Rafa's ideas & tactics...

[crisps]

Apart from Burn Him / Sack him etc... I've been thinking more about our Rafa and our performances this season...

 

We looked like a lower league team last night struggling and being outclassed by a prem team, Wigan looked like they knew how to attack and they also looked like a team playing without fear....

 

...and I increasingly thinking Rafa has become too over obsessed with tactics which is pretty much sapping the life, enthusias, creativity and drive out of all our players. He's spent years studying tactics etc but it seems now he is trying to control everything every player does on the pitch and his ideas are probably too advanced for most of them to understand and apply. I can imagine all the players sat there bored out of their minds in the dressing room.

 

Now I've never been a fan of Jermaine Pennant and personally think he is awful but I think he had a point when saying rafa had him on a leash on the field (although he wouldn't have been any better of it) but aside from this, I think this applies to all players and they're under way too many instructions on the field which is restricting everything they do. the s**** one's more so...

 

Again not defending him but it's no co-incidence thicker players like Babel look awful when he starts a game as he can't express himself as he's under too much of a game plan. When he comes on as a sub for ten minutes he's allowed to just be himself and go for it as he knows best.

 

I also think this is why we hardly see youngsters like Pacheco playing more because he think's they are too tactically naive and doesn't seem to realise gambles sometimes pay off and that youth can be unpredictable in a good way, maybe we'll see him more in a couple of years when he's been wrecked.

 

I can't even remember the last time we put a decent move together and scored off it, I can't even remember the last time we put together a decent passing move and had a shot from it. Most of the players out there look like they've never played with each other before and they're scared to death of making any mistakes hence why all the hoofs, back passes and general predictable slow build up.

 

Add his awful case of favouritism to the mix and you can only have a bunch of players how are incredibly bored, demotivated and in need of a break from him...

Edited March 9, 2010 by crisps

[Cunny]

passing it to another red shirt seems to be too complicated for a lot of our squad at the moment

[yellow jumper]

i like the sentiment of your first line.

 

but i disagree with the point about tactics. i think, as you hint in other areas of your post, at times he's just been too conservative in changing things. we're just doing the same old things, with the same old combination of players and hoping the consistency of those things will see us through. there hasn't been much difference in the quality of the play.

 

let's get another thing right, wigan have been utter dross for most of the season, or at the very least their results have. easy to play without fear in a no-lose game like liverpool, lets see how they do against fellow relegation strugglers.

 

there isn't a team in the league this season that isn't capable of rolling over a big club. in fact i think they all have. bar perhaps wolves.

 

there are problems throughout the team, but we've been utter dross defensively. that's the bottom line of all this. if we go attacking, we're compromising the defensive side of things, and the players know it, if we go defensive we're sacrificing territorial advantage, and much of our ability to retain the ball, which in turn emphasizes our lack of pace and ability to switch play quickly in attack.

[Zoob]

Rafa is a tactical genius. Most likely the best manager we've had in terms of tactics. This genius shines through when we play at the Real Madrid, or Inter Milan.... but against teams struggling against relegation, I want us to attack in numbers, make the opposition worried about us, not the other way round. I don't want to see Kuyt on the edge of our box, I don't want to see our players so deep, and Torres so isolated that there really is nowhere to go...

 

Wolves hadn't kept a clean sheet in ages when we went there (and at the time, only 1 or 2 teams had failed to score against them), yet we failed. Bolton, Sunderland and West Ham were the only teams that hadn't scored against Wigan at their ground this season, yet we've added ourselves to that list too.

[Flasher]

Our players have to much to think about other than just playing - i do not see how anyone can deny that. It's just Rafa's way.

 

We still defend corners with everybody in the box, no matter who we're are playing. Rafa is cautious, he has his style, and he insists on the players all having very specific duties.

 

It's his style.

 

When a team is low on confidence, they will naturally resort to the caution, and silly mistakes get made, like remembering how to trap a ball and pass it.

 

Rafa is at his best when the players are confident, as then his tactical mind shines through. Right now, the players are not confident, and he is not the sort to give them this. They will need to find it by themselves, which could ultimately cost him his job.

 

There's nothing wrong or right with this, it's just the way he works, and he has had success.

 

For me, he needs to adopt a different style until the players are playing with more confidence. For now, he needs to let them of the leash a little, take the load of their shoulders a bit and let them get some confidence back.

[crisps]

Yep when it works it's very good but I just can't see why it can go from that to playing Hot Potato for the next game 5 games against much worse teams. He needs to at least develop a plan B against these 'lesser teams or else he's going to be on his way.

Edited March 9, 2010 by crisps

[richwilks]

passing it to another red shirt seems to be too complicated for a lot of our squad at the moment

 

I disagree completely with this...

 

We seem to be able to knock it from full back to central midfield to center back on a continuous loop perfectly

 

 

 

[Flasher]

I disagree completely with this...

 

We seem to be able to knock it from full back to central midfield to center back on a continuous loop perfectly

 

Which takes us neatly back to Alonso. Thread over...

[Bootle Buck]

Rafa is a tactical genius. Most likely the best manager we've had in terms of tactics. This genius shines through when we play at the Real Madrid, or Inter Milan.... but against teams struggling against relegation, I want us to attack in numbers, make the opposition worried about us, not the other way round. I don't want to see Kuyt on the edge of our box, I don't want to see our players so deep, and Torres so isolated that there really is nowhere to go...

 

Wolves hadn't kept a clean sheet in ages when we went there (and at the time, only 1 or 2 teams had failed to score against them), yet we failed. Bolton, Sunderland and West Ham were the only teams that hadn't scored against Wigan at their ground this season, yet we've added ourselves to that list too.

 

I'm not sure he is a tactical genius, but he is obviously more comfortable playing defensively with the chance to snatch a winner. When we have to go at teams we seem completely lost. We still have to play the short passes sideways that get nowhere fast. We are incapable this season of mounting any type of all out attack to retreive games, like we did in many last season. It doesn't help that he seems to drain any attacking or creative flair out of many of the players we sign and instead they become more defensive minded. There is an obvious reason the likes of Babel, Aquilani and Riera have sat the bench recently. They are not as adept at getting back and defending quite as well as those he selected. Even Glen Johnson looked a shell of himself after a few games and has been nowhere near as adventurous since.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Bootle Buck

[Nebraska Red]

Rafa appears to be killing the player's ability to enjoy the game and express themselves as individuals.

 

It looks like each player has been given a file containing moves and passes the yare allowed to make.

 

You watch the likes of Insua and Lucas and the ylook positively scaredwhen they have the ball in case they go "off message"

 

We don't have sound tactics for corners at either end of the pitch, we even struggle to make throw ins to a red shirt at times.

 

If i was Torres, I would be going frigging spare every bloody game. He stands alone , gets kicked all over the place and then gets called for even the slightest nudge on a defender.

 

You can see the lack of discipline and frustration kicking in as we are getting yellow cards in buckets at the moment.

 

Wigan were as s**** as us last night, they won because of a mistake and the fact they hade more athleticism than us on on the night.

[Earl Hafler]

Rafa is a tactical genius. Most likely the best manager we've had in terms of tactics. This genius shines through when we play at the Real Madrid, or Inter Milan.... but against teams struggling against relegation, I want us to attack in numbers, make the opposition worried about us, not the other way round. I don't want to see Kuyt on the edge of our box, I don't want to see our players so deep, and Torres so isolated that there really is nowhere to go...

 

Wolves hadn't kept a clean sheet in ages when we went there (and at the time, only 1 or 2 teams had failed to score against them), yet we failed. Bolton, Sunderland and West Ham were the only teams that hadn't scored against Wigan at their ground this season, yet we've added ourselves to that list too.

 

 

I think some of that's true, but we also played our best football under him when the players were expressing themselves.

 

Last night was another example of us being worried about the opposition more than being prepared to have a go at them. The worst performances iv'e seen have been against poor teams who we've given too much respect to and set up defensively against them. I'd have much rather have seen Babel playing against Wigan than Kuyt.

We gave them too much confidence. Yet another shyte side on a poor run that we were worried about.

[Billy Dane]

It isn't his tactics that stops a player from moving into space to receive a pass.

[drdooom]

People talking about football players 'expressing themselves' need to stfu. They're athletes, not Jimi Hedrixes or Picassos. This stuff about them expressing themselves has crept into the football language the last few years and it needs to stop. Playing free flowing football with tactical freedom is fine and all but it's still a sport and not f***ing free form dancing.

Edited March 9, 2010 by drdooom

[Redkop]

Rafa is was a tactical genius. Most likely the best manager we've had in terms of tactics. This genius did shine through when we played at the Real Madrid, or Inter Milan....

 

Past tense now.... I truly think the stress has got to him and he has lost his way.

 

There is no logic to his choice of tactics or the players he picks anymore. I see the teamsheet and think, good choice, good attacking team, then to find it's not, it's a disjointed effort of players who don't seem to want to be there.

 

Rafa is floundering and seriously failing in his attempts to regain a team capable of being in the top four.

[Swipe]

Past tense now.... I truly think the stress has got to him and he has lost his way.

 

There is no logic to his choice of tactics or the players he picks anymore. I see the teamsheet and think, good choice, good attacking team, then to find it's not, it's a disjointed effort of players who don't seem to want to be there.

 

Rafa is floundering and seriously failing in his attempts to regain a team capable of being in the top four.

 

Been thinking that too. He looks a beaten man at the moment.

[cymrococh]

It isn't his tactics that stops a player from moving into space to receive a pass.

Exactly.

[Earl Hafler]

It isn't his tactics that stops a player from moving into space to receive a pass.

 

Err..it might be.

 

Unless you're one of those that believes the manager trains the players perfectly through the week and then they get onto the pitch and perform inexplicably poorly.

" Rafa didn't ask him to kick it out of touch, did he ? "

[muleskinner]

Err..it might be.

 

Unless you're one of those that believes the manager trains the players perfectly through the week and then they get onto the pitch and perform inexplicably poorly.

" Rafa didn't ask him to kick it out of touch, did he ? "

 

Yep, he drills them on passing to the opposition.

[Zoob]

Just watching the Arsenal game - and yes, I know they haven't won anything in years either - but right from the start, Arsenal are attacking, getting lots of players in and around the box, constantly on the move... this is how football should be. From the first minute, both full backs are up and around the opposition box. Even when we fell behind last night, our full-backs weren't advancing much beyond the half way line.

[JonShar]

I think Rafa has lost confidence in himself as much as the team has lost theirs.

 

The Wigan game - inside the first 20 minutes it was clear that N'Zogbia was going to be a handful for Insua - smart move (in my opinion, and I just run a restaurant) was to move Kuyt to the left wing and Benny behind Nando, to give Insua some more support defensively.

 

How Kuyt managed to last virtually the entire game was beyond me, I don't think he made one successful pass.

[Leo No.8]

Just watching the Arsenal game - and yes, I know they haven't won anything in years either - but right from the start, Arsenal are attacking, getting lots of players in and around the box, constantly on the move... this is how football should be. From the first minute, both full backs are up and around the opposition box. Even when we fell behind last night, our full-backs weren't advancing much beyond the half way line.

 

Wenger gets on my t*ts, I can't stand all this purist football business but Arsenal have played more entertaining football in the first half hour here than we have for many months and that really is no exaggeration. Certainly since we took Hull, Stoke and Burnley apart early in the season and beat United; I don't think we've played really well for about 5-6 months which is one hell of a 'blip'.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Leo No.8

[Billy Dane]

Err..it might be.

 

Unless you're one of those that believes the manager trains the players perfectly through the week and then they get onto the pitch and perform inexplicably poorly.

" Rafa didn't ask him to kick it out of touch, did he ? "

 

Err.. that's right. Rafa and Sammy Lee have introduced a series of fines for players who who refuse to stand still for 90 minutes.

 

I think the problem lies with a number of (senior) players feeling sorry for themselves and going hiding as a result. There are a variety of reasons for this, injuries, not winning the league last year, Alonso going, the Americans staying, out of the league before christmas, out of the CL, the world cup coming up, the nasty teams we play trying too hard to win the game and so on. Ultimately the buck stops with the Manager and he will suffer the consequences, but the attitude of some of the players has been pathetic.

[Romario]

Rafa is a tactical genius. Most likely the best manager we've had in terms of tactics. This genius shines through when we play at the Real Madrid, or Inter Milan.... but against teams struggling against relegation, I want us to attack in numbers, make the opposition worried about us, not the other way round. I don't want to see Kuyt on the edge of our box, I don't want to see our players so deep, and Torres so isolated that there really is nowhere to go...

 

Wolves hadn't kept a clean sheet in ages when we went there (and at the time, only 1 or 2 teams had failed to score against them), yet we failed. Bolton, Sunderland and West Ham were the only teams that hadn't scored against Wigan at their ground this season, yet we've added ourselves to that list too.

At inanimate chess pieces maybe. But as a man manager allowing certain players to show their flair and accommodating their skills within the team by making other players do the leg work he's poor. I can't imagine John Barnes making it in the current team set up personally.

Ferguson is not as tactical as Rafa at all (and it has shown him up in europe countless times) but he knows how to motivate players and he knows how to prime his team EVERY WEEK for 20 plus years to give all and often play above the sum of their parts.

[Hassony]

I can't imagine John Barnes making it in the current team set up personally.

 

what utter rubbish

 

Gerrard scored 80% of his career goals under rafa, how does that fir in your little theory

 

 

[Coyler]

At inanimate chess pieces maybe. But as a man manager allowing certain players to show their flair and accommodating their skills within the team by making other players do the leg work he's poor. I can't imagine John Barnes making it in the current team set up personally.

Ferguson is not as tactical as Rafa at all (and it has shown him up in europe countless times) but he knows how to motivate players and he knows how to prime his team EVERY WEEK for 20 plus years to give all and often play above the sum of their parts.

We should get Ferguson. Ferguson would win the league for us. Let us first get Ferguson. And then we will win the league.