Ronald Koeman

Givenchy

Givenchy

Senior Member
after this seasons inevitable fail we need to hire a world class manager, no more ex-Barca or Barca DNA bullshit.. sadly, watch them appoint Xavi :facepalm:
 
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vegitot

Senior Member
Birdy said:
Playing 3 slow/not defending or unable to dribble of 4 attacking players in Koeman's 4-2-3-1 is a recipe for disaster.
On the contrary, it should be optimally 3/4, but at least 2/4 both running a lot and able to beat opponent on 1vs1.

Bayern lifting CL had both Gnabry and Coman on the wings, while Miller and Lewa were working like crazy off the ball.
That Ajax of 18/19 had Nerez (great dribbler and playing with intensity), Ziyeck (again great dribbler, albeit less intensity), Tadic similar, and Van de Beek (monster of intensity).
It may sound on paper like fielding two 10s (Tadic and Ziyec) and one winger (Neres), while VdB is neither.
Griezmann maybe able to replicate what VdB did in central positions, but the two 10s we have (Messi and Cou) cannot do the off the ball work and do not have the intensity the two of them had.


In the good scenario where Suarez gets out and Depay comes in, we have the following 8 players to fill those 4 attacking positions:
Messi, Coutinho, Griezman, Dembele, Ansu, Trincao, Pedri and Depay if he comes

We got:
-Unable to beat opponent on 1vs1: Griezman, Coutinho?
-slow/ Unable to run intensely: Messi

On the contrary, the next 5 in line are:
-Able to beat opponent on 1vs1: Ansu, Dembele, Trincao, Depay, Pedri
-Able to run and play intensely: Ansu, Trincao, Depay, questionmarks about the other two

So, what Koeman does is lumping all three problematic ones (Messi, Coutinho, Griezman) in his preferred starting XI, and leaving only one spot for the other 5 (everyone of which ticks at least one category and some tick both)??
Does not make any footballing sense.
He is just bowing to authority. He has decided in his mind that he should make Griezman, Cou starters because they were expensive signings and Messi because he does not have the balls to challenge him.
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Coutinho actually can take on his opponent. Now with his upgraded physique he can do it better.
 
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vegitot

Senior Member
Givenchy said:
after this seasons inevitable fail we need to hire a world class manager, no more ex-Barca or Barca DNA bullshit.. sadly, watch them appoint Xavi :facepalm:
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Appoint Xavi, using La Masia players, sound good. Fans on social media will go nuts until the result is nothing.
 
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Porque

Senior Member
No point bringing back Valverde after missing out on Willian on a free.

Just think, if we had given Valverde Willian as wanted in 2018/2019 we would of had a treble.
 
BusiTheKing

BusiTheKing

Senior Member
There are definitely improvements to be excited about. The biggest one is probably putting Messi in the free, exogenous role which lets us defend as a solid collective unit without him causing holes. Having an actual winger that tracks back and exploits the flank in attack is a huge step up towards looking like an actual balanced team.

Against Elche, we probably created more chances than in 9 out of 10 of Valverde's games against similar sides. Friendly, yes, but still a positive indication.
 
serghei

serghei

Senior Member
BusiTheKing said:
He wants to play four primarily offensive players compared to Valverde's preferred two. That alone should give us some more exciting games.
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Yea, let's see us how we cope defensively against teams that pose offensive threat. You're losing a midfielder in a team that already had defensive issues playing with 3 in midfield. Don't see how playing with 2 now is going to improve that, unless we're seeing some pretty incredible work-rate from the 4 above them.

Just don't see it at this point.

Just play 4-3-3 with Messi central, Dembele - Trincao wide, and use a 3 man midfield of Pjanic/Puig - De Jong/Pjanic - Puig/Coutinho.
 
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Porque

Senior Member
We're set up like a national team and I can see us getting overrun in club football.

Saying that Coutinho seems to be tracking back effectively. But the wingers will need to be subbed every game to keep intensity. Do we have the options to do that?
 
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