On the edge of sanity

A nostalgic kick for Dalglish

Kenny Dalglish has gone. That’s it, get over it. He’s gone for good this time. Gone for good until Rafa Benitez replaces him, is sacked again, they hire Roy Hodgson after the European Championship again and sack him again and then appoint Kenny Dalglish again. Then he’s gone for good. Gone for good until Rafa Benitez replaces him, is sacked again, they hire Roy Hodgson again and sack him again and then appoint Kenny Dalglish again. Then he’s gone for good. Gone for good until Rafa Benitez replaces him, is sacked again, they hire Roy Hodgson again and sack him again and then appoint Kenny Dalglish again. You get the picture, they’re a shower.

Of course, the usual enigmatic approach to dignity has been back in vogue. RAWK’s been on fire.

“Completely ruining the earlier news of Andy in the England squad, for me.” - RAWK

Of course, of course. Andy Carroll played two games and got into the England squad. The man is a football genius, a brave lionheart, achieving in two games what he might have achieved - had he been bothered - in all the other games he played in. Really badly. It’s like Willem Defoe all over again - poor old Boxer Andy Carroll, cut down in his prime by the heartless Americans. Hang on…

“I feel sick. And after faking a sickie as well”

You’re right, this whole debacle is making me feel pretty sick right now too.

“I was sent home after throwing up. This isn’t making me better.”

Does delusion cause nausea?

“Club is in a mess, no manager, no DoF, no Stadium…”

Bring back Statler and Waldorf!

Of course, cronyism’s Alan Hansen has brought a bit of perspective. Too much perspective, you might say.

“No-one would suggest all of Kenny’s signings have been rip roaring successes”, said Hansen, “but I still think Jordan Henderson will develop into a very fine player and Roy Hodgson saw fit to include Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing in his Euro 2012 squad.”

You’re right - Dalglish is a betrayed hero. After all, if renowned and undisputed Liverpool legend Roy Hodgson sees fit to bring both Carroll and Downing to Euro 2012, then you’d have to back Roy Hodgson, too, obviously. It’ll be an interesting competition this summer when Liverpool fans flock to Ukraine to support their boys: Glenn, Stevie, Andy, Jordan, and King Roy.

Pseuds

Daniel Abrahams on Twitter:

Success is where confidence and competence entwine

And nonsense is where idiots meet the internet.

Sensitivity training seems to have missed the Telegraph

Paul Hayward on Twitter:

If Fabrice Muamba comes through how about donating all proceeds from the rest of the FA Cup to NHS units in honour of the country’s medics.

Yeah, fuck them if he dies!!!!!

Won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children?

Paul Hayward on Twitter:

Lots of sympathy for players who saw Muamba collapse, but oddly not much mention of the crowd. Must have been some very upset children.

Joey Barton’s stream of shit

From his Twitter:

If you can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you.

Rejected offering:

If you can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then you probably haven’t stubbed cigar out in someone’s eye.

Well, of course I am, but I don’t like to talk about it

“To those in need of the demonstration, he showed that immigrants, too, can come to embody the virtues – stuff like civility and modesty – we choose to see as our national characteristics.”

— Richard Williams, modestly drawing attention to his own modesty.

MEMEMEMEMEME

And if it isn’t Richard DJ Edwards tweeting like thus:

“Apologies for lack of tweeting during Amir interview. Was too absorbed to look down at the keyboard.”

You wonder how anyone coped.

Perspective with Michael Owen

On Twitter:

@themichaelowen: One of the worst things about being a footballer is being ill. I’ve got a sore throat and a bunged up nose but not allowed anything for it!

Yes, here’s that full list.

Michael Owen’s Football Room 101

1) Colds

2) That’s it.

Nothing else? Nothing come to mind? Nothing worse? No?

If Michael Owen got banned for taking performance enhancing drugs would anyone notice? I suppose it might encourage people to give up those substances.

Your shoelaces please. Have some rubber shoes.

After a quiet seven or eight seconds, here’s more ridiculous RAWK; ridiculousest, maybe. The relevant nutter calls himself Prof, would you only first people on earth, and I must admit that initially I thought he was talking Parisien arrondissements - but it turns out that he’s actually talking about what her perceives to be football. 

-

I’ve written before in certain threads about the importance of zone 14 in the modern game.  This is the area immediately outside the penalty area, as indicated on the diagram below.



The importance of operating ‘between the lines’ isn’t a secret in football, as players who operate in ‘the hole’ have been around for a long time, and their value well recognised.  However, the tactical make-up of the best teams in the world over the last 10 years have been structured to maximise the effectiveness of zone 14 in attack, while providing the necessary defensive system to prevent  opponents operating in this zone.

At Euro 2004, over 50% of all successful passes into the penalty area came from zone 14, and evidence from the Premier League in the middle of the last decade suggested that about 75% of goals were scored either directly from zone 14, or from a final pass played from this zone.

The 4-2-3-1 system (which can also look like, or be adapted to, a 4-4-1-1, 4-3-3, 4-5-1 or 4-2-2-2) has become the formation of choice for the tactically astute manager over the last decade, particularly in big games.  There are a number of very good reasons for this:

1. Double pivot - two defensive midfielders to the layman.  With possitionally aware midfielders, you can prevent the opposition operating in zone 5. (their zone 14).  This allows a pressing team to control the most dangerous areas effectively, while still allowing the front 4 to work together and hunt in packs.

2. Progressive full backs - with a back 4 comprising of the CBs and CMs, the full backs are able to join attacks with confidence a mistake can be covered.

3. Multiple players are able to operate in zone 14 as width can be provided by the full-backs and added freedom to have runners ahead of the ball provided by the double pivot

My view is we are neglecting the importance of zone 14 both in attack and defence (zone 5).

Our opponents get a lot of time and space in this zone when they attack, particularly when Lucas and Spearing are missing.  It often looks too easy for opponents to get good possession in this zone facing our goal (Campell dropped off and turned on the ball before shooting against the post for Sunderland’s goal today).

In attack, we do not operate in this zone very effectively.  We either build too much of our play down the wings or rarely have options ahead of the ball on the few occasions we do get good possession in zone 14.

As for our crossing, it is ineffective, not purely because of execution, but because of how we get the ball into crossing areas.  It isn’t just about getting bodies into the box.

Research carried out looking at the style of play of successful teams at the highest level indicates that the best teams construct attacks in an outside-inside-outside fashion, where the ball is played wide as it enters the attacking third, whereas less successful teams play up the wings into the final third before crossing the ball.



If a ball is played wide late, it could go to either wing, which means the man who then crosses it is likely to have more time and space.  It also means that the opposite full-back is less likely to be in position to cover the back post, and the centre backs less likely to be in position to clear the cross.

Van Persie’s first goal against us is a great example of how to work a crossing opportunity.  Rosicky cuts into the centre of the pitch before spreading it wide into the final third to Sagna, who had space as Enrique had moved across to pick up Walcott’s run, while Downing tracks Rosicky as he carries the ball infield.  (Incidentally, Walcott’s move off the right could be covered by a holding midfielder if we had a double pivot).



This screenshot also highlights just how much space there is between our midfield and defence.

You are to simile what boll-weevil is to a cotton-based economy

ForeBarca, Guardian commenter, on the prospects of a European Cup clasico:

Mourinho will not wish to avoid Barca like the plague. Indeed, Mourinho is the archetypal alpha male who does not shrink from a challenge, and I have no doubt that his every waking moment is filled with the desire to bring down Barcelona and bring them down in convincing fashion, with a brutality even. Moreover, I have seen this Real, and they are terrifying to behold. If Barcelona comes up against this Real team in the Champions’ League, they will face a team that is physically fit, confidently filled with abundant striking potential. But there is material difference, one man who can part the waters for Barcelona: Messi. The Argentine has been Mourinho’s scourge, in whose long shadow Cristiano Ronaldo dwells in. Even so, defeating Barcelona has to be Mourinho’s ultimate challenge, and given his temperament, he will not wish to avoid Barcelona like the plague. Barcelona seems to Mourinho as Eden was to Adam; Barcelona seems to Mourinho as Ava Gardner was to Frank Sinatra; Barcelona seems to Mourinho as Moscow was to Hitler; Barcelona seems to Mourinho as Romeo was to Julliette. There appears to be a unconquerable divide between the two.

Open journalism at its finest. Let Paul Hayward go to the Telegraph, get the commenters to fill the overwrought nonsense quota for free!