• The KillerFrogs

2023-2024 European Football Thread

K

kaiser soze

Active Member
Purp said:
Saw this earlier. I'm glad he's having a bit of a revival, but I'm not sure I can trust him in Qatar a month from now.
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Same can be said for any other guy we've run out the last 2, 4 or even 8 years.

With the (relative) pool of riches at midfield and winger available and fighting for minutes, how did GGG not spend more time the last two years running out alternate lineups that don't rely as much on a true #9 we cant seem to find or develop?
 
Purp

Purp

Active Member
Moose Stuff said:
Because he’s an idiot?
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Bingo. I can't be convinced that Weah, Pulisic, Aaronson, Reyna, etc. couldn't have been deployed in a role that would make us far more dangerous offensively. I think a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 might suit our personnel best. Without a true, elite #9 you need a target forward (Sarge/Pefok/Dike) who can win and hold the ball up for a smaller, faster skill guy running off of him into space. That doesn't just have to be the 2nd forward, but also the outside midfielders.

For example, in a 3-5-2 I'd have Sarge or Pefok up top with Pulisic. My midfield would have Reyna on the left, Dest on the right, and McKennie/Musah/Adams centrally. My backs would be Robinson on the left, Scally on the right, and probably Zimm in the middle, though I might prefer a more athletic option there. Richards would be my guy, but he's not healthy right now.

In this setup Aaronson and Weah could interchange between the other forward position opposite Pefok/Sarge or outside midfield. Aaronson, Reyna, and Pulisic could play centrally too. A formation like this suits our talent better because it provides support where it's needed most (for the #9), it puts everyone in a position that deploys their strengths in areas to be more dangerous and also puts them in positions where their weaknesses aren't as susceptible to being exploited. I also like it because a shape like this with the speed and talent in the front 7 would really make the press we want to play a hell of a lot more effective. The major weakness here is the liability of the lone center back. That position in this shape requires top end athleticism like an MRob and Richards possess. The reason I opted for Scally at right back is he's isolated against top Bundesliga scorers most weeks and performs very well. I clearly trust Jedi on the left for many of the same reasons.

I'm not throwing anything revolutionary out here. It doesn't take a creative genius to find better way to deploy the talent you have. I just don't think Berhalter has the wherewithal to deviate too much from what he's familiar with. It's a damn shame too because the group can be elite.
 
M

Moose Stuff

Active Member
Purp said:
Bingo. I can't be convinced that Weah, Pulisic, Aaronson, Reyna, etc. couldn't have been deployed in a role that would make us far more dangerous offensively. I think a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 might suit our personnel best. Without a true, elite #9 you need a target forward (Sarge/Pefok/Dike) who can win and hold the ball up for a smaller, faster skill guy running off of him into space. That doesn't just have to be the 2nd forward, but also the outside midfielders.

For example, in a 3-5-2 I'd have Sarge or Pefok up top with Pulisic. My midfield would have Reyna on the left, Dest on the right, and McKennie/Musah/Adams centrally. My backs would be Robinson on the left, Scally on the right, and probably Zimm in the middle, though I might prefer a more athletic option there. Richards would be my guy, but he's not healthy right now.

In this setup Aaronson and Weah could interchange between the other forward position opposite Pefok/Sarge or outside midfield. Aaronson, Reyna, and Pulisic could play centrally too. A formation like this suits our talent better because it provides support where it's needed most (for the #9), it puts everyone in a position that deploys their strengths in areas to be more dangerous and also puts them in positions where their weaknesses aren't as susceptible to being exploited. I also like it because a shape like this with the speed and talent in the front 7 would really make the press we want to play a hell of a lot more effective. The major weakness here is the liability of the lone center back. That position in this shape requires top end athleticism like an MRob and Richards possess. The reason I opted for Scally at right back is he's isolated against top Bundesliga scorers most weeks and performs very well. I clearly trust Jedi on the left for many of the same reasons.

I'm not throwing anything revolutionary out here. It doesn't take a creative genius to find better way to deploy the talent you have. I just don't think Berhalter has the wherewithal to deviate too much from what he's familiar with. It's a damn shame too because the group can be elite.
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So Greg is basically Gary.
 
dawg

dawg

Active Member
Purp said:
Not even close. Gary developed talent as well as anyone to achieve things nobody thought were possible in our program. Berhalter is basically Mensa. Doing less with more on a historic level.
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100%. Though he may be worse than Mensa.
 
Purp

Purp

Active Member
Moose Stuff said:
Refusing to adapt is peak Gary.
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I see your point now. They definitely share that attribute, but I'm not sure adapting to personnel was where Gary fell so short. I think he had the skills and attributes he wanted at every position. That was more an inability to adapt to the way the college game is changing with NIL and how to handle the new generation of kids that don't respond as well to his coaching style.

Berhalter is the exact opposite. He relates extremely well with this generation of kids and they respond to him well, but he can't take the talent at his disposal and put them in positions to be successful. Where CGP recruited kids to fit his system, Berhalter has a pool of players at his disposal and he's got to figure out how to deploy them most effectively.

CGP (like all football coaches) have the luxury of being rigid in the systems they run because they can select players from recruiting/free agency/draft. National team managers don't have that luxury and need to adapt their systems to suit the talent in their pool. That's why I missed your point with the Berhalter/CGP comparison.
 
Purp

Purp

Active Member
The Artist Formerly Known as PhormerPhrog said:
Road trip??
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That would be awesome, but I can't do it. My 3 kids will play in 6 games tomorrow by 2pm. Then we'll rest a bit before heading to FW for the game against EMAW. Then my 5 year old has at least one more game Sunday morning for his tournament. If he wins they could play as many as 2 more games. My body will be smoked after tomorrow. I'll barely have the gas for the Sunday soccer games. No way I could go to Austin and back too. I just hope I can stay awake for the entire game at my house.
 

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