The Oasis Draft - R1: GSTQ vs green_smiley

Good luck @green_smiley

Love it when a manager shows balls and drops one of his top players (Denis Law here).

And of course, Florian fecking Albert

Good luck to you too @GodShaveTheQueen

Just my thoughts:

1) Would imagine that Gerets-Tigana is more than able to defend against GSTQ's threat on his left-hand side
- even more so that Makalele won't attack much (or at all)

2) The fluid attacking setup is to make it lot harder for GSTQ to defend against
- Albert's mobility as false nine would pull his marker (either Makalele or one of their CB) away from their position, thus creating space for others
- Blokhin and Boniek are comfortable at either flanks, and would interchange position every now and then to make it harder to mark. Both forwards offer plenty of pace and trickery, and would be nuisance against any defender

3) As the likes of Hughes, Davids and Bonhof are defensively-astute on my left-hand side, plus non-attacking threat from Burgnich, this will give more opportunity for Vasovic to make his mark in this game with his ball-playing ability from the back

green_smiley said:

Would imagine that Gerets-Tigana is more than able to defend against GSTQ's threat on his left-hand side
- even more so that Makalele won't attack much (or at all)

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green_smiley said:

As the likes of Hughes, Davids and Bonhof are defensively-astute on my left-hand side, plus non-attacking threat from Burgnich, this will give more opportunity for Vasovic to make his mark in this game with his ball-playing ability from the back

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Makelele and Burgnich were needed for the right balance.

Left side attackers - Dzajic/Breitner - Makelele to balance it out.

Right side attackers - Johnstone/Schuster - Burgnich to balance it out.

Charlton ofcourse would be everywhere.

GodShaveTheQueen said:

Makelele and Burgnich were needed for the right balance.

Left side attackers - Dzajic/Breitner - Makelele to balance it out.

Right side attackers - Johnstone/Schuster - Burgnich to balance it out.

Charlton ofcourse would be everywhere.

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Makalele and Burgnich strengthen your team defensively, but also make your attacking a tad more predictable

On your left, it would be Breitner-Dzajic, and Schuster-Johnstone on opposite side. Sure Charlton is free to roam, but he has Bonhof keeping his eyes on

Versus, if you have a sort of B2B in place of Makalele instead, it would have been much better
In fact, Krol-Breitner-Dzajic would be fantastic. The downside is that you need to play Blanc who is underrated in draft

And a balanced (not necessarily uber attacking) right back would have suited you better. I am not sure if Schuster is below par defensively

Davids, Bonhof, and Tigana in the same team is a lot of energy to deal with for any opposition midfield. Don't know much about Albert and it's a gutsy move to leave Law out for him.

Himannv said:

Davids, Bonhof, and Tigana in the same team is a lot of energy to deal with for any opposition midfield. Don't know much about Albert and it's a gutsy move to leave Law out for him.

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Florian Albert, an elegant player with extraordinary ball skill and ball control
"On the pitch there were the best players in the world like Garrincha, but the fans were shouting only Florian Albert's name" (Sandor Matrai about Florian Albert's performance in 1966 World Cup match between Hungary and Brazil)

A 4-2-3-1 with every forwards in would be risky, considering GSTQ's threat on the flanks and Charlton in the middle. Plus GSTQ's defensive is strong, so having Albert's mobility and creativity to influence game would be more effective than to have a dedicated CF in this game

Find GS team a lot more coherent with very good tactical fits. Blokhin and Boniek playing off Albert will be a physical hurricane to contain. Overall as Himannv mentioned, GS front 6 has tremendous amount of energy, movement, searing pace and dribbling ability, it is actually similar to what we see from Liverpool these days in terms of pressing, with a false 9 playing in two supremely rapid and clinical wide forwards darting in, except this is a big upgrade on that in terms of quality. Also, possibly one of the best setups I have seen for Davids who is usually underlined as someone just to do the dirty work for other players when he was a lot more than that and he will be in his element with those players around him here.

GSTQ team is very good as usual but GS team is a bad fit for him. Makelele's main weakness was pace and mobility and GS has that in spades here, and I can see Makelele struggling against that kind of energy, pace and movement. Even Schuster in his older deeper incarnation will struggle against that and it's not going to be easy for them to get on the ball and make the transition as the likes of Boniek can completely harass them off the ball.

Close one but going with GS as he has hit the nail on the head tactically here and also the opposition will struggle against those kind of players and tactics.

Alright, my 2 cents on some points

1. Blokhin and Boniek - Burgnich for me is a brilliant fit against Blokhin. Boniek again runs into Breitner and Krol both of whom were great defensively in their roles. If Breitner is caught up field, Krol covers for him. I can't imagine a better defensive setup against those two

2. B2B instead of Makelele - I have stressed this point in the last draft as well. Having two B2B's while looks more cohesive and tempting in the attacking phase, having a holder alongside an attacking B2B/playmaker adds way more defensive credibility and that is something you would see in most real world team. 2 B2B's is a draft fad which I don't fully agree with. One player holding and other attacking always doesn't make much sense to me with interchanging responsibilities. Way more likely to break things defensively IMO. A dedicated holder would be my way to go most times.

3. Liverpool style press - I think the 3 players in question are really good for a pressing team. While I have been the biggest advocate of Bonhof's versatility, he is still not in his element here. I'd rather give him a good amount of freedom to get the best out of him. If he is to press everywhere on the pitch, it is bound to leave holes. The defense needs to be stronger to take that risk. I still think the press is a good idea here but the supporting cast at the back should be better. No one needs to emphasize the value of Virgin Van Dijk in that Pool team.

green_smiley said:

Makalele and Burgnich strengthen your team defensively, but also make your attacking a tad more predictable

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By predictable, if you mean players will attack from their zones, I am quite okay with that. Not every team needs to be an incarnation of total football

The shape in attack will be like below

Dzajic-------Kocsis-------Johnstone
------Charlton----Schuster---------
------------Makelele----------------

That puts all the players in their right zones and keep all channels open. I'd bank on that to break open any defense.

green_smiley said:

And a balanced (not necessarily uber attacking) right back would have suited you better.

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This I can't agree with.

Burgnich offers much needed defensive solidarity to deal with GOAT teams.

Again, balanced players all over the pitch is the norm in drafts, but a player cant be in two places at once is a fact that is often ignored.

No matter where everyone else is in attack and where the ball is lost, Makelele and Burgnich provide me with a 4 man wall that would stop any counters.

----------Makelele-----------
Krol----Vierchowod--Burgnich

Breitner of course expected to up field in attacks.

Big fan of Jinky, I read somewhere Hughes saying how he crucified him and how he was glad he was taken off in a game playing for their countries.

2mufc0 said:

Big fan of Jinky, I read somewhere Hughes saying how he crucified him and how he was glad he was taken off in a game playing for their countries.

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Oh wow, I had never heard of this.

With the Scots preparing for a Home Championship match against England, they were based in a hotel in the west coast town of Largs, near Glasgow. A drinking session ended with Johnstone climbing into a rowing boat without any oars and being taken out to sea. He had to be rescued by the coastguard and the incident generated much publicity. But with his customary wit, Johnstone dismissed the furore, saying: “Don’t know what all the fuss is about – I thought I’d go fishing.”

But the misadventure had no effect on Johnstone, who was outstanding in the 2-0 victory over the English. Liverpool defender Emlyn Hughes suffered a chastening experience and later said: “I was embarrassed to come off the pitch. Jimmy Johnstone absolutely crucified me.”

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Match seems available, will checkout.

Tactically that's a thing of beauty from @green_smiley.

Makelele always get the short shift in drafts. He's always portrayed as a offensive liability and also vulnerable in defence against pacey players which I think is vastly overstated and mostly wrong. He has exceptional positional sense quite brilliant at sniffing out attacks. He was quick over short distances and matched up well with small dribbly AMs. I also rate Charlton quite well and I think GS's team maybe susceptible for a quick counter.

GS team is perfect as well.

Tough one this with neither team having any weakness.

Edgar Allan Pillow said:

Makelele always get the short shift in drafts. He's always portrayed as a offensive liability and also vulnerable in defence against pacey players which I think is vastly overstated and mostly wrong. He has exceptional positional sense quite brilliant at sniffing out attacks. He was quick over short distances and matched up well with small dribbly AMs. I also rate Charlton quite well and I think GS's team maybe susceptible for a quick counter.

GS team is perfect as well.

Tough one this with neither team having any weakness.

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One dimensional players do suffer in drafts as versatility is more sought. I may have been guilty of this at same point too with some players.

Let's not forget Makelele held the fort on his own in perhaps the most ridiculously unbalanced offensive Real Madrid team. To an extent that most players from that team called him the most important piece of the puzzle.

I still think pressing is a good idea but Makelele's agility is not something I would be concerned about, especially with a No.10 who put effort off the ball. Makelele would never have to roam all around the pitch chasing the ball. He'd usually be the last barrier the opponents would have to cross in midfield.

Maybe if I had a Baggio in the hole instead of Charlton, yes it could get a bit difficult to contain against GOAT teams with the likes of Do Stefano/Cruyff

GodShaveTheQueen said:

Oh wow, I had never heard of this.



Match seems available, will checkout.

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I've always wanted to watch but never got around to it, let me know how it was and whether Emlyn was exaggerating.

2mufc0 said:

I've always wanted to watch but never got around to it, let me know how it was and whether Emlyn was exaggerating.

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I did check it out earlier today. Emlyn did have a tough time with Jimmy (Hughes hardly tackled and mostly was back tracking shit scared) but I think the Scotland team was way more stronger than the English team.

Kenny, Jimmy, Bremner, Mcgrain, Jardine etc all starting for Scotland.

There is a 25 min extended highlight on YouTube if you don't want to watch the full game

GodShaveTheQueen said:

I did check it out earlier today. Emlyn did have a tough time with Jimmy (Hughes hardly tackled and mostly was back tracking shit scared) but I think the Scotland team was way more stronger than the English team.

Kenny, Jimmy, Bremner, Mcgrain, Jardine etc all starting for Scotland.

There is a 25 min extended highlight on YouTube if you don't want to watch the full game

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Nice, will check it out.

It was just a friendly

Don't think they have met at club level, but at international level, they have only played twice in games where they both started

One is the 1974 game as mentioned above, another one is 1970 friendly in which score was 0-0

@green_smiley

I try to keep opponents guessing about my formation, but for this time have to admit I didn't see the 3 man high energy midfield coming and was outsmarted in that regards.

Tough luck with the result, probably could have gone the other way with a stronger defense on your side.

Good game nevertheless. Cheers

On Makelele, I can only say that except Rijkaard, Voronin, Desailly, there is no one else in history I would want to hold the fort in midfield.

One of those players who should appear in more semis and finals but hardly makes it there.

Maybe it's time to create an all time team around Makelele thread. He has a whole role named after him after all.

Probably too complicated for most

Congrats and hope you go all the way @GodShaveTheQueen

harms said:

I never was the biggest fan of Makelele, but it's nice to see GSTQ sticking to his guns with a dedicated holder. I also try to use one when I have a chance.

As for the game — the gulp in quality between two defences decided the game, which is quite fitting. I loved the front 6 of GS team though.

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Chances are the next draft when I have my first 4 picks for defense, it would be

the gulp in quality between two midfields decided the game, or
the gulp in quality between two attacks decided the game

Not to say you are wrong, just that it will be self-inflicted

harms said:

the gulp in quality

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green_smiley said:

the gulp in quality

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green_smiley said:

the gulp in quality

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Am I missing something?

I blame harms and copy-paste

GS is a better team from a collective and defensive standpoint: more harmonious but a killer - selfish or not - to score goals/break the opposing defence is missing.

GSTQ has more killers but Johnstone and Dzajic tend to excessively confiscate the ball for my taste.

Too late to vote fortunately