Boards.ie 2019 Draft Semi-Final Game 1 - Ferris_Bueller and Redzerdog

IncognitoMan

First match of the Semi Finals

Ferris_Bueller vs Redzerdog

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 game-plan 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).

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


Anyone can vote, but try to give at least one reason why you picked one side.

Do not cast a vote until both posters have submitted their teams.

Voting will close after 24 hours

Good luck to both posters.

redzerdrog

First of all I attempted to create a well balanced team on the players peak ability. My picks were always based upon how they fit into the system i had identified and very happy with the outcome in the end.

Goalkeeper
Jens Lehmann Premier League Winner and part of the invincible's team. For me he is rock solid but also brings great leadership skills and I have always viewed him as a big game player

Defense
I will start with my Centre Back pairing of Kompany and Radebe. They are two iconic defenders that offer exactly what I want in a partnership. String defenders who are excellent on the ball, both having started their careers as CM's.
Peak Kompany was the best CB on the planet. Even beyond his peak he lead his team to an incredible league victory stepping up to the plate when his team needed him the most. He is a leader and warrior on top of being an excellent defender. Radebe is leader in his own right but as well as his ball playing ability he was a superb reader of the game and was lightning quick for a centre back which I am sure will come in handy.

My Full Back pairing of Dixon and Robertson are two of the strongest in the draft i would feel. Dixon was a rock solid defender (purposely selected to cover Ronaldo) but also the first full back that I remember to be comfortable on the ball and offer an attacking threat. He will help provide width on the right.
I would feel that Robertson has been one of the best left backs in the world over the past 18 month. His pace and energy both defending and attacking will be invaluable to my team. We have seen the quality of his delivery over the past few years and it is mouth watering to think that Ronaldo and Yaya will be arriving at the back post attacking these. I think they will have a fieldday against any side from this area.

Center Midfield
I feel that my Centre midfield is well balanced to defend, create, attack and dominate in possession and work well without possession.
David Batty is a two time premier league winner and 3 times in the toty. A brilliant holding midfielder who was brilliant at covering ground, tenacious in the tackle and could ping a pass too. It is rare to get a holding midfielder who was a comfortable on the ball as Batty. He will win the ball back, spread it wide to the full backs, lay it off to yaya and quickly launch counter attacks through Ronaldo and Mane.
Yaya Toure and Ramsey can both do it all, Defend, Attack, Create and Score goals. I think they will both operate as Box to Box/Attacking midfielders fluently throughout the game. Yaya was a phenomenal player who could do absolutely everything you could want from a midfielder. He will help down the right and I see him linking up with Ronaldo very well. Ramsey will do a similar job in the inside left channel. He has probably been Arsenals best player over the last 7 or 8 years and at his peak and operating in this set up I think he would flourish. Both players have the Luxury of David Batty behind them but how I see it working is one will get themselves into the box while the other will arrive late to the edge of the box. Both players have the game intelligence to thrive in this set up.
We are dealing with guys with unbelievable numbers from Midfield Yaya had 79 goals and 50 Assists in his time at city which for a CM is fantastic, in 13/14 he scored 20 Goals and 9 assists in the premier league from CM :eek:
Ramsey also has put up serious number and has 65 Goals and 65 Assists for Arsenal.

Attack
Where to start only with the best player to ever play in the premier league and second best player of all time Ronaldo. Ballon Dor winner and was absolutely phenomenal in his time in the league. With him on one side and Mane on the other they will absolutely terrorise defenders with Pace, power, dribbling ability, guile, technique and most of all clinical finishing. I think I also have the perfect CF in Bobby Firmino to get the best out of these two and he was picked for this reason. He is a quality player in his own right but his in game intelligence and ability to create space and chance for others is extraordinary, he is selfless in his work. Firmino will help with the press and similar to what he does for Salah he will do the same for Ronaldo.

The interchanging and movement of this front 3 while being supplied by Yaya, Ramsey, robertson et all is gona to tough for any team to stop. When looking at the stats I was suprised by how many assists Ronaldo had for utd he contributed an unbelievable 118 Goals and 68 Assists in 6 seasons for Utd. In his peak season of 07/08 he contributed a total of 42 Goals :eek:
Mane has 84 goals and 36 assists for liverpool and southampton breaking double figures in every season he has spent in the premier league and peaking last season when he contributed 22 premier league goals.
Although Firmino contributes so much more than goals and assists he is also no slouch and has contributed 66 Goals and 47 Assists since joining Liverpool again breaking double figures league goals each season. In the 2017/18 season was probably his peak where he contributed 27 goals and 17 assists.

I dont think any team can keep this side scoreless looking at those numbers.

General play
I think this team is adaptable, quick and pacey on the counter attack but also deadly while in possession. I have already spoke about Robertson delivery and Ronoldo and yaya attacking at the back post. Firmino attacking the front and Ramsey lurking outside the box but this is only one example. Yaya and Ramsey have teh ability to switch the play, play through balls in behind and also utilize Firmino to help link up play.

In possession this team creates 3 on 2s all over the park. If you look closely you will see triangles everywhere (Dixon, Yaya, ronaldo) (Yaya, Ronaldo, Firmino) (Ramsey, Mane, Firmino) even (Batty, Kompany, Radebe) in possession they will help keep the ball moving and get it to the forward line as efficiently as possible. However these triangles will also help my defensive set up, hunting in packs and closing down the space and options. The only player not natural in doing this is Ronaldo and that is why i have set up with players like Firmino, Yaya and Dixon who will do his work for him and allow him to just score and create tons of goals.

I think I am biased but i feel that this team has a strong spine, even stronger down the wings and is well balanced in both attack and defence.

Hopefully I have got what I was thinking and planning across well enough. Its been enjoyable to be involved in one of these again.

Ferris_Bueller

Redzer has a very strong team in fairness to him and I think it will be a tough battle.

I think there are two areas on the pitch that he can be vulnerable. Firstly, I think his centre backs lack pace and that Wright will have opportunities to get in behind his defenders. With Gerrard and Arteta supplying eye of a needle passes I think this is an area where I could have some joy, despite both of his centre halves being good defenders.

Second, I think I have a superior midfield which could tip the game in my favour and maybe most importantly stop the supply to his very dangerous front three. Toure is a great pick but Ramsey and Batty not so much, does Batty have it in him to stop Gerrard? Definitely not. Whereas I think Kante could do a job on Toure and will also occupy the spaces which Firmino likes to drop into. Arteta might not be a world class player but he is very good at what he does and I don’t think any of redzers midfield will be the type to get in his face and stop him from playing his own game, unless of course they leave Gerrard completely free.

In previous games I feel my wingers have been a big strength but redzers two full backs are top class, it will be an interesting battle out there but I think at the very minimum Ljungberg will prevent Robertson from bombing forward like he usually does and Son will have the fitness and pace to cause Dixon some issues as Ronaldo is not going to track back. I also think Lehmann is a bit of a liability in goal and if balls are being supplied behind the defence he could easily make a rash decision and have one of his howlers which could lead to a goal.

redzerdrog

I really like the set up of Ferris team so should be a good game.

Before I get started just a brief response to the above. Radebe was extremely quick and definitely the quickest of the 4 cbs on show so I don't really have concerns regarding Wright's pace.

I think this will be a good battle however Ferris biggest weaklink also happens to be up against strongest part of my team and I think this will make the biggest difference. I have peak Ronaldo going up against an le saux and Vermaelan and this channel will be targeted as the weakest part of the team. And that's before Yaya even gets involved.

I think overall ferris defence lacks a bit of pace and agility and with Mane, Ronaldo and Firmino I have the perfect players to take advantage of this.

The midfield battle would not be for the faint hearted and I think it would be an absolute cracker. However I think my 1-2 matches up quite well against ferris and should stop the supply to Gerrard who is the danger man.

I think ferris attack is good however I think my full backs and CBs have a better skillset to handle ferris attack than the other way round.
I also think ferris is relying on Gerrard/arteta for creativity which might be hard to come by In a crowded midfield battle whearas my team can easily bypass midfield quite easily if required.

Overall I think I just outscore ferris in what could be a cracking match

dr.kenneth noisewater

Think Redzer is too strong here, would be very worried about Le Saux and Vermalaen  gainst Ronaldo

SlickRic

Redzer for me.

Batty and Ramsey are a slight weakness, in the sense that I don't think they can provide enough solidity for Toure to really do what he does best for the whole game. but he'll get enough of the ball to terrorise Ferris' team himself, or supply his outstanding front 3.

I think Kante, Vidic and Ivanovic could frustrate Redzer, but I just see there being too much presure of Ferris' team over too much of the game. he may get some joy from Gerrard if the ball can get to him enough, as i think he could really hurt Redzer in between the lines and in the Radebe/Robertson channel with the help of Son and Wright.

i just think the game will be played largely on Redzer's terms, and Ronaldo, Mane and Firmino is about as ideal a front 3 you could have drafted. any team that beats Redzer has to be able to frustrate his team enough, while also being able to do some of their own dictating. I just don't see Ferris' team being able to do it, with Vermaelen in particular just too unreliable.

3-1, with the final goal in the later stages, putting some gloss on a game that would be tricky at times.

Mr.Nice Guy

Ferris for me. I think the midfield is where it's won.

Gerrard is capable of dropping into midfield and I think him, Kante and Arteta are winning out versus Ramsey, Toure and Batty. I see it being a fascinating battle but if Toure is busy trying to contain Gerrard, and Kante is dealing with Ramsey, then I see Arteta's technical edge over Batty being crucial.

I can see Ronaldo getting joy against Le Saux but don't think it would be too one-sided. Le Saux was a fine LB in his day. Not convinced Mane and Firmino will have too much of it their way against the rest of Ferris' defence.

I think Dixon and Robertson would hold their own well against Son and Ljungberg, but I'd be concerned about Radebe at the back against the runs made in behind by Wright via Arteta and Gerrard passes.

I'd see it being a 2-1 Ferris win. Gerrard and Wright on the scoresheet; Ronaldo for redzerdrog.

Blue giant

I'll go for Ferris in a tight match. I think his midfield is of greater quality and they should have the majority of possession. I think Toure is the only one of Redzer's midfielders capable of consistently making things happen which could drag him deeper making him far less of a threat, whereas Ferris seems well set up with Arteta very capable of playing neat passes into feet or beyond defenders. Obviously Ronaldo is a major threat but I don't think he gets a great supply from midfield and I don't think Firmino is much of a threat with Vidic behind him and Kante in front of him. Mane and Robertson do normally link up well but I don't think Robertson can push up as much as he normally does as Redzer is only playing with one defensive minded player in midfield whereas in Liverpool's setup there is normally at least one other workhorse in midfield which allows Robertson and TAA to get forward so much. Ferris to just win, Gerrard to be the match winner.

bucketybuck

I think this will be a difficult match up for Redzerdog in midfield, I could see it being 5 against 3/4 in there at times and it just doesn't quite suit him that way. Gerrard and Ljunberg will definitely come back into midfield more than Ronaldo and Mane will, and that will curb the influence of Toure to a large extent. Batty is one of the most under rated players in the draft but he might have his hands full if Ramsey and Toure are both pushing forward.

On the other hand, that humdinger of a midfield battle might leave Wright isolated up front, so does Bueller have enough of a goal threat to take advantage? I'm not so sure.

Difficult as it might be, in an even match I still can't look past the individual influence of Ronaldo or Toure, they make Redzer more likely to come up with the winner.

IncognitoMan

redzerdrog takes this one 3-2

redzerdrog

Hard luck ferris it was always gona be a close game just a shame more people didn't vote.

Glad to get through especially against that midfield of kante arteta and Gerrard which just functions so well together