I'll blog my personal experience for the upgraded Demogorgon, but not here.
So why double shot fatality?
Because Demogorgon says so. Or rather he does so. During our last home game, we got our very first double shot fatality. Against Everton, it's like getting a double shot fatality together with 5 minor wounds upon respawn. Sounds familiar? If so, then it means you know what I'm talking about for the new epic Demogorgon.
Proof of the sandwich?
They say the proof of the cake lies in eating it. I say the proof of the sandwich lies in the patty. If I told the veggie burger at McDonald tastes good, it doesn't mean you should believe me even if you're a vegan. You'll have to taste the patty to know whether this Singaporean omnivore is lying or not (ato be honest, the veggie burger tastes nice).
My brain is now running low on oxygen now no thanks to countless late night blogging ever since April 2012. I can only blame my nation and the entire world for putting me under the global limelight. Period.
So what does this mean?
It means I'll most likely be writing shorter posts in the future (provided that my OCDP side won't act up again).
Back to the sandwich...
When Mauricio "poached by Jewtown" Pochettino first cut his teeth as a football manager, it was after Nigel "Adkins' footballing diet" Adkins got sacked as manager of Southampton. One of, if not the trickiest thing lies in getting out of relegation. The team wasn't winning enough matches, too many other teams knew what the Adkins' diet was all about. Long ball tactics are like the protein you'd find in meat. Important, yes. The only important thing, no. If long balls are like protein, then scoring goals will be that more vital carbohydrate. So long the strikers are not getting goals, being a draw specialist will see you relegated. Not to mention losing matches along the way.
Pochettino's job is to fix what went wrong, not what went right. The initial period of his stewardship was like that of Aitor "El Calvario" Karanka when he first took over from Mogga. The direction was anything but the same. The process was equally excruciating. Yet, Pochettino managed to turn around a dressing room low on morale. If both he and Adkins were on the same footballing diet, then it's only natural for us to say "no big deal". Problem is, Pochettino's footballing brain is quite the opposite of the Adkins' diet. Ultimately. Southampton survived the drop. That's only the beginning.
Come the next season, Southampton had gotten harder to beat progressively. At the same time, the Saints were scoring for fun. While at the south coast, Pochettino favoured a 4-3-3 approach. So how did this system work exactly? Why was it that the Saints could score for fun while keeping things tight at the back 4 teh lolz? Let me draw you a simple diagram.
^Attack^
Midfield
v v v v
^ ^ ^ ^
Defence
Basically, I'm using the v/^ as the arrows. Above diagram is how the stereotypical compact XI works. The firing squad will be miles ahead of the rest while the midfield and defence bunch themselves together. While this strategy is the standard defend-from-the-deep fare, it must also be stated that upping the offensive line is tactically possible.
Attack
v v v v
Midfield
^ ^ ^ ^
Defence
Above is most likely Pochettino's strategy for Southampton. By forcing the defence to play higher up, there's no need for the midfield to run up and down like a crazy Rooney. At the same time, the midfield can be afforded the freedom to control the match. So long the defence didn't screw up, everything's fair game for the midfield. However, there's also a need to protect the middle 3rd so that opponents won't prevent the midfield from playing the ball forward. This is where the offensive line comes in. By compacting the midfield via the defence and attack, there's no need for the midfield to fall back. It's like making a sandwich. You only need to place the patty in between two halves of the loaf. No need to think whether the patty should be nearer to the lower half or the upper half.
This is where the genius of Pochettino shone. It's actually a simple strategy. Something which not many football managers can think of.
From the prawn sandwich in the south coast to the beef sandwich in London
Sure enough, Daniel "the Jewish" Levy came knocking by. The Spurs back then was reeling under a major crisis. If you think it sucks to be a Gooner, think again. At least Les Gunners won the league before. At least Les Gunners have a history of playing Champions League football. If there's any reason for a north Londoner to be a fan of the bottle, it'd be the White Hart Lane.
Again, same old story. It took Pochettino some time to steady the ship. While the Spurs bottled it once again last season, the fans have seen enough to be optimistic in the long run.
Fast forward to this season and the Spurs are now looking more of a contender than a pretender (something which the Spurs fans would remind the Gooners happily). On the first glance, Pochettino is the master of attacking football. In reality, he's a manager who advocates the necessity of defence. In this sense, he thinks more like an Adkins than an AVB.
In Southampton, the south coasters hailed Adam "his passing cuts deeply like a hot knife through lasagne" Lallana and the much lesser known Jay "not Mr Chou" Rodriguez as the creative heroes from the south. While Lallana and Rodriguez are quite different players (Lallana is more of an Iniesta while Rodriguez is more of a Messi), the common ground between the two lies in the kind of energy lasting longer than a Duracell bunny. In other words, it's called running up and down non-stop. However, it doesn't mean this dynamic duo would have to run from one end of the 4-3-3 to the bottom end of the same 4-3-3 by default. It's called running smart. All they had to do was to compact the midfield without the middle 3 over exerting themselves.
Come the White Hart Lane, nothing much was changed apart from the formation tweak. By adopting a 4-2-3-1, however, Pochettino now has the tactical luxury to move the midfield movers around. The thing with Southampton's 4-3-3 lies in the opposition knowing which part is the bun and which part is the patty. Under the 4-2-3-1 system, it can easily go 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1. If Pochettino feels like it, I won't even discount a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2.
Come the White Hart Lane, nothing much was changed apart from the formation tweak. By adopting a 4-2-3-1, however, Pochettino now has the tactical luxury to move the midfield movers around. The thing with Southampton's 4-3-3 lies in the opposition knowing which part is the bun and which part is the patty. Under the 4-2-3-1 system, it can easily go 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1. If Pochettino feels like it, I won't even discount a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2.
Before I start touching on Pochetinno's tactical fulcrum, this Descendant of the Son deserves a bit of mention. With Harry "yet to become a goal hurricane" Kane out injured, the most likely candidate for the centre-forward role would be Vincent "not van Gogh" Janssen. While it remains to be seen on whether he can justify his status as "more than just a blind man's Kane", the more important question lies in who will play in the hole 9. As a player, Kane is more of a Filippo "born this way" Inzaghi than a Rooney. Hence, what he needs most as a player isn't some kind of modified English cannonball. He's a player who collects the ball and shoot. It's that simple.
While I'm pretty sure Son "Descendant of the Son" Heung-min won't get the nod ahead of that tactical fulcrum for the hole 9 position, it'd still be quite intriguing to guess whether he'll start the game out wide. By Korean standards, Descendant of the Son is truly one son of a gun. I don't really remember any Korean footballer boasting both tactical versatility and technical finesse on his level. This guy can just play anywhere across the offensive line. Traditionally, Japan has always been that ichiban powerhouse in Asian football. The technical level boasted by the Japanese shouldn't be taken lightly. In the last 10 years or so, however, the Koreans from the south have been closing ground with the tenacity of Park "the kimchi man" Ji-sung. In fact, South Koreans have been known for their competitive streak. You can pretty much see it from the way they live out their patriotism. Plenty has been spoken about patriotism in China and Japan. More needs to be said on the Koreans (of course a competitive streak will always go two ways).
If Descendant of the Son starts the match tomorrow, it'll not be as a second striker behind Janssen. Pochettino's brain doesn't work this way. Remember folks. There's not much difference between a prawn sandwich in the south coast and a roast beef sandwich in London. Both are still sandwiches, kimchi or no kimchi.
Note: I realised we do not have much luck with the Koreans from the south. Those from the north, maybe. But that's during 1966. Kim Il-sung was still alive and kicking back then. Last time I checked, Lee "finally a Lee who is not a dragon" Dong-gook was an abject piece of business. Last time I checked, Park "not the 대통령" Shin-hye earned her bragging rights over yours truly. Apparently, I wasn't on Twitter when Lee "why so many dragons surname Lee?" Chung-yong came off the bench.
Above player is an indication on where Pochettino's tactical fulcrum lies. Namely Dele "says hello" Alli. When we talk about British comedy, a few titles come to mind. We have Mr Bean and Johnny English. Then we have The Black Adder and Allo 'Allo!
Of course if that's not enough, we have the Three Pussy Cats.
Understanding Alli as a player is like understanding Adele as a singer. As a singer, Adele boasts an impressive vocal range. As a footballer, ADele boasts an impressive stamina. As a no.10, ADele's strength lies in pushing up the offensive line. Unlike Paul "Le Chevalier Noir" Pogba, however, Alli.D is more aggressive in getting forward and less on dictating the tempo by holding down play. In fact, there's a reason why Moussa "not some black mousse" Sissoko is favoured on the right.
Alternatively, we may end up seeing Alli.D on the bench instead. The reason why? This guy below.
My note to Señor? Basically, just watch out for the upper half of the bun. Pochettino's strategy hinges heavily on two dynamic wide attackers defining the offensive line. This is also why Alli.D can be afforded the license to kill with impunity. At the same time, the fullbacks can also bomb forward at times due to Pochettino favouring a ball anchor approach when it comes to the attacking three behind the striker. The patty lies in the central midfield triangle, but it will be the top half of the bun which will bring out the best of the patty. If we can't find a way to breach Pochettino's four by two, it doesn't mean the end of the world. If we can find an effective way to breach the three-man wall behind the lone striker, Pochettino may easily start sweating. Easier said than done? You bet.
P.S: Brain half-dead now. Need to sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment