Premier League Draft - GROUP C

Welcome one, welcome all to Group C of the 2020 Premier League Draft voting thread.

- Voting is to be based on players' peak time spent in the Premier League only.

- Votes without a reason/comment will not be counted unless in the case of a tiebreak.

- Voting will commence when the final manager has posted their team/write up and will last for 24 hours.

- Winner of the group progresses to the semi-finals.

- Voting is open to everyone.


Group C
Wrestlemaniac
Liam O
Redzer


Enjoy, and behave.

wrestlemaniac

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GK: Begovic
A great shot stopper and a commanding presence in the box, this man was an ever present for Stoke, often coming to the rescue with important saves when it mattered.

Central defenders: Cahill, Dier, Coady
Nothing spectacular about these three players but they all serve an important function to how I want my team to play overall.
Cahill is my no nonsense defender, good in the air with great positioning. Named in the PFA team of the year on three occasions he was part of a rock solid defense under Mourinho.
Dier adds the versatility. He is more than adept at stepping forward from defence into a defensive midfield position having played a full season there for Spurs. He is charged with intercepting play and act as the destroyer in breaking up play.
Coady is the playmaker from defence and crucial in starting my attacks. An ever present in the Wolves team and for good reason. He has the most successful long passes with over 200, Van Dijk being the next nearest with 150 odd. Not only has he hit the most long passes but he is also second in accuracy. He is tasked with spreading the ball wide to the wing backs.

Wing Backs: Alonso, Wallker
These have license to stay wide and consistently attack. Both have plenty of pace to get up and down the pitch and can support the defence when required. Both are proven winners and multiple premier league winners.
Walker is a three time PFA team of the year. He has repeatedly been consistent for Spurs and City down through the years Alonso has also been named on the PFA team of the year. He racks up goals and assists and as I mentioned in the drafting phase is an FPL hero of mine.

Centre midfield: Wilshere, Vieira
These two I believe will dovetail nicely off one another.
Vieira was captain of the invincibles. Six time PFA team of the year, winning player of the season in 00/01. For nearly a decade this man was at the heart of Arsenal's two man midfield. Physical, strong in the tackle, unbelievable mentality, he can literally do it all from the centre of pitch and is one of the greatest box to box players of all time. Is well capable of notching up important goals and assists too.
Wilshere I believe works well off Vieira. His prime may have been at a young age due to injuries but lets not forget he was voted PFA young player of the year and into the PFA team of the year, no mean feat. Technically very adept, with a nasty streak also, his job is to sit and dictate play, spreading the ball out wide to the wingers or threading through balls to Vardy as he has an excellent eye for a pass.

Wide Forwards: Alexis, Antonio
Sanchez was my number one pick and for good reason. His body of work at Arsenal was incredible. 60 goals in 122 games most often from the wide position, including 24 in one season. His starting position is from the left but he has free reign to drift centrally as he has Alonso outside him providing width. He is tremendous work ethic and will have no problem working back defensively when required.
Antonio I believe is under rated. A 1 in 4 goal ratio, he would have hit double figures in two of those seasons only for injuries. He provides pace and power from the right side. Having being deployed as a right back for West Ham he is also capable of working back defensively.

Striker: Vardy
Vardy is this years current top Premier League scorer with a 1 in 2 goal ratio in his premier league career. He is exactly the man needed to spearhead the team. Playing with Leicester he has developed the knack of taking his chances when they come along. In this team he will get continued service from the creativity of Sanchez and Wilshere. An ever willing runner, he can score all types of goals.

How the team plays
Attack:
Through the wings. I would argue no other team can match the pace and power of the Alonso/Sanchez and Walker/Antonio combinations. Add Vardy's pace and there is a serious ongoing threat here. With Coady having noted success with long balls and the technical ability of Vieira and Wilshere in the middle, I feel there is great variety in the attack.

Defence:
My three centre backs as noted above, each have their roles and will provide adequate cover as Dier and Coady are familiar with playing in a back three system and Cahill is a high quality defender. Vieira is as good a central midfield player as there is in the draft and will be combative in breaking up play. Add in Walker and Alonso, (although perhaps better in attack) are more than capable to get back and help defensively. That is without mentioning Sanchez, Antonio and Vardy who are three players willing to defend from the front.

Overall I believe this team has enough defensively to cope but will outscore and is far more threatening than the others in my group.

(I will do a separate analysis on Liam O and redzer tomorrow).

Liam O

OK so my team will line up like this in the basic sense.



My idea with regards tactics is to incorporate the best of the ideas from Liverpool and Man City in the last few years. Maguire especially will be capable of playing from the back and what I was looking for in my defenders are leaders and my attack with flair and interchangeability.

Lloris, Delph, Maguire, Morgan, Zabaleta and Milivojević are all current or previous Premier league captains for a lot of games between them so there's no risk of teams gaining a mental foothold or them falling apart as I reckon would happen with a lot of teams in this team if something went against them.

There will be a press led as he does from the front by Firmino with Mané and Jota both involved in similar (or the same as it where with Mane) so this will come as second nature to them.

After that I will be looking for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Scholes to do the same and push up. If we're honest is there a better trio for tactical fouling or running down players than peak Firmino, Ox and Scholes? It will be very difficult for a team to get a foothold or be comfortable at the back.

In effect when the team has the ball I'm looking for something like the below with Firmino dropping into the pocket and Jota and Mane cutting in while Scholes and Ox push wide thus creating 2 triangles full of players who can all interchange with Jota and Mane playing as interchanging forwards once Firmino drops off.



As you can see I've pushed Delph and Zabaleta into defensive midfield positions such as City have been know to do to prevent counter attacks. Whichever side the ball is on that full back has licence to burst forward while the other one will come across and with Milivojević there doing the dirty work in covering them I feel this will be very solid while also setting up a huge attacking threat.

Ultimately I just feel that there is a great balance to my team. Lloris the World Cup winning goalkeeper with 251 PL appearances.

Zabaleta the Man City vice captain for multiple title wins(acting captain a lot of the time because of Kompany's injuries). 302 PL appearances.

Morgan the title winning captain and an absolute warrior who is no slouch with the ball at his feet. 164 PL appearances.

Maguire the England stalwart who is the current Man United captain. 130 PL appearances.

Delph the former Villa captain who reinvented himself at City and his versatility will be hugely helpful. 176 PL appearances.

Milivojević the Palace captain and involved in a lot of insanely good defensive displays, enough technical ability to be trusted with penalties and free kicks so really underrated PL player. Solid as a rock. 111 PL appearances.

Ox the former winger turned intense CM who both has attacking flair and an intense press. 187 PL appearances.

Scholes who at his peak was a majestic goalscorer who will provide a threat from range along with the Ox. Seemed to improve with age as he evolved his game. 499 PL appearances and an all time great.

Diogo Jota the junior member of the team and has shown in his short time in the league that he is a huge threat with some big goals and has produced wonders in Europe too and broken into the Portugal national team. 58 PL appearances.

Firmino the best pressing no. 9 in the world. More than capable of both scoring and assisting and ultimately the perfect fit for my team in that role of interchanging players.

Mane the golden boot winner from last year and has scored over 10 goals 6 seasons in a row. I feel he'll fill his boots in my team. 185 PL appearances and 80 goals.

TLDR: The mix of experience and attacking flair in this team is not something that can be easily quanitified but the numbers speak for themselves and this team is hard to beat.

Liam O

The way in which I think my team will beat wrestlemaniac is that I just don't see the creativity to be able to break my team's press. Vieira and Wilshere are both deep lying players and they wont be able to supply Vardy or Sanchez who are the 2 real threats up there. This means Sanchez will have to come deep where he is pretty bad in all honesty, always at his best around the box. Vardy works best as a counter attack threat but there are not 2 players I'd rather have marking him than his former and current club mates Maguire and Morgan. I don't think the team is set up to his strengths and when he is isolated I feel there will be problems with chance creation and the warriors I have in defence will take control of that area.

A decidedly upper mid table set of CBs I feel will struggle with the movement of my pacy players and the quick passing and interchanging is going to pull them out of position. Ultimately he's just too defensive really with not a great level of creativity will allow the press to gain dividends as they play it around the back and leave long ball as the only option which Maguire and Morgan will eat up.

As for redzerdrog, while I haven't seen his team's setup or formation it looks like he's going with Henderson as the DM with his 2 Liverpool teammates in front of him. I feel that Henderson lacks quality when played deep and isn't able to influence the game as he does when pushed forward. Keita hasn't done it in the PL and while I like that they are matched well with the attacking group that he assembed, Coleman and Jonny aren't going to have the production in terms of creating chances that TAA and Robertson do so there's not too much creativity there.

Salah, Rooney and Jesus all operate in similar areas imo and there is not a true link man to get them firing. They're not going to work at preventing Mane and Jota pushing up on the wings and I feel that with the midfield being busy with Scholes and AOC that they can make hay out wide. Through the middle Smalling and Stones being backed up by an inconsistent keeper who has lacked anything close to his expectations in the league is asking for trouble. I feel that while our teams started off quite similar the extra experience I gained in the later rounds will tell.

redzerdrog

Use this11.com for drawing your football tactics

Firstly my own team. I have tried to build a a structured well balanced team that can both compete physically but also has pace in abundance. My team will press, harry and hound the opposition into submission. The do that effectively you need a level of football intelligence which my team has in abundance. They are all comfortable in possession and will also be devastating on the counter attack.

Goalkeeper
Chelsea and Spain's Number 1 Kepa Arrizabalaga. Will play as a sweeper keep and is very comfortable with the ball at his feet which will help distribution to build counter attacks

Defence
Very Happy with my defence, they possess an abundance of pace and very comfortable on the ball. In the Center i have Stones and Smalling who are both top level Center Halves. I feel they will work well together as a partnership and arent afraid to take responsibility to carry the ball out of defence if required.

Full backs will suit my style of play very well and will create a lot of Width for my team. Coleman is excellent in defence put also creates a lot going forward, particularly peak Coleman of a few years ago when he was regarded as the best Right Back in the league for a period. Jonny is very comfortable playing as either a Full back of Wing Back and again he is another player who creates alot going forward while also not forgetting his defensive duties.

Midfield
I am delighted with the balance of my midfield and it can do everything. All three players complement each-other perfectly and have two world class midfielders in the same team in draft like this is always a bonus. The team will be lead by Captain Jordan Henderson. He has excelled in the DM role over the past few years and even this season with Fabinho injured he slotted back in with such ease and his exceptional performances in the role have him as one of the favorites for POTY this year. He will does the break up play excellently but also when receives the ball he can release the attack with one pass. Ahead of Henderson is Wijnaldum and Kieta who both provide great balance in being a creative force but also covering the wings and ensure that the team create 3 v 2 triangle all over the pitch. There is nobody in the league that plays this role better that Wijnaldum at present and he is intentionally on the left of the three. We havent seen the absolute best of Kieta yet but when fit he is a creative monster for those that are interested in stats his are after the charts when he plays. I think this set up gets the best of of him also, he also isnt afraid to stick his foot in.

Attack
I think again i have very strong attack that has pace, Power and Goals in abundance. Mo Salah has been top scorer every year since joining Liverpool, he guarantees buckets of Goals from the right wing but also creates opportunities for others. I think himself and Rooney would absolutely thrive together. Rooney will start in the centre forward position and i think he is the perfect man the lead the line in this team. He is tenacious and fearless and both scores and creates for others. Throughout Rooneys Career he has likes to drop out to the left wing on occasion and cut in from there and that is why I went with Jesus to complete my front three rather than a more traditional winger. Jesus will start on the left side of the attack however will be giving licence to cut inside and swap with Rooney throughout the game.

Overall I think this team scores plenty of goal whilst also being hard the breakdown.

redzerdrog

wrestlemania
I think the players selected will struggle to implement the 3-4-3 system they are in. For example in this system I think walker would be better off as part of the back 3. The current back 3 dont look to be the most mobile or pacey and I think they would struggle with the movement and pace of Salah, Rooney & Jesus. I also dont rate Dier as a centre Back to be able to lead that back 3 form the middle.

Midfield i think Viera is cracking pick but he ends up with too much to do here as he will be expected to be both the midfield enforcer and the the one breaking forward. I think my 3 of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Keita easily come out on top here which thus wrestlemania struggles to get a foothold on the game.

Front 3 - Antonio is an average player nothing more nothing less. I like peak Sanchez and Vardy however both are reliant on the rest of the team functioning to get the best of them which in this case will struggle to do so. Also my back line has enough pace to nullify this threat.

Liamo
Liamo has built a solid team overall but not sure it functions as well when put all together. The back line is full of very good solid player however together there looks to be a real lack of pace and mobility. i think they would really struggle with the movement and pace of my front 3.

Liams middle 3 is quite well balanced although i think Milo is average he is flanked by ox and scholes. However as a trio i would fancy Henderson, Wijnaldum and Keita to come out on top.

Up front has frustrated me as Liamo has taken his best player and played him out of position. Although Mane can play on the right he is far far better playing from the left and cutting inside and i think this is massive tactical error by Liamo. Jota on the left is a good player but doesnt score enough. Firmino how i love leads the line and usual stuff about firmino not scoring enough because he allows others to do their scoring is fine it a team that wont rely on him for goals. in this set up with Mane out of position and Jota not a prolific goal scorer he will be relied upon more to contribute the goals.

Overall i think my Attack gets more joy out of Liamos defence than Liomas Disjointed attack will get out of my defence.

Thanks to h2tpb for organizing and everyone for taking part its been grand to has a distraction

Edit to say I dont think these tactics will work with Maguire and Morgan left isolated. One long ball into either channel has this side in a world of pain

VOTING WILL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL 12:08 ON THURSDAY JUNE 4th

wrestlemaniac

LiamO
Delph at left back is a major weakness given he has played most of his premier league in centre midfield and only filled in there for City when Mendy got injured.
LiamO asserts that my centre backs are upper mid table standard. Yet Morgan and Maguire have spent their PL careers at Leicester, mostly mid table e to Upper bar a one off year in Morgan case.
Cahill spent a decade at the top with Chelsea and I would argue is a better defender than both Maguire and Morgan. Dier has also played more top level football than both. Coady as I've explained serves as my attacking start and is a more than capable defender.
I would argue that my team doesn't have to beat LiamO press but simply play over it. Only the front four in Liams team have any experience playing a pressing game. By utilising the high wing backs on both sides of my team, the press becomes irrelevant leaving him exposed to my pace.

Redzerdrog
Has a good right side to his team no doubt, however I would have question marks over the left side and here is where my ream would no doubt continue to exploit. With Jesus and Rooney interchanging, it leaves Johnny alone to deal with Walker and Antonio.
He will be relying on Keita to cover here consistently who does not have a significant PL body of work behind him. As a result of this, I see Vieira and Wilshere dominating Henderson and Wijnaldem in the centre.
Finally the pace of Sanchez and Vardy up against Smalling and Stones is a non contest for me, as I don't see either centre back living with them.

Thanks H2D for running, it has been very enjoyable.
Best of luck to redzerdrog and LiamO, may the best team win.

Liam O

redzerdrog wrote: »

Liamo
Liamo has built a solid team overall but not sure it functions as well when put all together. The back line is full of very good solid player however together there looks to be a real lack of pace and mobility. i think they would really struggle with the movement and pace of my front 3.

Liams middle 3 is quite well balanced although i think Milo is average he is flanked by ox and scholes. However as a trio i would fancy Henderson, Wijnaldum and Keita to come out on top.

Up front has frustrated me as Liamo has taken his best player and played him out of position. Although Mane can play on the right he is far far better playing from the left and cutting inside and i think this is massive tactical error by Liamo. Jota on the left is a good player but doesnt score enough. Firmino how i love leads the line and usual stuff about firmino not scoring enough because he allows others to do their scoring is fine it a team that wont rely on him for goals. in this set up with Mane out of position and Jota not a prolific goal scorer he will be relied upon more to contribute the goals.

Overall i think my Attack gets more joy out of Liamos defence than Liomas Disjointed attack will get out of my defence.

Thanks to h2tpb for organizing and everyone for taking part its been grand to has a distraction

In response to this I considered Mane on the left and it is not set in stone that he would be there for the game by any means as the point of Ox and Scholes is to provide support to the wingers when they get the ball. This allows Mane the freedom to interchange with Jota and he was Liverpool's best player the year he played on the right to the point that people were asking if he could translate to the left side. Played there for Southampton and was great there as well. The biggest strength going forward is that my formation is fluid in attack. Ox can push up on the right and free Mane to go wherever he wants while Scholes can move to play deeper beside Milo.

Jota has played as a striker and has a better than 1 in 3 record at Wolves with 43 goals in 120 games so would not agree that he is not a goalscorer. He plays with a proper striker so is hampered somewhat by that at times.

Milo has added a lot to a Palace team who often play above themselves against the big teams. Is a regular in a Serbia team blessed with a lot of good midfielders and adapted straight away to the league. Is quite like Carrick in style but a bit more bite to him which is why I think he and Scholes would have a great relationship.

As the others have said, thanks to 2D, have spent a lot of time the last few days with these hypothetical matchups in my head and fun to think about.

redzerdrog

wrestlemaniac wrote: »

LiamO
Delph at left back is a major weakness given he has played most of his premier league in centre midfield and only filled in there for City when Mendy got injured.
LiamO asserts that my centre backs are upper mid table standard. Yet Morgan and Maguire have spent their PL careers at Leicester, mostly mid table e to Upper bar a one off year in Morgan case.
Cahill spent a decade at the top with Chelsea and I would argue is a better defender than both Maguire and Morgan. Dier has also played more top level football than both. Coady as I've explained serves as my attacking start and is a more than capable defender.
I would argue that my team doesn't have to beat LiamO press but simply play over it. Only the front four in Liams team have any experience playing a pressing game. By utilising the high wing backs on both sides of my team, the press becomes irrelevant leaving him exposed to my pace.

Redzerdrog
Has a good right side to his team no doubt, however I would have question marks over the left side and here is where my ream would no doubt continue to exploit. With Jesus and Rooney interchanging, it leaves Johnny alone to deal with Walker and Antonio.
He will be relying on Keita to cover here consistently who does not have a significant PL body of work behind him. As a result of this, I see Vieira and Wilshere dominating Henderson and Wijnaldem in the centre.
Finally the pace of Sanchez and Vardy up against Smalling and Stones is a non contest for me, as I don't see either centre back living with them.

Thanks H2D for running, it has been very enjoyable.
Best of luck to redzerdrog and LiamO, may the best team win.

Regarding the left hand side this is the reason that Wijnaldum is playin the left of the 3 to provide that support to Jonny if required however I think Jonny is more than able to look after Antonio by himself. I cant see Walker getting too far forward unless you are happy to leave cody, dier and Cahill in 1v1 situations against Salah, Rooney and Jesus.

Either way having the midfield 3 against Viera and Wishere is gona be helpful

wrestlemaniac

redzerdrog wrote: »

Regarding the left hand side this is the reason that Wijnaldum is playin the left of the 3 to provide that support to Jonny.

It's the same result though, in my opinion, peak Wilshere and particularly Vieira then dominate Henderson and Keita in the midfield area. They provide the platform to supply Vardy.

Ferris_Bueller

General thoughts on the teams:

wrestlemaniac - I like this team and the tactical flexibility with Dier being able to operate as a holding midfielder or centre back. I think Wilshere and Vieira work well as a midfield duo, he has great full backs and two very good attacking threats in Vardy and Sanchez. I think Antonio was a fairly poor pick and is a real area of weakness, I think picking Begovic early was a mistake and Coady/Dier are okay but not top tier picks. Down the left he will be threatening but Antonio really stunts him down the right.

Liam O - I like his front three and the detail he has gone into in terms of how he will play. He has a lot of leaders in the team and both centre halves would be a threat from set pieces. His undoubted weakness is the pace in his backline, I think playing a pressing/possession game could be risky with a defence that slow and unfortunately for him his two opponents have pace in their front lines. I'm also not mad on his midfield trio, Milivojevic is average and was probably picked due to a lack of options in this position. Ox has had an inconsistent career, very good in first season at Liverpool but I think the other midfields are stronger.

redzerdog - Really good front line, a good midfield and bonus points for them playing together at club level, tactically I think his team works fairly well for the style he is trying to implement. Some weak points for him though are definitely the pick of Naby Keita who has not been good in the PL, centre backs who can be got at and the front 3 being quite narrow.. Will be a lot of pressure on those full backs to provide the width.

I am going to go with:
1. redzerdog
2. wrestlemaniac
3. Liam O

Tough call but I think Liam O is in trouble with his lack of pace at the back. The other two were hard to call but ultimately I think redzers font 3 will cause more problems and his defence will be better able to cope with wrestlemaniacs attack. I think overall redzer had the least amount of questionable picks too although I do think Keita is a weakness, Henderson & Gini in there with him offer a proven system that works.

Liam O

redzerdrog wrote: »

Edit to say I dont think these tactics will work with Maguire and Morgan left isolated. One long ball into either channel has this side in a world of pain

Missed this part but the idea behind that is that you always have someone covering the flanks. City did it with Delph and Walker and a peak Zabaleta was more than capable of playing in midfield. It means that any quick balls into the channels are chased down by Milo or whatever full back is on the opposite side.

I'm confused about the idea that Morgan is slow above. He was playing with Huth in his peak season and I don't think he was the slow one

Maguire has this reputation for being slow because he's not VVD, you'd think he'd be getting run by all the time, doesn't seem to be the case.

dr.kenneth noisewater

WM - Really like the midfield pairing here and the idea of Dier stepping into midfield. Think the CB could get exposed for pace and wouldn't trust Alonso to cover back enough. Really rated Walker at his peak and Begovic was always a good GK. Sanchez and Vardy up top will worry any defence but maybe are lacking a creator to get them in behind the defence. The left side could be caught out defensively especially with no DM to cover.

Liam - Again a good attack here with Scholes pulling the strings behind. Ox has the legs here and Milo should be decent defensive cover in there. But would be worried about the defence, never rated Lloris and dont think Delph is a good LB. The CBs will dominate in the air but would worry about them against the 2 attacks in this group, the pace of Vardy/Sanchez or Rooney dropping back into the 10 position and dragging them away. Zabeleta is a great outlet for attack here and a player I'd rate highly.

Red - Another nice attack here, was very close to picking Rooney myself and I think he'd work really well with Salah. However the midfield is a concern, I haven't seen anything from Keita since he moved to Liverpool to warrant a place in this draft and he's a real weak link imo. I'd be worried about the defence, Kepa, Stones and Smalling are all liable to a mistake, Henderson and Wij will help cover back but its a big worry. Jonny is decent but is more a LWB than a LB so could get caught out especially with Jesus ahead of him. Rate Coleman highly, this really is the top group for RB's!

Overall I think 3 great attacks but issues in defence. I just cant trust that back 3 in Redzer team and cant judge Keita on EPL performances so its between the other 2 for me. I think wrestlemanic just edges it for me with that midfield pairing at their peak and the pace of Vardy and Sanchez.

Bounty Hunter

I'd agree with the bauld Doctor Ken, 3 great attacks although I'm not convinced by the defences

Delph at LB in a premiership peak draft could cost Liam against such forward lines but I'd probably rate his defenders slightly higher than I would Redzers defensively and it is the defense that will decide this for me I think given that they all have goals in their forward lines. Maybe the fact that Wrestlemaniac has the more defensively solid Viera in midfield than say Scholes has me thinking his team might win more of the ball for his forward line to use and thus I am leaning towards him with my vote even though this is very close

Shanotheslayer

Very very close

But Redzer edges it for me.

That Front 3 are far to good. Defensively a Peak Stones/Smalling pairing is very strong a long side a Seamus Coleman who was one of the best RB in the league at a stage.

His midfield is quite strong and will do the dirty work required to get the ball to Rooney/Salah/Jesus

Mr.Nice Guy

wrestlemaniac - Really like the midfield and think there's a good balance with the wing-backs, though not a huge fan of Coady. Think Begovic was a nice, underrated pick. The energy of the forward line is going to cause lots of problems.

Liam O - Really like the forward line and think it will be well supplied by Scholes and Ox. Would be concerned about Milivojevic as the one to shield things, though I like the defence and feel Lloris is an underrated keeper.

redzer - Great attacking three though not convinced about Jesus on the left of it. Rooney would be better there for me as I think he'd do the defensive duties better, like when he played there in the Ronaldo days. Wijnaldum and Henderson are great picks, though Keita hasn't shown much in the PL as yet. Kepa's stock isn't as high this season compared to last, but I like the defence and feel it will sync well together.

Going to vote for wrestlemaniac. Think the energy of that team is going to be hard to stop, and the system gives it enough stability at the back.

I'll have to vote for Redzer.

Best overall balance. Tonnes of energy in midfield and Jonny is a very underrated left back. Obviously upfront is deadly, plenty of movement and all capable of setting each other up. Good attacking fullbacks with Henderson and/or Gini there to hold the midfield/cover fullbacks.

martyos121

Voting for redzer here. Looks really strong in attack and midfield without sacrificing too much quality in defence. Can’t really pick out any glaring weakness in his side, whereas I wouldn’t too gone on wrestlemaniac’s back line and I’d worry about the lack of pace in Liam O’s centre back pairing, but both great teams nonetheless.

GLaDOS

On my phone so will keep it brief

Wrestlemaniac, lovely front line and central midfield. Love Alonso a wing back as well. Defence and goalkeeper not as strong, but not a complete liability either.

Liam O, talented front line but maybe lacking a little firepower? Good supply from midfield but Milo as a dm is only adequate at best. Solid defence and goalkeeper (best of the 3 I would say) though not a fan of Delph at lb.

Redzerdog, potent front line for sure, but question marks about whoever plays on the left as its not their best position. Goals there for sure however. Henderson and Wiji make for a strong midfield even if Keita is a bit of a non entity in PL terms. I feel like a Smalling and Stones pairing at cb is asking for trouble and Kepa in behind doesn't particularly help.

All teams have strengths and weaknesses, and its a tough call, but my vote goes to Wrestlemaniac for what i feel is the best overall balance.

Morzadec

Such a tight call between Liam O and Redzerdog who have both put together good teams imo.

Wrestlemaniac

Wrestlemaniac's team has weakness imo - Antonio is being asked to play as an inverted winger/forward, with Walker driving up the right taking the main right role. I'm not sure he has the intelligence, trickery and left foot to play this well. He's usually used an more an outright winger, attacking fullback or powerful centre forward. His athleticism and power is his strength and I'm not sure if that really works in this role here which I see being better for a tricky, speedy, skillful player. Coady is another one where I don't like his positioning - the reason he's so effective at spraying ball for Wolves is because he plays at the centre of the 3. He and Dier play similar roles, as almost a kind of creative defender, a sort of DM who plays deeper in a back 3. Overall the back line and goalie don't fill me with confidence and one too many slightly average players in here imo.

Liam O
Liam O's balance works well for me, with perhaps the slight exeption of having no great width on the left (Delph not a natural go-forward fullback, and Jota coming inside from the left), and arguably a lack of pace at centre-back (both good players but maybe could have been benefited by playing with a quicker partner). Lloris might actually help with this though, coming off the line.

The midfield is superb, I think the balance works really well and I see it being a force than can both dominate and create chances.

I like the front 3 two, I see both wide forwards getting chances with Firmino. Again a good job done here in terms of balance and players who work well together. Mane is definitely effective on the right, though his best form has come on the left.

Definitely one of the strongest teams I've seen so far.

Redzer

A phenomenal front 3 on first glance. I see them working well together and will score goals against anyone.

Then he's gone with a midfield 3 that we know will work well together, and again has really good balance - similar to Liam O I think the midfield here has a bit of everything.

The defence has the right balance again to get the best out of the attack and midfield with Jonny and Coleman pushing on.

The back 3 (CBs and Goalie) on their day and at their peak are good players. But there's also some dodginess there too. Kepa I think might have been a bad pick - he's just not really cut it yet in the game, and I think his lack of authority and leadership means that Stones and Smalling don't feel comfortable and we see the worst of them rather than the best.

Decision

It was a close call, I do like Redzer's team and the attack is superb, but after talking through each team I think that question mark over the confidence, leadership and maturity of Smalling/Stones/Kepa is a bigger question mark than anything over Liam O's, and I see them possibly giving up a soft goal.

Going for Liam O

People, am I reading this wrong or is it a draw?

wrestlemaniac

[Deleted User] wrote: »

People, am I reading this wrong or is it a draw?

I think so, 4-4-1 I have it.

Ferris_Bueller

Golden goal?

dr.kenneth noisewater

Maybe let the person with least votes in the group decide?

redzerdrog

I think the organiser should have final say :-)

Only joking

What about leaving it open for another 12 hours or some?

Ferris_Bueller

Might as well leave it open until the other group closes I guess, no rush for it closing before then.

wrestlemaniac

Quickly checks to see who H2D voted for... Eh maybe not

I'm happy to leave it run for 12 hours.

Liam O

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

Maybe let the person with least votes in the group decide?

If I'm out I can add a vote?

Ferris_Bueller

Definitely - voting is open to everyone as far as I know!

y0ssar1an22

i'll have a look in about 30 mins if voting is still open

wrestlemaniac

Go for it LiamO and y0ssar

y0ssar1an22

jesus, this is tough!

Redzer:

liverpool function as a team because of their fullbacks, they're midfield 3 for the most part dont create/score. i have the same concern with your team. you have a super attack, the midfield is meh, not a huge fan of the fullbacks, and the CBs are both very good PL players, as is kepa.

Liamo: zabaleta was a great choice! its a better balanced team. i prefer the fullbacks, and you can argue either way for both teams' CB's and keeper. your attack is slightly weaker than redzers, but your midfield and FBs are better.

I'm going with Liamo!

wrestlemaniac, apologies for not including your team - I think we are in sudden death. and apologies for the not-so in depth analysis. have to go back working!

Liam O

Okay so given I appear to have scabbed an extra vote above I guess it's up to me to break the tie.

I think it's wrestlemaniac between the 2. In a straight match between the 2 with redzer's strength being his attack and the 3 at the back system of wrestlemaniac I think it would nullify a very narrow attack. In midfield Keira hasn't done enough at PL level to warrant much so it's between Vieira, Wilshire and Dier moving forward and Wijnaldum and Henderson so wrestlemaniac wins there. I don't think Antonio is upto much but he's a decent player and peak Sanchez and Barry I would fancy against redzer's defence who I don't rate too highly bar Coleman.

It's very close but I just feel that wrestlemaniac's strengths would nullify redzer's and that would make it very difficult for his team. Sorry redzer!

y0ssar1an22

Liam O wrote: »

Okay so given I appear to have scabbed an extra vote above I guess it's up to me to break the tie.

I think it's wrestlemaniac between the 2. In a straight match between the 2 with redzer's strength being his attack and the 3 at the back system of wrestlemaniac I think it would nullify a very narrow attack. In midfield Keira hasn't done enough at PL level to warrant much so it's between Vieira, Wilshire and Dier moving forward and Wijnaldum and Henderson so wrestlemaniac wins there. I don't think Antonio is upto much but he's a decent player and peak Sanchez and Barry I would fancy against redzer's defence who I don't rate too highly bar Coleman.

It's very close but I just feel that wrestlemaniac's strengths would nullify redzer's and that would make it very difficult for his team. Sorry redzer!

not sure in the interests of integrity you should have the last vote! now, this aint my gig, so will defer to H2DP.

i left out wrestlemaniac cos i thought we were in sudden death.

dr.kenneth noisewater

y0ssar1an22 wrote:

not sure in the interests of integrity you should have the last vote! now, this aint my gig, so will defer to H2DP.

y0ssar1an22 wrote:

i left out wrestlemaniac cos i thought we were in sudden death.

It was a tie breaker between wrestlemanic and Redzer and you picked LiamO!

y0ssar1an22

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

It was a tie breaker between wrestlemanic and Redzer and you picked LiamO!

no way! that cant be correct! if it is :o

Ferris_Bueller

:pac: a calamity of errors. I also said Liam should definitely vote as I forgot he was in this group when I read his post. But it doesn't bother me either way. H2DP will have to earn his wages on this one.

daithi1989

This might help dig some out of a hole!

If voting is still open, I’d have to go for redzerdrog

I stated when voting in another poll, goals win games, and the front trio he has scores more goals in my opinion.

Ah lads, how should we decide? I was on the sauce yesterday...

Morzadec

Outsider here with no stake in this, but it might be fairest to go back and look at the highest amount of 2nd place votes (in the cases where someone intimated a 1,2,3 order)

wrestlemaniac

Given the confusion, my suggestion would be to put us both through and have a three team semi-final, if redzer and whoever topped the other group were agreeable to it.

Shanotheslayer

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

It was a tie breaker between wrestlemanic and Redzer and you picked LiamO!

I got some laugh out of that haha

Liam O

If people want to continue voting for me I've no problem

redzerdrog

Has everyone in the draft voted? What about linking this thread in the main thread and just asking anyone that hasn't voted to cast a vote and keep it open for another 12 hours

Apologies peeps.

Redzer wins.

y0ssar1an22

lads, sorry about that. dont know how i got mixed there the last day!