Wednesday 21 February 2024

BAYERN AND MAN CITY.

 in the past two weeks there were two big games first was bayern munich playing against leverkusen and man city playing against chelsea . first off i will try to analyze man city chelsea game . before i write about the game let me talk about something first . i dont give stats any meaning but one stat is there which is very important is the rate of complete passes by each team and you could see that man city had the highest percentage of passes completed in the game . you can see in the game the type of chances that chelsea missed because the weight on the ball was not perfect and that is why the chance which was there was wasted . i had already said that to  be tactically efficient you have to be technically world class and that is the difference between enzo fernandez and gallagher. 

chelsea started the game with 4-3-3 while man city started the game with the same formation .there was news in the midweek where on gary neville called gaurdiola team not that pleasing to the eyes . to be honest although gary neville is stupid but i do concur that gaurdiola's atleast man city is not that pleasing to the eyes . man city are technically very good and are very good at keeping the ball but let me tell you they dont know as to what to do in the final third or near the box . gaurdiola's team can keep the ball but i havent seen them just open opposition defense at will or murder teams . the game started with man city dominating the possession and chelsea sitting back . there is isnt much in the game to write except cole palmer's performance . this kid was able to keep the ball and play some very good balls to release players in the space . had these chances been taken properly then the result would had been different . 

while watching the game i was intrigued with some points which i want to write over here . chelsea must had practised as to how they are going to play against man city . just as they had practised defense didnt they practised offense so when they practised offense cant they get the players to practise proper weighted passes so as to make the play simpler and enable them to create more chances or finish the chances that were created . just look at the number of chances that chelsea created and how many were wasted because of the wrong passes. secondly there are instances where on players try to overdo things particularly the wingers and forwards . they could see that they could get close down by two players then they should just pass the ball instead of just trying to overdo it and trying to dribble those two players . there are many a things that need to improve for chelsea if they are to achieve something .

bayern played leverkusen, lazio and bochum in a week and lost to all . the idiots in the media had be questioning about kane's curse but none had been talking about touchel's tactic's . bayern under nagelsman was feared in europe . they were playing a very direct game and it was quite effective . touchel had just abandoned it altogether they are slow and one dimensional under touchel . he is struggling on both ends . let me just give you an example in match vs leverkusen adli was continously exploiting the space left by kim . touchel should had made the necessary adjustment as to close that gap that was left by kim . these are little adjustment that need to be done . he has not delivered on that and i am just reading the news that they are going to replace him next season. 

Friday 26 January 2024

SOMETHING OFF MY CHEST .

 i had not been writing for last 3 months . the reason being that when it comes to tactics its always defensive its never offensive . players are shown in positions as to how many are there in front, middle and back but there is never a question about cohesion . what matters on the football field is what you do with the football . it doesnt matters as to whether you play possession game or counter attacking game . what matters is your ability with the ball . it is always said that offense is the best form of defense. you can put the opposition on the back foot if they know your ability on the ball . football is beautiful game but what johan cryuff said is very true . playing football very simple is the most difficult thing . in the recent years football has been very defensive and i havent seen a team who when plays football that you are glued to the screen and cant miss the game for a second . there were two teams that is liked that one the barca team under frank rijkaard and another one was the 2007 man utd team who were just joy to watch . if you ask me as to what is football then let me tell you that football is a mix of physics , mathematics and human intelligence . why physics because when you pass then your mind calculates the pass where to pass and many other parameters . the most important thing is the human intelligence as to when you use the opponents momentum against him and how you outsmart him and out wit him . 

now i had to talk about mouriniho and xavi .why do we practise and what is the importance of a coach . a coach is there to think of the tactics like a chess player who with second prepares for the game . they prepare for their approach as well think about the oppositions approach and think about how they will stop the opposition . they try to go through all the possible anamalies that they can think off and try to find the answer . first off mouriniho he had been at every club for alteast 2 years and more but he had never been able to create a team which had been effective and good on defense and is very effective in the final third . what do you say about xavi . he had played under raijkaard and gaurdiola and very versed with the possession game but let me tell you as coach he is lacking something . his team is struggling in the final third . they just dont know as to what to do when the ball comes in the final third . as a coach its your job to put your team in to paces as to what they should do in the final third . he is coach there for a reason to find a way and teach the team as to how they can put the ball at the back of the net . he had been poor and its time for him to step down . 

india played in the asian cup and lost against australia and uzbekistan . there were some journalists who were saying that india was shown the mirror . he is talking as if india is in an elite category . no they are not . i had been critical of the current indian coach stimac and let me present to you as to why i am critical of this man . first off had stimac been this coach then he wouldnt be coming here he would be in europe or some other place on earth than in south asia . first off what has stimac brought to the team . he has brought the european organisation which is very necessary in team sports . his contribution on the defensive side of the thing had been good . he had helped the team to organise better on defense . the trouble is when we have the ball . there is a lack of cohesion on the offensive front . to be honest there are lot of things that needs to be done before we can make the leap . the team still not techinically proficient as the other teams are . just look at the physical appearance from that you can guage the work that is put out . to be very honest there is lack of ambition in the players . just look at the japenese players . nakata had the ambiition to go and play in italy( 90's belonged to italy) . the others had followed the suit . people will criticize me that japan has many a resources compared to india then look at africa ( they will point out to genetics) . we have to start somewhere and just cant be sorry for ourselves . first we have to be techincally good to execute the tactics . 

there are many a things in which the team is lagging . you cannot have tactics unless you are technically efficient . let me start from the start . bharat is not a rich country and playing as a proffession is still not seen as a viable option . let me come to the national team first now when  stimac took over he should had seen as to what the players are lacking and should had asked them to improve themselves . the players are not physically strong just compare them with other asian teams . he should had asked them to work on their physiques . had the seniors worked on it then it would had percoaled down below and the bottom would had started getting better by looking at their seniors . in india education is given more importance over game and we loss very good players by the time they get to class 10th . we need to have a proper scouting structure to select good players and we need to bring them to coaching centres so that will drastically improve the level of our game . there are many a things that can be done and these are a few of them .

Wednesday 1 November 2023

MY TAKE ON EL CLASSICO AS WELL AS ON MAN UTD .

 on saturday's barca played real madrid in the el classico . the tie is called el classico but there is no classic about this match . there was poor showing in terms of the play. whenever there is talk of tactics it is about how the team stops the opposition not how the team puts the ball in the back of the net . the beautiful game is not beautiful game anymore because of the defensive nature of the game . the opponent will only respect you when you show quality with the ball . the teams just dont know as to what they should do in the final third and how they should work the opposition . 

real and barca both started the game with 5-3-2 formation . now i dont know why real started the game with 5 at the back and why is valverde underrated with his offensive game . valverde's ball retention and his ability over the ball is very good . barca had set themselves up to dominate the possession but that domination never culminated in chances . to dominate the possession barca played a high line and pressed real . there were some key battles and xavi had rightly noticed that if real need to be stopped then they need to stop kross and vinicius . so whenever real had the ball kross was pressed but the player near him either by gavi or lopez . they know that kross is not that mobile and can be pressed . barcelona had specifically congested the middle of the park but the trouble was that they didnt a plan to open real's defense. barca had 2 uptop and three in the middle . out of the top two joao felix would come inside while torres would stay uptop . both barca and real wanted to the other to press then when they had the ball so that they can play around them but to be honest nor one of them did had the plan a as to how they are going to open up the opposition . barca scored in the first half but it was all luck plus a stupid decision making on the part of alaba who should had cleared the ball . 

just as barca's front two were not combining the real's front two were just miles apart . while rodrygo was playing on the right vinicius was playing on the left side . barca were quite susceptible about vinicius's pace . they had araujo tightly marking him .the commentators commented that vinicius needs to do something different .  but didnt ancelotti saw that why did he let him do that or tried to change anything . real were struggling with possession and bellingham who was asked to play as a no. 10 had to come deep to collect possession . real were just poor in the first half they just didnt had the plan when they had the ball . they were relying on vinicius pace to create chaos in barca's defense and try to score from that but there was no plan . 

in the second half real had to change things so right players were introduced . kross was replaced by modric who is much more mobile while mendy was replaced by kamavinga . real changed from 5-3-2 to 4-3-3 . they brought joselu who would be a target man in the middle . to be honest bellingham's first goal was nothing but a lucky or desperation or frustration shot ( but a very good shot ) . real were  not having offense till they scored the first goal. after the first goal with modric and kamavinga's substitution real started to dominate the possession but the second goal was nothing but a bit of luck as well as bellingham's reaction's for which he is very good at . he has shown great reactions which the other player lack . but now i am going to disappoint you . 

as i watching these news and interviews claiming that bellingham is the best player in the world . let me ask as to whether bellingham wasnt playing in the first half . i wouldnt say he was poor but he needs to polished . he still needs to learn to control the tempo of the game . he needs to rally players around him and read the game better . he needs to be involved more in the build up than just the finishing just as modric does . he should just ancelotti as to whether he can play deeper alongside tchoumeni or kross and the control game from there .  he is a diamond who needs some polishing . needs to play more with the middle of the foot . his finishing and positional understanding and reactions are very good . 

man utd lost man city and immediately roy keane was calling for ten heg's head . sadly i agree with that . man utd were just played around . your ability is seen when you have the ball and the opposition respects that but at the same time you need to defend well and have a good tactical plan to stop the opposition . man utd were just played around . you cannot press with eriksen in the middle . secondly you do a lone some press rather than a team press . most importantly utd need to show their quality when they have the ball which is just bad because they just dont have any cohesion in the ranks . 

the other thing is that i was reading daily mail there is podcast by chris sutton that were talking about mason mount . i had already said in one of my earlier post that signing mason mount was a mistake . players like mason mount are never no.10 no defensive abilities and are just waste of money. instead of mount they could had signed better players  . 

Saturday 23 September 2023

MY THOUGHTS ON MAN UTD.

 right of now man utd are down . they have lost 3 games in a row and everybody is gunning for their throats . people like to kick anybody who is down. they cannot point out as to what is wrong and what needs to be improved . i will get straight to the point . man utd are a counter attacking team and the teams have studied that . just look at the game against arsenal . man utd could score against arsenal when they  countered quickly and found the space . what was man utd doing in the game against arsenal . they had pushed back arsenal and arsenal were happy to sit back and invite man utd to come and open up their defenses . man utd were having problems playing through them . they were struggling to play through . what they wanted was that arsenal should come out and close them down so that they can close them down and use that space for their advantage. it doesnt works that way . you should be able to play when teams are sitting back as well as trying to close you down . 

man utd like to close team down and they like to do a quick counter as soon as they recover the possession . man utd like to close from the front but they dont have leg for this .they are playing fernanades and eriksen in the middle of the park . they are not that mobile and that is where this tactics fail. in trying to close team down they have to play higher defensive line. just look at the game between munich and utd . how many times sane and gnabry came deep or between the lines picked up the ball and suddenly man utd were back tracking . third had been that players had been bad in one on one situations or that they just made stupid decisions . in the game against arsenal most of arsenal's attack were from the left with martnelli against wan bissaka . wan bissaka was giving too much time and space for martnelli . he should had just dealt martnelli the way antonio valencia dealt with sterling. he would just sterling  come closer and just use his strength to dilodge him off the ball . another was the way dalot messed up against gnabry. he should had done better . man utd need to be better in one on one situations and the positioning should be better . 

the next thing i am going to write will not go down very well with utd fans but rashford needs to have a reality check . yes he is good but he thing he can do everything by himself . if needs to be more effective then he needs to pass the ball . at this time air has gone in his head and ten heg needs to cool rashford down . he needs rashford to use his team mates . 

in all this dust there is a silver lining for man utd. look at the third goal against munich . if they could just do the same what they did against munich in that goal then they can get back to winning ways and can still turn the season around . 


Friday 18 August 2023

MY TAKE ON THE CHELSEA VS LIVERPOOL GAME .

 the new seasons has started . liverpool played chelsea also there were other games also . i will take one game at a time . before i write about the game i will continue with my prelog as i had done i the past . what is the similarity between badminton and defense in football or positional awareness in football . in the game between liv vs chelsea two goals were scored and both were because of the lack of understanding of positions on defense . what do they do in badminton . badminton player tries to be in the centre after any shot he plays . that is the same in football on defense you should be aware of your position and it is not respect to your team but also with respect to opposition . i will try to explain in coming para . 


chelsea started the game with 3-5-2 while liverpool started the game with 4-3-3 . for chelsea james was the difference maker while for chelsea salah and diaz's pace were the ones causing chelsea problems . both teams lacked some things first off  chelsea they should had seen that liverpool like to counter thrrough salah  . disasi or colwill was marking him . now he was left exposed by chelsea . first off silva should had moved closer to either of them to better salah . secondly both silva and colwill should have the awareness and reading as to what salah can do . it not what salah can do but also which team mate he can link up with  and the way he can exploit the defense . for the first goal disasi was going to mark salah he cannot get too close to him but still remains near him. at this time chelsea were playing a bit too high defensive line . first off silva and colwill should had checked their body shape as well as their defensive positions . they got it all wrong and ended up one goal down. colwill should have that awareness not only of the players around him but also the spaces around him. 



the game continued and chelsea equalized . chelsea's goal was the reason as to why i am writing this post . chelsea were having the corner . what is the first thing that the defensive team should do when they are facing the corner . they should try to nullify the threat . starting the counter is second thing  and it comes only when you can safely deal with the corner . when the oppostion takes the corner at that time special positions are taken by players depending upon the height . the goalkeeper needs to take control of the situation and should ask his players to first defend the corner and then think of starting the counter attack . what had been seen is that the players just leave the positions as soon as they clear the ball on the first instance but the ball is in oppositions possessesion and its is coming back . the goalkeeper needs to shout to his players to keep their shape and deal with it till the ball is out of play on the possession changes. 

i would had loved that mudryk started the game instead of sterling also if i am pochettino i wouldnt ever play childwell . hopeless english player spends too much time on the ball hasnt got the positional awareness more interested in his hair than his football skills . now that chelsea had signed caicedo so enzo will have more freedom to go forward . 

there were other games that were played amongst them were psg and bayern games were there . i really cant understand the footballing world . i had been shouting about danny olamo. he was superb in this game i still baffled as to why his name is not at the top of the desired player in every top clubs wish list. i had already said when touchel was oppointed that bayern had shot themselves in the foot. just as bayern have shot themselves in the foot so has psg by appointing luis enrique as their coach . unless psg can keep mbappe and have one or two more flair players in their squad or else they will struggle . 

i think there is lot of transfers left and we can expect to see lot of players changing clubs . 


Friday 4 August 2023

TRANSFERS .

 let us start conversation on transfers . i want you guys to contribute and i will also express my opinion on it . hope you keep me busy. 

both liverpool and man utd are interested in romeo lavia but i think he is still a work in progress . he is young athletic and strong but his first touch still needs to be sorted out and that is one of the most important aspect for whoever wants to be a good player. liverpool releasing fabiniho was a mistake they should had kept him . i think for utd amravat can be a better signing compared to lavia . 

Monday 29 May 2023

TRANSFERS .

 since the season has completed or will get complete in a week or so . the teams had started looking for players that improve their squad and can add depth and quality . i will start with man utd since i had posted about man utd in december of last year . man utd are linked with mason mount and declan rice . first off mason mount a player who cannot secure place in his own team and is more interested in his hair than his football . what is his position isnt a wide player hasnt got pace hasnt got the creativity and wont do the defensive work that is required of midfielder utterly hopeless .  ten heg should remain clear of this player . on the other hand rice is quite decent . the only drawback is that he will need carving out by ten hag but has good defensive sense so can be a buy is absolutely require is  not the case . if declan rice has some sense then he should sign up for utd . the other player that is linked with utd and will be hot this summer is kane for who madrid will too try to sign him . kane is definitely the player whom utd should sign because he is quite a good alround player and good striker but dealing with daniel levy is big headache and i think kane will have to force a move to sign for utd. utd dont need centre backs or full backs but they can cull the squad wan bisaka is better than dalot and he can be sold with maguire lindelof and many others . man utd need a midfielder and can they pursue 

lets talk about chelsea what had happened at bayern has happened at chelsea . the result of this chaos was at the start of the season when stupid players were brought in where as they just needed one or two players they brought one too many. why was sterling purchased while he is just washed out player. to add to that misery they brought a lot in december . some of the players are ok but it takes time to gel plus a good manager not some one like lampard who is idiot . pochettino should do good . he has a good squad and if he makes proper choices and keeps proper players and releases medicore ones then i think next season chelsea can challenge the title which will be expected of them . 

i like to talk players . now messi is leaving psg and whether mbappe will follow the suit is there to be seen . first off i think if psg are wise then they should not pursue and get head over heels for him to play next season for them . instead they can get some very good players for his price like randall kolo nuani or rafael leao who are good . atleast kolo nuani had impressed me and he can be player that real madrid will go after if they cant mbappe . i think there is a season or two with benzema but they need to have a good player in place who can do things for them and kolo nuani or rafael leao can be one of them . there are some good players who should be looked at is salemackers of ac milan and strasbourgh striker habib diallo. 

i think that the reason dortmund lost the title was because there is something wrong between edin tedric and bellingham . why didnt bellingham played in the last two matches . he wasnt even brought on as the substitute . i think he could be the next one to be fire just as touchel has . i had already called for kahn head which has happened . if tottenham have any sense then they will appoint potter at the next manager .