Boards.ie 2019 Draft Game 8 - dr.kenneth noisewater v martyos121

IncognitoMan

This is the thread for dr.kenneth noisewater v martyos121

If you want to use a site to set your 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 including 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 team's 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.

IncognitoMan

martyos121 wrote: »

To be copied into the match thread once open

My formation and tactics are fairly simple, but I’m going for a tried and tested approach that takes inspiration from a couple of different teams. Here’s how I’ll line up to begin with:



As many could tell from just that line up, it’s a counter attacking style I’ve adopted and intended to use from the start, and it’s modelled on Leicester City’s title winning season, with some minor tweaks and obviously much more talented personnel. It also takes elements from Houllier’s Liverpool side, and plays very much to the strengths of Michael Owen who I’ll be partnering with Lukaku up front, to form what I hope would be a much more deadly, clinical version of the Owen-Heskey partnership of old, which was highly successful to begin with. I’ll get into the tactics and what I want from my players a bit now:

Goalkeeper

Reina was a great pickup for me here, as I was looking for a keeper who wasn’t just a great shot stopper, but also had the ability to distribute the ball accurately and quickly, to begin very direct counter attacks by kicking the ball into space for Owen and Overmars to run onto, or straight on top of Lukaku to knock it down for a teammate. I’ll also be asking him to play the sweeper keeper role to an extent, because my back four has the pace to maintain a high line and keep the pressure on at times.

Centre Backs

I’m adamant that I’ve got the best centre back pairing in this competition. Both are PFA Player of the Year winners and really stood out in a sport where defenders usually go under the radar. I don’t need to speak too much of their qualities here because they’re clear to see, but in terms of how I want them playing; Virgil will lead and organise the entire back line as he does currently at the highest level for Liverpool. McGrath won’t have to worry about those duties, I have him in here purely to defend. They both have a great turn of pace, so they’ll be keeping a fairly high line and trying to catch the opposition offside if my midfield are controlling the game, and will have few problems catching a forward who occasionally gets in behind them. If my side is losing the midfield battle or defending a lead, they’ll be sitting back in a more traditional position for centre halves and snuffing out any danger in the box, heading crosses away with ease which both are well known for.

On the ball, McGrath with his excellent ability in possession will keep it simple and play short passes, while Virgil will be the playmaker from defence when required, pinging his trademark diagonal balls out to Kuyt to or occasionally down the line for Overmars to chase. Both will offer a significant threat from set pieces too, primarily the Dutchman.

Full Backs

Baines and Johnson are two of the most experienced fullbacks in this draft, and between them have come up against many of the wingers drafted at some point. It’s a small thing, but familiarity is key in one-on-one battles and I’m expecting that to factor in a little bit. Much like the centre backs, their position will vary depending on the opposition and how the game will flow. In moments where my team is on top and building attacks, Johnson will be close behind Dirk Kuyt and giving him an option on the overlap or occasionally inverting his run and cutting it back for a midfielder or delivering a cross for Lukaku at the near post. Baines will take a more defensive position, letting Overmars roam a little further forward but he’ll be overlapping as well when Overmars cuts inside and takes on his fullback, offering an added threat with his superb crossing ability. Most of his deliveries will come from deep though, hanging balls up for Lukaku at the back post. Baines will also be my set piece specialist.

In more defensive situations, the pair will fall back into a solid line of four and try to keep their shape, they’ll aim to keep the opposition wingers at bay and stop the crosses coming in. On the counter attack, one will always stay back behind the halfway line and the other will provide an option on the overlap to stretch the move if the opposition defenders tuck in to deal with my front two.

Midfield

I’ll go through this section individually, as this is the main area which will mirror the title winning Leicester City side.

Fabinho wasn’t my first choice for this position and was a controversial pick, but I feel he was the best equipped of what was left to take on my interpretation of the Kante role. His ball winning ability is of the highest quality and I’ll be asking him to hassle opposition midfielders as often as possible, particularly in the few seconds after my team would lose the ball. He’ll sit back a little more than Kante would have in the same role, vying to dominate the midfield alongside Scholes with his neat passing and ability to play the ball in tight areas.

Scholes will be the playmaker here of course, providing the much needed link between defence and attack. If he finds himself with the ball at his feet during a counter attack, there’s no better man to make that key pass whether it’s from 50 yards or 5. In possession, he’ll keep things ticking over with Fabinho and bring the wingers into play to stretch the opposition. On top of all that, Scholes is a significant goal threat from any range and if he’s given space for a shot or makes a late run into the box, there are few better midfielders to convert a chance than him. I’d call him the Drinkwater of my team to keep the Leicester comparison going as that’s the role he’ll occupy, but it just sounds ridiculous. :pac:

Overmars will be dynamite on the counter attack of course, but from general play, I’ll be asking him to start out very wide and trying to beat his man with his dazzling skills on the ball and his electrifying pace, cutting inside or taking the ball down the line. He can cross or shoot well from either foot, so his unpredictability will test the opposing defence and he also has the option of cutting it back to Baines to whip in a cross, so much of my attack will come down that side of the pitch.

Kuyt is the workhorse of this team. He’s primarily in there to link up once again with Glen Johnson and add some defensive steel to the right hand side. He’ll be bombing up and down the wing as ever and making runs into the opposition’s penalty area from out wide, and there are few better at getting into goalscoring positions from out wide than Kuyt. He can cross the ball well, he can shoot, he can tackle and he’ll be putting all of those skills to use in my team, and he’ll do it for the full 90 minutes given his remarkable stamina and work ethic. Won’t be my number one option for building attacks, but he can’t be taken lightly be defenders or they will be punished.

In defensive situations, Scholes and Fabinho will sit in front of the back four and keep their shape. Overmars and Kuyt will be sat a little further forward, the latter helping out my weakest defender in Glen Johnson and Overmars giving Baines a bit more to do in defence while he himself waits for the chance of a counter attack, offering me an outlet on the left hand side to start one off.

Forwards

As I’ve already alluded to, I’m looking to reform the Owen and Heskey partnership of old, but with a significant upgrade on the latter in Romelu Lukaku. Michael Owen in his prime has always worked well alongside a big man, so by having him play off Lukaku, he’ll be excellent at anticipating the knock down from his strike partner and identifying the spaces he can run into. The other main reason I chose to draft Owen so early on is that he had deadly pace, and I’m going to take full advantage of that on the counter attack with quality service from a number of areas, mainly between Reina, van Dijk and Scholes with their excellence in long range distribution.

Lukaku will be a solid goal threat in his own right, and he’ll be the number one target for Baines and Overmars to pick out at the back post. He’s got good pace for a target man too, so that threat can’t be ignored either. Another man who’ll threaten from set pieces. He’s mainly in the team to get the most out of Owen, but he’s an accomplished goal scorer and won’t let a good chance go to waste.

———————————————

With that, I’ll wrap up with a picture of how my team will line up without the ball, a position from which I’ll hope they’ll not only hold out defensively and earn a clean sheet, but also enable me to operate a lethal counter attacking strategy and nick a win:

.

dr.kenneth noisewater

martyos121

Team will line out as below


Starting with Defence, I have arguably the best GK in the history of the league in De Gea. Has won Utd countless points over the past few years especially since Ferguson left. He’s made the PFA team of the 5 times including 4 years in a row, been Utds POTY 4 times and also won the MOTD save of the season 5 times! Hes an unbelievable shot stopper and has excellent distribution which I don’t think Utd make enough use of especially the past couple years. I really wanted pace and width in my team and have two brilliant fullbacks in TAA and Evra who provide that. TAA may only have a couple of years’ experiences but is recognised by most as the best RB in the league presently and has been a constant source of assists and chances since breaking into the team while also being a threat with freekicks. Made the team of the year last season with 13 assists and will have great energy to get up and down the wing. Evra is one of the best left backs the league has seen probably only behind Cole. 5 league titles, champions league and 3 appearances in the team of the year I don’t think much more is needed to explain his place in the team. A very solid CB pairing of Dunne and Cahill which is similar to the successful partnership between Cahill and Terry. Cahill always had the pace to help back when Terry was got around and will provide the same for Dunne. Won the league as captain of Chelsea in Terry’s absence and made the team of the year 3 times while at Chelsea. Both him and Dunne will be very tough beat in the air as well. Dunne is an Irish legend and was one of the most consistent CB in the league during his time. Made the team of the year once and won the City player of the year 4 times in a row before moving to Villa where he probably played his best stuff.

Covering my defence and fullbacks is one of the unsung heroes of the Invincible team in Gilberto Silva. Known as “the invisible wall” in Brazil he’ll snuff out most attacks well and cover where needed. He’ll be a leader in the midfield and make sure those ahead of him know where to be and whats going on. Alongside him I have 2 box to box players who will push up to assist the attack and have the engine to get back when needed. Alli has twice been young player of the year while also making the team of the year both times. Has 42 league goals and 40 assists in his first 4 seasons in the EPL. Fabregas is the real link player or playmaker in my team, he created the most chances in the top European leagues between 06-11. His passing vision will be vital in supplying my front 3 with quick balls from deep and helping setup chances when in possession higher up the field. Was probably an unbelievable player during his Arsenal peak and was involved heavily with the golden Spain team at the same time.

My front 3 are all about pace. I’ve reunited the most successful partnership of the brilliant Leicster team that won the league with Mahrez playing on the Right wing and Vardy up top. Mahrez won the fans and players player of the year that season and has 46 goals and 37 in his 5 seasons in the league he worked best with Vardy and his pace up top. I think also having the pace Alli alongside him will create more space and opportunities for him so shine. Vardy is a late developer but has been amongst the top scorers in the league over the past 4 years. He’s used to playing up top on his own which is another reason why I selected him over some others available. Won the player of the year they won the league. He has an excellent work rate and great engine, so he’ll do the work of 2 players in putting pressure on the backline when they are in possession. Finally, it’s the best player in my team and my first pick. He was unplayable for at his top couple of seasons at Spurs before a world record transfer to Madrid. Made the team of the year 3 years in a row before moving and won player of the year twice in that time as well, Bales pace and dribbling will trouble any defence. These front 3 give me serious counter attacking ability with their pace and dribbling skills. They also have the skills for quick interplay in the opponent’s box to create plenty of chances

dr.kenneth noisewater

martyos121

[font=Times New Roman, serif]Opposition[/font] analysis
First off best of luck Martyos121! I believe my opponent has the best CB pairing in the competition but is badly let down by weak fullbacks which my I believe my attack is primed to exploit. Both are good attacking full backs but I never rated either defensively which mean VVD and McGrath will keep getting pulled out wide to help them which will create space for Vardy in the box with Alli and Fabregas coming in late. As he said the CB will be playing a high line and my striker and 2 wingers will love that space to run into with Fabregas playing them in ideally. I thought Fabinho was a poor choice in the draft and still has a lot to prove. I think he’ll be too worried with Alli pushing up to help Vardy to help his fullbacks. With my 3-man midfield I think him and Scholes will get overrun very easily, when out of possession I would have Alli sit on Scholes to prevent his passing game and get in his face. I think this would leave Scholes frustrated and likely to give away plenty of frees and a possible Red card.
I agree Kuyt is a good player to have working back especially with Bale there but again that’ll create plenty of space for Evra to push into. I think Trent would have the pace and skill to keep Overmars in check on the other side with Gilberto covering across if needed. I think Dunne would marshal Lukaku quite well as it’s the type of opponent he would love to face, Cahill could struggle at times against Owen but I that’s why I have Gilberto in there to cut off the supply to him and allow Cahill to defend deeper when needed. If Owen does manage to get by then I have a great shot stopper there in De Gea to twart him.
Overall I just think my midfield would have too much as a 3v2 and with my pace up top it would create lots of chances. Gilberto will help out my back 4 when needed to provide cover and Fabregas and Alli have the legs on Scholes and Fabinho to get up and down when needed.

Morzadec

This is a tough one. Both team strike me as ones that would prefer not to have the ball and play on the counter.

I think Vardy will be totally negated in this game as he needs space behind him and Marty is going with a deep set up, and also because he's up centre backs who will have the beating of him all day long.

That said, peak Bale is a threat and he has a strong Evra behind him, up against Johnson who's not the best defender. Kuyt will help out here however. There's no doubt that Kenneth is stronger on this side but this is the only area where I see an obvious goal threat - Baines is a good left back and he doesn't even need to be that busy defensively as VVD is so good at covering across and is not going to be worried much by Vardy. So I'm not sure how much joy Mahrez will have either. TAA will get forward and get crosses in but who's on the end of them?

In midfield it looks like it's 3 against 2 for Kenneth and Marty's team is set up to counter attack to Kenneth will have the majority of possession. Don't love the Alli pick though and I would prefer Fabregas to play at the tip of the 3 to be the goal-scoring / creative machine he was at Arsenal.

TAA will want to push forward which could give Overmars space. TAA is not slow but he's nowhere near as fast as Overmars. You have a good DMin Gilberto covering, but Dunne up against this pace, and the pace of a peak Michael Owen is a big problem for me. In general, by the standards of the teams here, I think it's a potentially suspect CB pairing, one particularly short on pace. I think Owen in particular is going to have a lot of joy here. De Gea is a superb shot stopper, but Owen rarely missed when he was played through 1 on 1. And I think this might happen more than once, particularly with the passing of Scholes coming from deep.

I think it's one of those games where the first goal is crucial and might take it.

I'm going to go with Marty though, as I think that while Kenneth has the Bale factor and a good match up here, the lack of pace in defence and the right players to exploit it (Overmars, Owen, Scholes passing thorugh for them) could create a lot more dangerous opportunites

redzerdrog

In a draft like this it doesn't usually come down to CB pairings but I see VVD and McGrath as absolute collosal defenders who will keep you in any game. And peak scholes supplying Owen could get some joy.

I really like fabregas and Gilberto in Ken's midfield but not a big fan of Alli show can drift in and out if games.

The way I see it is both teams will create chances on the break. I'd much prefer to relay on vvd and McGrath to defend against this chances than Cahill/Dunne who I would feel is a a very poor pairing for a draft like this

Martyos take this imo

martyos121

Good response dr. kenneth and the best of luck to yourself as well. This is how I plan to set up against your team:

Against a midfield trio of that caliber, I'll concede that it's not an area of the pitch I'm going to dominate, but as a team primarily set up to counter attack, this shouldn't be an issue for me. In the spells of possession I do have, I still believe Scholes and Fabinho have the ability and composure to retain the ball long enough to move play out wide to my wingers, where I'll be looking to do a couple of different things. I won't be attacking down my opponent's left flank very much with Evra being pretty solid defensively, but Overmars up against TAA is a mismatch that goes hugely in my favour I believe. With no mention of Mahrez tracking back and given that it isn't a strength of his anyway, I''ll be targeting that side of the pitch. I disagree that TAA has the pace to deal with Overmars and the threat of Baines overlapping will only add to his problems, as there are definitely some question marks over his ability to deal with pacey, skillful wingers so with little defensive assistant from Mahrez, I expect to have a lot of success down that side.

My go to options in possession will revolve around Overmars and between cutting inside and getting a shot away or linking up with the strikers, and getting Baines involved to delivery good service into Lukaku, I should be creating chances from there. As I said before, I have confidence in my midfield pair to bypass any press and move the ball quickly out wide. Putting Alli on Scholes is a clever move I'll admit, his man marking skills are good for an attacking midfielder, but the passing range and vision of Fabinho is vastly underrated so my playmaking wont be shut down entirely.

With my opponent's midfield having the ability to control that area, the bulk of my time will be spent without the ball, and that's where the real threat in my team lies and I'll get to that in a minute. In a more defensive setup, my fullbacks wont be given as much license as usual to roam forward, so they wont be getting bypassed often enough to drag my centre backs into wide positions. I feel that between Kuyt and Johnson, they could do a pretty decent job of neutralizing the threat of Gareth Bale, but Evra will definitely cause a problem or too initially. If he can be pushed wide and forced to cross, I feel that my centre back pairing will dominate the aerial battle due to the lack of height and aerial ability from my opponent's attack.

In transition, my team will shine. Whether its Reina catching a ball from a cross or one of my centre backs heading the ball away, I'll be putting Overmars wide on the left ready to provide an outlet, and Kuyt dropping a bit shorter. Once I've won the ball back, there should always be a good option between the pace of Owen and Overmars or the threat of Lukaku as a target man to head the ball on or down for one of those two. Scholes will be the midfielder to follow in on these counter attacks and if Alli loses his concentration at any point in marking him, Scholes will provide an added goal threat from long range or inside the box if the ball falls to him.

I'll be putting Lukaku up against Cahill as I feel he can beat him for pace and power, winning his share of headers and also getting in behind him when needed. Owen up against Dunne is another mismatch in my favour given the way I plan to utilise him, and he'll be playing off his shoulder and burning him for pace when Reina, Scholes or van Dijk spot a chance to play him in.

To summarise, I plan to set up defensively against my opponent and expose the lack of pace in his back line on the counter attack, with the added aerial threat of Lukaku giving me another dimension. As his team is set up to dominate possession, he wont get the most out of the counter attacking pair of Vardy and Mahrez, as well as having his star winger Gareth Bale double marked by Kuyt and Johnson. I have enough outlets on the counter attack to create good chances for Owen and Lukaku, and with such a clinical pair up front, I strongly fancy at least one or two to be taken.

bucketybuck

My thoughts:

- Peak Fabregas is who Dele Ali would like to be in his wildest dreams, so I don't know why both of them are there? Mahrez has talent but I also see him as unpredictable, will he perform? And I just don't like the Vardy pick at all, not ahead of so many better strikers.
- Evra and De Gea are world class, Gilberto a great player in front of them, but the other 3 in defence are a problem for me, I just don't see them as high tier.
- So we have 5 players I think are world class but the other 6 I'm not too fond off, that makes it a hard choice.

On the other side:
- That Fabinho choice, I simply have to mark down on that.
- Scholes, Overmars and Kuyt, 3 great and complmentary players. If somebody like Nigel De Jong was behind them I would see that as a very good midfield.
- Peak Owen is superb but Lukaku is an interesting one. I like him a lot but he certainly is no Heskey if that was supposed to be the idea.
- Defensively very solid I think, Johnson the worst of the bunch but even he will be reliable enough in there.


I think the Doctors team is dangerous but there are too many question marks there for me to give them my vote here, Marty's team just stronger overall and Overmars in particular likely to give TAA a horrid time.

Iused2likebusts

martyos121

Kenneth in this one. I'd expect the extra man in midfield will help them get the ball to his wide men who in turn will get the better of martyos full backs fairly easily and thats where the goals will come from.

Lucas Hood

I love martys cbs pairing, I don't like his cf pairing much. I don't think Lukaku has played much as 2. He has Owen slightly behind Lukaku but I think it would have worked better with 1 of them and a number 10/3rd midfielder.

I like Kens front 3 but and his midfield should probably see more of the ball question is can they get past VVD/McGrath?

Close one but i think marty comes out on top by goal.

Liam O

martyos121

Voted for kenneth. Think the wide threat is too much and so would nullify a lot of the strength in the CB pairing of VVD and McGrath. Was a tough one but I just don't see Lukaku and Owen working and Overmars and Kuyt wouldn't provide enough cover for non top class full backs. Vardy at his peak capable of grabbing a goal in any game too.

SlickRic

Martyos for me.

That CB pairing will keep them in it, and Scholes/Overmars will do enough to supply Owen and Lukaku.

Close though.

Blue giant

Martyos wins although I think Fabinho doesn't deserve to be near the draft. He played well during the second half of the season but he was quite poor and laboured on the ball at times in the first half of the season. If it wasn't for the poor defense of dr.kenneth I'd vote for him but ultimately the pace of Overmars and Owen should destroy TAA and Dunne, especially with Scholes in midfield to play balls over the top or inside the fullback.

Mr.Nice Guy

martyos121

One of the toughest ties to call for me. I've gone back and forth on it several times. I think both sides would have a lot of joy on the left and I think Bale can cause problems for Johnson, but equally Overmars will be a handful for T.A.A. I'm not convinced either side has much success wide right as both have very good LBs to counter that threat.

I'd fancy dr kenneth to dominate the midfield, but Owen at his peak was lethal on the break and should martyos's team get the ball back, Scholes is ideally placed to put him in. Fabregas would be very dangerous with his ability to feed in Vardy but that McGrath/Van Dijk combo would read the danger better than most.

Ultimately for me I think the Bale factor for dr kenneth decides the outcome. I think he has the beating of Johnson, and as much as I love Paul McGrath, when he was at his Premier League peak and won the PFA Player of the Year in '93 he was 34 years old. If Bale puts the head down and hits top pace he's going to have the beating of him too and allow Vardy the space to make his dangerous runs in the box. With that in mind I'm thinking a narrow 2-1 win for dr kenneth.

Donnielighto

Marty takes this one for me. Fabinho is the odd one but otherwise plenty of threat and think scholes releasing kuyt overmars on the wings would get a lot of joy. Some good players on drs team but I fear he'd have to sacrifice Gilberto to mark Owen as he'd play hell with either cb. That would just let scholes move up though

dr.kenneth noisewater

martyos121

Looks like this one goes to Marty, well done! That CB pairing is hard to look past in fairness, I left my CB choices too late in the draft. Surprised by the the underrating of Alli, maybe its a personality thing but he was outstanding in his first couple of seasons at Spurs.

martyos121

Good game Dr. Kenneth, and for what it’s worth, Alli was a great choice and particularly your use of him to do a marking job. He’s not just underrated as a player in general, but he’s actually one of the best man markers in the league right now (did a savage job on Jorginho in particular last season) so that was a really high level tactic IMO.