish ahead of all their players was a special achievement.
Tricky pacy winger, good off either foot.

Fernando Torres
World cup winner, 2-time Euros Winner. 3rd in Balon D’or 2008
Perhaps the best striker in world football for 2 or 3 years at Liverpool.
An all-round striker capable of the spectacular. Perfectly capable of leading the line on his own.

My idea with this team was picking the best possible players in their position based on their abilities, not on longevity or how successful they have been.
So, if you’re judging I ask to do so on ability not based on how much of a legend you think a player is.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lucas Hood

First off, good luck to my opponent, Lucas.

This is a strong team I'm facing but one that I thing possesses some flaws that my team can exploit.

Midfield battle

We appear to have a similar structure in midfield, and while the Pogba and Keane partnership raised some eyebrows I think it was smart to bolster it with Gueye in behind. I would be concerned however in a tight, congested midfield battle, which I think this would be, whether Pogba would have the discipline required to avoid Keane having to put in double the work.

My plan for dealing with Pogba would be to have Fletcher be over him like a rash. We saw in the Champions League tie at Old Trafford against PSG how Marquinhos - not even a midfielder usually - was able to disrupt him so much. It was a policy that many Premier League teams also attempted. I would have Fletcher, who at his peak was able to play this role very well for United, give Pogba as little space as possible.

Presumably Lucas will try a similar tactic with Keane on Lampard, and as much as it pains me to say it, if any player is able to curtail Lampard's influence, it would be the Corkman. Again, though, the question for me would be whether Pogba would fulfil his side of the deal because if Keane has to increase his workload, that frees up Lampard to move forward and join the attack.

I think our holding players are both solid but I think in Hamann I have someone with better offensive strengths, in terms of picking a pass forward, and even some long range sighters at goal.

Wide areas

I see the midfield battle being congested and giving little away, and such a scenario would mean the wide areas would become crucial. I think it is in this area that I am strongest.

While I think we both have danger on the flanks, I'm not convinced Digne is going to be able to contain Robben's runs in behind. He has only one season in the Premier League, and while he is good offensively, he can be suspect on the defensive side of things. I think Robben vs Digne would give my team a lot of joy as the Dutchman would be able to go direct or cut inside, and allow Van Nistelrooy take up positions in the box to look to tap in.

Duff vs Walker would be a more competitive match-up but I think the pace and trickery of Blackburn's and early Chelsea's Duff would be able to get in behind enough times to cause problems.

At my end, Bernardo vs Rose would admittedly cause problems for me, but the performances of Spurs vs City have been competitive enough to reassure me it would be manageable. I'd be more concerned at the other side where peak Ginola would be a big headache, but I think peak Finnan would hold his own well. I think his wingers would get in behind me sometimes but I'd fancy my players to get in behind their counterparts more.

Strikers

We both have great strikers who don't need too many invitations to score, and CBs that won't give much away. As a result I think it comes down to which of them gets the better service and I feel I have the edge in that respect.

As much as I was a fan of Steve Bruce he was better dealing with the classic, old-fashioned, CF types. I think Van Nistelrooy's movement would cause problems. Campbell is a quality CB too but if he's having to cover often for Digne, which as I explained above I think would be the case, that gives Ruud opportunities to exploit the space.

While I'm a fan of my Stam and Henchoz pairing, I'm trying to be fair and I think peak Torres can also find the space to get himself a chance on goal.

On a final note, I would query the experience factor of my opponent's defence. Both Digne and Allison have only one Premier League season under their belt, and while I get Lucas doesn't want the longevity argument to come into it, I think it's an issue. I can accept a team having say one player with a season under their belt, but having two members of your rearguard in this situation is a bit of a stretch when we were told at the outset to keep longevity in mind.

Summary

To wrap up, I think my opponent has crafted a strong team. I think the midfield battle would be a congested affair but feel the stronger character of my trio, plus the passing range of Hamann, would give me the edge to come out of it better.

I think the wide areas would become crucial and feel the Robben/Duff duo would do critical damage.

I think it would be a close-fought game but would fancy my guys to edge it, something akin to a 2-1 win.

Lucas Hood

Good luck Mr Nice Guy. My response won't be as articulate as yours so apologies.
Good team.

First of Duff & Robben primarily played on the opposite wings for Chelsea. Robben played 7 times on right wing for Chelsea according to Transfemarkt that's more unproven than Digne or Allison.
Duff while a good player for Ireland I don't think he was an elite player. I'd expect Walker to get the better of him.

I think you've got the edge with Lampard over Pogba in terms of goals but I think Pogba at his best can control the tempo of a game better.

Keane gives me an edge I feel in midfield with his leadership qualities he made lesser players better.

I think Stam & Campbell are of similar quality but I think Bruce is better than Henchoz.

We've both got excellent strikers who wins there is a flop of a coin.

I think Allison is the perfect example of ability over longevity. In his 1 in premier league he's proven he is genuinely one of the best in the world. Fridel for all his years in the league never achieved those heights.

Like yourself I see a tight game with maybe a goal deciding it but going my way.

jayo26

Lucas Hood

My vote goes to ogc nice guys. I think the lampard, robben and duff link is excellent and similar to me he placed a bit of effort into trying to create links with some players seem to undervalue.

redzerdrog

Interesting match up this Lucas with maybe a bit more individual class with a couple of dodgy picks thrown in and the mng with a more solid team.

Still haven't decided yet who wins though

Morzadec

Lucas Hood

This is a pretty evenly matched affair. If I was looking at the just the players and not the setup, I might have gone for Lucas, but I think Mr. Nice Guy has a really good setup, and that's enough for me to give him the win.

My main question mark would be over Digne - I feel he is suspect defensively because of his instinct to get really far forward and I think Robben could hurt him here. His crossing and set piece ability is superb but you already have Ginola down this side to do this. There's definitely a lot of threat out on this left side. Torres is good in the air but not exceptional and I think Stam would have the beating here. Then you have B.Silva coming in at the back post who won't really be able to fully capitalise, so that's one of Lucas' biggest weapons possibly negated.

While I think there's some green-tinted glasses on this forum going on with Duff, I still think that front 3 works very well with Van Nistelrooy being a phenomenal finisher and having two players who were still somewhat more old school wingers though playing in a 4-5-1 to supply him.

Two good centre back pairings. Walker > Finnan, but Finnan is still really solid and can even make crossing chances for RVN, and I think Rose is better than Digne on the other side. Both teams have some non-elite players in midfield, but I think both have the balance right. Lampard and Keane maybe cancel each other out - Pogba needs to have a big game to win the midfield battle. I probably call it a draw in the midfield.

For me, like I said, not a lot between in it in most areas of the park, but I think the front 3 for Nice Guy works better and that Van Nistelrooy gets more chances than Torres.

Maybe not the most spectacular team, but no glaring weaknesses in Nice Guy's team for me, or none at least that are obviously exploited in this game. Might struggle a little but in midfield in later games, but it's a well balanced team throughout

SlickRic

Lucas Hood

MNG for me. just.

there are no glaring weaknesses in his team, it's set up well, with just enough in the right areas of the pitch to exploit. the wingers in particular will damage Lucas' left side severely.

the sum of MNG's parts beats the slight edge Lucas may have in individual brilliant.

Trigger

Lucas Hood

Would have to go for MNG here too, the balance in both teams is great with MNG just shading it. The link across the front pushing it over the line, hes the one to watch imo.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Lucas Hood

MNG, solid defence with Stam the only outstanding player. Think theres good balance with the midfield and like the link up of Robben, Duff with Lampard. RVN is a quality striker and will get plenty of chances with those 3 behind him.

Lucas, better defence but not sure on Digne at all, think Duff or Robben would have a field day with him there as he'd be caught up field regularly. Not sure on Pogba and Gueye in CM but peak Keane would probably make them both look good. Great pace up front with Ginola and Torres especially with Pogba pinging balls up to them.

Really tough call here but MNG just edges it for me as theres just too many risky picks in Digne, Gueye and Pogba

dfx-

Lucas Hood

MNG for me. It's going to take some doing to stop that strikeforce, by some distance the best one seen yet. Robben and Duff against Walker and Digne, especially Walker is only going one way.

redzerdrog

I am struggling to see how MNG gets the ball yo his forward line. IF guaye can do a job on Lampard and that is an if then Keane absolutely dominates the rest of the midfield. I don't tho k Fletcher and hamman offer enough creativity

duffman13

Lucas Hood

Despite my thoughts of putting Pogba with Keane this team lines up well and looks the part from a midfield POV. Can see Lucas team having a lot more of the ball but could also MNG absolutely ripping those full backs out. Duff probably a slight green tint on this forum but him and Robben were brilliant on their day. I need to think about this one

redzerdrog

Tough decision but I have come down on the side of Lucas. I think there is enough individual brilliance to get him through this one.

Replace guaye and digne with Parker and Sylvinho and he wins this one more comfortably.

Lucas an Everton fan my any chance?

I just think Lucas will get better supply to his front men than MNG will get and think his cbs will be better able to contain RVN than MNGs will cope with Torres

After much deliberation Lucas to win 2-1

bucketybuck

Lucas Hood

Some thoughts:

- We are all allowed our opinions, and mine as a Manchester United fan is that I wouldn't have Pogba in my team even if it meant having a 12th player. And I'm Keanes biggest fan but I wouldn't be so sure that Keane's influence would drag a performance out of Pogba, Keane was all about demanding the best and Pobga is as likely to huff about that as he is to respond positively. Which Pogba is going to turn up? This is a PL draft and PL Pogba has been underwhelming since day one.

- My opinion on Allison is the same as it is for Ederson, I just don't agree with them being labelled as these great keepers. They have done very well for their teams but they were bought to suit those teams, does that translate to big performances in this one off match against the best of the best? Maybe, but no way definitely. Brad Freidal on the other hand did it year on year on year, I would have no doubts about him standing firm behind me.

- Digne, Gueye, Bernardo and Walker. Again, its my opinion but they would not have been my picks.


On the other side, I do like the MNG team a lot, they have a defined shape with players that will excel within that shape. Ruud is going to dine out on the service from Robben and Duff, and if you are going to pick Lampard then you need to give him freedom to do his thing, I think Hamman and Fletcher will complement Lampard big time.

- I don't much rate Danny Rose, but I very much rate Finnan, then you have Stam and Henchoz who would complement each other pretty well.


My vote goes to MNG in this one. Sol Campbell, Keane and peak Torres are absolute world class players but there are far too many question marks elsewhere to get my vote. MNG on the other hand has a team that looks built to do a job and will be hard to stop.

Lucas Hood

redzerdrog wrote: »

Lucas an Everton fan my any chance?

Not at all ,United.

Think it's safe to concede this one. Well done MNG.

Turtyturd

Lucas Hood

MNG for me. If anyone decided to take a risk on him there was always going to be the Pogba issue. People can go on about the team of the season inclusion but it was considered a joke of a decision at the time. Keane’s a good player to put beside him to try and coax a performance out of him but I don’t think Gueye is good enough to make up the deficit if he turn in a typical Pogba performance.

Also think Digne is a big question mark and Robben has a field day down that side.

Ferris_Bueller

Lucas Hood

This has been the toughest one to call so far I think but I am going to go with Mr. Nice Guy. I think Lucas has some more questionable/less proven players in his team such as Digne, Allison, Pogba, Gueye and I think MNGs front 3 and Lampard will link up nicely and cause a lot of problems for Lucas' defense especially down both of the flanks. I think the midfield 3 of Lampard, Fletcher and Hamann would stand up to Pogba, Keane and Gueye and experience might pull them through. I'd say Mr.Nice Guy to edge it 1-0.

Blue giant

Lucas Hood

Nice Guy for me here. Van Nistelrooy and Lampard are both clinical and like the way he has links that are known to work well in Duff-Lampard-Robben. I also feel longevity plays a part and Digne and Alisson have both only spent one season in the league. Pogba can be excellent player but I think Fletcher is well suited to keeping him quiet and Hamann is a slighlty superior dm to Gueye in my mind.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lucas Hood

Lucas Hood wrote: »

Not at all ,United.

Think it's safe to concede this one. Well done MNG.

Cheers man. Good game.